Palatine reclaims MSL West title
It certainly didn't go exactly as Palatine boys water polo coach Joe Grzybek had planned, but in the end, that didn't seem to matter much.
The host Pirates returned to the top of the Mid-Suburban West on Thursday after an exhilarating 11-10 victory over defending champ Schaumburg. Palatine had won the division crown for five consecutive years before victories by the Saxons, and before them Conant, put an end to the run.
"Our seniors were mostly freshmen the last time we won, so this is really pretty new for all our guys," said Grzybek. "I'd say we still have some confidence issues - maybe a little bit less so after today."
Backed by raucous fan support, the Pirates (14-5, 9-0) produced a blistering first quarter as senior Brad Ferris scored 3 of his 4 goals, leading to an seemingly insurmountable 7-1 lead.
The second and third quarters, though, belonged to Schaumburg. The Saxons (18-8, 7-2) outscored Palatine 4-1 in the second quarter, then produced a 3-0 shutout in the third to tie the game at 8-8 heading into what promised to be a tense fourth quarter.
"I thought we really played the game we needed to in the first quarter," said Schaumburg coach Tom Gallagher, "but the results just weren't there.
"I've got great kids - they applied themselves and made the commitment during swimming season, and they've done the same thing here in the spring. They came in here believing in themselves. We didn't quit."
From Grzybek's point of view, Schaumburg's comeback was mainly the result of poor shooting on Palatine's part. Repeated errant shots by Palatine and a handful of nice saves allowed the Saxons to find their rhythm on the other end as Brandon Kase (4 goals) and Brandon Luke (3) started to heat up.
"You can see it - we take one bad shot, and it seems to affect everybody, kind of a downward spiral," Grzybek said. "After the first quarter I told the guys we needed to just be concerned with ourselves. Schaumburg has good players, and they're going to have some success. It was just a question of how we reacted to that."
Grzybek got the answer he was hoping for in the fourth quarter. Ferris scored in a man-up situation to put Palatine ahead by 1, and Pirates goalkeeper Dan Sommerfeld stopped a quality chance before Kase converted a penalty shot to re-tie it at 9-9.
Then came the key goals for Palatine - another man-up conversion, this one from the right wing by Justin Behrens, and finally, with 1:12 left, an alert Jeremy Stanton gathered up a loose ball in front the Schaumburg goal and flipped it in to give the Pirates a 2-goal lead.
Luke produced an even-strength goal with 33 seconds left to pull Schaumburg within 1, and the Saxons lucked into one final possession after an ill-advised shot by Palatine. But a turnover ended Schaumburg's last-second comeback try.
Randy Carr scored 2 goals for Schaumburg, and John Giuliano and Stanton had 2 apiece for Palatine.
The Saxons, who learned Thursday they'll have the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Barrington sectional, can take solace in the fact that they came about as close to winning a divisional title without actually finishing the job. Both of their divisional losses came against the champs, and both were decided by 1 goal.
"This same team beat us something like 22-6 (in summer league play last year)," said Gallagher. "We've made a lot of progress - just not enough to beat (Palatine) today. But it was a great game."
Palatine, meanwhile, has earned the top sectional seed, followed by McHenry. All of which rounded out a highly successful day for the Pirates - and their vocal fans.
"This was far and away the best fan support I've seen here," said Grzybek, "and I really think it made a difference for our guys. That was a key in the first and fourth quarters."
And perhaps the Pirates made a significant gain with those self-image issues. When asked to sum up his team's postgame mood, a smiling Gryzbek put it this way: "Happy. And confident."
Wheeling 8, Rolling Meadows 6: Jivko Simeonov and Andy Eiter scored 2 goals apiece to keep Wheeling (11-7, 6-3) in second place in the MSL East behind champion Buffalo Grove. Damian Fitzsimons produced 5 goals for Meadows (3-13, 2-7).
St. Charles East 18, St. Viator 16: In spite of 6 goals from Eric Primdahl, the Lions dropped a nonconference matchup in St. Charles.