Stablein setting tone for Naperville Central
Thanks in large part to the consistency of senior goalie Pat Stablein, Naperville Central’s boys water polo team cruised into this weekend with an 11-1 record.
According to coach Bill Salentine, Stablein has been critical in setting up the Redhawks’ lightning-fast counterattack.
“With a solid defense comes a good counterattack,” Salentine said. “As soon as we see someone shooting on him, we’ll send two (attackers) down the other end.”
The Redhawks have a host of attackers who are among the fastest in the DuPage Valley Confrence, plus a high amount of confidence in Stablien to block opponents’ shots and set up the offense.
“We try to learn from every game, win or lose,” Salentine said. “Anytime we play a team we try to take something we can learn away from it and become better players because of it.”
The Redhawks lost their only game of the season in tournament play against No. 1 Fenwick and are ranked second in the state.
Seniors leading Waubonsie Valley:Two senior captains and their outstanding leadership are helping guide the Waubonsie Valley girls: Alex White and Cara Stack.For the second straight season the Warriors are one of the top teams in the area as they look to contend for a trip to state.According to coach Diana Mehl, although the two captains have different styles of play, their contributions to the Warriors#146; success are equally vital.Mehl described White as the go-to player during fastbreaks because of her remarkable speed. Stack is more of a shooter who is known to score goals from just about anywhere in the pool.#147;I think both as captains have taken on the leadership role,#148; Mehl said. #147;They never stop working. They#146;re always there to work the ball and make sure plays get finished.#148;Waubonsie is coming off quality victories over Hinsdale Central, St. Charles East and York. The Warriors are 11-5 heading into this weekend.Watch out for the Red Devils:Hinsdale Central boys water polo finished a disappointing 12-19 in 2010. This season has brought a fresh sense of optimism, and so far the program is much improved.The Red Devils are riding a record of 9-9 into the weekend. According to coach Martin Bell, last Wednesday night#146;s thrilling overtime loss to Waubonsie Valley was a clear sign that his squad is playing its best polo of the season.The Red Devils fought hard against one of the best teams in the state but fell just one goal short against Waubonsie. Warriors senior superstar Tyler Hunt slammed home the winning goal with just nine seconds left in the second overtime.#147;If we can hang with a team that went to the sectional final in a game like that; it tells me it#146;s been a successful season,#148; Bell said.The Red Devils have also been working on getting even the deepest part of their bench varsity experience this season.#147;In (last) Monday#146;s win over Hinsdale South we got 20 different players into the game,#148; Bell said. #147;It encourages our younger players who don#146;t get a lot of minutes, but it does hurt our rhythm.#148; 29562136PAUL MICHNA/Pmichna@dailyherald.comRyan Schickerling,left, of Naperville North and Jay Howenstine of Naperville Central during game action Saturday. 30321872Aaron Katz of Naperville North lines up a shot during Saturdays game against Naperville North.PAUL MICHNA/Pmichna@dailyherald.com