Weber scores 6 in Metea Valley victory
Cameron Weber and his 6 goals led Metea Valley boys water polo to its third win in program history with a 13-10 home victory over Glenbrook North.
Tuesday’s win comes one year removed from the Mustangs having to travel for every practice to Waubonsie Valley High School. The Mustangs competed in 2010 as a JV-only program made up of only seven players.
“This was our best win because it came against one of the stronger teams,” Weber said. “This gave us confidence.”
This year marks the first season of varsity play at Metea. Previous wins for the Mustangs came against Lincoln-Way West and St. Charles East.
The Mustangs rallied after finding themselves down two goals in the first period. A goal midway through the first by Alex Walter helped settled things down for Metea.
Tomaz Marinelli came up strong for the Spartans with 3 assists in the first half, but Weber was able to match the intensity by scoring 3 of his goals before halftime.
The Mustangs jumped out to a quick second-half lead after a Weber goal in the opening minutes of the third. Metea outscored the Spartans 7-4 in the second half to claim the win.
“It feels good. We’re getting back on track as a team,” Weber said. “Kids are pulling through for us.”
Metea goalie Alex Vass helped settled some of the home team’s nerves in the second half with his outstanding play. The highly active sophomore finished the contest with 6 saves.
“I was able to read their offense as time went on. It was repetitive to me,” Vass said.
The Spartans were led offensively by 3 goals apiece from Nick Goodspeed and Brendan Schilling. Goalie Jared Prost posted a solid effort with 9 saves.
“With a lot coming up this time of year and coming into some of these late games, we want to make sure we play everyone,” said Glenbrook North coach Mark Rebora. “This is the time of year to reward hard work, but it doesn’t mean that we get in the pool and don’t give it our all.”
Matt Bacinich scored two goals down the stretch for the Spartans, and Marinelli filled in his role as a vocal leader by spending the majority of his time in the water directing traffic on offense.
“(Marinelli) played our point. It’s tough to get the ball away from him,” Rebora said. “He plays a nice, solid polo game.”