Naperville Central defeats Fremd

It’s that kind of a season for the Naperville Central girls water polo team.

The Redhawks, the No. 2 team in the state according to illpolo.com, played host Thursday night to the No. 11 squad, Fremd, certainly no slouch with a pregame record of 19-3.

Naperville Central completely dominated the Vikings, scoring 6 unanswered goals en route to a 7-1 victory and pushing its record to 25-1.

The Redhawks took the lead just 1:16 into the game on the first of 4 goals from Abbey Kerth, and Fremd coach Brian Newby said that didn’t help the Vikings’ cause against a team like Naperville Central.

“Scoring first gives them the momentum of the game. It’s not detrimental (to us), but it help them set the tone,” he said.

Kerth scored again with 1:35 left in the first quarter and about 30 seconds later, teammate Emily Sejna racked up the first of her 2 goals on a penalty shot.

About midway through the second quarter, Kerth scored her third goal, just a foot or two in front of Fremd goalie Julie Conrath, and that was indicative of what the Redhawks could do offensively and what the Vikings couldn’t do because of the Naperville Central defense.

Fremd got its offense going but was forced to take long shots, some as far as mid-pool. And it hit goalposts and the crossbar several times.

“Any game the defense comes first,” Redhawks senior Claire Wirtz, who also scored for Naperville Central, said.

A big part of that defense Thursday night was goalie Julia Campbell, who finished with 13 saves and was peppered by the Vikings offense once it got going, although most of the time from afar.

“Our goalie is a good part of (the defense), and the defense really counter-attacked really well tonight,” Kerth said.

Fremd finally reached the scoreboard with 6:18 left in the contest on a half-pool shot by Megan Kennedy.

“Fremd has some good shooters. We identified those shooters and didn’t give them room to breath,” Naperville Central coach Jeff Plackett said of his team’s defensive strategy.

Sejna, Campbell, Lauren Gunn, Robyn Stanley and Lizzy Giuliani earned assists on some of the Naperville Central goals.

As it is for all water polo teams, Naperville Central’s schedule is winding down toward the postseason. The team is off until Thursday, when No. 9 Sandburg comes to Naperville for a 5:30 p.m. game.

The regular season closes two days later with a trip to the Stevenson Co-ed Tournament, which gives participating teams a taste of the state finals site. Neuqua Valley sectional competition begins May 11 for the Redhawks.

The Redhawks are aiming for their fourth straight state trophy after finishing third last season and second and fourth in the years before that. So expectations remain high this season.

“We set a lot of high goals and we have a lot of things to work on,” Kerth said.

“We keep working every day,” Wirtz said.