Northwest postseason scouting
Northwest / Scouting postseason boys water polo
Palatine sectional
Top seeds: 1. Stevenson (21-8), 2. McHenry (16-6), 3. Libertyville (17-13)
Outlook: The top three seeds earned their spots, but Nos. 4 and 5 aren’t too shabby, either. Buffalo Grove (17-8) and Wheeling (21-7) both finished 9-1 in the MSL but only one of them will advance past their first postseason game, since they play one another at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday. The host Pirates handled Vernon Hills 23-10 in their play-in game Monday and have been getting much better results in the latter part of the season, especially from junior all-conference selection Christian Kalfas.
Looking ahead: Four quarterfinals beginning at beginning at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday; semifinals at 4:30 and 5:45 p.m. Friday; championship at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Schaumburg sectional
Top seeds: 1. Fremd (23-6), 2. Schaumburg (16-7), 3. Conant (21-8)
Outlook: Mid-Suburban League champion Fremd went unbeaten against its West Division foes but had 1-goal wins against both Schaumburg and Conant in order to do so. Those teams figure to provide the Vikes with their main challenges here, with one of them likely getting a shot at the top seed in Saturday’s championship game. After his team won handily against BG in the MSL title game, Fremd coach Brian Newby put it this way: “We think we have an opportunity to win the sectional, but that’s all it is — an opportunity. We’ll need to play extremely well to advance.” Conant has played exceptionally well the last couple of weeks, especially in tournament settings, and playing at home will only work in Schaumburg’s favor. Seventh seed Barrington rolled past St. Viator 20-12 in a play-in game Monday and will meet Fremd in the quarterfinals; No. 8 Prospect beat No. 9 Meadows 12-7 and will face Fremd on Wednesday.
Looking ahead: Four quarterfinals beginning at beginning at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday; semifinals at 4:30 and 5:45 p.m. Friday; championship at 1 p.m. Saturday.
— Aaron Gabriel