Neuqua Valley ousts St. Charles E.
Ten seconds proved to be a monumental difference in the second quarterfinal of the Metea Valley IHSA boys water polo sectional.
St. Charles East had been searching for the equalizer after falling behind early to Neuqua Valley, and Matt VanGyseghem had a quality look.
But the senior had his shot rocket off the Wildcats’ right post, and Drew Dvorchak scored what proved to be the final goal of the teams’ thrilling match 10 seconds later.
With its 10-8 victory fourth-seeded Neuqua Valley (16-13) advances to face top-seeded Naperville North (28-3), which doubled up St. Charles North 20-10 in the opening quarterfinal, in the semifinals Friday in Aurora.
“It lived up to the hype,” said Neuqua Valley coach Adam Hoffer, who noted a niche website had predicted the matchup to be the best in the state. “Rankings don’t matter anymore. Stamina is the biggest thing in this game. That’s what ended up winning it for us.”
Fifth-seeded St. Charles East had its record-setting campaign come to a close at 19-8.
Neuqua Valley dominated play for the first two-plus quarters, scoring 5 unanswered goals at one point to take a 7-2 lead early in the third period.
Stephen Mason personally took matters into his own hands, though, to recharge the Saints’ collective batteries.
Over a two-minute-and-36-second stretch in the third quarter, the Saints’ senior leader scored a hat trick.
Using a series of crafty moves, none more so than his lob with his back to the Wildcats’ net, the 3 goals, sandwiched around a Kevin Patterson score for Neuqua Valley, brought St. Charles East to within 8-5.
“I went with my instinct,” Mason said of his overhand flip that settled just under the crossbar.
VanGyseghem scored moments later for the Saints, and Mitch Phelps’ goal with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter brought St. Charles East to within 8-7.
But Patterson would have some trickery of his own.
The Wildcats’ senior, who led all players with 6 goals, had the last of his match-high scores to open the fourth period.
Patterson deked out the Saints’ keeper with a no-look rocket from 20 feet away.
“It’s a little trick I have been working on,” Patterson said. “You have to come in ready to the play (in the postseason). We put our best players on their best players (defensively in the fourth quarter).”
The Wildcats’ defense proved to be the difference over the final 5:18 of the contest.
Mason had the last of his team-high 5 goals to once again bring St. Charles East to within a lone goal, but Neuqua Valley shut the Saints out the rest of the way.
Dvorchak scored with 4:01 to play to account for the final score.
“We ran out of steam (in the final period),” Mason said.
Shaun Seuschek scored 16 seconds into the match to give St. Charles East its only lead as Patterson had 4 goals in the opening half, which ended with Neuqua Valley holding a 6-2 lead.
“We had that deer-in-the-headlights look in the first quarter,” St. Charles East coach Sean Markovic said. “That was the difference (in the match).”
Joey Chokran scored 7 goals for eighth-seeded St. Charles North in the opener, but the North Stars’ season ended at 9-22 with their loss to the No. 1 seed. Chokran finished the season with 147 goals.