Girls water polo / Scouting the MSL title game
Girls water polo / Scouting the MSL title game
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday at Conant
Who: Wheeling (17-8) against Conant (24-3)
Background: Wheeling made history last year by becoming the first East Division school to win the overall MSL title by edging the Cougars 11-10 in overtime. This year, both teams made it through their divisional foes with perfect 10-0 records. Conant had been unbeaten overall, too, before consecutive losses to top-tier teams from Oak Park, Neuqua Valley and Stevenson. Conant snapped its skid with a 9-5 victory against Bremen on Tuesday. Wheeling dropped a 17-9 decision to sixth-ranked Sandburg on Monday and fell to eighth-ranked New Trier 12-10 on Tuesday.
Players to watch: Two great ones will be in action, as seniors Theresa Godlewski of Wheeling and Carmen Rosas take part in their final MSL competition. Both are career leaders in scoring for their teams and a load to defend - thought in different ways. The agile Godlewski's strength offensively is her ability to make opponents pay for even a slight advantage on the perimeter with a fierce, accurate shot. Rosas excels closer to the goal, both offensively and defensively, frequently drawing kickouts and enabling scoring chances for others.
Wheeling's Argelia Diaz, Jenna Pink and Shannon Richards routinely make opponents pay if they devote too much attention to Godlewski, and coach Bob Savitt has been preaching the importance of sharing the responsibility of scoring. Conant goalie Maddy Demaret is a force in shot-blocking, forcing steals and completing fastbreak opportunities, while coach Justin Bickus has assembled a well-rounded group which gets regular contributions from Emily Weingart, Samantha Wooley, Bobby Smigla, Miranda Fenlon, Shannon Maloney, Paulina Chowaniec and Claire Rosas.
Numbers game: In the most recent state ranking from illpolo.com, Conant is No. 12 and Wheeling is No. 20.
- Aaron Gabriel