Girls water polo: Fitness keys Waubonsie Valley win over Schaumburg

Often on opposite ends of the pool Friday, Waubonsie Valley junior Alex Triko and senior Nicole Conway had equally busy girls water polo performances.

As goalie, Conway withstood 25 shots on goal and physically saved 16 of them.

Center forward Triko collected 7 goals and 2 assists to contribute directly to all of the team's scoring - and received plenty of defensive attention.

With them and their teammates in between, the Warriors enjoyed one their most satisfying performances, beating Schaumburg 9-3 in Aurora.

"I feel like this is the best that we've stepped up this year. I'm excited for the oncoming games," Triko said.

"It was a little tough (in the hole). The refs were helping out defense a lot, which also was good for our team, which I appreciate a lot. It made me work even harder to have really clean shots."

Triko scored the game's first two goals as the Warriors (4-8) established a 5-0 halftime advantage. She then scored the game's final three goals in the fourth quarter after the Saxons (6-4) closed to 6-3 on senior Sidney Rosenblum's 5-meter free shot with 1:48 left in the third quarter.

Waubonsie has won three of its last five and also snapped the Saxons' four-match winning streak.

"All week we kind of worked on feeding it into (Triko)," Waubonsie coach Kelsey Sopron said. "I think we played really, really well on defense. We did a lot of endurance swimming this week. Being able to stick with our players the entire time was key."

Rosenblum also scored the first goal of the third quarter on a quick pass from Kailey Cordova off a kickout restart. Hannah Pearson scored off Rosenblum's shot that went off the crossbar.

Schaumburg was held to its lowest scoring output since its March 6 season-opening 7-3 loss to St. Charles North, which beat Waubonsie 4-2 March 15.

"We knew they were a good team. They are our best practice for when we have to play Fremd (in conference)," Schaumburg coach Beth Donatucci said. "Their team in general is strong, they have strong shooters and their goalie is strong so they have the trifecta going on there."

Triko and Conway both were second-team all-sectional in 2016. The entire team truly rose to the occasion Friday especially with starting senior hole defender Maria Campbell already out of town on spring break. Sophomore Cathy Guan and senior Juliette Ansberry filled in admirably and also both had 2 assists.

"Especially when you lose one of your crucial players the team can kind of break down, but that's definitely not what we did," Conway said. "The underclassmen, especially this game, definitely stepped up to the plate."

So did Conway, facing a mix of lobs and longer distance shots. Three times she stopped shots but then had to keep the ball from flowing past the goal line. Schaumburg also hit the crossbar or post six times, including a 5-meter shot.

Conway's point-blank save in the opening minute may have set the tone.

"I definitely try to save them, especially in the beginning, because I know how big of an impact the beginning of the game can make on a team," Conway said.

Triko assisted the first two goals of the second quarter by Marissa Jaskae and Rebecca Farber. Natalie Tlustochowski, Maura Pauline and Farber also had assists.

"I have to hand it to my teammate Maura (Pauline). She had a lot of good set passes, the same with Juliette (Ansberry)," Triko said. "I feel like the momentum was really just figuring out the rhythm with our passes and once those passes came in, I did my best to get it in the net."

Triko scored a personal-best 9 against Neuqua Valley March 10. After 69 goals last season Triko knows she already has 37 and this season isn't even half over.

"I actually know the exact number because I'm kind of a narcissist," Triko said. "I'm hoping to beat that (69-goal) record, if I can."

Schaumburg, meanwhile, will continue making the most of an experienced group that includes eight seniors.

"If we're going to do something great, this is the year to do it," Donatucci said.

"In my mind we don't lose, we learn. This was definitely a game that taught us to keep going. We used all of our energy," Rosenblum said.

"We definitely since the beginning of the year have been focused on working as a unit. We are accomplishing that. We're so excited to play the rest of the season."