Second half belongs to Naperville North
A late goal gave the Metea Valley boys water polo team a good vibe heading into halftime Tuesday, but then Naperville North did what Naperville North does.
The visiting Mustangs trailed just 6-3 at the half following a tally by Max Chamberlain with 1:44 left in the first half. But the Huskies, who have excelled in the second half this spring, used a 7-1 outburst in the third quarter to take command on their way to a 20-11 defeat of Metea Valley, which dropped to 12-5-1 on the year with its second loss this season to the Huskies.
On Naperville North's first possession of the second half, senior Chris Popiolek drove down the left side and buried a shot to the back of the net. It was one of two goals in the key quarter by Popiolek, who scored five times on the night.
"That's what you've got to do. You've got to come out in the third quarter," Popiolek said. "Mainly you just go at it in the first half and then in the third quarter you really try and push it."
Huskies coach Martin Bell expects his well-conditioned team to play well in the second half. But even he had to be impressed when the hosts quickly turned a 3-goal lead at the half into a 13-4 margin in less than seven minutes of play.
"That's where we should win our games," Bell said about the second halves of matches. "That's where good teams do win their games. They don't quit, they don't give up. They don't stop. Not that the other teams do, it's just that they get gassed."
Cole Jacob, who led the way with 6 goals, scored three times in the third quarter for the Huskies, who will take a 12-5 record into this weekend's Best of the West tournament co-hosted by Naperville North and Naperville Central. Senior Nick Zillier scored two of his three goals Thursday in the third-quarter barrage.
"We have a whole bunch of players who can score, which is a good problem to have," Bell said. "Twenty (goals) is a good number and it came against a pretty good team so I'm happy with that."
For the Mustangs, Alex Smith led the way with 5 goals and Chamberlain added 3. Sophomore Tyler Flanders continued his strong spring with a pair of scores.
"Overall it was a very well-performed first half," Metea Valley coach Adam Zankowski said. "It's just a matter of getting in the right position and making sure we're in the right frame of mind coming into the second half and finishing out. We were ecstatic with how they played in the first half."
Senior goalkeeper Riley Byrne blocked 11 shots for the Mustangs, while Huskies goalkeeper Brandon Morrows played the first three quarters before Ben Lovick took over to finish off the win.