Boys water polo: New Trier repeats state championship

Stevenson boys water polo coach Sean Wimer was exasperated and proud at the same time after his host Patriots lost 10-6 to reigning state champion New Trier at Saturday's state championship game in Lincolnshire.

Stevenson — which had defeated New Trier three times in the regular season by scores of 10-5, 10-6 and 12-8 — trailed 2-0 after one quarter and uncharacteristically missed 25 shots in the 28-minute game.

“We missed shot after shot and had too many bar-outs (shots off the frame),” said Wimer, whose formidable water boys (34-2) defeated York 12-8 in a state semifinal earlier on Saturday. “My guys are devastated, because they care about this team, probably more than I do and I care a lot about it, believe me.

“I love this team,” he added. “Their effort and focus were outstanding all season. We had the toughest stretch this weekend (quarterfinal, semifinal, final) and came up short on the third leg of the journey. But I couldn't be prouder of them. I'm heartbroken.”

New Trier (32-4) played inspired defense en route to halting Stevenson's winning streak at 14 games. The Trevians, who led 5-4 at halftime, blocked shots when they weren't coming up with timely steals, none of the latter bigger than junior utility Will Moran's takeaway with 2:41 left in the fourth quarter and his team up 9-6.

“It's the quintessential team,” said ninth-year NT coach David Rafferty-Flatter, who guided the program to its first state title last spring. “They play for each other. They believe in each other.”

Senior attack Kunal Rajadhyax paced the Pats with 3 goals, including the one — a deftly tossed lob — that cut NT's lead to 3-2 at 3:55 of the second frame. Stevenson senior defender Andrew Mossman had tallied the home team's first goal via a slick backhand shot in the quarter's second minute.

New Trier poured in the first 2 goals of the third quarter and limited Stevenson to 1 goal in each of the third and fourth quarters.

Senior attack Jack Curtin and sophomore attack Dylan Kreimer scored Stevenson's other goals. Patriots junior Armaan Gill — born to compete in aquatics with a surname like that — stopped 10 shots to his counterpart Luke Schermerhorn's 9.

NT senior Noah Wendt whipped in a game-high 4 goals in a rematch of the 2017 state championship, which Stevenson won 10-9 in 3 overtimes.

That was the first of Wimer's two state championships as the coach of his alma mater. Now the coach of three Stevenson state runner-up squads (2013, 2015-16), the son of reigning Stevenson girls water polo coach Jeff Wimer owns a 17-year record of 382-156-1.

On Saturday night, New Trier capped the scoring in spectacular fashion as keeper Gill was told to settle near mid-pool to stack Stevenson's attack. Trevians senior utility Alex Bailey (2 goals) — treading water near his keeper — then gripped a loose ball and chucked it the length of the pool into an unattended goal.

Third-place game:

Lyons defeated York 8-6 in the game for third place at Saturday's boys state water polo finals. York (27-8) got 2 goals apiece from Charlie McKenna, Nick Kamenica and Gavin Honken and 4 assists from sophomore attack Tim Jensen. Lyons finished with a 21-11 record.