BG tough to defend

Coach Scott Kopecky's Buffalo Grove boys water polo team came up just short of earning a berth in the Mid-Suburban League championship game, but the Bison's experienced group gave Rolling Meadows a good run for its money in the race.

Part of the key to the Bison's success has been its depth.

"I've got six guys that are really solid," said Kopecky. "We might not have that one true power player, but we've got seven or eight that are pretty strong."

And that makes for difficult decisions as opponents plot strategy against the Bison.

"If you watch our box scores, you might see that (Matt) Cooney had 5 goals one night," said Kopecky, "but if you try to double him and take him away, it just means that (Matt) Block or (Kevin) Reilly are going to get some really good opportunities."

Glen Bernard and Brad Lotzer also see good minutes in BG's rotation, and freshman Ian Rodriguez is fitting in nicely.

A real key has been senior goalkeeper Dan Schmitz. A former football and baseball player, he saw some JV action last year, committed to water polo in the off-season at the club level and returned as a central figure for the Bison varsity.

"There's no question we wouldn't be where we are now without him," Kopecky said.

The Bison have drawn the No. 3 seed in the Stevenson sectional behind No. 1 Mundelein and No. 2 Stevenson. Their sectional opener will come against Lake Forest.

Step right up: The MSL girls water polo championship will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Fremd. The host Vikings are No. 11 in the most recent rankings by illpolo.com but seem likely to move up after edging No. 10 Mundelein earlier this week and falling 13-11 on Thursday against No. 4 Naperville Central. Their opponent will be Wheeling (18-3), which clinched its first divisional title on Tuesday. The boys championship game will feature Rolling Meadows (17-3) at Schaumburg (25-2) on Thursday.