Boys water polo

MSL Championship game

Who: Rolling Meadows (17-3) at Schaumburg (26-2)

When: Thursday, 6 p.m.

Scouting report: Schaumburg would seem to have an edge here. The Saxons' only losses have been to dominant power Fenwick and an out-of-state foe. Though there hasn't been a head-to-head meeting between the teams, common oppponents suggest the Saxons will be hard to contain. Rolling Meadows and Buffalo Grove split their two games 7-4 (with Meadows winning) and 11-10 (with BG winning); the edge in total goals put Meadows into the championship game after both teams finished 9-1 in East play. Schaumburg defeated Buffalo Grove 14-5 in April. The Saxons are led by all-around standout Chris Corbett but they're far from a one-man show - Aaron Johnson, Mike Kehoe, Brandon Kase, Pat Kraulis, Eddie Walsh and goalkeeper Neal Salemi are all top-flight performers. Rolling Meadows coach Bill Christiansen has had reliable scoring from Dan Vockeroth, Pat LeBuhn and Damien Fitzsimons, and thanks to quality goalkeeping from Dan Schmitz, the Mustangs have shown a knack for winning close games. The Saxons have risen to No. 25 in the illpolo.com while Meadows has received votes but did not crack the most recent top 25.

- Aaron Gabriel