Mundelein 7, Buffalo Grove 4

Everything is coming together at the right time for the Mundelein girls water polo team.

The Mustangs played well in all phases Friday and posted a 7-4 victory over Buffalo Grove at Vernon Hills in a sectional semifinal. Mundelein moves on to play Stevenson at 2 p.m. today in the sectional final.

"We've played exceptional defense all season, but I think right now our offense is peaking," coach Andrew Schneider said.

How good a night was it for Mundelein junior Alice Denny? Even when she wasn't at her best, the result was usually a goal.

A good example was her second penalty shot in the second quarter. Denny's shot sailed down the middle but just under the crossbar.

"I'm happy with the result," she said. "I felt it slip out of my hand, but it worked out."

Denny had 4 goals and drew eight ejections.

"She helped put our team in position to take over," Schneider said.

The ejections prevented Buffalo Grove from finding continuity.

"We got in foul trouble a little too early," Buffalo Grove coach Shayna Mortensen said. "I wish we had made a couple better decisions about when to foul."

Buffalo Grove displayed impressive shooting ability from the outside. Becky Schmidly and Jessie Schmidly each had 2 goals. The Bison's offense picked up in the third quarter when Steph Gates and Melissa Shandling were inserted.

"They can come off the bench and spark the offense," Mortensen said.

Buffalo Grove was as close as 5-4 midway through the fourth quarter, but Mundelein responded with goals from Ali Fedro and Kristen Aucutt.

"Kristin moved to open areas and set up a lot of those kickouts by placing passes," Schneider said.

Mortensen, in her first year as Buffalo Grove's coach, liked the way her team competed.

"It was nice to win (Thursday) and get to play this game," she said. "I think the girls improved and I hope they had fun."

For Mundelein, goalie Anne Murrow came through with another solid performance. Fedro excelled on defense.

"The reason they had to shoot from the outside was Fedro," Schneider said.

Stevenson has defeated Mundelein in the two previous meetings this season.

"We're hungry for this," Denny said. "We're looking forward to coming out really intense."

Stevenson 16, Lake Forest 3: Stevenson coach Jeff Wimer, who is in California attending his daughter's college graduation, must have been awfully excited when he heard the news.

Not only did Stevenson win easily in the sectional semifinals against Lake Forest, but eight different players scored goals.

"We had some great unselfish play," assistant coach Brian Woodward said.

Rachel Cliburn and Melanie Sulkin led the way with 4 and 3 goals, respectively. Amy Michelau, Katherine Moy and Liesl Schuebel each tallied twice.

"We don't have to rely on any one player to score," assistant coach Abbie Lueken said.