Water polo: Stevenson girls, Naperville North boys win state titles in thrilling fashion

After winning the past two IHSA girls state water polo championships, undefeated No. 1-ranked Stevenson (36-0) was going for the three-peat Saturday evening against No. 5 Lyons in its home pool.

Trailing 4-2 after three quarters, the Patriots' dynasty was in jeopardy of a huge upset by the Lions. But they came through in the fourth quarter to pull out a 6-5 victory to raise the first-place trophy for the seventh time in school history.

It was the 15th top-three trophy for Stevenson since taking second place in 2005, and its seventh first-place trophy since 2015.

After losing to the Patriots 18-9 on March 15, Lyons (23-6-1) played a fantastic game. Junior Avery Watanabe lofted a shot into the left corner of the net for a 4-2 lead 20 seconds into the third quarter.

The second goal by Stevenson's Victoria Duncan from close range cut the lead to 4-3 with 6:25 left to play in the defensive struggle. Then Stevenson's Jillian Carlson scored on a rebound goal to deadlock the score at 4-4 with 4:52 remaining.

Stevenson junior Olivia Spieth missed a penalty shot with 4:13 to go, but she got her own rebound and scored to give the Patriots the lead for good at 5-4. Then Spieth scored her third goal off of a Lyons turnover for a 6-4 lead with 1:19 left.

"I think it was definitely a challenge for us. We came back strong and we definitely wanted it," said Spieth. "Honestly it was our defense that did it because offense wins games, but defense wins championships is what our coach (Jeff Wimer) always says."

The Lions kept their hopes alive when freshman Maddie Wieczorkiewicz scored on a rebound goal past goalie Elsa Kusevskis to cut the gap to 6-5 with 35 seconds to play. But the Pats were able to run out the clock to seal the win and set off a huge celebration by the home crowd.

"They had a great game plan. We played into their hands, and fortunately we were able to overcome it," said Wimer, who has 13 top-three trophies at Stevenson since 2008. "We're very resilient, many times they've been down in games and they've come back and both goalies (Lyons goalie Delaney Judkins) played outstanding."

Senior Maya Mladjan scored the first two goals for Lyons before teammate Isabella Recker's goal gave the Lions a 3-2 lead which they held at halftime.

"All I can say is we tried our best and the last time we played Stevenson we lost by like 10 goals," said Lyons coach Megan Jacobs, whose team beat York 14-11 in overtime in the semifinals. "We got all of our nerves out on Thursday (in the quarterfinals), and we're ecstatic to take second."

No. 2-ranked Naperville North (28-7-1) lost to Stevenson 9-7 in the semifinals before defeating York (22-6) 12-9 in the third-place game. Ava Podkasik scored 4 goals for the Huskies in the third-place game while teammate Payton Schrier had 3 goals. Emily Jensen had 4 goals for the Dukes while the Huskies got 4 assists and 2 goals from Molly Depies.

Boys championship

The IHSA boys state water polo championship was a game for the ages Saturday night at Stevenson as No. 2-ranked Naperville North trailed No. 1-ranked two-time defending state champion New Trier 6-2 at halftime.

But the Huskies (32-4) completely outplayed the Trevians (32-3) by shutting them out 5-0 in the second half to take home their first state championship in school history by a score of 7-6.

Naperville North's stunning comeback started innocently enough as a goal by Mason Hofmann 51 seconds into the third quarter cut the lead to 6-3. But then Hofmann scored again just 27 seconds later to pull within 6-4.

Senior Jack Reif, whose Mom (Kelly Reif) is Naperville North's head coach, cut the lead to 6-5 with 2:59 left in the third quarter before Hofmann's third goal from the point tied the game at 6-6 with 5:32 to play.

Then came what proved to be the game-winning goal as Caden Tsao scored from close range to the left of goalie Zach Asinski. Huskies goalie Caleb Uson was flawless in the second half.

"We've been in situations like this and we never gave up," said Hofmann, whose team took third in the state last year and now has five top-three trophies in school history. "We really just opened up the middle in the second half and it allowed our center (Reif) to drive in without a double team."

The Huskies took a 1-0 lead 1:14 into the contest on a goal by John Riordan (2 first half goals). But New Trier rolled off five unanswered goals for a 5-1 lead midway through the second period.

"To be able to shut them out in the second half was incredible. We just had a lock down plan on No. 11 (Hank Woodman), and if we could limit his chances we could win a state championship," said Kelly Reif, whose team was outshot 24-20 overall. "I feel very pleased to have the opportunity to be Mom and coach, and it is such a special bond I have with this team."

The Trevians did have a shot hit the crossbar with 1:14 to play, but the Huskies were able to run out the clock after a save by Uson with eight seconds to go.

"They made a good defensive adjustment, and we just sort of ran out of time in the second half," said New Trier coach David Rafferty-Flatter. "They have a lot of good players on that side of the pool, but I'm super proud of our guys."

York (28-7) won the third-place game 9-5 over Whitney Young after losing to New Trier 8-6 in the semifinals. The Huskies beat Whitney Young 17-10 in the semifinals. Tim Jensen had 4 goals and 2 assists for the Dukes in the third-place game.