Girls water polo: Naperville Central beats Naperville North, goes back to state

The Naperville Central girls water polo team expected a tough game at Saturday's Metea Valley sectional final and that's exactly what they got.

The top-seeded Redhawks beat second-seeded Naperville North 8-6 to advance to the state quarterfinals for the second straight year, but the Huskies were right on their heels until the very end.

"We knew it was going to be a fight from the beginning. It was not going to be an easy game," said junior Emily Westlove, who led Naperville Central with 4 goals. "It's hard to wrap my head around this (going to state) right now. But it's so awesome."

Westlove said that team cohesiveness is a big trait for the Redhawks on this trip to state.

"We are a lot closer. We're best friends. The chemistry is clicking," she said.

The Redhawks (29-4) next face Lincoln-Way North at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire in state quarterfinal play. Lincoln-Way North advanced by winning its own sectional Saturday over Lincoln-Way East, 16-9.

The Metea Valley sectional final was a quiet match until Westlove scored her first goal of the afternoon with 3:42 remaining in the opening quarter. She struck again just 31 seconds later.

Teammate Alli Hansen hit net with just 23 seconds left and Naperville Central led 3-0 after the first seven minutes. Jennifer Oliver made it 4-0 with 4:30 until halftime. But less than a minute later, Katie Horn scored the first of her five goals. Westlove made it a 5-1 Naperville Central advantage after two quarters with a tally with 1:27 remaining.

Hansen scored for the Redhawks and Horn for the Huskies (18-14) in the third quarter, and that's when things got really interesting.

Horn opened the scoring 40 seconds into the final period and the Redhawks' Kaela Codo responded 20 seconds later to make it 7-3.

The scoring was silent for just more than three minutes until Isabelle Rocco took a pass from Olivia Eiken with 2:43 remaining in the contest. Just 30 seconds later, Horn scored and Naperville North was to within 7-5.

With just 40 seconds left, Westlove scored her final goal and 18 seconds later, Horn tallied her final score and that would be the final margin.

"We started fast and it was important to not get in a hole and don't panic. I told them they needed to play four seven-minute games. This was not over until the end," said Naperville Central coach Jeff Plackett.

He praised Westlove for her efforts, but also that of goalie Faith Vandercar along with Hanson, who made a crucial save with 1:45 remaining in the contest that stopped a Naperville North attack with the momentum in the Huskies' favor. Plackett also was impressed with Charlotte Albright, who successfully defended against Huskies attackers bigger than she was.

"We needed one more quarter. If a couple of attacks late on goal go our way, we tie the game," said Naperville North coach Andy McWhirter. "We won the second half."

McWhirter praised the efforts of Caitlin Holzer and Horn.

"They were two outstanding seniors that were crucial to us being in the top 10, top five this year. They have been big for us the past four years," he said.

Naperville North will also several key players returning for the 2017 season, including starting goalie Tina McBride, a junior, who finished with 6 saves, and Eiken, also a junior, along with sophomore Ali Horn and freshman Taylor Wessel.