Rodriguez, Buffalo Grove oust Conant
Putting together a game plan against Buffalo Grove isn't easy.
The Bison, seeded No. 4 in the Barrington boys water polo sectional, have made a habit of getting at least one big scoring performance from somebody in their lineup this season, a trait that helped them win the Mid-Suburban East title.
The problem for their foes is it always seems to be someone different leading the way.
Seniors Glen Bernard and Dan Striev have been reliable, along with junior Matt O'Rourke. But against No. 5 seed Conant on Wednesday, sophomore Ian Rodriguez carried the load.
Rodriguez scored 7 goals and used his swimming ability to help the Bison maintain possession and protect their lead in the fourth quarter. Conant stayed close most of the way but couldn't quite keep pace in the game's latter stages as BG won 18-13.
BG (19-11) meets Palatine (21-10) at 4:30 p.m. Friday in a rematch of last week's Mid-Suburban League title game.
"I thought we basically accomplished everything we hoped to," said BG coach Scott Kopecky. "I was concerned we might bunch up in the middle a little bit, but we were able to stay spread out, to keep moving. O'Rourke had some great steals, and (senior Victor) Sanyn did a great job in the d-hole - I think that was the key for us.
"Someone's going to score for us - today it was Rodriguez."
Striev finished with 3 goals, and Bernard, O'Rourke and Karl Bouboulex had 2 apiece for the Bison.
Conant (13-16) was led by 5 goals from senior Ryan Chiero. Jerry Flowers, Zack Sikat and Alan Wojciechowski had 2 apiece.
"We've had a little bit of an up-and-down season," said Conant coach Tim Daniel. "We've got talent, and I think the team is progressing, but we just don't quite have the maturity yet. That will come. We need to look at this as a step in the process."
Key to the finish was the start of the fourth quarter, when Rodriguez won the swim-off for the ball and immediately created a scoring chance for himself. That opportunity didn't produce a goal, but a subsequent fastbreak by Rodriguez led to a shot that caromed off the top of the goal and right to O'Rourke, who easily scored. Rodriguez's last goal with 4:14 left put BG up 17-11 and all but assured the Bison of another chance to face Palatine.
"I feel we didn't give them our best game last time," Kopecky said of facing the MSL West champs again. "If we do that this time, I think we'll have a chance to win."
Palatine 23, Hoffman Estates 4: Brad Ferris scored 9 goals and Kamil Mulawa and Dylan Weissmann had 3 apiece as the top-seeded Pirates ousted the Hawks (5-24) and earned a spot in Friday's 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal game against BG. Mike Christen had 3 goals for Hoffman Estates.
McHenry 13, Barrington 5: The No. 3-seeded Warriors eliminated the hosts and will meet Schaumburg in Friday's 5:45 p.m. semifinal game.
Schaumburg 14, Fremd 7: The second-seeded Saxons (21-8) rolled by the Vikings (6-14).
Glenbrook South sectionalGlenbrook South 16, St. Viator 13: Zach Demertizis and JJ Connor had 4 goals apiece for the Titans, who overcame an 8-goal effort from senior Eric Primdahl to stop fifth-seeded St. Viator.Glenbrook North 9, Prospect 4: The Knights (13-11) saw their season come to an end against the second-seeded Spartans (20-6).Vernon Hills sectionalWheeling 10, Highland Park 9: Tim McDaniel had 5 goals and Wildcats goalie Ethan Rosengarden made a key save with just 1.8 seconds left to help the fourth-seeded Wildcats (13-7) earn a semifinal date against Mundelein (20-2), which beat Vernon Hills 20-2.Stevenson 23, Hersey 3: The third-seeded Patriots ended Hersey's season and will face No. 2 Lake Forest, an 11-5 winner against Libertyville in a 5:45 p.m. Friday semifinal.