Naperville Central strikes fast - and often

Naperville Central hit the Red Devils early and often and breezed Monday night to a 10th straight victory this spring in water polo.

But Hinsdale Central (3-5) may have been surprised by just how the Redhawks pulled off the 15-1 triumph in Naperville. Star goalie Sam Virella got the night off for unbeaten Naperville Central and big-time attackers Claire Wirtz and Claire Fleming combined for a modest three tallies.

What powered the hosts to the win were three quick strikes by senior Tori Davis, solid play in goal by Julia Campbell, and an overall stellar defensive effort led by Lauren Spaits. By coach Jeff Plackett's count, the Redhawks averaged better than 6 steals a quarter while coming away with 25 takeaways.

"We asked Julia to come on up to get her a bit of experience," Plackett said of Campbell, who made 11 saves and also had 3 steals. "But I told the girls, let's try and keep it away from her as much as possible."

Less than two minutes into the match, Davis had 3 of her match-high 4 goals for the night, and from there the Red Devils just had no answer for the Redhawks' defense, as Spaits had 5 steals and a close-range blocked shot, and Rosalie Fidanze came off the bench to record 4 steals and add a goal of her own for good measure.

"Tori had a great first quarter but this is not something we're surprised by," Plackett said. "Fleming, (Abbey) Kerth and our goalies get a lot of attention, but Tori's a three-year starter and she's come up big for us."

Davis was quick to credit Kerth (3 goals, 5 assists) and Campbell for her strong start, but she was the one who finished strong when given the opportunity on Monday.

"We got off to a good start because everyone swam well together and Abbey passed it real well to us," said Davis. "Hinsdale Central is really fast and they kept with us on most of our counters, but we did get some good passes from Julia that allowed us to counter."

Twice the Red Devils hit a crossbar or post only to have Naperville strike quickly on the other end. Fleming's two scores in the third quarter followed Hinsdale near misses and made the score 14-1 entering the final quarter.

For Spaits, big stops on defense are more fun than scoring goals. "I thought we were pretty strong on defense and we were aggressive," she said. "We got quite a few steals and I actually prefer blocking a shot (to scoring). It feels good."

Red Devils coach Christopher Wilbur didn't feel too good about the score, but he did like his team's effort. Lexi Gross notched the team's lone goal in the first quarter, but also created her share of other opportunities, while Colleen Moran rifled a shot off the crossbar and Holly Moran just missed with her attempt that hit off the right post in the third.

"I feel like, despite the score, we played pretty well," Wilbur said. "They're definitely one of the stronger teams we've played. They're real solid all around."

Kelsey White made 8 saves in goal for the Red Devils, but trailed 10-1 at the half against last year's state runners-up.