Jacobson leads St. Charles N. by St. Charles E.
Playing against St. Charles East for the second time in six days, St. Charles North's Justin Jacobson knew things wouldn't be easy Thursday afternoon at the Norris Aquatic Center.
But Jacobson was more than ready for the challenge.
The senior captain helped ignite a third-quarter surge with 2 of his game-high 5 goals to lift the North Stars (8-3) to a 12-7 victory over the Saints (7-5) in boys water polo action.
As much as Jacobson's offense provided a spark, it was improved second-half defensive play that may have been the deciding factor as the North Stars outscored the Saints 6-3 over the final 14 minutes.
“We all made some mistakes on defense in the first half,” said Jacobson. “At halftime, Coach (Chris) Cloy said that we needed to step it up on defense. After he talked about it to us at halftime, our intensity just went way up.”
Back-to-back goals from Jacobson within a 1:28 span midway through the third quarter turned the North Stars' 6-4 halftime lead into a more comfortable 8-4 advantage. Kyle Passini's last-minute goal upped the margin to 9-4 heading into the final quarter.
“I challenged them at halftime to pick it up the intensity on the defensive end,” said Cloy. “It's something that we've been trying to work on throughout the season. It was good to see them shut them down in the third quarter.”
“Our passing kind of let us down (in the third period),” said Saints coach Sean Markovic. “Getting the ball into our hole set was a problem.”
To their credit, the Saints battled back as consecutive goals by Stephen Mason cut the deficit to 10-7 with 3:08 remaining.
A little more than a minute later, Mason hit the post with a breakaway attempt that would have narrowed the North Stars' lead to 2.
“I wasn't putting my shots away,” said Mason, who led the Saints with 4 goals. “I was a little disappointed with that but it happens.”
“We had our opportunities,” said Markovic. “We could have easily scored 15 goals but we kept shooting it either at the bar or right at the goalie. It's another thing we've got to work on in the second half of our season.
“North looked pretty good though. They're a top-25 team in the state for a reason, and we're hoping to get there.”
Bryan Passini, Joey Chokran and Josh Kerr each added 2 goals for the North Stars, who knocked off St. Charles East 10-4 in last Saturday's Hinsdale Central tournament.
“The kids played hard and they played well,” said Cloy. “I told the kids it's always harder to beat a team a second time. They were able to step up to the challenge and get the ‘W.'”
The North Stars return to action April 5 vs. Metea Valley.
“After Spring Break, the competition steps up and we've got four straight games against top-20 teams,” added Cloy.
Shaun Seuscheck added a pair of goals for the Saints, who take on Waubonsie Valley Tuesday.