Vernon Hills heats up in sectional play
It was hot on Wednesday, shockingly muggy.
So why in the world did Vernon Hills water polo player Ellie Silver wear a black-and-silver hoodie all day, before the Cougars battled visiting Libertyville in a sectional quarterfinal?
“Goose bumps,” she said. “I had them; we all had them. We were all feeling chilly.
“We were that excited about this game.”
Fourth-seeded Vernon Hills edged No. 5 Libertyville 10-8, bumping the Wildcats out of the postseason behind Anna Lebiedzinski’s 6 goals and Silver’s stifling defense.
Cougars coach Shona Moeller, also stricken with a head-to-toe case of golf ball-sized goose bumps, nearly jumped out of VH’s natatorium as the clock raced to 0:00. She pumped her fist emphatically on the way down, clapped hard twice and then high-fived anybody with a free hand.
“I got up there, didn’t I?” she said. “I’m thinking, 10 feet. I jumped at least 10 feet.
“Such an exciting win,” she added. “Such a big win.”
The Cougars (13-6) face Mundelein’s Mustangs (24-6-1) in a Vernon Hills sectional semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Friday. Mundelein defeated Buffalo Grove 9-4 in an earlier quarterfinal Wednesday.
Mundelein topped VH 16-7 last month.
VH took a 10-6 lead at 3:37 of the fourth quarter on Wednesday, after Lebiedzinski collected a lengthy pass from Dana Andrea, who had stolen a pass at the other end of the pool. Lebiedzinski whipped a slick backhanded shot past Wildcats goalkeeper Rosie O’Connor (8 saves), and the hosts appeared to be in control.
But Libertyville (12-11) tallied two goals in a 1:16 span.
Wildcats coach Chris Crawford, with his club down 10-8, called for a timeout with 27 ticks left.
It was time to get creative, time to try something …unusual.
Crawford called for “The Mosh Pit Play.”
All six of his field players congregated near VH keeper Gena Lopez (7 saves), as keeper O’Connor, holding the ball, bobbed and treaded water near mid-pool. Six Cougars also hung around near Lopez, hoping to either disrupt O’Connor’s entry pass or tap it toward a teammate.
Goalies get to use two hands to defend in water polo, while field players are allowed only one.
“Our team had eight hands up, waiting for that ball,” said Silver, who scored the Cougars’ first goal Wednesday. “We were also determined to keep them up, in case we had to block a shot.”
O’Connor, as instructed, chucked a high, hard pass toward the goal and a crowd of 13, hoping the ball would first find a Wildcat mitt.
“The plan then,” Crawford said, “was not to grab for the ball; we wanted somebody to get up and redirect the pass … get a quick goal.”
Slight chaos ensued, as O’Connor’s flick descended near a sea of swaying hands.
“The ball got batted around quite a bit down there, and one of our girls got a hand on it,” Crawford said.
But so did one of Lebiedzinski’s hands. The Cougars eventually secured possession and got pass-happy as time expired.
“Teamwork — this win was all about teamwork,” said Silver. “We’d prepared so well for this, been thinking about this game for weeks. And our practices this week … every single one of us was fired up for entire practices.”
Julie Ahlgrim, Sam Voelker and Molly Bruns each netted 2 goals for Libertyville. Bruns’ second goal, a pretty lob from mid-pool, cut VH’s lead to 7-5 in the second minute of the final quarter.
“How well our players played together … that was the strength of our team all season,” said Crawford, whose crew split its two regular-season games with VH. “Sure, out of the pool, they all had distinct personalities. But once they entered the pool, the thought of doing something as an individual never entered their minds.
“All they truly cared about,” he added, “was the team.”