Younger Giuliani claims family bragging rights
Naperville Central senior reserve Sarah Giuliani had scoring on her mind almost as much as winning Tuesday's girls water polo match against York.
Mark Giuliani, Sarah's older brother, is in his second season as York's coach, and this was the first time the siblings were facing each other.
"Last year we tried to work it out, and we were really lucky to have it happen this year," Sarah Giuliani said. "Easter Sunday was fun with all of our cousins talking about the competition coming up."
The younger Giuliani and the Redhawks earned the bragging rights with a 12-4 victory in Naperville.
Seniors Michelle Spaits and Jessica Fox and sophomore Kaela Codo each scored three goals for the Redhawks (16-3) with Codo also collecting 4 assists and 5 steals.
Senior Perri Brinkmeier had 2 goals and an assist for York (10-12).
And Sarah Giuliani scored her goal. It came with 2:15 left in the second period to open an 8-0 lead after she assisted Spaits on the Redhawks' fifth goal.
"I'm happy. I got to rub it in his face a little bit with that win and that goal," Sarah Giuliani said. "I wanted to beat my brother so to beat him by that much was nice, a little bit of salt in the wound I'll be able to rub for many years to come."
Giuliani's coveted goal didn't come easily. When Naperville Central was awarded a 5-meter penalty shot 2:35 before halftime, coach Jeff Plackett called a timeout specifically so he could substitute Giuliani to take the shot.
York goalie Maddie Kliebhan thwarted the chance. Giuliani, however, scored in regular play less than 30 seconds later.
"(Mark) kind of looked at me and chuckled," Plackett said. "I'm excited for (Sarah) and I'm sure (Mark) and their parents had this game circled all season. I was excited for her to have that opportunity to score."
The match also was a homecoming for Mark Giuliani. He graduated from Naperville Central in 2008 and played for the boys water polo team. Lizzy, another younger sister, also played girls water polo before graduating in 2010.
"He was a much, much better water polo player than I will ever be. One day, maybe I'll be just like him," Sarah Giuliani said.
"I wanted to play them, but it's not just because (Sarah) was on the team," Mark Giuliani said. "It was being an alumni and I want to be out here as much as possible. It's a great organization. It's fun being able to show the girls on my team something that we're working for, a team that's very cohesive and works well together."
The Redhawks remain among the state's best even after having just four returning starters from last year's state quarterfinalist and four varsity seniors - 2013 all-staters and co-captains Kristina Altuve and Spaits, plus Fox and Giuliani.
Plackett said he's continued to train his players hard and his varsity newcomers still are adjusting to attending every morning practice. The plan is to continue correcting form and "to feel good in the middle of May."
The Redhawks only have lost to Naperville North twice by a combined three goals and 10-6 Saturday to Zeeland (Mich.) in Saturday's final of the Jenison (Mich.) Invitational.
"Right now, we're at a pretty good place. We definitely have a lot of strong younger girls," Altuve said. "At the beginning we were kind of learning to play together, but with our team chemistry, that really wasn't hard to do. We've progressed a lot from where we've started."
Whatever happens this postseason, Sarah Giuliani has at least one great game memory for her final season.
"Mark's a really good-natured guy so I can imagine 20 years from now, they'll be sitting around the Thanksgiving table and she'll be reminding him of that goal," Plackett said. "I can't say enough about the Giuliani family and what they've meant to the program."