Boys water polo: Scouting the Mid-Suburban League championship game
Boys water polo: Scouting the Mid-Suburban League championship game
Who: Wheeling (19-9) vs. Fremd (19-5)
Where: Buffalo Grove High School
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Why at Buffalo Grove? It's the MSL East's year to host - but league rules stipulate that the championship matchup be played in a pool with all deep water, which Wheeling's home pool does not have. The Wildcats preferred to have the game at a neutral site, rather than at Fremd's pool, and Buffalo Grove's relatively new facility fit the bill.
Key players: Wheeling's Nate Reiff, Jake Noel and Kyle Noel and goalie Nik Busniski; Fremd's Robert De Pau, Alex Nicholas and Dylan Assmann and goalie Zak Keper.
Recent history: The teams met in the first week of the season, with Fremd winning 21-8 in tournament play at Stevenson.
Not-so-recent history: This is Wheeling's second straight appearance in the MSL title game under coach Rudy Means. The Wildcats lost 17-11 at Barrington last year. It's Fremd's first appearance in the championship since 2012, when in Brian Newby's first year leading the boys program the Vikes defeated Buffalo Grove 16-3.
Scouting report: Wheeling's Nate Reiff is both a terrific scorer and a disruptive defender. Offensively, any time he's got the ball and some room to work with, it's a scoring chance. The Wildcats will run Jake Noel into the 2-meter and look for scoring opportunities there, or from drivers such as Reiff, Kyle Noel and Jorge Figueroa. Fremd's adopted a press defense that has been especially effective in the latter part of the season. The Vikes will hope to generate extra possessions from it and are comfortable rotating players into the hole. De Pau, Nicholas and Assmann typically lead the scoring effort, but Fremd runs an offense of opportunity, shares the ball well and has a deep and skilled roster capable of making teams pay for too much double-teaming.
Looking ahead: Fremd is the No. 1 seed in the sectional it will host next week, while Wheeling is the No. 3 seed in the Buffalo Grove sectional behind Stevenson and Mundelein.
- Aaron Gabriel