Boys water polo: Mundelein takes defensive stance in third-place finish

Mundelein boys water polo coach Russ Gates isn't too worried about the offense.

It's the defense that the Mustangs are most prideful about here in the second week of the new season, and it showed on Saturday afternoon at Mundelein's invitational.

"We practice heavily on our defense, especially for those situations when it's close and late in the game," the coach said after his guys beat 10th-ranked Niles West 8-3 in the third-place contest. "Our offense will come. We're right there. We just need to spread it out a little more."

Defense usually starts with the keeper, and Mundelein has a pretty good one in senior Shane Stanley.

After a pair of goals by freshman Danny Oleinik and single scores by junior attackers Ryan Zentz and Matt Allore, the Mustangs clung to a 4-3 halftime lead.

But just like coach said, all of the work on defense paid off as Stanley and his teammates held Niles West scoreless in the second half.

Stanley stopped 12 Indians shots for the game, leaping and diving all over the place.

"I started playing age group and have learned it's a defensive game and you need to lock them down. A lot of it is reaction and good hand eye coordination," he said. "And my coaches do an excellent job of preparing me. We also have a lot of confidence and trust in each other on this team."

While Stanley was doing his thing in goal, don't let the offense fool you: these guys can and will score.

Oleinik added his third while junior Jake Garcia popped in two goals, and Zentz added his second in the second half as Mundelein put an exclamation point on the win.

The Mustangs, ranked 16th in the state, went 2-2 in the event while improving 4-5 overall.

In its other victory, Mundelein beat Hinsdale Central 10-6.

Senior attacker Eubin Kim (hat trick, steal), Garcia (2 goals, 5 assists, 4 steals), Oleinik (2 goals, 3 assists, 2 steals), Allore (goal, assist, steal) and senior attacker Jake Gonzalez (goal, 3 steals) led the charge.

Meanwhile, Libertyville fell to St. Patrick's 12-5 in the fifth-place game but still came away with many positives.

"We're building confidence with every game," said Libertyville coach Kara Bosman, who guys went 1-3 while evening its mark at 4-4 overall.

"We lost our four top scorers (to graduation) and only have three starters back: senior attackers Carl Michelotti, Ben Sutter, and keeper Jack Otto. So we're really focusing on the team aspect and we have a lot of guys stepping up and taking ownership."

In the St. Pat's game, the Cats fell behind 6-0 early in the second quarter, but Bosman was happy the way her team finished.

"It took us a little longer to adjust," she said. "But we finished with more fire at the end. We like these tough games at the beginning of the season. It shows what we need to work on."

The offense was balanced, with five different players scoring.

The Cats' best game came earlier in the day when they upended St. Charles North 6-5.

Michelotti scored with 2:45 left in the third to give Libertyville the lead for good, 5-4. Otto then launched a pass to a streaking Sutter for some insurance 32 seconds later.

The Cats' keeper was stellar in goal, stopping 14 shots.

"My dad and I play ping pong in the basement," he said. "It's good practice for keeping your reactions sharp. Overall, we moved the ball around well. I'm glad the way we played. We showed we can stay in there with the best."

Libertyville played Niles West tough earlier in the day before falling 7-6.

Otto had 9 saves, including a 5-meter. Michelotti scored the hat trick while Sutter added two and junior Rickie Rush added one.

"I think we surprised them (Niles West) a little," said Bosman. "We played a good, smart game."

St. Charles North went 0-3 in pool play before falling to Hinsdale Central 6-5 in two sudden death periods in the 7th place game.

"We've been playing well and have had some great defense," said St. Charles North coach Chris Cloy, whose team fell to 2-6-1 overall. "We just need to take advantage of the power play. We had opportunities. There were some fun games, though, to not only coach but watch."

In the Hinsdale Central game, Gavin Allamian scored twice while single goals were added by Jakob Moberly, Charlie Williams, and Owen Tykal.

Keeper Lukas Kalenowski stopped 10 shots.