Girls water polo: Naperville North beats Naperville Central again

The Naperville North girls water polo team did it again - to its rival, Naperville Central.

For the second time this season the Huskies defeated the Redhawks in a matchup of two teams with state title aspirations.

The Huskies broke open a close game by scoring 3 late goals to pull out an 8-5 win at Naperville Central.

Naperville North's Taylor Wessel, an Indiana recruit, ignited the comeback with 4 third-quarter goals while adding another netter in the fourth to knock off Naperville Central (8-2).

Wessel, the only senior on the team and also a captain, took advantage of the Redhawks allowing 11 third-quarter shots.

The Redhawks were playing solid and primed to pull off an upset, but Wessel's third-quarter output, which came with two Redhawks players on the bench, was the difference in the outcome.

"Wessel's 4 goals were all quality goals off kickouts," Naperville Central coach Jeff Plackett said. "We were in a position where we were down a man, so it's hard to defend that. But at the same time, we have to fix that we gave us too many shots in the third quarter, even for the best goalies to face."

The Huskies, who finished third in state last season and knocked out Naperville Central in a sectional final, also received two goals from Anna Tarantino, who was last season's leading goal scorer, and a second-quarter goal from Sarah Crossett.

Naperville Central was led by Emily Wagner's pair of goals. Sophia Blueher, Emma Guccione and Grace Lueken also scored. Goalie Maria Gabrielli finished with 11 saves.

"Grace's goal was a good confidence booster for her, and it gave us little bit of momentum," Plackett said. "That was a good point of the game for us. It was nice to see Grace take the opportunity."