Girls water polo: Mundelein edges Libertyville
Libertyville's girls water polo team was on somewhat of a hot streak, winning eight of its first 10 games this season.
But Mundelein awaited Thursday night, and the Mustangs got the shot in the arm they supposedly needed.
"It wasn't the start to the season we hoped for but tonight was one of our most complete games of the season," said Mundelein coach Mike Vukovics, whose girls posted a 9-6 North Suburban Conference win over the Wildcats in Mundelein.
Mundelein improved to 6-6 overall while Libertyville fell to 8-3. They are both one game behind Stevenson in the NSC race with only a couple of conference games to go.
"We have these spurts where we have really good play," said Vukovics. "We had a couple of times where we let our guard down. Tonight showed us we have to play hard all the time. Tonight we were clicking, especially in the second half."
As for the auspicious, let's say, start to the game for Mundelein, Libertyville jumped out to a fast 2-0 lead on a pair of goals by Cate McCarty, who finished with 4 on the night.
"One of our strengths is scoring quickly right off the bat," said Cats coach Tracy Balla. "Our girls kept their hearts in it. I just think we got a little tired. Plus Mundelein has a great counterattack."
Mundelein got more active midway through the first and drew even 2-2 after goals by Ella Krauss and Jennifer Lopez.
Libertyville regained the lead 3-2 late in the first on a goal by Anna Heard.
But Mundelein played a great second, outscoring Libertyville to take a 5-3 lead into halftime.
Krauss added 2 more goals and Cayce Parker scored on a penalty shot.
Meanwhile keeper Hannah Stanley was all over the place, stopping 4 Libertyville shots in the period.
"They (Libertyville) came out strong but once we scored a couple of goals, we got things going," said Stanley, who stopped 12 shots on the night.
"Winning tonight is great for our momentum. We had a bumpy beginning to the season but this is a nice little reward for the hard work we put in. We were ready to compete tonight."
As expected, no lead is safe whenever these two get together.
Libertyville put together one of its best quarters in shutting out the Mustangs 2-0 in the third and drew even 5-5 heading to the final 7 minutes.
Off a steal by Anna Heard, McCarty popped the first of her two scores in the period.
Like Stanley, Libertyville goalie Katie DeAcetis was all over the place herself, to the tune of 4 saves in the third. She finished with 13 on the night.
But Mundelein regained its composure and fire, if you will, for what turned out to be the decisive fourth period.
The Mustangs and Stanley outscored Libertyville 4-1 in the frame. Jennifer Lopez's goal broke the tie and gave Mundelein the lead for good 6-5 at the 2:24 mark. Adry Kasemets' goal made it a two-score game.
But Heard kept Libertyville within shouting distance with her goal, making it 7-6.
A late flurry by Mundelein featured a goal by Angela Kordik to go along with Krauss's fourth.
Stanley was very active in goal and helped preserve the win with point-blank saves and mad scrambles around the net near the end of the contest.
"It felt good to get those goals in the fourth and create separation," noted Stanley. "We were on fire at the end."