Girls water polo: Balanced scoring lifts Schaumburg over Hoffman Estates
Having already posted a 14-8 win at Hoffman Estates' pool, Schaumburg girls water polo team wanted to make sure there was no letdown against the Hawks in the second meeting on Wednesday.
"There is a little extra pressure after the first win but I think it also motivated is to prove ourselves again and show that we are not going to be a team that walks in thinking we are going to beat someone," said Saxons junior Lynda Steen, a tri-captain along with senior Kailey Cordova and junior Veronica Campbell.
Schaumburg proved its first win was no fluke, this time taking a 13-4 decision in the Mid-Suburban West meet that saw five different Saxons put the ball in the net.
Freshman Madi Dohrn, who plays the hole set, powered home a career-high 5 goals while Cordova tossed home 4 goals from her defensive hole set to lead the winners (8-6, 4-2), who won their third-straight match.
"It's nice to see our team developing and Madi had an awesome game," said Cordova, the school's all-time leader for goals and assists (more than 130 for each). "She was in position every time and I was feeding her (3 of her 6 assists to Dohrn). Everyone on our team was talking and doing their part.
"I don't think anyone had a bad game. Everyone was spot on with their emotions and their heads were in the game."
Senior Olivia Bugajny struck for 2 nifty goals, one where she spun around her defender for a clear 10-foot shot at the net and another which she drilled perfectly to the far corner of the net from 25 feet.
Junior Molly Greenburg took a pass from Cordova and connected on a 12-footer while Campbell had the other goal for Schaumburg, also on an assist from Cordova.
"I think our team is doing really well now," Campbell said. "We were coming off a little bit of a tough week but we've really picked it up. We talked it over and we all worked as a team to get better and to get over our little slump."
"One of the things about this team is the girls are so close out of the water, too," said Saxons coach Beth Donatucci. "They worked so hard in the offseason and it is definitely showing. They really turn it on when they need to step up. It's a good group of girls and I couldn't be happier to coach them."
Abigail Fuscone led Hoffman (8-10, 2-4) with 3 goals while Waka Minobe and Frannie Davis (off a rebound) had one each.
"Abby Fuscone had a heck of a game," said Hoffman Estates coach Chris Fetterman. "She usually does. Defensively, Jenni Alvarez played the whole game and I thought she did a really good job, too."
Elena Arias also had an assist while Anna Zawistowski (3 saves) and Kathryn Chapek-Sefal (1) handled the goal.
"In most of our games with Schaumburg we have to make halftime adjustments," Fetterman added. "They were just really good with the ball today. They knew exactly what their game plan was, stuck to it, and took it to us.
"Every time we play them, we try to close the gap on them so if we play them a third time we'll be able to handle it a little better. Hats off to Schaumburg. They were the more aggressive team today."
Saxons senior goalkeeper Kayle Heumann, who made a couple of nifty one-handed quick-reflex stops on Hawks' attempts, finished with 7 saves, 3 assists and 1 steal. Teammates Campbell, Bugajny and Sarah Tudor also had assists.
"It was really just communicating and working together," Steen said. "We were trying to be flexible and understand that just because one play didn't go as we wanted, it didn't mean our offensive side was done."