Boys water polo: Busy York piling up goals, wins
The York boys water polo team earned two victories in about 16 hours as the Dukes continue to build momentum toward the postseason.
York (19-7) came home Friday night from Barrington an 8-6 victor and then dispatched visiting Glenbrook North 18-7 in a nonconference game on Saturday morning.
"We're starting to figure things out at the right time. I've been very happy with the last few games," said Dukes coach Brian Drumm. "We've had to make some adjustments, but they are panning out and our bench players have gotten experience over the course of the season."
Two goals from Jay Jensen and one each from Carson Hicks and Jacob Dunlap gave York a 4-2 lead after the first quarter.
Then the Dukes' offense went into high gear, scoring 10 unanswered goals in the second period to lead 14-2 at halftime.
York got three goals from Liam Enright, two each from Hicks, Dunlap and Jensen and one from Will Yasdick during that span.
Jensen led the Dukes overall for the match with four goals. Hicks, Dunlap and Enright each racked up three apiece.
The Spartans (12-10), from the Central Suburban League North, tallied two goals in the third quarter with York leading 17-4 at its conclusion.
Nick Ward, Josh Allen with Michael McKenna finished the scoring for the Dukes in the second half, tallying two goals each in the third.
Jensen said that Barrington and Glenbrook North presented different challenges to deal with in the pool.
"Barrington was more aggressive on the counterattack. There were some ejections and we had to focus more on guarding their best players and couldn't counterattack as much," he said.
Senior Robby Lothian was the winning goalie Saturday. He made six saves.
Like for the rest of the area teams, the regular season is winding down for the Dukes. After a trip Tuesday to Palatine, the West Suburban Conference tournament runs Friday and Saturday. York has a first-round bye and will play the winner of Oak Park-River Forest and Lyons Township in the next round.
After that it's the Fenwick sectional, where the Dukes are seeded second behind the Friars. Oak Park-River Forest is the third seed.
York has prevailed in close matches and fell short in some. The remainder of the season might allow the Dukes a second chance at some squads.
"We've had a lot of close games with some good teams," Jensen said.