Girls water polo: Lindgren helps Hersey dump Palatine to advance to sectional title game
Hersey senior Annie Lindgren had a number of reasons to be motivated for Friday's girls water polo sectional semifinal showdown against Palatine.
After missing a chance last season to make a run for a state title because of the coronavirus pandemic, Lindgren wanted to atone for not winning a sectional title in her freshman and sophomore seasons.
Those losses, particularly to Conant in the postseason during her freshman season, remain painful for the uber-talented Lindgren.
But the defeats pale in comparison to the loss of her father Rob Lindgren, the first girls varsity water polo coach at Hersey. Rob Lindgren passed away on July 15, 2018 from pancreatic cancer.
Her father taught Annie and her older sister Kate, a 2018 graduate, how to play the sport.
"Before the game, I was really pumped to play Palatine for the first time and I didn't know what to expect," Lindgren said. "It just gives me a better feel how to play for unexpected teams."
Now one of the top players in the Mid-Suburban League, Lindgren set her sights on winning the program's first sectional title.
Maybe that's why she was a driving force in Friday's 16-4 victory over Palatine.
The Huskies (16-1) rode a strong 5-goal and 5-assist performance from Lindgren to advance to Saturday's 11 a.m. sectional title game against Conant, which beat Fremd 5-4 Friday night.
Anna Kreie added 4 goals for the Huskies.
Lindgren, who guided the Huskies to their first Mid-Suburban League title on May 12, put the game out of reach with 3 third-quarter goals in a short flurry to expand the lead to 13-3. Lindgren raised her season totals to 54 goals and 29 assists.
"After the first quarter, I knew we got it because we were looking for the person open and moving the ball around and getting kick-outs and everything was working well," Lindgren said. "I'm looking forward to Saturday. This is crazy. Hersey has never gone to state or won an MSL championship. This is something me and my sister wanted to do together, but it didn't happen, so this is great. We're really excited as a family that everything is working out good after such a hard year."
Leading 3-1 late in the first quarter, Lindgren scored 2 late second-quarter goals to spark a 6-1 run to seize a 9-2 lead at halftime.
Hersey junior goalie Alexa Knutson, who was the starting middle hitter on the volleyball team, is building on her reputation for excellence in the net. She allowed just 1 goal in the game-turning second quarter, stopping shots from several angles to help her team build momentum. Knutson finished with 20 saves in the victory. The Pirates (9-7) struggled finding any good looks against the Huskies.
"Late in games, it's easier to tell where people are going to shoot and where they will shoot from," Knutson said. "I focused on looking at the ball more and not thinking about other things."