Boys water polo: Elk Grove topples Schaumburg for first win
Water polo goalies need more than good reflexes and superb anticipation skills to succeed in the grueling sport.
Just ask Elk Grove junior keeper Alex Thanopoulos, who, like his counterparts, has had to absorb stinging shots to the face.
"You can't be afraid of the ball," the Grenadier said after Friday afternoon's Mid-Suburban League crossover game at Schaumburg.
"My father (George) told me, 'The ball won't bite you.' "
Elk Grove tasted victory for the first time in 8 games this spring, topping the Saxons 10-5 behind Thanopoulos' 13 saves - including 1 on a 5-meter penalty shot - and sophomore point Daniel Bochenek's career-high 5 goals.
The same Daniel Bochenek scored a total of 1 goal in 2021. And it came in the last game.
"Lucky goal," Bochenek, a freestyler and butterflyer in the winter swimming season, recalled. "I focused on my swimming before the start of this season. It's been a nice change, being able to score more than I did as a freshman."
Junior Sam Sacha added 3 goals for the Grens (1-7), and juniors Aiden Chan and Phil Moskal scored 1 apiece.
Elk Grove led 6-1 at halftime and 9-2 after three periods.
"Ballhandling, in general," Elk Grove coach Mike Nauert said of what impressed him the most about his crew's effort Friday. "We had seemed to be lacking in that area before today.
"I also liked our 'D', our constant pressure. Each guy kept his hand up. Defense is something we stress."
Thanopoulos took care of that last line of defense rather swimmingly in Schaumburg's water. The fearless one - sporting cap No. 1 - keeps it simple by treating each foe equally.
"Every team we play, in my mind, is an amazing one, the best one I'll face all season," the goalie explained. "That's what goes through my mind before, and during, each game. What also helped me today was figuring out the tendencies of their shooters."
Schaumburg's freshman-laden squad was paced by junior Tim Dombrowski's 3 goals, 2 of them coming via 5-meter chucks in the fourth quarter. A whopping 9 freshmen made coach Tyler Clark's varsity.
Rookies Owen Vanecko and Octavio Zemaitaitis struck for the Saxons' other goals. An alert Zemaitaitis scored off a rebound.
Determined Schaumburg (1-5) recorded 3 of its 5 goals in the second half of the final frame.
"We're young, really, really young," Clark noted, adding his juniors, because of a truncated season last spring and no season in 2020, had battled in only 8 games before this year. "I've been explaining the sport, a lot, to our guys. But, after struggling in our first few games, we've been cleaning things up. Our defense looked better today.
"We're gaining more confidence each game."
Clark gladly added Dombrowski to his program after the baseball team cut the junior.
"He's a strong, physical player," Clark said. "And he's only going to get better. He's a leader who has stepped up tremendously for us. Tim is enjoying water polo. This is his sport now, his niche."