Girls water polo: Hersey has a fine time at its own Shindig

The Hersey girls water polo team hosted its own shindig and kept all the presents.

The Huskies won the Hersey Shindig tournament with a perfect 4-0 mark - wins coming against Hoffman Estates, Morton, St. Charles North and Buffalo Grove. Hersey also went 2-1 at its own first Women's Empowerment tournament, beating Prospect and Libertyville and losing to St. Ignatius.

Hersey (12-3 overall with key wins over Conant and St. Charles North) also was off to a 4-0 start in Mid-Suburban East action.

All-state goalie Alexa Knutson has been playing the field of late for coach Megan Brownley and already has 44 goals and 44 steals to go with a shooting percentage of 59. She has given up 3 goals and has 40 saves between the pipes.

Junior Annika Lindberg has been key as well with 20 goals, 16 steals and a 44 shooting percentage. Grace Steinberg has 35 steals.

"They work really well together on defense and talk a lot about things such as switches," Brownley said. "I am impressed with their work ethic in practice and their focus. They have big goals they want to achieve and they are putting in the work."

Prospect update:

Also having the hot hand early-on is Prospect (8-5 overall), which also was 4-0 in MSL East play to start the week. The Knights scored a recent big win over Conant (16-12) in MSL crossover play.

Coach Meg Dix has been pleased with the efforts of Nora Wagner and Jackie Royal of late. "Nora and Jackie lead the team on offense," she said. "It's been fun to watch them play at a higher level and compete throughout the entire game. They are fighters and do not give up."

Dix pointed out the Prospect varsity roster is small this season. "Most of our field players won't get a break the entire game, yet none of them complain," she said. "They are all fiercely competitive and want to win as a team."

Conant update:

The Cougars won the Glenbrook South tournament with a 3-0 mark and stood at 11-4 overall and 2-0 in MSL West play to start the week. Conant also won its own tournament.

Coach Justin Bickus lauded the play of Jackie Windbiel, for her play in a win against Barrington, as well as efforts in all Glenbrook South tournament games. She was the team's leading scorer last week. Kayla Wong leads the team in scoring with 41 goals in 15 games, though Bickus noted scoring has been evenly distributed.

Where Bickus feels the team is really tearing it up is on the defensive end thanks to the efforts of Grace Wong, Ananya Deepak and Danielle Akinosho, as well as goalie Rylee McGee. "Rylee has been playing absolutely incredible," Bickus said. "She continues to improve and add to her toolbelt. She is the backbone of our defense and does a great job running counters, and has a tremendous arm."

Fremd update:

The Fremd girls water polo team has been on a roll of late, riding a recent three-game winning streak (victories over Palatine, Maine South and Homewood-Flossmoor). Fremd was 8-5 overall and 2-0 in the Mid-Suburban West (4-0 overall against MSL teams).

"We are a very balanced team so any girl can step up if given the opportunity," Fremd coach Ray Roth said. "I have been very pleased with the consistent defense the team has been playing all season."

Wheeling update:

The Wildcats bumped up to 4-3 overall (1-1 MSL East) after a pair of wins against Elk Grove and Highland Park. The Elk Grove game was played without any substitutes due to illness and injury. "That was an exciting game for sure," Wheeling coach Daniel Bell said.

Returning all-conference senior goalie Dasha Tsialhena has a save percentage above 62 through those first seven games and has also scored 2 goals. Senior attacker Clare Prilutsky has 22 goals, 31 steals and 6 drawn penalty shots. "Clare is an aggressive, offensive-minded defender who is really doing well this year," said Bell, whose team has 10 players (4 new to polo).

Rolling Meadows update:

The Mustangs recorded a recent 14-3 win over Chicago Resurrection. Playing well of late for coach Kaitlyn Tomasetti are Rachel Malik and Anne Kiaupa. "Rachel has stood out for her defensive ability and leadership," Tomasetti said. "Rachel and Anne have been doing great. Anne is our goalie who has been doing a terrific job blocking shots and getting our girls to communicate more with each other. Rachel is our starting set, but she has the ability to be anywhere in the pool making shots and defending."

Schaumburg update:

Coach Becky Wutz was impressed with her team's improvement in a recent 12-11 loss to Riverside-Brookfield. R-B scored the game-winner with 3 seconds left in regulation.

Wutz lauded the recent efforts of Danielle Alley, Lea Steen, Kate McKinley, Arianna Olivares and Natalia Jasinska. "Our seniors have led us this season becoming very close as teammates, which is transferring into team play and communication in the water," she said.

Elk Grove update:

The Grens split a pair of recent games with Buffalo Grove (lost 9-8) and Warren (13-1 win).

"The win against Warren was good for us," Elk Grove coach Jason Spjuth said. "We had a great defensive performance that showed our girls their real potential."

Rubi Rubio had 8 goals in the Warren win, while senior Michelle Cobirzan had 2 goals and 11 steals.

Senior Grace Schiller tallied 15 goals in a recent four-game stretch after being sidelined on and off at the start of the season.

Hoffman Estates update:

Hawks goalie Alexia Bostic has been a bright spot in the early part of the season. "Alexia has been stepping up in her role as a goalie," Hoffman coach Tegan Boland said. "She has shown so much growth over this past season and continues to shine in the net. During a recent tournament, she had an amazing game where she seemed unstoppable in goal."

Sophomores Helena Ferreira and Patricia Nowik also have impressed, Boland added.

Barrington update:

The Fillies placed fourth at the recent Deerfield tournament with a 2-2 record. There, Barrington beat Glenbrook North and Deerfield, "both very good teams and excitingly close battles," coach Mark Markwell noted.

In a recent game against Elk Grove, Regan Albertson broke the school record for most goals in a game with 11. Eva Kurup, the team-leader in assists and in every defensive category, also has been stellar, Markwell added.

Buffalo Grove update:

In a recent game against Metea Valley, Maja Pluta stepped up as Buffalo Grove's leading scorer, recording four of the team's five goals. "Maja and Olivia Bochnak are doing a great job on both sides of the ball," Bison coach Michael McPartlin said.

Kayla Dumlao has excelled in her role as the team's 2-meter defender. "Kayla is stepping up big," McPartlin said.

Leyden update:

Highlights for the Eagles in their first two games so far, include Isabella Cano scoring 3 goals in the season-opener, while Lujan Regalado added a goal in the first game as well. "Both girls are stepping it up and being the leaders of the team," Leyden coach Natalie Bialecki said.

Maine East update:

The Blue Demons were off to a 7-2-2 start, that included a second-place finish at its own invite recently. East is also 3-1 in Central Suburban South action. The Blue Demons also defeated Mundelein 14-9 in double overtime.

Over last weekend, junior goalie Karina Golovinska had 20 saves against Buffalo Grove, 17 against Palatine and 14 against Metea Valley, while sophomore Maya Elsayed had 7 steals against Deerfield. Senior Jessica Domian, a three-sport athlete (swimming, wrestling), leads the team in goals, while Anna Shelkova leads the way in assists.