Boys water polo: Prospect pulls away from improved Schaumburg
The Schaumburg boys water polo team has come a long way since posting a 2-16 record last season.
But the Saxons were not quite ready for the firepower that they were going to face against host Prospect Thursday night in a Mid-Suburban League crossover game.
Schaumburg (10-4-1) was able to keep the game close, only trailing 4-2 at halftime. But the Knights (6-6) exploded for five goals in the third quarter en route to a convincing 11-4 MSL victory.
Senior Matthew Anstadt got Prospect's offense going less than a minute into the contest as he scored on an assist by Wally Kemp for a quick 1-0 lead.
Then Anstadt fired a penalty shot past Schaumburg goalie James Bredfield from five meters out. Anstadt scored his third straight goal on a backhanded shot from close range to complete the natural hat trick and stake his squad to a 3-0 lead after one quarter.
"We started off slow offensively, we had our opportunities, but we're still super young with only four seniors on the roster," said Schaumburg coach Tyler Clark, whose team trailed 9-3 after three quarters. "We had a total buy-in to the program, we knocked off some good teams this year, and we're going to keep getting better."
Schaumburg got on the scoreboard when Dennis Bobiv's shot got past Prospect goalie Dylan Mace and into the right corner of the net to cut the lead to 3-1 with 2:07 left in the second quarter.
Prospect's Kaden Martschenko got that goal back for a 4-1 lead. But the Saxons got a goal from Octavio Zemaitaitis assisted by Efe Ganioglu with just 1.15 seconds left in the first half.
The Knights really turned up the heat in the second half as a goal from the point by Mason Zimmer, and the first of four goals by senior Nick Beck boosted the lead to 6-2.
Schaumburg stayed within striking distance on a goal by Tim Dombrowski. But goals by Beck, Zimmer, and Beck from close range put the Saxons in a big 9-3 deficit.
"Let me give huge props to Schaumburg for how far they've come in one year, we're learning how to win, and slowly but surely it's been working," said Prospect coach Brian Esposito. "Nick (Beck) has been instrumental in our success this season, his growth this year has been spectacular, and by his play he leads by example."
A goal by Ganioglu made the score 9-4 with 6:42 to play before goals by Martschenko (on a penalty shot), and Beck just inside the right post accounted for the final score with 2:57 remaining.
"It was a good offensive game, and we came out to a hot start in the first quarter," said Beck. "Our goalie (Mace) is the best goalie I've played with, and it was a great defensive game."