Water polo: Naperville North sweeps pair of sectional finals from rival Central

With dreams of a third straight title on their minds, the Naperville North girls water polo team first had to prove they're the best team in their hometown. It certainly wasn't easy, but the Huskies pulled out a 5-3 win over Naperville Central Saturday morning to claim the Metea Valley sectional title and advance to the state quarterfinals.

Naperville North's boys team followed with a 12-5 defeat of Naperville Central as both Huskies programs are now off to state.

In the girls final, both teams were superb on defense in a scoreless first half, before North opened the scoring with the first of three goals from Kelsey Wessel 2 minutes into the third quarter. The Redhawks (24-9) drew even on a goal by Julianne Russo less than 2 minutes later, but North answered with 3 more goals before the quarter ended and led 4-2 heading to the final 7 minutes of play.

One of the Huskies' goals came from Sophie Raquel, who played goalie in the first half, while the team's leading scorer Wessel added 2 more tallies.

"Coming in we knew it was going to be a hard game because last time we played Central it was pretty close," said Wessell, a junior. "We knew if we played our defense and used the fundamentals that we have that it would work. Of course the first half showed both teams have awesome defense. I think the second half we just wanted it very badly and we had it in us. Getting that first goal in the second half really got us going. From there it was really good."

Redhawks coach Jeff Plackett, whose team reached a 20th straight sectional final after edging Metea Valley 5-3 on Friday night, couldn't recall ever seeing a scoreless first half until Saturday.

"I felt like we were way more prepared for today's game because of last night," he said, noting that Russo sealed the previous night's win with her 100th career goal. "We kind of felt like at the end there we had the right defensive game plan in place. We knew where the shots were going to come from and we did a nice job of limiting their opportunities."

Redhawks goalie Clare Shiffer was sharp in the nets but came up just short of guiding her team to state. "Clare Schiffer played a really, really good game," Plackett said. "She never really gets rattled ... it's just one of those games where the other team finds the back of the net more than you do."

"Central was awesome," North coach Andy McWherter said. "That first half nailbiter ... neither side could get anything going. We just didn't have any momentum on either side. Both teams played outstanding defense."

The Huskies will face Mother McAuley in the state quarterfinals after the Macs upset Lyons Township 13-11 on Saturday.

In the boys championship, the Huskies led 3-2 after one quarter and then just kept on attacking. Sophomore Jack Reif, who started on last year's state qualifying team as a freshman, tallied 5 goals in the 12-5 win and also assisted on a couple other scores.

"Since the last time we played them back in April our chemistry has improved a lot. The eye communication definitely helped," said Reif, whose mom Kelly is the team's head coach. "We watched a lot of film on Central and it paid off. We're a young team but with a strong future."

Reif, one of five sophomores starting for the 29-4 Huskies, scored the first goal of the match and then added a tally at the end of the first quarter as North took a 3-2 lead. Senior Adrian Lam scored the Huskies' second goal and then set up Reif's second score.

Lam was a reserve on last year's team and is now a major contributor. Lam and Brett Grady each tallied 3 goals on Saturday.

"In the beginning of the game, we had a really strong focus on bringing the intensity to the game," said Lam. "I've had a lot of fun throughout the season. I feel like I've improved a lot as a player ... last year I was mainly on the bench watching. This year it's so much fun to get to actually play and to be a part of a team that's so successful."

Kelly Reif, who played water polo at Indiana University, had no complaints with how her team played in the sectional finals.

"We really tried to capitalize on every opportunity that they gave us and shut down as many of their opportunities as we could," she said. "They're an outstanding team with a lot of seniors and good players. I'm really proud of the kids. We have a really young team, but they're really dedicated to learning and they're the hardest working group."

North has a tough road ahead with a state quarterfinals matchup with No. 1-ranked Stevenson next Friday at 8:15 p.m. at Stevenson.

For the Redhawks (24-7), it was the second straight year the season ended in the sectional finals against their rivals. Central's last sectional title came in 2019 when the program won state.

"We had some opportunities, we just didn't capitalize," said Central coach Bill Salentine, who will lose four starters to graduation before next spring. "We made some fundamental mistakes losing track of players, transitioning into defense, where guys were wide open."

Zach Gabel and James Behrend each scored 2 goals for the Redhawks, who had reached the sectional finals by beating Waubonsie Valley 10-8 on Friday.