42 | March 15, 2018 | The New Lenox Patriot Sports newlenoxpatriot.com Girls Water Polo Warriors put up a fight in close season opener RANDY WHALEN Freelance Reporter A pair of local girls water polo teams that are both expecting improvement squared off in an early season clash last week. In the end it was Lockport Township which emerged with a 14-10 victory over Lincoln-Way West in a SouthWest Suburban Conference meeting on March 6 in Lockport. It was the season opener for both teams. The Porters were 12-17 last year while West was 10-14. Both squads saw good things and both also saw things they need to improve on. “I’d have to say in the first half there were little things we had to figure out,” Lockport coach Rick De Leon said. “But it was the first game and we had to get some of the rust off. We picked it up as the game got going, and the result was good.” Lockport (1-0, 1-0) led 10-6 after three quarters. But the Warriors (0-1, 0-1) certainly didn’t go away as Cailey Janosek and her younger sister, Delaney Janosek, scored back-to-back goals to bring them within 10-8 with 5:29 left to play in the game. Senior Riley Klimek (2 goals, assist) came back with a tally for the Porters, but once again Delaney Janosek deposited a goal for West to make it 11-9 midway through the final quarter. Delaney Janosek finished with a game-high six goals. “Delaney is one of our faster girls,” West coach Eric Pavlacka said. “Her game awareness is what makes her so good. If she can get some spacing, she can get her teammates to find her and get some goals.” Lockport junior Francesca Brunetti, however, came alive in the final 2:48 to score a trio of goals and put the game away for the Porters as they extended to a 14-9 lead. Junior Josie Torres added a final goal for West with 34 seconds to play in the game. “There was a lot of swimming out there and to score the last few goals was nice,” said Brunetti, who tallied a team-high four times on the day. “I was open and [senior] Kayley Uy got me the ball. It’s nice when the team works well together. It’s only our first game after only a week of practice. I’m looking forward to scoring more.” The Porters scored early on. West had its only lead when senior Alex Carter crammed a goal past junior Kaya Naskinska (8 saves) 52 seconds into the game. But Lockport hammered home the next four goals as junior Renee Solis, Klimek, senior Kennedy Ruther (3 goals, assist), and senior Emily Adelman bunched their goals in a two minute span. Delaney Janosek answered to make in 4-2 after a quarter. Ruther made it 5-2 in favor of the Porters with an early score in the second quarter. But back came Delaney Janosek with a trio of goals in just over two minutes to tie the game at 5-5 with 1:38 left in the first half. Late goals by Ruther and Brunetti gave Lockport a 7-5 halftime advantage. Maeve Bauer closed the Warriors within a goal as she scored with 3:49 left in the third. But sophomore Emily Plaszewski put in all three of her goals for the Porters in the final 3:13 of the third quarter to give them the 10-6 advantage heading into the final quarter. “Defensively we settled One of Lincoln-Way West’s senior captains, Alex Carter, fires a shot March 6 during warmups before the Warriors’ season opener against Lockport Township in Lockport. Photos by James Sanchez/22nd Century Media West goalie Julia Mindy passes the ball. in and made some adjustments,” De Leon said. “I’m happy with the win. Most of the varsity team is back from last year, we just have to get in rhythm.” Pavlacka agreed that the wrinkles need to be ironed out. “There were quite a few momentum swings and at times it was a sloppy game,” he said. “Once the season gets going we can maintain some things and definitely do better.” While its two months away, the Porters also hope to do better in the postseason. After making the sectional semifinals in 2013, they have gone out in the first round of the sectional three times in the past four seasons, including a 10-8 loss to St. Charles East in the opener last year. “Last year we lost in the sectional first round by two goals,” Brunetti confirmed. Lockport’s Sabrina Pacione (left) and Lincoln-Way West’s Delaney Janosek race for a loose ball. “So I’m excited to see what the sectional will bring this year. We want to take it further.” So does West, which has only advanced past the sectional quarterfinals once - in 2015. One measurement will be to see how the Warriors matchup against Lockport when the two teams meet again on April 17 in New Lenox. The SWSC went to a schedule where teams meet up jut once this season. So why is West playing the Porters twice? “We are still playing a couple of [SWSC] opponents twice this season,” said Pavlacka, whose team is also facing Andrew twice this spring. “We feel that we are close with Lockport, so the next time we play we will see where we are and what we have to work on to be where we want to be.”
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