LP_041218

38 | April 12, 2018 | The Lockport Legend SPORTS
lockportlegend.com
Pair of wins last week has team going in right direction
Randy Whalen
Freelance Reporter
A season of improvement
continued last week for the
Lockport Township girls
water polo team.
The Porters got a pair of
big wins and continued to
make a splash this season.
In the first win, they showed
they could turn it on offensively
and play tenacious
defense as they rallied from
an early three goal deficit to
hammer Hinsdale Central
17-8 on April 3 at Lockport.
With the win, Lockport
(6-3 at that point) already
reached half the number of
victories it had all of last
season when it finished 12-
17. The Porters hope to at
least reverse that record this
season as they continue to
improve.
“We just work better together,”
sophomore Emily
Plaszewski said of the
difference on this season’s
team. “We’ve communicated
better and made better
passes. Plus everyone can
score.”
A half dozen players
scored for the Porters
against Hinsdale Central.
Plaszewski and senior Kennedy
Ruther led the way
with five goals apiece. Senior
Emily Adelman, junior
Francesca Brunetti and
senior Riley Klimek each
added a pair of goals while
junior Sarah Pawlik also tallied
one. Junior goal keeper
Kaya Nasinska made nine
saves.
While things started out
well with a pair of goals for
Lockport, they soon turned
as the Red Devils scored
three times in the final two
minutes of the first quarter to
take a 3-2 lead. When senior
Helen Smith (2 goals) and
freshman Katrina Geiersbach
(3 goals) scored twice
to open the second quarter,
the Porters called a timeout
with 5:04 left in the half.
“One of the things we’ve
been working on is making
adjustments in games and
obviously an adjustment
had to be made,” Lockport
coach Rick De Leon said of
what happened during the
key timeout. “I went to the
bench and the girls made
the adjustments. Our passes
got faster and we have plenty
of shooters.”
Brunetti started the goal
parade with a score on a
breakaway lob over the
head of senior goalkeeper
Antonia Ioannou. Ruther
routed her way for two
goals, Adelman scored from
long range, Ruther rammed
another home and Brunetti
broke away for another goal
with 16 seconds left in the
half to put the Porters ahead
8-5 at intermission.
“Emily and Kennedy
work well together,” De
Leon said. “Things opened
up for us [in the second
Kaya Nasinska stops a shot in goal for the Porters.
quarter] when we had were
shooting in the deep end
and had more time to take
the goalie.”
Three more Porter goals
opened the third quarter
before Hinsdale Central
scored for the first time in
nearly nine minutes on a
breakaway by senior Sophia
Jones. But Adelman’s
aim from three-fourth of the
way across the pool for a
goal with only four seconds
left gave Lockport a 15-7
lead after three.
The Red Devils (4-5) also
received goals from seniors
Maddie Fowler and Maggie
Neil.
“The girls are transferring
a lot of their skills this
season and a huge thing has
been communicating,” De
Leon said. “There’s a lot of
consistency there and that
bond they have is huge for
us.”
Brunetti agreed.
“We’ve been playing together
a long time and we’re
definitely ranked higher
than ever,” Brunetti said
of the Porters ranking No.
26 ranking at Illpolo. We
feel we can make it past the
first games of the sectional.
Once we get in a rhythm,
we have to keep it going.”
Since the inception of the
Porter program, they have
made the sectional semifinals
twice. That was in 2012
and 2013.
Lockport ended last week
on Thursday, April 5, by
traveling to St. Charles East
for another nonconference
matchup against a team
ranked five spots ahead of
it. There, the Porters hung
on for a crucial 10-9 win.
Ruther led the way with five
goals while Plaszewski and
senior Kayley Uy each had
five steals. Nasinska made
14 saves as the Porters (7-3)
pulled out the big win.
St. Charles East (7-4-1)
scored the final two goals,
Lockport’s Kennedy Ruther (left) keeps her focus on the
ball during her team’s win over Hinsdale Central April 2
at LTHS’s East Campus pool. Photos by Adam Jomant/22nd
Century Media
but couldn’t get the equalizer.
“Yes, this was a huge
win,” De Leon said following
the St. Charles East victory.
“We won each swim
off, led each quarter, and
played great defense. We
were up 10-7 in the fourth
quarter and they scored two
goals in the last two minutes,
but we held on.”
LTHS baseball and softball’s Strike Out Cancer to return April 14
Staff Report
The Lockport Township
High School baseball and
softball programs will be
hosting their annual Strike
Out Cancer games Saturday,
April 14.
This will be the seventh
annual Strike Out Cancer
event, with all proceeds
raised during the day once
again going to Make Your
Mark - The Mark Staehely
Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
There will be a total of
13 games April 14 on the A-
Field complex.
The address for the Lockport
varsity baseball and softball
fields is 1200 Garfield St.
in Lockport. Attendees can
stay for one or all games.
Last year’s Strike Out
Cancer Games raised
$11,500 for the foundation.
Admission for this year will
be $10 for adults; $7 for students
with ID, seniors and
children under age 10; and
free for children under age 5.
The Booster Clubs will
also be raffling off items,
with all proceeds going to
the foundation. All players
from Minooka, Lockport and
Downers Grove will be wearing
special shirts honoring a
family member or loved one
who has battled or who currently
is battling cancer.
For more information,
including the full schedule
for both sports on all levels,
visit drive.google.com/
file/d/1kOBSRpKBQV_6cF
fUVXQQNOWYdN2SzIkZ/
view?usp=sharing.