WC_051718

winnetkacurrent.com sports
the winnetka current | May 17, 2018 | 45
Girls water polo
Defense sends Loyola to state quarterfinals
Michael Wojtychiw
Sports Editor
For the first time since
2013, the Loyola Academy
Ramblers are going
to state.
The Ramblers’ 5-3 win
over New Trier Saturday,
May 12, propels them
to the state quarterfinals
against Conant on Friday,
May 18, at Stevenson. But
unlike the previous two
games at the Glenbrook
South Sectional, it wasn’t
the offense that won the
game. After scoring 21
goals in the sectional
quarterfinals and 13 in the
semifinals, Loyola got all
the goals it needed in the
first half.
“This is the first time
that I’m going as a head
coach and the first time
any of these girls are going
to the state finals, so
it’s very exciting,” Loyola
coach Kim Przekota said.
“This whole week, these
girls have played with a
lot of heart. They came
together as a team last
weekend at conference
and they got more confident.”
Loyola senior and fouryear
varsity member Lauren
Voss got the Ramblers
on the board first with a
breakaway-goal with 3
minutes, 21 seconds remaining
in the period.
Voss scored her second
goal on a five-meter shot
with 21 seconds remaining
in the period, giving
Loyola’s Lauren Voss puts a shot on goal against New Trier in the sectional final
Saturday, May 12, in Glenview. Michael Wojtychiw/22nd Century Media
the Ramblers a 2-0 lead
after the first period.
Getting out to the
quick lead was vital for
the Ramblers, especially
since the two teams traded
four goals over a 63-second
span in the early portion
of the second period.
Allie Larkin’s goal at
the 5:59 mark cut the
Loyola lead to 2-1, but
Nicole Kielba scored the
first of her two goals 18
seconds later, extending
the lead back to two.
Twenty-seven seconds later,
Megan Frentzel scored
to cut the lead back to one,
3-2 but Kielba scored her
second to give Loyola the
two-goal lead, 4-2 at the
4:56 mark. Kielba’s first
goal and Frentzel’s goal
were both scored with a
man up advantage.
“It definitely helps to
get up in the beginning
and get that momentum
going and just keep up
that adrenaline and keep
up rolling,” Voss said.
“We didn’t need to
score too many more, we
just had to be smart on defense
and that’s what we
did.”
Please see water polo, 42
Boys water polo
Loyola falls just short in sectional final
Michael Wojtychiw
Sports Editor
Coming into Saturday,
May 12’s sectional final at
Glenbrook South, Loyola
Academy was looking to
do something it hadn’t
done since 2014: make it
downstate for the state finals.
Unfortunately, unlike
that 2014 state-winning
team, the Ramblers quest
for a state berth fell just
short, as they saw their
most successful team since
that 2014 squad fall in the
sectional final to Evanston
4-2, in Glenview.
“You gotta tip your cap
to Evanston,” Loyola coach
Dan Hengelmann said.
“They came out ready to
play. They had their backs
against a wall yesterday
against New Trier and they
dug their way out of a hole.
It seems like that momentum
just never stopped.
“We’ve had a lot of success,
felt good coming in,
but this sectional has represented
the state well. Our
sectional has done well and
we’ve all challenged each
other to be better. This senior
brought us a Catholic
League championship, they
were the first ones committed
to playing year-round
polo and that showed up.”
The two teams came into
the sectional final in completely
different ways. In
their sectional semifinal
and quarterfinal, the Ramblers
hadn’t scored less that
14 goals, while the Wildkits
hadn’t score more than
seven.
“For us to not get over
to 10-goal mark, we know
we’re dealing with a very
good defensive team,”
Hengelmann said. “We just
couldn’t find a shot.”
The Ramblers controlled
much of the first period
of play, out-shooting the
Wildkits 8-4, but it was the
second-seeded Evanston
squad that got on the board
first when Ben Coleman
put in a shot past Loyola
sophomore goalie Jake
Carr with 1:28 left in the
period.
“There’s a natural tendency
to pres,” the coach
said. “I thought in transition
Tony (Spallone) got open a
couple times, in a real natural
position to score and
the pass was there, but I
think we weren’t recognizing
some opportunities and
when we did get them, they
just weren’t falling.”
The Ramblers continued
to put pressure on the Wildkits
in the second period,
including multiple crossbars,
but weren’t able to put
the ball into the goal until
Kenny Sajnaj scored with
34 seconds remaining in
the half. Unfortunately for
the Ramblers, Jacob Finn-
Samuels scored for Evanston
15 seconds later when
he lobbed a shot over Carr’s
head, giving the Wildkits a
2-1 halftime lead.
The Wildkits scored two
quick goals to start the second
half, giving them a 4-1
lead, one they wouldn’t
relinquish. John Merucci
scored with 4 minutes, 23
seconds remaining in the
game, but it was too little,
too late for Loyola as it saw
its successful season, that
included its first conference
Loyola’s Kevin Considine takes a shot against
Evanston Saturday, May 12, in Glenview. Michael
Wojtychiw/22nd Century Media
title since 2014, come to an
end.
While the Evanston defense
was shutting down
the Loyola offense, it was
Carr who was keeping the
Ramblers in the game. The
sophomore finished with
11 saves, including seven
in the second half.
“When the lights are
the brightest, he tends to
shine,” Hengelmann said.
“Some of his best games
this year were, albeit losses,
against Lyons and Naperville
Central, those are the
two best goalies in the state
and an outsider might not
know who the best goalie
in the pool was that day.
“He’s been nothing short
of sensational. His growth
from freshman year, when
he was thrown to the
wolves as a freshmen, and
for him to be a vocal leader,
it’s been amazing.”