36 | March 14, 2019 | the mokena messenger sports mokenamessenger.com Boys Water Polo Griffins start season with win over St. Rita RANDY WHALEN Freelance Reporter Adam Hudson is an excellent physics student. He can score a few goals in water polo, too. Hudson, a senior, is one of only three returners from last season’s Lincoln-Way East boys water polo team, which qualified for the State Finals for the third straight year. But Hudson and the Griffins showed in their first game last weekend that they shouldn’t be counted out for another trip to state this season. Hudson scored seven goals as East opened the season with a 10-6 victory over St. Rita on Friday, March 8, in Frankfort. It was a nice initial win for the Griffins (1-0) over a St. Rita team (2-1) that scored 35 goals in its first two games. East had to work on defense as it had eight ejections, leading to many man-up opportunities for St. Rita. “I’d like to have less than eight ejections,” East coach Ryan Lodes said. “But our guys did a great job talking and adjusting out there. We were able to help out on the man-up defense.” And on offense Hudson was able to take his physics expertise and put it to use. Or was it actually chemistry? “It was really exhausting out there and we just have to get in to shape,” Hudson said. “But team chemistry is a huge thing. We have to build that up again and we will. Our defense was really good. If we can keep our ejections down it will be even better.” With the score tied 2-2 after one quarter, Hudson scored two straight goals to give the Griffins the lead for good. The second of those was a no-look, backhanded rebound from the left side that went in for a 4-2 lead with 2:40 left in the first half. “You just have to make sure it doesn’t sail over the net,” Hudson said of making the no-look backhand shot. Junior Ben O’Connell ripped away a rebound and fired it in for another Griffin goal in the final minute. St. Rita came back to score with 24 seconds left in the half to cut the lead to 5-3. In the third quarter, Hudson added another backhanded goal to increase the lead to three. But back came the Mustangs as freshman Homero Olivares put a tally in the upper left corner. Then junior goalie Sebastian Chaidez fired in a fluke goal from the other side of the pool to narrow the score to 6-5. But, with the momentum seeming to turn, Hudson had another goal just 12 seconds later to restore the East advantage to 7-5 after three. Senior Bryce Wyma (2 goals) sandwiched a pair of scores around a final one by Hudson to open the fourth quarter and make the score 10-5. St. Rita, which won its first two games 23-7 over Brother Rice and 12-7 over Andrew, is coached by former Andrew boys water polo coach, Sigfredo Cruz. Juniors Christopher Jimenez, Mauricio Reyes- Binfa, and Daniel Burns (2 goals) added goals for the Mustangs, who never led in the game. Junior Patrick Rossetto, senior Noah Schor, and Hudson are the three returning starters from last year’s Griffins team, which qualified for state for the third straight season. Senior goalkeeper Max Gilmore is in his first season as the starter in net for East. “Max did some good things in his first [varsity] game,” Lodes said. “And we did a nice job helping with him. “Adam [Hudson] is a workhorse. He worked all last season to get better. He’s a bright kid and I had him in physics class when he was a junior. He always wanted to know the practical application of physics, too.” So does Hudson use physics applications in his water polo game? “One time a few years ago, [then sophomore coach Nick] Shaub saw that I had my elbow in the water on a shot and asked me, ‘Isn’t it easier to shoot when your elbow isn’t in the water?’” Hudson said of his former lower-level coach, who is now in his first season as head coach at Lincoln-Way West. “Now that always sticks with me.” The night before, Thursday, March 8, Hudson won the All Lincoln-Way Welding Competition. He plans to go into the construction field and hopes to continue to play water polo while studying that in college. In the meantime, he and the Griffins are looking to construct another excellent season. This Thursday-Saturday March 14-16, East will be playing at the Fenwick Invite - Dan Lynch Classic. After being off for 10 days, the following week brings a couple of key SouthWest Suburban Conference games, starting with a 9 a.m. matchup on March 26 at Sandburg, and then a 5 p.m. game the next day at Lincoln-Way Central. 2019 SELL YOUR HOME Guide Call us today to reserve your ad! SPACE RESERVATION DEADLINES MARCH 29 AD APROVAL APRIL 3 • APPEARING APRIL 18 708.326.9170 | www.22ndcenturymedia.com Lincoln-Way East’s Adam Hudson (left) fires a shot past St. Rita’s Homero Olivares during a match Friday, March 8. Hudson scored seven goals in the 10-6 win. Julie McMann/22nd Century Media
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