ST. CHARLES – The St. Charles East girls water polo team dominated the first half of its IHSA Metea Valley Sectional preliminary round game on May 10.
After the first 14 minutes of play, the Saints led Lockport, 6-2.
The momentum shifted in the second half, however, as the Porters scored seven unanswered goals to overtake East and win the match, 9-6.
“I think Lockport definitely came out fighting in the second half,” said Saints coach Stephanie Ter Bush. “I think that even within their team, they showed two different teams. It the second half, they came out really fighting for it.”
“I told them [at halftime] that to win this game that they are going to have to make it happen, and they did,” Lockport coach Rick De Leon said. “Seven unanswered goals, they made it happen.”
Junior Julia Saunders scored the Saints' first goal of the game with a goal 90 seconds into the first quarter.
Classmate Sarah Sandecki made it 2-0 East with 3:14 left in the first period.
Sandecki, swimming in front of the Lockport net, caught a long pass from goalie Emma Rooney and fired it past Porter goalie Mariah Dicksen.
Lockport narrowed the lead to 2-1 on Lauren Grycko’s lob over Rooney’s head halfway through the first period.
With 29 seconds left in the quarter, Sandecki scored her second goal, widening East's lead, 3-1.
Sienna Schulte scored three straight goals in the second quarter. Her third goal, an over the shoulder toss with four minutes left in the half put the Saints up 6-1. It turned out to be the last tally of the match for the Saints (16-10).
“I was feeling really energized,” Schulte said of her three-goal spurt. “I think the whole team built on each other’s energy in the first half. I really wanted to win, so I followed through with my goals.”
Lockport’s Mikaela Milligan’s goal with 50 seconds left in the half made the score 6-2. Lockport (15-14) scored four straight goals in the third quarter. Emily Adelman found the net with a minute left in the period to tie the score, 6-6.
Kennedy Ruther’s third goal of the game two minutes in to the last quarter gave Lockport the lead, 7-6.
“I also think that we got a little comfortable and stopped communicating with one another and started shooting a little too early instead of working it in and using our shot clock,” Ter Bush said of the Saints’ second half play.
“I think we may have gotten a little too comfortable and the other team came out really wanting it. They caught us by surprise,” said Saints senior captain Haley Salveson.
Sharlene Solis added two insurance goals for the Porters for the final score.
Dicksen was a thorn the Saints' side throughout the game. The senior goalie stopped 26 Saints shots.
Lockport, seeded 9th in the sectional, will meet top-seeded Naperville Central in a quarterfinal match on May 12.