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THE ILLPOLO REPORT

Week 6

The following is a summary of what took place during the most recent week in water polo action in Illinois. This is not a complete list; the purpose is to recognize several of the best performances from across the state that have been reported.

Players To Watch

BOYS

Julien Escasa (Whitney Young)

Richard Poma (Glenbrook South)

GIRLS

Amy Blencowe (Neuqua Valley)

Lizzie Hardt (Meadows)

Biggest Impact Plays

BOYS

Dustin Differding (STC East)

Differding scored the game-tying goal twice (in regulation and overtime) before sending the Saints past Maine West 9-8 on Thursday with the game-winner in sudden death.

Eric Johnson/Zach Elias (Lockport)

Johnson drew an ejection and Elias scored the game-winner on the ensuing powerplay as the Porters beat Andrew 11-9 on Tuesday.

Kay Andressen (Waubonsie Valley)

Andressen's game-winner came with :22 left on the clock as the Warriors edged Hinsdale Central 11-10 on Thursday.

Patrick Cunningham (Brother Rice)

Cunningham's desperation heave from his own end as the buzzer sounded helped send Brother Rice past Stagg 15-14 in overtime on Thursday.

GIRLS

Elizabeth Minnich (Bremen)

Minnich scored the game-winning goal in the closing stages of Bremen's 4-3 victory over Palatine on Saturday.

Kaela Codo (Naperville Central)

Codo scored the game-winning goal twice for the Redhawks as they beat Grandville and Rockford courtesy of the juniors' heroics.

Top Goalie Performances

BOYS

Jacob Lawson (Conant)

Lawson was named tournament MVP for his performance at the Sandburg Tournament as the Cougars went 4-0 to win the event.

Joe Lawrence (Naperville Central)

Lawrence allowed less than six goals per game to help the Redhawks win the Best of the West Tournament over the weekend.

Colin Hovorka/Mike Brennan (Andrew)

Hovorka and Brennan combined to stop 43 shots to help the T-Bolts finish in second place at the Sandburg Tournament.

GIRLS

Betsy Zanocco (Meadows)

Zanocco blocked 62 shots at the Elk Grove Tournament to help the Mustangs win the event with a 3-0-1 mark.

Tina McBride (Naperville North)

McBride allowed less than one goal per game and earned a shutout to help the Huskies win the York Tournament on Saturday.

Biggest Surprises

BOYS

Conant

The Cougars showed they mean business this year after beating Andrew and Sandburg to win the Eagles' Tourney and improved to 15-1 in 2015.

GIRLS

Bremen

Not necessarily a true surprise, but the Red Jaguars were ranked lowest of the six teams attending the Palatine Invite and went 3-0 to win the event on Saturday after wins over the hosts, STC North and Wheeling. Could a first-ever state berth be on the cards for Bremen after they fell one goal short last season?

News and Notes

State Tournament Brackets Finalized

The IHSA has announced the sectional hosts, assignments and the state tournament brackets for the 2015 season.

Regular Season Is 2/3 Over

Six weeks have gone by rapidly as we enter the final stretch of the regular season with the postseason lurking around the corner.

Sectional Seeds

The seeding for the sectional playoffs will be determined at the end of the upcoming week and will be posted as soon as they are announced by the IHSA.

Super Ballers

BOYS

Duncan McDonald (Whitney Young)

Joe Lawrence (Naperville Central)

GIRLS

Caroline Wojtas (Palatine)

Kaela Codo (Naperville Central)