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ILLINOIS WATER POLO |
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Tuesday - March 16, 2004 GAME RECAPS
Evanston at Stevenson By Aaron Brown
Lincolnshire, IL -- Two top five teams clashed on Tuesday night, as #3 Stevenson used a smothering defense to shut down #4 Evanston 6-2 in a Tuesday night matchup.
Stevenson (1-0) had a simple defensive strategy for shutting down the Wildkits: take away any offensive opportunities for Maggie Hatcher. They did that by shadowing her with Keely Wimer, who normally is the main offensive threat for Stevenson. Instead, Wimer limited Hatcher to just three shots during the game, all of which came from outside of seven meters. Meanwhile, normal defensive stopper Terri Bukofzer led the way on offense, scoring two goals and drawing a key four-meter penalty shot in the first quarter.
The two teams put on a defensive clinic in the first half of the game, as neither team could get much going on offense. Hatcher made a steal in the offensive end as Stevenson broke in the opposite direction, and she fed a wide open Anna Ditton in front of the net for a goal to give Evanston a 1-0 lead. They held that lead until 2:53 of the opening quarter, when Bukofzer made a steal and drove all the way towards the goal to attempt a game-tying shot. She was fouled from behind to draw a 4-meter penalty shot. Wimer made her first attempt into the right corner, but the referee did not count the goal because the lane lines attached to the goal were not tightened and the net was too close to the field. Wimer retook the shot and simply put the ball in the left corner to officially make it 1-1.
It would stay tied until the second quarter, when Stevenson won the swim-off and held their possession for almpost a full minute before drawing and scoring on a powerplay opportunity. Bukofzer's shot from two-meters was deflected out of bounds, but she redeemed herself by scoring on a beautiful pass in which she elevated, caught the pass, and shot all in one motion to make it 2-1. Lanier Zimmer, Evanston's goalie, made three key saves in the second period, including one on a breakaway for Bukofzer after she had made another steal. In the closing minute of the half, Wimer fed Bukofzer for a shot that hit the post, and Wimer slammed home the rebound to make it 3-1 at halftime.
Stevenson scored in the first minute of the half to lead 4-1. They also continued to frustrate Hatcher on the perimeter, as she had her first clean shot opportunity hit the crossbar from outside of seven meters. Wimer would then score her second goal of the game with 2:43 remaining in the third period to put the Patriots in control with a 5-1 lead.
The Patriots extended the lead to 6-1 as Bukofzer would get another chance to score, as she caught a high lob pass from Wimer that she tipped in with just 3:03 left in the game to make it 6-1. Lindsay Wich of Evanston made a nice steal on the right side and assisted Annie Grossinger on a goal to make it 6-2 with 2:33 remaining. The Wildkits had a chance to draw closing on a powerplay, but they could not get a shot off and Stevenson was effectively able to kill the rest of the clock without much of a scoring threat from Evanston.
Both teams were strong defensively, as evidenced not only by the low score, but by the fact their were only four major penalties in the entire game. Stevenson was able to score on two of the three chances they had, including one of those goals coming on the four meter shot. Both teams also proved that come the end of the season, they could very well be playing each other again in the same pool when the state tournament rolls around. Evanston travels to the Glenbrook North Sectional and is the early favorite, while Stevenson was assigned to the Vernon Hills Sectional to contend with Mundelein.
In the meantime, Stevenson travels to York (2-1) for a game at 5:00pm, while Evanston hosts Glenbrook South (2-5) tomorrow night at 5:00pm as well.
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