(Journal Online) The annual Glenbrook South girls water polo tournament marked its 7th year over the weekend.
For seven years, the Titan Classic title game has been dominated by Glenbrook South and Hersey.
The Lady Titans were defending champions, and maintained their crown Saturday with a 6-5 victory.
Titan junior Anne Edwards tied the team-high 2 goals sinking both in the fourth quarter. She scored the game-winning goal in the final minute of regulation.
“The whole team was pretty tired, but when you don’t have a very good goalie and the whole thing is on the line, you put everything aside and go for it,” Edwards said.
The team had foreboding thoughts going into the game because their starting goalie, Eleanor Forgarty, had to leave for a wedding.
So junior Meghan Dragman was dropped in front of the net. She’s never played goalie before.
“I told the girls just guard them like freckles. Do not let them get a shot off,” said Glenbrook South coach Chris Tomsheck.
The girls followed orders to a T.
Their aggressive man-to-man defense severely limited any open looks for the Huskies. GBS out-shot Hersey 26-12.
“They were very hands-on and we didn’t get enough shots,” said Hersey’s Alli Williams.
All the components of a championship game were in play before the girls even got into the water. Both teams were 2-0 in the tourney and both scored 22 total goals each heading into the title game.
Williams started the momentum for the Huskies sinking both of her team-high 2 goals in the first quarter.
But Titan Maggie Dietrich swooped past two defenders with 31 seconds left in the quarter to tie the game at 2.
It was a back and forth battle in the field during the second quarter. Titan Sara Ocytko finally found the net with 2:54 remaining for a 3-2 lead.
But with a minute left before halftime Hersey’s Hannah Johnstone launched a shot from half-court rolling backward off Dragman’s hands into the net tying the game at 3.
Hersey ended the third quarter with a 5-4 lead with a pair of goals from Karolina Szymaszek and Maddie Liesz. Dietrich put one in the net for the Titans off a steal from Jessie Kerndt. Dietrich ended the game with 2 goals.
Kerndt ended with six steals, which accounted for Hersey’s 17 total turnovers, which was part of the difference maker, said Hersey coach Megan Brownley.
“There were a lot of games this week. A lot of them went downtown for this orchesis choir concert and didn’t get home until midnight,” Brownley said. “They looked like they were swimming through pudding.”
Hersey was comfortable in their lead in the fourth and was lucky with two crossbar shots, but Edwards found the net with 4:11 left tying the game at 5.
“I just really thought this was our time,” Kerndt said. “We just wanted to try and win it again because last year was our first time winning and it felt awesome.”
In the seven Titan Classics, Hersey has played Glenbrook South for the crown each year. The Huskies hailed supreme the first five years until 2011.
This year’s victory was even more surprising for Tomsheck because he’s playing with a varsity roster of 11 compared to the usual 20 plus of years past.
The Titans lost last year’s leading scorer Hallie Hengels and Anna Veselovsky who both decided to focus on swimming instead of playing polo this year.
“We are far beyond where I thought we’d be,” Tomsheck said. “We have 11 girls, that’s it. We can’t even scrimmage. So this is what we’re going to do – we’re going to be in the best shape of our lives – sort of out of Hoosiers.”
That best shape entails a rigorous workout regiment encompassing weight lifting and swimming. The team didn’t even start practicing polo until last Monday, Tomsheck sadi.
Glenbrook South (5-1) will play at Vernon Hills Thursday. Hersey (4-7) travels to Buffalo Grove Thursday.
