Naperville Central is back in the boys water polo sectional final hoping to avenge last season’s loss to Neuqua Valley. This year’s opponent is crosstown rival Naperville North, a rematch of the 2014 sectional finals that the Huskies won 9-6. This highlight is sponsored by BMO Harris Bank.
First Quarter
We are tied at one early on but Redhawk Steven Mander changes that after hitting a long wet shot that just goes in.
Now Mander passes to teammate Hayden Albright and pulls a Greenie to gives his team a 3-1 lead.
Second Quarter
4-1 Central but here comes Husky super freshman Mason Hofmann. After juking the defenders he puts that ball in the perfect spot and makes the deficit 4-2.
It’s now a 4-3 Redhawk lead and it’s time for senior Tyson Berg to get involved. Hofmann finds number seven and quicky puts it in to even things up at 4.
Just before the break Central’s Mander shoots from nearly the same spot but this time he puts some air on the shot. It’s 5-4 Central going into the break.
Third Quarter
Hawks continue to pour it on. Henry Wagner finds the lose ball and scores out of no mans land. The sneaky move puts his team up 6-4.
Mason Hofmann is still in the pool and he is still scoring no matter where he is. This shot ties things up at 7 as we head to an exciting fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter
In that final stanza Jacob Wick gets it started. His shot gets deflected but gets it back and takes advantage of the second chance. Hawks regain an 8-7 lead.
Now it’s tied once again this time at 8 and here’s another North Freshman putting his team in top in Jack Reif. 9-8 Huskies with over two minutes to go.
No lead is safe at all in this game. Nate Lueken gets the rebound and scores to tie it up with under a minute a play.
Huskies hold for the last shot and it’s Tyson Berg just putting enough juice on that shot and it’s good with two seconds left. Naperville North is heading to state for the first time since 2014 after a close 10-9 win. They will face state runner up Lyons Township in the quarterfinals. For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
