Naperville Central girls water polo holds off Neuqua in DVC opener

We’re at Neuqua Valley for a DVC Girls water polo showdown as the Wildcats welcome in the Naperville Central Redhawks. Central won this matchup twice last season. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.

Naperville Central girls water polo scores four to open up the game

The Redhawks get this game started with a bang as Molly Moore fights in the paint to get the tough shot to fall. It’s 1-0 Redhawks early in the first quarter

Molly Moore then uses her passing skills to assist teammate Macy Fults with the score. It’s a 2-0 lead for Naperville Central

Next up for the Redhawks is Kaylee Shiffer. She adds to the Redhawk’s early advantage with 4:30 left in the 1st quarter

After teammate Julia Weber gets her shot blocked, Macy Fults is there with the rebound and score. It’s all Redhawks early in this one as they lead 4-0 with less than a minute left in the first

Samira Nadgar and the Cats crawl right back into the DVC contest

But don’t count Neuqua out just yet. Samira Nadgar gets the Wildcats on the board with 6:28 left in the 2nd quarter

Deja Vu for the Redhawk defense one minute later as Nadgar cuts Naperville’s lead in half. It’s 4-2 with five minutes left in the 2nd

But Naperville Central’s Meghan Tueting puts an end to the Neuqua momentum with this nice shot on goal. She gives her Redhawks a 5-2 lead with 4 minutes to go until the half

Neuqua’s Ella Snider would help to keep this game from getting out of hand. Her goal cut the deficit to 5-3 for the wildcats with 2 minutes and change left before half.

But Redhawk Meghan Tueting would once again make it a 3-score game with this shot right. It’s 6-3 Redhawks going into the half

Coming out of the half, Nequas Phoebe Puacz gets the Wildcats back into it and makes it a 6-4 game with 5:27 to go in the third.

Midway through the third, the Wildcats flash some good defense as Helen Gao gets the block to keep it a two-goal deficit.

Then the Redhawks would increase their lead with this goal from Julia Weber. It’s 7-4 Naperville Central.

It’s Weber again! She swims inside and scores her second goal in a row giving the Redhawks a 4-point advantage with 326 left in the third.

Neuqua Valley makes it a one-goal game but the Redhawks stay ahead

After a miss from her teammate, Isabella Marasco gets the second shot to fall for the Wildcats. It’s now 8-5 with 2 minutes left in the third

The Wildcats continue to charge with Nadgar scoring and making it just a two-goal Redhawk advantage.

Redhawk Rachel Viehweg shoots from a tight angle but still scores! Whenever Neuqua makes it close, Central seems to respond as they lead 9-6.

But Nequas Nadgar doesn’t give up. Her goal midway through the fourth keeps it manageable for the Wildcats.

Julia Weber however scores the dagger, making it 10-7 Redhawks. Neuqua does add a goal late, but it’s not enough as Naperville Central girls water polo defeats Neuqua and improves to 1-0 in conference play!