Ladies and gentlemen, brace yourselves for a thrilling ride as the boy’s water polo DVC championship between Waubonsie Valley and Naperville North promises to be a roller coaster of emotions. The Huskies kick off the night with a jubilant celebration of their senior class, while the Warriors are determined to secure their 23rd win. Both teams enter the matchup with 3-0 records in conference play. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Warriors score early and often
Both teams are in a 1-1 tie, when Youssef El Touny breaks that with a goal to put Waubonsie Valley in front.
The Warriors are not messing around in the early going and Aidan Meagher throws in another to make it 3-1 Waubonsie.
Here come the Huskies on the attack, and Caden Tsao is in the right spot for a goal, and they are down by one.
On the next possession, it’s Cam Censullo waiting for a target and that happens to be the back of the net, and it’s a 4-2 Warrior lead.
It’s the second quarter, and it’s the same Warriors as Charlie Drohan pops out of the water and scores to keep the green and gold in front.
The Huskies need more scoring and this Mason Hofmann penalty shot does the trick to make it just a 7-6 deficit for North.
As halftime approaches, the Warriors search some insurance, and they get it from Ben Meier after he darts one in. Waubonsie takes an 8-6 lead into the break.
Naperville North flips the switch in the second half
Coming out of the break, the Huskies strike first with Jack Boudeman, who skips one past PJ Bartzen, and we’re back to a one-goal game.
North continues to claw back, still down by one, but not anymore, thanks to an aggressive goal by Brett Grady. The Huskies even things up at 9-9.
Before the third quarter ends, Jack Reif gives the Huskies their first lead with a goal through a pair of Waubonsie defenders. It’s 10-9 Dogs as we head to the fourth.
Waubonsie takes the lead back in the fourth
The Warriors tie it back up at 10, and now they want the lead, and their wish is granted with an Adam Ruhde skip shot.
After they make a stop, they take advantage of the opportunity with Charlie Drohan, who sees a loose ball and taps it in. 12-10 Waubonsie in front but still five minutes left in the game.
This one is far from over when players like Mason Hofmann are in the pool. He throws the ball into the right corner, and once again, it’s a one-goal game, but the Huskies have some momentum with just under two minutes left.
It stays with them because Hofmann ties the game up at 14-14 with a penalty shot.
Jacob Podkasik helps Naperville North boys water polo to the DVC title
With under thirty seconds to go in regulation, the Huskies have the ball, killing some time for a final shot. Jacob Podkasik throws in the go-ahead goal in the bottom corner and gives North a 15-14 lead.
The Warriors have one last shot but the Huskie defense makes the stop and milks the rest of the clock to win 15-14 and capture the DVC title. We may see this matchup once again when the sectional championship comes around.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
