Illpolo.com 2006

The Difference Between All-Illpolo and All-State

2006-05-18T01:01:00.000-05:00

As you notice on the main page this morning or whenever you get a chance to check the site from here on out, there are two main teams listed to recognize the players for their 2006 performances. The first one is All-Illpolo and the second one is All-State. Here is a description as best as I can put it with the pros and cons of each:

All-Illpolo
The All-Illpolo Teams are selected by Illpolo.com aka Aaron Brown. I do get a ton of feedback from coaches and others to help with selections, but the key factor to these teams is that they are basically MY opinion based mainly on what I saw during the course of the season. Therefore, you can accept them as the definitive list of the best players considering that I probably saw 200+ games this season, or you can write them off saying "well, it's just one person's opinion". And, in all honesty, if it falls somewhere in between those two thoughts, it probably ends up being pretty good. You will notice with All-Illpolo, there is always an extra team or two listed when possible (Fifth, Sixth Team) and/or each team consists of 11-13 players instead of the usual 10 selections made for All-State. The reason for doing this is simple; it allows the best player from a top team to be included in a list of the best players, but also allows for multiple deserving players from the "best of the best" teams as well. And as for the extra team, there are always a ton of deserving players from teams that might either be rebuilding, are relatively new, etc. that have a player or two who should get recognized for their accomplishments.

All-State
The All-State Teams are selected by whichever coaches show up to the selection meeting on the Monday after the state tournament. Roughly, you get about 30 coaches or so who attend from each gender, which means that around half of the coaches in the state get to vote. Generally, if a coach does not show up, they do not get to nominate their players and they miss out on their chance to be selected, though there are always a few exceptions to this rule. The next factor here is that a team plays a maximum of 30 games, not including the postseason, but when you consider that most teams play the same opponents 2-3 times per year, that means a coach is limited in the amount of teams and players they get a chance to see.

Now, I need to take a breather since it sounds as if I am only pointing out the negatives of this process...some of the postives include: a coach knows his/her players better than anyone else, so they can nominate them for the teams based on what they have seen day in and day out in practice and at games. Second, in most major sports, teams are selected by the media (i.e. Daily Herald, Chicago Tribune, Sun-Times), but there definitely aren't enough resources, reporters, or anyone who has seen a majority of the teams who can vote or select such a team, so the coaches could be considered the next best option. All-State has also been around for a much longer time than All-Illpolo, so it has always been recognized as the crowning individual achievement. It also includes a strict 10 players per team (unless a tie occurs) amount and has three official teams (First, Second, Third) and a fourth list that is termed 'Honorable Mention'. An argument against both of these policies could be that with more teams participating in the sport and with more exposure being provided, a total number of 40 players on 4 teams does not allow for enough players to get rewarded for their achievements.

This year's breakdown
While the difference is that 20 boys teams are represented on the All-State Team and 23 are listed on the All-Illpolo Team, the major difference is on the girls side, where only 20 teams are represented on the All-State Team and 30 are listed on the All-Illpolo Team. One benefit to players with Illpolo is that their vote or nomination does not depend on their coach attending the meeting.

Another factor is to look at the breakdown of the individual teams. Especially focusing on the top teams, Fenwick's girls won state and got 6 on All-State, while on All-Illpolo, their two-meter defender was also recognized. Next, Stevenson, who lost 3 games in 2006, with all coming against Fenwick, only got an astonishing 3 players on All-State. On All-Illpolo...you can at least double that amount.

Another factor to look at is on the boys side and who makes what team. Fenwick went 35-0 and won the state tournament. They won by a lot. Some might use the word 'domination' to describe their performance. Yet, they only got two players on the All-State First Team. Two other players who most would consider highly deserving of a place on the First Team fell to the Second Team after the voting took place. Conversely, all four players made the All-Illpolo First Team, with another player making the Second Team as well.

I'm sure there are even more ways to breakdown each of these lists but it's 2:00am on a Wednesday and I'm thinking I might need to make some serious changes if I'm doing postseason water polo blog entries instead of sleeping. I miss it already...

All-State, Postseason Awards, Etc...

2006-05-15T12:58:00.000-05:00

The water polo season continues tonight, with the All-State Selection Meeting allowing coaches to vote on the top players in the state. While the results should be known by the end of the night (or earlier into tomorrow morning, depending on how things go), we will post the results on Thursday to allow the coaches to inform their own players of their accomplishment. Later this month, the players who make the All-State Team will be honored at the postseason awards banquet...information/forms can be located on Illpolo.com.

Illpolo.com should also have individual awards done early this week. Rankings by Tuesday. DVD info by Wednesday (hopefully). New videos are loaded from over the weekend, ranging from the quarterfinal highlights to the state title games. And if you are still interested in helping keep the site going and would like to make a donation, we are now accepting Paypal on the site.

Thank you for your support this season!

Dust Settles On State Tournament

2006-05-13T23:35:00.000-05:00

Just in case anyone is reloading the site expecting some new crazy-like stuff, well, cool...cuz I'm gonna end up working well into the night downloading and editing videos and adding some award-type stuff and who knows what else at 2:00am...isn't this what most 24-year olds do on Saturday night?

Check it...4 hours of video will be condensed into like 3-4 vidz by the end of the weekend...we have the postseason awards coming up too with player of the year, freshman of the year, most improved player, coach of the year, and whatever else...

We have NEW rankings coming on, ahem, Monday night...as it is definitely harder than most sports when the IHSA geography messes with everything to figure out where a top team like St Pats fits into the mix even though they were mistakenly omitted from the state tournament once again...

Then there are the thoughts and comments from the weekend, UNCENSORED!!!!!!!!!!!!...or something. I was there from Thursday afternoon, 3:00pm, until Saturday night, 10:00pm (well I left a bunch of times but I didnt miss a minute of polo). So I'll talk about some random stuff. Like I am now, I guess. I'm loopy, it was a long weekend.

I'll also talk about some DVD action coming soon. Cuz like, I want to get ALL the footage I've captured out to anyone who wants to see their son, daughter, friend, nephew, uncle (some high schoolers are uncles like the Pirate in the stands on Friday, more on that later), or themselves on video. And whatever you have seen on YouTube is garbage compared to the REAL quality on DVD. I mean, it's not HDTV or anything, but who needs that when you have Illpolo TV?!?!!?!

Oh, and I'll mention this again later, but WHAT is the deal with all the cameras and Comcast coverage of the state championship water polo game? I mean, I guess I find it interesting that the majority of everyone who was on the deck at the end of the night on Saturday has NEVER been to another game this year and they just show up and swoop in to cover water polo. Forget that...I'm really mad that the one guy got in front of my shot when Fenwick was holding up the trophy. The guys from Comcast just felt free to walk right across the camera while I was filming. Yeah, I thought about pulling the plug from their truck-to-broadcast connection, but that would only hurt the teams playing and not so much Comcast.

I'm sorta bitter too...last year the guy from Comcast called me about being the color commentator for the Stevenson-Mundelein boys game, and then 10 seconds into the conversation he blew me off and said NOT INTERESTED but i gave him the illpolo site address anyways and uhh...I dunno, he thought I was someone else I guess, hung up abruptly, checked my site on his own, called me back frantically a few minutes later and begged me to announce for them. Gee thanks. So I did anyway, and the guy I was announcing with knew nothing about polo, so I ended up doing most of his work too and it's on tape or DVD somewhere and I need that footage actually. If you have it, send it to me. Trust me, I was like the Steve Stone of water polo announcing. I did get a check from Comcast for announcing and a polo shirt that I haven't worn since, but it was funny seeing the guy who produced the game just walk by me today. Coming soon...Comcast vs Illpolo. Or something.

Midnight hits and I need to do something other than randomly type so I'll be back later...you all need to see the Super Ballers this week (Jean-Claude Van Damme and a pirate are involved and that's all you need to know!)

Fenwick 13 Ignatius 5 (Final)

2006-05-13T20:03:00.001-05:00

8:50pm FENWICK WINS THE GIRLS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP 13-5!!!

8:49pm Farren Rixter led Fenwick with 6 goals, Morgan Bonk added 3, and Alison Pavlik scored twice. Kaitlin Kysiak and Keely Baldwin both had one goal. Nora Kennelley led Ignatius with 4 goals and Kathleen Maloney also tallied one score.

8:48pm Kennelly scores again from set to make it 13-5 in the final minute.

8:43pm Rixter gets a goal from two meters out to make the score 12-3 in the first minute of the fourth quarter...Rixter gets her second tally of the period...Kennelly scores from two meters out to make the score 13-4 late in the fourth quarter.

8:37pm Kennelly ends the scoring drought for the Wolfpack, then assists Kathleen Maloney on a breakaway goal to cut the lead to 11-3. Hybinette makes a solid save late in the period but Ridgeway fires over the net with 0:11 seconds left and we head to the fourth and final period.

8:30pm No scoring in the first minute...Bonk puts in a rebound midway through the period and it is 11-1 Friars.

8:23pm Before halftime, Kaitlin Kysiak comes in off the bench and drives/scores down the right side, and Rixter adds a late goal as the Friars have a dominant second quarter en route to a 10-1 halftime lead.

8:20pm Bonk adds another goal from the left side and the score is 8-1 with 2:00 remaining in the period.

8:17pm Fenwick takes a 6-1 lead as Morgan Bonk scores from the left post. Baldwin scores again from the right side on a drive and Fenwick is now breaking the game open, leading 7-1.

8:14pm Rixter scores twice from two meters, the first coming on a set play, the second off an assist from Romano in transition.

8:09pm Neither team can score in the last two minutes of the period, as McCarthy and Hybinette have made a few saves each for their respective teams.

8:07pm Baldwin scores on a shot from outside to make it 3-1 Fenwick.

8:00pm Alison Pavlik gets Fenwick on the board first after drawing a kickout on a drive...Laurel McCarthy elevates to make a save...Farren Rixter puts one in from two meters out...Nora Kennelly answers from two meters to cut the lead in half...Rixter draws an ejection and but misses from outside.

Fenwick 19 Latin 5 (Final)

2006-05-13T18:02:00.000-05:00

7:32pm FENWICK WINS THE BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP!!!

7:26pm Barrett fires a pass to McKernin on the opposite side of the pool after his drive, and he immediately puts it in for a 16-5 Fenwick lead. Fenwick scores twice more to increase the lead to 18-5...hue standing ovation as all the starters have been taken out...another timeout taken to allow senior goalie Chris Jones to get a standing ovation. Final minute of the game...Bob Tentler scores with 0:33 seconds left and Fenwick leads it 19-5. The Latin starters are taken out after a great postseason run leads to a second place finish.

7:22pm Fyfe makes a block on Wendt's drive...Barrett a steal on the defensive end...

7:20pm Chris Bonk hits a shot from outside seven meters on Fenwick's first possession...Jones makes a save and assists Baldwin on a breakaway goal to make the score 15-5.

7:16pm Fenwick leads 13-5 and is one quarter away from a state championship!!!

7:14pm The blog is now working and contains this same information. I'll keep posting in both places until the end of the game. Jump ball is knocked down by Meyer at two meters and Fenwick is on the move...Parolin turns his defender on the left post to score and give the Friars a 13-5 lead.

7:10pm Baldwin picks up a loose ball after Mayer's shot went off the post and puts it in to make the score 10-5...Matt Meyer scores his third goal of the game on a drive to increase the lead to 11-5...Barrett comes wide open on the right side and takes a pass from Jones all the way in for a goal as Fenwick takes a timeout leading 12-5.

7:07pm Jones blocks a four meter penalty shot by Himmel to keep the Friars ahead by four...timeout Latin.

7:04pm Baldwin opens the period with a goal from the left side and the score is now 9-4...Tim Wickes connects from outside seven meters; 9-5 Fenwick...

6:56pm Fenwick's final possession of the half results in a goal as Baldwin hits Parolin in front to make the score 7-4. Correction...the Friars make a steal and score again, same play, same result...Parolin scores his second straight and Fenwick takes an 8-4 lead into halftime.

6:55pm Baldwin just misses from in front, and Himmel fires a backhand into the back of the net with 0:39 seconds left and cuts the advantage to 6-4.

6:53pm The blog isn't working so just check this page for awhile...Wendt throws across the pool to find Luke Baldwin open for a goal from the left wing. Fenwick now leading 6-3 with 1:27 left in the half.

6:52pm Barrett scores from two meters out after a foul to make the score 5-2, but Himmel responds with a goal from the left flat to make it 5-3.

6:50pm After the timeout, Kettlewell scores at two meters for Latin to get the score to 4-2.

6:46pm Jones with two huge saves to limit Latin to just one goal thus far. Timeout for Latin at the 4:00 mark.

6:45pm Parolin with a goal after an ejection to make the score 4-1 Fenwick with 5:33 left in the half.

6:43pm For Fenwick, the first quarter goals were scored by Matt Meyer (2 goals) and Andrew McKernin.

6:40pm Extremely fast first quarter, as Jordan Himmel put Latin ahead early with a goal, but Fenwick responded with three straight scores to take a 3-1 lead into the second quarter. Updates will be a little less than normal as I am trying to film, broadcast, edit, and blog at the same time.

6:26pm Starting lineups are being announced...game will start a few minutes late; probably a 6:35pm start.

6:00pm The boys championship begins at 6:30pm. Starting lineups for Fenwick and Latin:

Fenwick: Jones, Barrett, Parolin, McKernin, Baldwin, Meyer, Wendt

Latin: Fyfe, Himmel, Kettlewell, Wickes, Wickes, Wilkie, Arvin

Stevenson 11 McAuley 5 (Final)

2006-05-13T16:39:00.000-05:00

6:00pm Leading scorers: Terri Bukofzer with 7, Jesse Shopiro with 2, Sam Gibson and Rebecca Shopiro with 1 goal each. For McAuley, Maggie Wood scored three goals and Laura Perez added 2 scores.

5:54pm Cliburn makes a save on a drive by Meghan Nolan and Stevenson takes a timeout. Romo makes a save late to keep Stevenson from scoring, but Patriots backup goalie Janelle Bartman makes a save to clinch the win.

5:47pm After a few minutes of solid defense, Jesse Shopiro scores on a lob shot from the right side to make the score 10-5...Bukofzer follows that with a breakaway goal and puts Stevenson in control 11-5.

5:41pm After the timeout, Bukofzer takes a post from Jesse Shopiro on the left post to score and put Stevenson ahead 8-4...Jesse Shopiro lobs a shot in after a drive to the right post and makes it 9-5.

5:38pm Wood hits the post from the left side, but Perez is there for the rebound goal and gets McAuley to within 7-4. Rebecca Shopiro draws an ejection and Stevenson takes a timeout.

5:34pm Bukofzer scores in the first minute of the period from two meters to give the Patriots a 7-2 advantage...Maggie Wood scores from two meters to make the score 7-3.

5:27pm Perez scores at the end of the half to cut the lead down to 6-2.

5:23pm Bukofzer scores at two meters for Stevenson with 0:49 seconds left until halftime. The Patriots now lead 6-1.

5:19pm Maggie Wood gets McAuley in the scoring column with a goal from two meters and makes the score 5-1 with 2:39 left in the half.

5:13pm After stops on both ends, Samantha Gibson gets her first goal to make the score 4-0. Rebecca Shopiro follows that effort with a goal and the Patriots are out in front 5-0.

5:07pm Kelly makes a save to deny Bukofzer on a breakaway chance...Bukofzer scores on a breakaway goal, assisted by Rebecca Shopiro, and McAuley takes a timeout trailing 3-0.

5:05pm Bukofzer scores at two meters to put the Patriots in front 1-0...Michelau assist Bukofzer on her second goal and Stevenson leads 2-0.

5:04pm Cliburn makes two big saves early in the period, and neither team is able to generate any offense halfway through the opening period.

5:00pm The girls consolation game is set to get underway...

Starters:
Stevenson-Cliburn, Bukofzer, Shopiro, Shopiro, Michelau, Wanland, Gibson
McAuley-Kelly, Cortez, Gonzalez, Ginger, Jackson, Nolan, Perez

Lyons 11 Mundelein 10 (Final)

2006-05-13T15:26:00.000-05:00

4:30pm Mike Castro led the scoring for Lyons with 4 goals, Scott Nemecek, Pat Wilkins, and Peter Cosentino each scored twice, and Mark Nemecek added a late goal. Mundelein was led on offense by Andrew Peterson, who scored 6 goals, while Brandon Schawel tallied 3 scores and Sean Larsen added one goal.

4:28pm Nemecek gets open on a breakaway after an offensive foul call with :34 seconds left and scores the game-winner and Lyons finishes in third place with an 11-10 win.

4:21pm Schawel catches a pass on the right post and puts it in to tie the game, assisted by Larsen...Peterson scores from the right side to put the Mustangs ahead 10-9...Scott's backhand from four meters out goes wide right with 1:34 left...Pat Wilkins ties the game up with a shot from the right wing and Mundelein takes a timeout.

4:17pm Peterson scores on Mundelein's first possession of the period from outside...Scott Nemecek responds with a goal from the left wing to tie the game at 8-8...Halperin makes a strong save to keep the game tied...Peterson with a steal on defense...Busse makes a steal...Halperin makes a save with 4:17 to go...Mark Nemecek lobs a shot in after a drive to give Lyons a 9-8 lead.

4:13pm Neither team can score in the final two minutes and we head to the fourth quarter tied at 7-7.

4:07pm Halperin denies an outside shot by Larsen to keep the score tied...Peterson forces a turnover for Mundelein...Halperin with a strong block on a shot by Schawel and Lyons takes a timeout with 2:00 left and the score tied at 7-7.

4:04pm So far in the third quarter, Andrew Peterson evened the game from two meters, only to see Mike Castro respond later in the period to put Lyons back in front. Peterson scored again midway through the period to tie it, and Mundelein takes their first lead on a goal from two meters out by Brandon Schawel. Castro ties it back up with a powerplay goal with 2:24 to go in the period.

3:55pm Castro lobs a shot in from the right wing before the end of the half and Lyons takes a 5-4 lead at the break.

3:52pm Sean Larsen turns his defender to score at two meters, cutting the lead down to 4-3...Halperin makes a save to keep Lyons ahead by one...Rayome denies Cosentino from outside...Peterson ties the game with a goal from just outside two meters...Rayome blocks a shot by Wilkins out of bounds...

3:46pm Peterson draws a foul and gives an assist to Brandon Schawel on a shot from the outside to make the score 3-2...Cosentino draws a kickout but Rayome makes a save for the Mustangs...Schawel rocks the post with an outside shot but Lyons goes on the attack...Cosentino scores again for the Lions, who own a 4-2 lead midway through the second period.

3:42pm Wilkins scores from the right wing to make the score 3-1 as the first quarter comes to an end.

3:39pm Peterson a steal but the Mundelein offense is nonexistent early due to a strong Lyons defense...Castro catches the crossbar for Lyons...Peterson a field block and then recovers the loose ball...Peterson then scores at two meters to cut the lead in half (2-1 Lyons).

3:35pm Brandon Schawel forces a turnover then draws an ejection in the early stages of the game...Cosentino scores from the point as Lyons was on the advantage and they take a 1-0 lead...Wilkins hits the crossbar with a lob...Nemecek catches a pass from Busse and in one motion throws it into the back of the net to give Lyons a 2-0 lead as Mundelein takes a timeout.

3:30pm Third place game getting underway right.......NOW!

Starters:

Lyons-Halperin, Nemecek, Nemecek, Castro, Wilkins, Busse, Cosentino
Mundelein-Rayome, Peterson, Schawel, Schott, Selle, Gates, Larsen

State Finals Set

2006-05-13T14:04:00.000-05:00

As the dust settles on the morning semifinal action, here is what is coming up beginning at 3:30pm:

BOYS CONSOLATION GAME
3:30pm Mundelein vs Lyons

GIRLS CONSOLATION GAME
5:00pm Stevenson vs McAuley

BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP
6:30pm Fenwick vs Latin

GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP
8:00pm Fenwick vs Ignatius

See ya at 3:30pm........

Ignatius 10 McAuley 3 (Final)

2006-05-13T12:35:00.000-05:00

1:40pm Ignatius was led by Nora Kennelly's 7 goals, while Kate Brankin, Kathleen Maloney, and Yadi Leon each scored once. Lilly Gonzalez, Lilly Cortez, and Ashley Bachler each scored one goal apiece for the Mighty Macs.

1:34pm Hybinette makes a save on McAuley's next shot attempt, then assists Kathleen Maloney on a breakaway goal...Hybinette makes another save as Cortez came open on a drive down the left side...Ignatius runs out the clock to advance to the championship game!

1:31pm Romo comes out of the net at two meters to make a steal from Kennelly, but Kennelly gets a steal on the defensive end...Cortez and McShane team up for a steal at two meters and McAuley takes their second timeout.

1:29pm Kennelly responds with a goal from two meters and Ignatius holds an 8-3 advantage...Leon makes a steal on the defensive end...Leon scores from outside seven meters as the shot clock expires for a 9-3 Ignatius lead with 5:01 left.

1:27pm After an ejection, Ashley Bachler gets McAuley a bit closer with a goal from the left side to make the score 7-3 with 6:02 to go.

1:23pm Romo makes a save at the end of the quarter, but Ignatius maintains a 7-2 lead with one more period to play.

1:20pm Brankin gets open on a counterattack and Hybinette finds her for a goal from the left wing. Romo makes two brilliant saves for McAuley, but Hybinette grabs another save and Kennelly scores again on a backhand from two meters and the Wolfpack now leads 7-2 late in the third period.

1:15pm Kennelly scores on a backhand at two meters and McAuley uses a timeout as they trail 5-2 with 4:0 left in the third period.

1:10pm Wood makes a steal to prevent an Ignatius scoring chance, but Maloney does the same on the other end for Ignatius...Gonzalez makes a steal at two meters with 5:20 to go in the third...Hybinette makes a save on a penalty shot by Wood.

1:04pm Brankin hits the post on a breakaway chance...Leon with a steal but Kennelly fires over the goal...Perez shoots wide left from seven meters out with 1:23 left in the half...Perez makes a steal in the defensive end, but Hybinette denies Wood on a shot from two meters...Kennelly scores on a pass from Ridgeway into two meters and Ignatius leads 4-2 with 0:14 seconds left in the half.

1:01pm Wood nicks the post on a shot from the corner...Kennelly fights to score from two meters and gives Ignatius the 3-2 lead.

12:59pm Kennelly fights for a loose ball and scores to tie the game early in the second quarter. McAuley goalie Genesis Romo makes a save, then Ali Durkin makes a steal to prevent a goal after a kickout...Romo makes another save and Durkin makes another steal.

12:53pm Gonzalez ties the score with a shot from outside seven meters...Genesis Romo and Gonzalez team up for a steal at two meters on the defensive end...Lilly Cortez gives McAuley their first lead with a goal to make the score 2-1. McShane hits the crossbar as time expires in the first quarter.

12:52pm Lilly Gonzalez misses wide right on the game's first shot...she then gets a steal on the defensive end...Hybinette makes a steal on a pass into two meters...Kennelly lofts a shot in from two meters to give Ignatius an early 1-0 lead.

12:51pm We are underway!!!

12:50pm is the slated start time for the final quarterfinal matchup. Starting lineups coming soon:

McAuley-Genesis Romo, Maggie Wood, Laura Perez, Lilly Cortez, Lilly Gonzalez, Elaine Ginger, Amy Jackson
Ignatius-Megan Hybinette, Nora Kennelly, Kathleen Maloney, Yadi Leon, Ali Durkin, Kate Brankin, Maisie O'Malley

Fenwick 14 Stevenson 6 (Final)

2006-05-13T11:22:00.000-05:00

12:30pm Leading scorers...Farren Rixter with 5, Keely Baldwin with 4, and Alison Pavlik, Erin Leary, Trisha Osmalak, Christina Romano, and Morgan Bonk each scored once. For Stevenson...Terri Bukofzer had 5 goals and Mia Cipperoni added one.

12:29am Mia Cipperoni comes in off the bench to score at two meters for Stevenson...Trisha Osmalak responds for the Friars with a goal in the final minute to seal the 14-6 win for Fenwick.

12:25pm Cliburn makes a save on a shot from seven meters by Leary...Wanland shoots over the net from the left side...Romano draws an ejection but Bonk hits the post...Rixter scores from two meters to widen the lead to 13-5 with 2:18 remaining.

12:23pm McCarthy makes a save at the beginning of the final quarter..Baldwin scores from outside to make the Fenwick lead 11-4...Baldwin with a steal and an assist on the counterattack goal by Bonk...Rebecca Shopiro hits the right post from the left side...Bukofzer with a breakaway goal, assisted by Katie Michelau and the score is 12-5.

12:17pm At the end of the quarter, Rixter scores at two meters and Fenwick now leads 10-4.

12:13pm Cliburn denies Bonk from in front as Fenwick was on the advantage...Bukofzer shoots over the goal from four meters...Rixter draws a four meter and Baldwin scores on the penalty shot to make it 9-3. Bukofzer draws a four meter and scores to end the Friars run and get to within 9-4 with 0:45 left in the third period.

12:11pm McCarthy comes up big again to save a shot from Wanland from the left side after an ejection, and she saves another shot by Katie Michelau on Stevenson's next possession.

12:08pm Wanland makes a steal but McCarthy stops Bukofzer at two meters and Leary grabs the loose ball...Rixter adds another goal to make the score 8-3 as Stevenson takes a timeout.

12:06pm Cliburn makes a save on Rixter's two meter attempt...Leary creates a turnover for Fenwick...Rixter puts in a shot from two meters with two defenders on her and makes the score 6-3...Leary helps deflect a shot by Bukofzer into the hands of McCarthy...Jesse Shopiro with a Stevenson steal...Romano into two meters for a steal then assists Baldwin on a breakaway goal as Fenwick threatens to break the game open early in the third period.

11:59am McCarthy makes a huge breakaway save to keep the Friars up by two, Bonk draws a kickout and Fenwick cannot score, but she gets a steal on the defensive end...Stevenson gets one last chance before the half but Pavlik makes a steal as time expires.

11:56am Bukofzer drives in and shoots but McCarthy deflects her shot off the post...Bukofzer a steal at two meters...Shopiro draws a four meter and Bukofzer skips a shot in to make it 5-3.

11:53am Cliburn and McCarthy trade saves on back-to-back possessions, and Rixter scores from two meters to put the Friars ahead 5-2 midway through the second quarter.

11:52am Leary and Romano team up for a steal at two meters, and Baldwin scores from the outside to make the score 4-2.

11:50am Bukofzer opens the quarter with a lob shot for a goal to cut the lead to 3-2...she then draws a four meter, but Laurel McCarthy makes a huge save and Fenwick calls timeout leading by one.

11:46am Rixter draws an ejection but the Friars cannot capitalize...Amy Michelau makes a steal but the Patriots come up short on their counterattack...in the closing seconds of the period, McCarthy denies a Bukofzer backhand from two meters with 0:05 seconds left, but Katie Michelau draws a four meter as time expires and Bukofzer scores on the penalty shot to get Stevenson to within 3-1 at the end of the opening period.

11:41am Pavlik delivers from the left side and the Friars go up 3-0 as Stevenson takes their first timeout with 2:30 remaining in the first quarter.

11:39am Baldwin makes a steal and draws an ejection, then scores from the outside to give the Friars a 2-0 advantage.

11:38am Romano starts the scoring with a lob shot after a drive to make the score 1-0 Fenwick.

11:36am Keely Baldwin makes a steal but Rachel Cliburn saves her breakaway attempt to start the game...Romano with a steal on Stevenson's next possession...Bonk shoots over the net...McCarthy out of the net for a steal from Bukofzer.

11:32am The first girls quarterfinal game gets underway a little bit after 11:30am. Starting lineups:

Fenwick-Laurel McCarthy, Alison Pavlik, Keely Baldwin, Christina Romano, Farren Rixter, Erin Leary, Morgan Bonk
Stevenson-Rachel Cliburn, Terri Bukofzer, Katie Michelau, Jess Shopiro, Aubrey Wanland, Rebecca Shopiro, Samantha Gibson

Fenwick 17 Mundelein 1 (Final)

2006-05-13T10:21:00.000-05:00

11:20am Fenwick was lead by John Barrett, who scored 6 goals, Luke Baldwin added 4 scores, Tom Parolin tallied 3 goals, Andrew McKernin put in 2 scores, and Dan Wolak and Matt Meyer each scored once in the win. Mark Selle scored the lone goal for Mundelein.

11:14am Baldwin assists Dan Wolak on a goal, and the final score ends up 17-1 in favor of Fenwick.

11:09am Jones makes a save to start the fourth period, and after a few minutes of defensive stops, Barrett scores at two meters to make the score 16-1.

11:01am Amazing shot from Parolin at two meters, who lets the ball hit the water and just flips it over his head as the goalie came out of the cage, and the ball falls just beyond the goalline for a 14-1 Fenwick lead. Barrett scores on a breakaway, assisted by Jones, and the Friars are ahead 15-1 at the end of the third quarter.

10:59am Parolin makes a steal in his own end and goes the distance for a breakaway goal...Jones with a save on an outside shot.

10:57am McKernin draws a four meter and Mundelein now has two starters with three ejections...Baldwin puts in the penalty shot to make it 12-1.

10:54am Parolin draws an ejection and Barrett scores to start the half...Parolin makes a steal, but Peterson gets a steal on the other end...Barrett scores again from outside to make it 9-1 Friars...Parolin connects from the left side to make the lead 10-1 Fenwick...McKernin pushes in a rebound after a save by Rayome and Fenwick now leads 11-1.

10:47am Fenwick holds a 7-1 lead at halftime.

10:44am Mark Selle scores from the right side to get Mundelein on the scoreboard...Barrett draws an ejection but the Friars cannot score...Jones makes a save on Peterson from just outside two meters...Rayome denies a drive by Chris Bonk, who recovers the loose ball, but Peterson makes a steal...Barrett assists Baldwin in transition, as his lob shot drops in the bottom right corner to make it 7-1 Fenwick.

10:41am Barrett draws a kickout, but Rayome denies Chris Wendt from the right corner twice, then Andrew Peterson grabs his lob shot as it was about to cross the goalline to prevent a goal. Brandon Schawel draws an ejection for the Mustangs, who then take their second timeout with 2:45 left in the half.

10:36am Barrett skips a shot in from the right side and gives the Friars a 5-0 lead. Wolak assists Luke Baldwin on a drive down the middle and Fenwick has a 6-0 lead with 4:24 remaining in the half.

10:30am Rayome makes a save on Dan Wolak's shot from the corner, Parolin grabs the rebound and backhands a shot off the crossbar and Mundelein recovers as the period ends.

10:27am Luke Baldwin takes a pass from Barrett on a drive and scores to make it 3-0 Fenwick...Rayome denies Parolin on a backhand attempt...Mundelein struggling to generate offense, but Peterson turns his defender but shoots over the goal, and Barrett draws a four meter penalty and puts in the shot to make the score 4-0.

10:24am John Barrett fights off four defenders and almost scores, but Tyler Rayome is out for the eventual steal...After an ejection, Andrew McKernin scores from the left post with 4:4 left in the opening period and Mundelein calls a timeout.

10:22am Matt Meyer scores from the right post to give Fenwick the early lead.

10:20am The teams are announced and we are set for the second game of the boys state semifinals. Starting lineups:

Fenwick-Chris Jones, John Barrett, Andrew McKernin, Matt Meyer, Tom Parolin, Luke Baldwin, Chris Wendt
Mundelein-Tyler Rayome, Geoff Schott, Mark Selle, Brandon Schawel, Andrew Peterson, Sean Larsen, Grant Gates

Latin 12 Lyons 11 (Final)

2006-05-13T08:43:00.000-05:00

10:05am Grant Wilkie scored 5 goals and Jordan Himmel score 4 times to lead the Romans, Tim Wickes added the game-winner, and Sam Kettlewell and Steve Wickes also scored once. Lyons was led by Pat Wilkins with 6 goals, Peter Cosentino scored twice, and Mark Nemecek, Mike Castro, and Scott Nemecek each scored once.

10:02am Henry Fyfe makes a save with three seconds left and Tim Wickes pushes the ball to the corner as time expires and Latin advances to the state championship!!!

10:00am With under 0:30 seconds left, Wilkie draws an ejection on the perimeter, then assists Tim Wickes with a shot from the right wing with just 0:11 seconds remaining and Latin takes a 12-11 lead. Lyons takes a timeout to set up a final play.

9:58am Wilkie takes a pass from Himmel on the right post to tie the score at 11-11...After an ejection, Henry Fyfe comes up big with a save, and the rebound attempt is backhanded wide of the net...Latin takes a timeout with 1:37 remaining and the score tied at 11-11.

9:56am With 2:40 left, Cosentino drills a shot into the left corner to put Lyons back on top 11-10.

9:54am Himmel with a goal from two meters to tie the game at 10-10 with 3:40 left.

9:50am Wilkins scores on a powerplay from the right side to put Lyons ahead 10-8...Himmel responds with agoal from two meters to get the Romans back to within one...Lyons takes a timeout after a missed shot by Latin.

9:44am Castro gets open down the pool after a steal by Lyons and scores to make it 9-7...After drawing an ejection, Himmel scores off a pass from Tim Wickes to cut the lead to 9-8 at the end of the period.

9:39pm Cosentino drives and scores his second straight off a feed from Castro...Kettlewell over the net on a lob...Fyfe gets up to make a save on a lob by Wilkins and Latin takes a timeout.

9:33am Wilkie opens the half with a goal from two meters...Wilkins answers with a goal of his own from the right side...Wilkie comes back with another goal at two meters...Cosentino scores off a pass from Scott Nemecek after driving and stopping at four meters...Wilkie gets loose again at two meters and tips in a loose ball to make the score 7-6 with 4:00 to go in the third...Wilkins hits the opposite post on a lob from the right side...Jordan Himmel ties it at the 3:32 mark with a goal from the left post after driving down the middle.

9:26am Halperin makes two saves after the timeout...Steve Wickes scores from the seven meter mark, but Wilkins comes back down to score from two meters with 0:37 seconds left in the half to put the Lions back ahead by two...Lyons leads at the half 5-3 after each team makes a stop in the final two possessions.

9:22am Willkins gets rid of a backhand as the shot clock expires and just nicks the post...Wilkie draws a kickout but Latin turns it over...Mark Nemecek lofts a shot over Fyfe from the left side and Latin takes a timeout, trailing Lyons by a score of 4-2 with 2:00 left in the half.

9:19am Allen makes a steal for the Romans...Fyfe up to make a save on a lob by Wilkins from the left side...Kettlewell shoots over the net from outside...Tim Wickes with two ejections, neither team has taken a timeout yet...

9:16am Kettlewell makes a steal in a 5-on-5 situation and comes down to elevate, catch, and score off a pass from Steve Wickes to get Latin on the board...Wilkie a field block to start the counterattack for Latin...Himmel drives in and shoots but Halperin just gets his hand on it before it goes in the net...Lyons gets a powerplay chance but Cosentino fires wide left...Conor Allen assists Wilkie on a goal from the left post to get Latin to within one.

9:11am Neither team can score in final minute and Lyons takes a 3-0 lead into the second quarter.

9:07am Halperin another save to keep the shutout...Steve Wickes causes a turnover...Wilkie draws an ejection but Latin cannot score...Kettlewell with his second steal of the period...Nemecek draws an ejection and Wilkins scores from the same spot to make it 3-0.

9:03am Scott Nemecek opens the scoring on Lyons' first possession with a goal from two meters...Kettlewell makes a nice steal at two meters to keep the Romans within one...Halperin makes a save for the Lions; Cosentino shoots wide left...Halperin out of the net for a steal...Pat Wilkins delivers from the left wing with a man-advantage to put Lyons ahead 2-0.

9:00am Starting lineups for each team:

Lyons-Koral Halperin, Paul Busse, Scott Nemecek, Mark Nemecek, Mike Castro, Pat Wilkins, Peter Cosentino
Latin-Henry Fyfe, Sam Kettlewell, Grant Wilkie, Jordan Himmel, Ryan Arvin, Tim Wickes, Steve Wickes

8:45am Live from Stevenson High School, the first boys' semifinal begins in just 15 minutes, with Latin taking on Lyons at 9:00am. Live play-by-play begins then...

State Quarterfinal Top Players

2006-05-13T00:02:00.000-05:00

After the first eight games leading up to the weekend, here are the Top 10 Performers as we saw from the deck:

BOYS
-- Jordan Himmel (Latin)
Scored five goals from two meters and was nearly unstoppable on the offensive end for Latin.
-- Sam Kettlewell (Latin)
Set the tone for the Romans with a steal/goal in the first 15 seconds of their win over Palatine and came up big on the defensive end.
-- Scott Nemecek (Lyons)
Scored 5 goals and had a major impact on offense and defense for the Lions.
-- Mike Castro (Lyons)
Scored the game winner for Lyons in the final minute to help the Lions beat Naperville Central.
-- John Barrett (Fenwick)
Broke loose for 7 goals in Fenwick's opening round win over Lincoln-Way East.
-- Chris Jones (Fenwick)
Allowed only 4 goals and recorded three assists in Fenwick's 19-4 rout of Lincoln-Way East.
-- Andrew Peterson (Mundelein)
Recorded four goals and was also strong on the defensive end to lead Mundelein to a win over Loyola.
-- Nate LeRoy (Loyola)
Tallied 3 goals and helped keep the Ramblers in the game against Mundelein.
-- Jadd Shammas (Naperville Central)
The leading scorer for Central made an impact with his outside shot and defense in their loss to Lyons.
-- Tyler Rayome (Mundelein)
Made 12 saves, including two key blocks and a steal in the closing minutes to send Mundelein to the state semifinals.

GIRLS
-- Erin Leary (Fenwick)
Scored 4 goals from the outside and helped Fenwick beat Naperville Central 16-4 on Friday night.
-- Farren Rixter (Fenwick)
Recorded 4 goals from two meters to help the Friars advance to a semifinal matchup with Stevenson.
-- Terri Bukofzer (Stevenson)
Scored 7 goals and led the Patriots to a win over Lincoln-Way East with a dominant first half, including the first 7 goals for Stevenson.
-- Amy Michelau (Stevenson)
Tallied 4 goals, all coming in the second half, to help the Patriots pull away from Lincoln-Way East in a 14-5 victory.
-- Nora Kennelly (St Ignatius)
Scored 5 goals , both early and late, to lead St Ignatius to the semifinals in a win over Loyola.
-- Kate Brankin (St Ignatius)
With the Wolfpack leading 6-4 and the momentum in favor of the Ramblers, Brankin scored a goal from the point to seal the 9-5 win for Ignatius.
-- Ali Durkin (St Ignatius)
Elevated to catch a high pass to score a key goal in Ignatius' win over Loyola, plus had a strong defensive game for the Wolfpack.
-- Maggie Wood (Mother McAuley)
Helped the Mighty Macs advance to the second round with 3 goals and 5 assists in a tremendous all-around performance.
-- Eileen Turkot (Barrington)
Had a strong performance in the net, keeping the Fillies close in the first half with a handful of solid saves.
-- Christine Menzenberger (Lincoln-Way East)
Made a major impact in goal for the Griffins to keep them in game with Stevenson for over three quarters.

Friday video coming soon...

Mother McAuley 11 Barrington 5 (Final)

2006-05-12T20:11:00.000-05:00

9:15pm Laura Perez scores the final goal of the game as Mother McAuley advances to the semifinals with an 11-5 win.

9:10pm Wood scores again at two meters, where she has been dominant tonight...Jacie Dick gets her first goal to make the score 10-4...after an ejection, Kristine Alfonso puts in a rebound to cut the lead to 10-5.

9:05pm Wood scores early in the final period to make the score 8-1...Barrington draws two straight kickouts and Lizzie Stetson scores from the right side to make the score 8-2...Turkot denies Wood on a shot from the left side...Wood then assists Gonzalez in front and McAuley has a 9-2 edge...After an ejection, Whitney Martin tallies a goal from seven meters and gets the Fillies to within 9-3...

8:54pm Gonzalez assists Amy Jackson for the first goal of the second half and a 7-0 lead...McAuley's backup goalie Genesis Romo makes her second save of the period...Christine Byron gets Barrington on the board with a shot from the left side and makes it 7-1.

8:45pm Before the half, Wood draws a four meter and scores on the penalty shot and makes the score 6-0 in favor of McAuley at halftime.

8:40pm Wood scores on a penalty shot and makes the score 4-0 with 3:50 left in the half...Kelly makes her sixth save from in front to preserve the shutout...Turkot with a save to deny a fifth McAuley goal on a drive...Lizzie Stetson makes a steal on the defensive end, but Gonzalez and Nolan force a turnover...Wood assists Cortez on a drive to increase the advantage to 5-0 with 1:32 remaining...

8:37pm Kelly makes a save to start the second period, but Gielen gets a steal on aMcAuley drive...Wood draws an ejection, leading to a goal by Lilly Gonzalez and a 2-0 McAuley lead...Jacie Dick turns her defender but shoots over the net, and Wood draws an ejection and assists Meghan Nolan on a goal.

8:30pm Bridget Kelly makes her first save of the game, which leads to a McAuley goal by Laura Perez and a 1-0 lead...Kelly makes another save on a drive, but Turkot denies Perez on her next chance...Turkot denies Gonzalez on a drive down the right side...Gonzalez gets a steal on defense in the final minute...Flor Gielen draws a kickout, but Kelly makes a brilliant save to keep McAuley in the lead at the end of the first quarter 1-0.

8:27pm The final quarterfinal gets underway a little late...neither team can get on the board in the first three minutes, as Barrington goalie Eileen Turkot has three saves on McAuley's best chances...the McAuley defense is very strong so far, only allowing two shots on net by Barrington.

Ignatius 9 Loyola 5 (Final)

2006-05-12T03:17:00.000-05:00

8:30pm For Ignatius, Nora Kennelly led the way with 5 goals, and Yadi Leon, Lydia Ridgeway, Kate Brankin, and Ali Durkin scored once for the Wolfpack. Loyola was led by Colleen Shaw (2 goals), while Liz Clarke, Carly Levison, and Jackie Sershon all scored one time.

8:03pm Shaw draws an ejection and Loyola takes their final timeout. Hybinette makes the save and Kennelly adds a late goal with 0:37 seconds remaining...Levison from outside scores to make it 9-5, but it's not enough, as Ignatius goes on to win 9-5.

7:58pm After the timeout, Ignatius uses the clock and Kate Brankin finds the back of the net to make the score 7-4...Hybinette makes a save and assists Kennelly on a breakaway goal as Loyola takes a timeout with 2:22 trailing 8-4.

7:55pm Loyola with a chance to cut it to one by Maloney makes a steal in transition...Shaw makes a steal at two meters...Shaw draws an ejection but Loyola cannot score...Shaw makes a steal on an Ignatius drive and Loyola draws an ejection, but Hybinette makes a save and Ignatius takes a timeout.

7:53pm Leon hits the post, Kennelly the rebound, save by Muntean!

7:52pm Jackie Sershon with a lob from the left side makes it 6-3, and Colleen Shaw follows with a goal from two meters to make it 6-4 in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

7:45pm Shaw draws an ejection at two meters...Levison shoots off the crossbar and Ridgeway makes a field block leading to a breakaway for Kennelly, but she is DENIED on chance by Muntean, who keeps the Ramblers within striking distance as they trail 6-2 at the end of the period.

7:41pm Muntean comes out to make a steal at the 3:45 mark of the third...Harig hits the post from outside and Hybinette recovers...Kennelly a steal at two meters...Carly Levison makes a steal on the perimeter for the Ramblers, but Harig tosses a lob over the net...Muntean a save on a shot by Kennelly...Leon a steal at two meters and an Ignatius timeout.

7:36pm Second half begins..Durkin steal; Ridgeway hits the post; Loyola gets a powerplay chance but Hybinette makes a save...Muntean makes a save on Leon's outside shot...Durkin elevates to catch a high pass and lobs a shot in for a 6-1 lead...Liz Clarke answers for Loyola from the left side to make it 6-2.

7:29pm Defense making stops in the final few minutes of the period; Hybinette a save; Muntean a steal, final seconds of the period...Hybinette hits the crossbar at the end of the half. 5-1 Ignatius leads at the break.

7:22pm Muntean makes a save on Maloney's outside shot; Hybinette with a steal on Jackie Sershon's drive; Muntean with a save on a shot by Kennelly from the right post; Leon with a steal from Shaw at two meters; Lydia Ridegeways's out side shot slips past Muntean for a 5-1 Ignatius lead; Hybinette a save on Sershon's drive.

7:20pm The second quarter starts, as Liz Clarke makes a steal for Loyola, but Ali Durkin is back to make the defensive stop...Hybinette throws it ahead for the eventual assist as Yadi Leon comes open on the left side to make the score 4-1 Ignatius. Timeout Loyola.

7:15pm Maloney draws an ejection; Clarke blocks Kennelly's shot out of bounds; Maloney hits the crossbar from the left post; Kennelly with a steal at two meters then advances it and scores from seven meters to make the score 3-1.

7:13pm Muntean blocks an outside shot by Maloney but Kennelly is there to score on the rebound.

7:11pm Hybinette collects a shot by Shaw that falls short of the goalline; Maloney misses over the net for Ignatius; Hybinette a save; Ali Durkin draws an ejection on Liz Clarke for Ignatius...Nora Kennelly with a crazy lob from the lane lines to the opposite corner to tie the score at 1-1.

7:04pm Yadi Leon draws an offensive foul; Kathleen Maloney shoots over goal; Colleen Shaw makes the score 1-0 with a goal from two meters; Muntean denies Maloney on an outside shot; Hybinette makes a save on Sam Shehan's drive; Shaw hits the right post on a backhand attempt; Leon makes a steal on Emily Harig's breakaway chance; Leon with a steal from Shaw at two meters.

Stevenson 14 LWE 5 (Final)

2006-05-12T03:16:00.002-05:00

7:00pm Stevenson was led by Terri Bukofzer's 7 goals, Amy Michelau added 4 scores, Rebecca Shopiro put in 2 goals, and Katie Michelau added one tally. For LWE, Rachel Peyton scored twice, while Sharon Pomranky, Erin Reilly, and Laura Kingsbury each added one goal.

6:44pm Rebecca Shopiro scores twice in a row from outside, and Amy Michelau adds a goal in the final minute to seal the 13-5 win for Stevenson.

6:38pm Menzenberger makes a save, but Amy Michelau scores on the rebound as LWE takes a timeout trailing 11-5 with 2:00 remaining.

6:33pm Katie Michelau scores on a breakaway to start the period, while Menzenberger and Cliburn keep the score from changing with saves over the next few minutes...

6:21pm Amy Michelau takes a pass from her sister Katie on a counterattack and scores to make the score 8-5 with 2:30 to go...Bukofzer assists Amy Michelau on a drive to make the score 9-5 late in the period. LWE draws an ejection but doesn't get a shot off as the period expires.

6:12pm Bukofzer scores in the first minute for the Patriots...Erin Reilly answers for the Griffins with a goal to make it 6-5 with 5:40 left in the third...Menzenberger with two saves for LWE...Aubrey Wanland's backhand goes wide left for Stevenson...Bukofzer strikes again for her seventh goal and LWE takes a timeout.

6:06pm Bukofzer scores the fifth goal to put the Patriots back on top late in the half...Menzenberger makes two saves in the final minute...LWE cannot score after a kickout, but Menzenberger makes a save at the end of the half.

6:03pm Peyton scores from two meters to give LWE the 4-3 lead...Christine Menzenberger keeps the Griffins up one with a save, but Stevenson's Rachel Cliburn comes back with a save of her own...Bukofzer scores her fourth goal from two meters to tie it up at 4-4 with 2:15 to play...

6:02pm Sarah Cempel scores her first on an outside shot to give the Griffins a 3-2 lead. Bukofzer responds with her third goal to tie it. Peyton misses wide left on a drive and the score remains tied with 5:20 left in the half.

5:58pm Both teams play tough defense to end the first quarter tied at 2-2.

5:50pm Terri Bukofzer starts the scoring off on a breakaway goal after two minutes of action...later in the period, Jesse Shopiro assists Bukofzer on her second goal...after an ejection, Sharon Pomranky scores from the left post to cut the lead in half. After another ejection, Rachel Peyton puts one in from two meters to tie the game at 2-2 as Stevenson takes a timeout.

5:45pm Stevenson and LWE get underway in fifteen minutes...

Fenwick 16 Naperville Central 4 (Final)

2006-05-12T03:16:00.000-05:00

6:00pm Scoring for the Friars were Farren Rixter (4 goals), Erin Leary (4 goals), Keely Baldwin (2 goals), Morgan Bonk (2 goals), Christina Romano (2 goals), Allison Brokovec (1 goal), and Alison Pavlik (1 goal). For the Redhawks, Kara Wilson scored twice and Elisa Menis and Colleen Young both scored once.

5:22pm Colleen Young scores for Central, then draws a kickout...McCarthy makes a save on an outside shot...Allison Brokovec scores on a powerplay from the left side to make the score 16-4...

5:17pm No scoring in the fourth period halfway through, Fenwick still leads 15-3.

5:09pm Rixter scores at two meters before the end of the period...Elisa Menis puts in a rebound after Wilson hit the crossbar and makes the score 15-3 heading to the fourth quarter.

5:02pm Defense takes over in the second half, until Kara Wilson scores from two meters to make the score 12-2...Rixter scores from the left post to make it 13-2...Romano gets open on a drive to score and get the lead to 14-2...

4:53pm Walk makes a save, but Rixter scores from two meters on Fenwick's next possession...Kara Wilson gets Naperville on the board from in front to make it 11-1...Romano scores from outside to make it 12-1...McCarthy gets up to make a save on Elisa Menis' counterattack shot...Walk makes a save on Kaitlin Kysiak fron the right side to keep Central within, uhh...11. ..Walk makes two brilliant saves on Rixter's 2-on-1 chance...Romano gets loose on a breakaway to draw a four meter, but Walk makes two saves to deny a goal...

4:47pm McCarthy makes a save and assists Alison Pavlik on a breakaway goal to make the score 8-0...Erin Leary from DOWNTOWN makes it 9-0 Fenwick...Walk with a save on Pavlik's shot from the right corner...Nikki Nelson draws a kickout but Central cannot score on the advantage...Erin Leary scores again to make it 10-0...Fenwick takes a timout after drawing an ejection.

4:42pm Bonk scores in front of the net to make it 7-0, then McCarthy denies Oldenburg from two meters...Walk makes a save at the end of the quarter to the Redhawks within, uhh....seven.

4:40pm Jefferds makes a steal but Bonk steals it back, feeds Rixter, who hits the post, but Bonk pushes home the rebound to make it 6-0.

4:38pm Jenna Jefferds hits the post from in front and McCarthy keeps the shutout...Bonk hits the post from outside but Rixter recovers the rebound and draws a foul...Leary connects from outside and it is now 5-0.

4:37pm Walk makes a save on a drive but Romano draws a four meter and Baldwin adds the penalty shot goal and makes the score. Central takes a timeout.

4:34pm We are underway...Brittany Walk and Laurel McCarthy with early saves, Keely Baldwin in transition with a goal from Farren Rixter and Fenwick leads 1-0...Erin Leary with a steal, then scores from seven meters to put the Friars up 2-0...Baldwin with a steal on a Naperville powerplay...Morgan Bonk with a steal, swims down the pool, then assists Rixter on a goal to make it 3-0.

4:30pm start for the first girls quarterfinal game...

Day 1 Wrapup

2006-05-11T21:23:00.000-05:00

The play-by-play is up for as much of a recap from tonight's game as I could provide. I should have a video and some audio updates either later tonight or tomorrow morning.

On Saturday morning, the semifinals are set, as Latin will battle Lyons and Fenwick will take on Mundelein.

Up next: the girls quarterfinal games, starting with Fenwick-NC, followed by Stevenson-LWE, Loyola-Ignatius, and McAuley-Barrington

Mundelein 10 Loyola 8 (Final)

2006-05-11T19:59:00.000-05:00

9:14pm Mundelein is the last team to advance with a 10-8 win over Loyola. Andrew Peterson had 4 goals in the win, Mark Selle and Grant Gates each added a pair, and Brandon Schawel and Geoff Schott also recorded one tally each. Ryan Egan scored 4 times to lead the Ramblers, while Nate LeRoy added 3 goals and Evan Rourke scored once.

9:08pm LeRoy with a steal at the 2:27 mark...Peterson steals it back with 2:13 to go...Schawel gets open with a chance to seal the game for Mundelein, but Weissert deflects the ball off the post and Loyola counters. Peterson creates a turnover and Mundelein calls a timeout.

9:05pm Selle fires a shot wide left after a Mundelein timeout... Weissert with a huge save on Schawel's shot from four meters out...Lukacs with a steal...Selle just misses on a lob with 4:30 left...LeRoy draws an ejection but Evan Rourke fires over the net...Mark Selle hits a backhand from two meters and the lead is 10-8 Mundelein...LeRoy draws an ejection but Rayome denies his first chance...Peterson with a field block on Stonequist and the Mustangs cling to a two goal lead.

9:01pm Egan gets Loyola one goal closer with a score in the first minute of the fourth period, then Selle hits the post and Weissert denies his rebound attempt with 6:00 left...Matt Patterson assists LeRoy with a goal from the right post and the Ramblers are down by just one with 5:32 left in the game.

8:55pm Ricky Lukacs with a steal in the final minute for the Mustangs, and Goggle Boy aka Geoff Schott scores from the left post to put Mundelein up 9-6 with :01 second left in the third period.

8:52pm Defense takes over the next few minutes, until Brandon Schawel scores at two meters to make the Mustang lead 8-5 with 2:00 left in the third period. Egan scores for Loyola on the powerplay and LeRoy makes a steal to give Loyola another chance to score, but Mundelein makes a stop to keep the two goal advantage.

8:48pm Weissert with two early saves to keep Loyola within one...Rayome recovers a rebound after LeRoy hits the post on a penalty shot...After a Loyola steal, Peterson steals a pass in the offensive end and assists Selle on a lob shot to make the score 7-5 as Loyola takes a timeout.

8:40pm LeRoy scores a crazy goal on a breakaway, but Peterson responds with a goal of his own at two meters to tie it. Weissert makes a save on Schott's attemp, but Peterson puts in a backhand from four meters with 0:02 remaining in the half to put the Mustangs ahead 5-4 at halftime.

8:37pm Egan scores from two meters to make it 4-3 Loyola, but Andrew Peterson answers with a two meter goal, assisted by Schawel, and the score is tied at 4-4.

8:34pm Nate LeRoy draws an ejection and lobs a shot in to tie the game at 3-3. After a kickout, Peterson hits the post, but Mundelein gets it back. Selle has his shot blocked by Weissert and the score stays even. Rayome blocks Egan's shot at two meters, then Schott makes a steal to prevent a Loyola goal.

8:31pm Tyler Rayome makes a save on Loyola's first scoring chance of the second quarter, and then Loyola calls a timeout. Weissert denies Mark Selle and then Sean Larsen on consecutive plays. Peterson creates a turnover at two meters as Egan had a chance to score.

8:25pm Gates gives the Mustangs their first lead with a goal from two meters. LeRoy draws a kickout at the buzzer, so Loyola will start the second period with a man-up situation.

8:22pm O'Connell draws an ejection but hits the post at two meters...Weissert makes two saves in a row to keep Loyola up by a goal...field block by O'Connell but Grant Gates picks up the rebound and scores from four meters out to tie the game at 2-2...Mundelein then takes a timeout.

8:16pm Ryan Egan scores for Loyola on their first possession...Andrew Peterson draws a kickout and then scores on the man-up situation to tie it at 1-1...Nate LeRoy puts the Ramblers up 2-1, then Adam Weissert makes a save to keep Loyola on top...Geoff Schott with a steal for the Mustangs, but Dan O'Connell makes a steal on the other end for Loyola.

8:00pm Mundelein and Loyola are warming up and we will be right back with the coverage at 8:15pm.

Fenwick 19 Lincoln-Way East 4 (Final)

2006-05-11T18:52:00.000-05:00

9:19pm John Barrett had 7 goals for the Friars, Chris Bonk, Tom Parolin, and Luke Baldwin all scored twice, and Tom Grusecki, Andrew McKernin, Matt Meyer, Will Dietz, and Steve Ahern all added one goal apiece. LWE got 2 goals from Zach VanSwol and one goal each from Steve King and Sean Creedon.

7:56pm Bonk adds his second goal and gives the Friars a 17-4 lead. Tom Grusecki comes in off the bench to make it 18-4. Steve Ahern scores for Fenwick with 1:53 to play and the lead grows to 19-4. Kegan Daugherty makes a breakaway save at the end of the game to put a stamp on the Fenwick victory.

7:46pm Barrett starts the scoring in the fourth period to increase Fenwick's advantage to 14-4. Barrett adds a four meter penalty shot to make it 15-4, then Wolak draws an ejection and Chris Bonk scores from the left side to put Fenwick ahead 16-4.

7:42pm Parolin turns his defender at two meters for a goal, then Matt Meyer scores after a kickout at two meters to make the score 13-4. Jones hits the post from his own net at the end of the third quarter.

7:40pm VanSwol scores again for LWE, but Wendt answers for the Friars who now lead 12-4 late in the period.

7:36pm Parolin opens the scoring in the second half from two meters to increase the lead to 9-2...Baldwin scores from four meters out, assisted by Wolak, and the lead goes to 10-2...Zach VanSwol with a goal from seven meters out for LWE cuts the lead to 10-3...Barrett draws a kickout then scores off a pass from Parolin and makes it 11-3.

7:25pm Andrew McKernin scores at two meters after the ejection, then Chris Wendt scores from outside two meters with 0:52 seconds remaining to make the score 6-2 in favor of Fenwick. Jones comes out of the net for a steal, leading to a counterattack goal by Dan Wolak, assisted by Luke Baldwin. Barrett makes a steal and assists Luke Baldwin on a breakaway goal and an 8-2 with 0:06 left in the half. Baldwin makes a field block at the end of the first half.

7:22pm Golden makes two more close saves, but Jason Ament is denied on a breakaway chance, leading to a goal by Parolin, who turned his defender at two meters. Fenwick later draws an ejection and takes a timeout.

7:18pm Sean Creedon opens the quarter for LWE with a goal, then Ryan Golden comes up with a big save for the Griffins to deny a goal...Golden denies Dan Wolak at two meters twice, leading to a lob shot from Steve King that makes it 3-2 with 4:11 to go in the second period...

7:11pm Barrett scores his third goal of the opening quarter as Fenwick take s a 3-0 lead with 0:09 left in the quarter...Jones denies Zach VanSwol from outside as the time expires.

7:09pm Jones with a save, but Fenwick cannot get a shot off before the shot clock expires and LWE draws a kickout and takes a timeout.

7:04pm The game is underway and John Barrett scores from seven meters out just :29 seconds into the game. Andrew McKernin with a field block to prevent a powerplay goal on LWE's first possession. Tom Parolin draws a kickout but Jason Ament makes a steal...Barrett with a steal for Fenwick, Steve King responds with a steal for LWE...Jones with a save on a shot by Kevin Puscaric...Parolin assists Barrett on a goal during a man-up situation to make it 2-0 Fenwick.

6:58pm 10 minutes until the third quarterfinal between Fenwick and Lincoln-Way East gets underway...

Lyons 12 Naperville Central 11 (Final)

2006-05-11T17:32:00.000-05:00

9:17pm Scott Nemecek leads all scorers with 6 goals, while Mike Castro and Peter Cosentino added two goals apiece and Pat Wilkins and Paul Busse each scored once. For Central, Jadd Shammas led the way with 3 goals, Ryan Alberts, Pat Leclair, and Tyler Olsen all scored twice and Kevin Bell and Ben Li each added a goal.

6:42pm LYONS advances to the semifinals with a 12-11 win over Naperville Central. More later...

6:41pm Central hits the post and the ball bounces out of bounds and Lyons runs out the clock for the win.

6:40pm Mike Castro scores from two meters with 0:46 left and makes it 12-11 Lyons...Timeout Naperville Central...

6:39pm Shammas scores from seven meters after the timeout to tie the game at 11-11 with 1:00 to go...

6:35pm Cosentino scores a powerplay goal from seven meters to make it 11-8 Lyons...Bell assists Olsen on a goal from the left side to cut it to 11-9...Stein out of the net to make a steal...Busse makes a steal at two meters for Lyons...Stein denies Nemecek at two meters...Shammas gets open at two meters for a goal with 1:35 remaining...

6:31pm Halperin and Stein make saves on each team's first possesion...Bell draws a kickout but Halperin makes a save...Leclair makes a steal...Halperin denies a lob by Saltzman...Nemecek draws a kickout, then Lyons gets another ejection, and Castro scores from the right side to make the score 10-7.

6:25pm Nemecek draws a four meter and scores to make it 9-7. Central draws a kickout and takes a timeout with 0:47 left in the third period. Lyons with a save and a field block to prevent Central from getting within one at the end of the quarter.

6:17pm Nemecek scores on a powerplay goal to get Lyons ahead 8-6. Alberts responds with a lob from the left side and cuts the lead down to 8-7. Stein makes a save with 2:45 left in the third.

6:14pm Nemecek scores as Stein comes out of the net for the steal attempt and Lyons leads 6-4. Stein takes away a goal from Castro from two meters to keep Central within striking distance. Castro draws an ejection and Nemecek scores from the left side as Lyons now leads 7-4. Ben Li scores on a lob from seven meters out (assisted by Bell) and the score is now 7-5. Bell turns his defender at two meters and scores to make it 7-6.

---HALFTIME---

6:07pm Mike Castro scores from the left post to give Lyons a 5-4 advantage. Stein deflects Nemecek's shot at two meters to keep the Redhawks within one. Busse deflects Alberts' shot out of bounds late in the period, then Halperin denies Bell from two meters with 0:16 left in the half.

6:01pm Halperin makes a save on Saltzman's outside shot early in the second period. Cosentino gets open and scores from the left side on a drive to tie the game at 3-3. Halperin blocks a close shot by Kevin Bell to keep the score even. Scott Nemecek scores from the left side on a powerplay goal to put the Lions ahead 4-3. Leclair lobs a shot from the left side as the shot clock expires to tie the game at 4-4.

5:55pm Olsen draws a kickout and then scores on a man-up situation from outside seven meters to make the score 3-2. Stein makes a save on an outside shot but Busse makes a steal before the end of the half as Central leads Lyons 3-2 after one period.

5:50pm Scott Nemecek breaks the tie with a lob shot to make it 2-1, but Stein denies a lob by Pter Cosentino on the next play. Pat Leclair hits the crossbar and Koral Halperin draws a foul to prevent a goal. Halperin blocks a shot by Tyler Olsen, but Ryan Alberts recovers the loose ball in front, draws a four meter, then scores the penalty shot to tie the game at 2-2.

5:48pm Both defenses string early on...Paul Busse gets open on a breakaway and scores to put Lyons up 1-0....Max Saltzman assists Jadd Shammas on a drive to tie the score at 1-1.

5:33pm Both teams are in the water warming up. Starting lineups and other info coming soon. The winner will play Latin tomorrow at 9:00am.

Strating lineups:

Lyons-

Naperville Central-

Latin 15 Palatine 7 (Final)

2006-05-11T16:15:00.000-05:00

7:30pm Jordan Himmel led Latin with 5 goals, Sam Kettlewell and Grant Wilkie each scored three times, and Steve Wickes and Connor Allen both had two goals. For Palatine, Chris Wolocha, Skylar Davis, and Kevin Wood each scored twice, while Mitch Tucker added one goal.

5:31pm Latin advances to the semifinals with a 15-7 win over Palatine. Stats and such a bit later as we now jump to the next blog entry for Lyons-Naperville Central at 5:45pm.

5:29pm Kevin Wood adds a late goal for Palatine and Chris Wolocha scores his first goal with 0:38 left to go as Latin's lead is now 15-6. Grzybek assists Wolocha on his second goal with 0:09 to go and Latin runs out the clock and wins 15-7.

5:25pm Kettlewell adds a goal from the outside to make it 15-4 as Palatine takes timeout with 2:01 to play.

5:23pm Wilkie assists Allen on a shot from outside seven meters as the Romans are able to sub in for most of their starters leading 14-4 with 2:46 left.

5:19pm Himmel starts the period out with a goal and a 13-4 Latin lead. After a few defensive stops for each side, Latin takes a timeout with 3:52 left to play.

5:13pm After a Palatine timeout, Fyfe and Blackham each make a save in the final minute. Ffye tosses a pass that Wilkie tips in at the buzzer as Latin takes a 12-4 lead with just one quarter remaining.

5:08pm Latin takes a timeout leading 10-4 midway through the third quarter. Himmel takes a pass from Steve Wickes and scores from the right post, making it 11-4 Latin. Fyfle deflects a shot out of bounds for the Romans, then makes another save to keep Latin up by seven. Three saves in a row for Fyfe with 2:31 to go.

5:02pm Himmel assists Kettlewell on an early goal as Latin takes a 9-3 lead. Skylar Davis gets a goal from the right side as Palatine answers right back, then Steve Grzybek makes a steal and Palatine counters. Fyfe comes out of the net to make a steal on Palatine's pass into set. Himmel turns his defender, stops, then fires a shot into the back of the net as the Romans go ahead 10-4.

-----------HALFTIME------------

4:46pm Palatine gets another powerplay chance, but Kettlewell makes a steal and the Pirates do not get a shot off. Blackham makes a save on a long shot as the halftime buzzer sounds.

4:54pm Allen makes a steal, Himmel draws a kickout, then assists Tim Wickes on a left-handed goal from the right side to increase the advantage to 8-2. Wood sweeps a shot wide of the post, but he makes a steal and assists Mitch Tucker on a breakaway to make it 8-3.

4:51pm After the timeout, Kevin Wood draws an ejection and scores to cut the lead to 6-2. The Pirates get another man-up situation, but Fyfe makes a key save to keep the Romans ahead by four. Himmel responds with a goal from the right side to make the score 7-2.

4:46pm Henry Fyfe makes a save, and Connor Allen scores on a skip shot from the left corner, leading to a Palatine timeout with 3:49 to go in the half.

4:45pm After winning the swimoff, Palatine's Mike Nocella draws a kickout, but Tim Wickes comes up with two field blocks on the man-up situation and the Pirates cannot score. Himmel turns his defender but rocks the post with a shot at two meters. Steve Wickes gets another steal. Mitch Tucker gets a steal but lobs a shot over the net on the counterattack. Steve Wickes drives in and puts home a pass from Wilkie to make it 5-1 Latin with 4:30 remaining in the second quarter.

4:39pm A Tim Wickes steal leads to a goal off a drive by Wilkie (assisted by Connor Allen), and Palatine misses at the end of the period and trails Latin 4-1 after the opening quarter.

4:36pm Steve Gryzbek makes a defensive stop, but Kettlewell gets his fourth steal to prevent a breakaway chance for Palatine. Gryzbek forces another turnover, but Tim Wickes grabs his second steal with under two minutes left in period one. Wilkie scores from the post on an assist from Steve Wickes to make it 3-1 with 1:28 to go.

4:33pm Sam Kettlewell makes a steal and scores an uncontested goal in the first 15 seconds and Latin leads 1-0. Kettlewell makes his second steal on the defensive end, which eventually leads to a Jordan Himmel goal from two meters (assisted by Grant Wilkie). Kettlewell earns steal #3 on defense, but Kevin Wood forces a turnover on the other end. Skylar Davis connects on an outside shot to get Palatine within one (2-1 - 5:09). Himmel draws an ejection at two meters, then draws a second kickout on the same play, but Spencer Blackham denies Wilkie's 6-on-4 shot to keep Palatine within one.

4:20pm The first boys' quarterfinal begins in less than 10 minutes. Palatine vs Latin. We will have live updates every few minutes with as much play-by-play as possible. The refs are getting the teams lined up and we crowd is slowly filling up the stands.

The starting lineups:

Latin - Henry Fyfe (goalie), Tim Wickes, Stephen Wickes, Grant Wilkie, Jordan Himmel, Sam Kettlewell, Ryan Arvin

Palatine - Spencer Blackham (goalie), Skylar Davis, Kevin Wood, Steve Gryzbek, Chris Wolocha, Mike Nocella, Mitch Tucker

State Water Polo Eve...Or Something

2006-05-10T18:21:00.000-05:00

Things have actually been boring today, as there have only been one or two minor updates to the site. As much as I like having a break, it feels a little strange with the water polo state quarterfinals on the horizon within the next 24 hours. It is probably a result of the fact that, except for Sundays, there have been 12-40 water polo games per night since March.

Here is the gameplan for the site over the weekend. Live play-by-play updates for the quarterfinal games on Thursday and Friday. And hopefully some video clips from each game as well...everything depends on how close each game is. And we will err on the side of getting the play-by-play done for those who cannot attend the games but would like to know what is going down every few minutes or so.

So tomorrow the boys games begin. Latin vs Palatine in the early game. Lyons vs Naperville Central to follow. Fenwick vs Lincoln-Way East at 7:00pm. And the nightcap pits Mundelein vs Loyola. The games should be great; hopefully we can keep up with everything for you!

All-Illpolo Teams

2006-05-08T17:19:00.000-05:00

I would be lying if I didn't say that I really don't like doing the All-Illpolo Teams. I started figuring these out a few weeks ago then kept tinkering with them every so often after seeing more games and more players perform. Then it gets to the end of the year and I want to include so many players who I have seen play well, so I keep adding and trying to figure things out and trying to match it all up with how All-State will be voted and then I start to think...what do I care about All-State, this is All-Illpolo and if I could I would create my own awards with my own awards banquet and we'd get some musical acts like Twisted Sister, Bonecrusher, and Sugar Ray to perform and all that...

...what we end up with is 6 teams, and I want everyone to keep in mind that this is strictly what I SAW and they are only MY OPINIONS and there are always factors like, a player was sick when I saw their team play 4 games at a tournament or something along those lines, so it's all just a matter of what I saw, heard about ,etc...plus, keep in mind that there really aren't a ton of resources out there to figure out what happened every single night like there would be for college basketball or a sport like that.

Weeeeeee Reaady - Sectional Finals Blog

2006-05-06T12:01:00.000-05:00

3:37pm Barrington defeated Fremd 8-5 to advance...LWE upsets LWC in overtime, as Sarah Campel scored the game winner with just over one minute to play.

3:07pm Stevenson clinches another state berth with an 11-5 victory over Mundelein.

3:01pm LOYOLA girls advance with an 11-7 win over New Trier. Jackie Sershon led the way on offense for the Ramblers with 4 goals. Three games left to go...

2:50pm Loyola leads New Trier 8-4 with just 7:00 minutes to go...Barrington leads Fremd 5-1 after one period...McAuley and Sandburg are in progress...

2:38pm Umm...girls teams that have advanced: Fenwick, Ignatius, Naperville Central; currently, Barrington and Loyola lead early on in their games, while three other games are in progress right now.

2:22pm Fenwick will be the second team to advance as they wrap up their game with Oak Park; at last check they led 11-4 late in the game. Also, Loyola, who had a 2-0 lead early over New Trier, saw their lead cut in half at the end of the quarter.

2:17pm Ignatius claims the first girls berth with a 10-2 win over Latin...Nora Kennelly scored 5 goals in the Wolfpack's win. In earlier boys games, Jason Ament led LWE with 4 goals in their win, while Skylar Davis poured in 6 scores for Palatine. Naperville Central up 5-2 with 5:00 minutes to go against Neuqua Valley.

2:11pm LYONS claims the final state berth, beating Sandburg 15-8...earlier, Tom Parolin scored 4 goals to lead Fenwick over St Patrick...and with so much going on and overlapping, two more games have started between Stevenson-Mundelein and Loyola-New Trier; also, Barrington-Fremd and LWC-LWE are getting underway now - this means we now have 8 boys teams that have advanced and 7 girls gaves in progress. (Sandburg-McAuley starts at 2:30pm)

2:06pm TWO NEW TEAMS HAVE PUNCHED THEIR TICKET TO STATE: Lincoln-Way East beats rival Lincoln-Way Central 12-8, while Palatine also beats Fremd 12-6 to qualify for state.

2:01pm Central leading Neuqua 3-1 at halftime, Ignatius still up 7-2, Fenwick up 8-1 on Oak Park.

1:51pm Ignatius explodes for 3 straight goals to lead 6-2 over Latin late in the second quarter. Fenwick now leading Oak Park 5-0. Central and Neuqua go to the second quarter tied at 1-1. Nothing yet from the boys games, other than Palatine up 9-5 on Fremd. Ignatius up 7-2 after a Maisie O'Malley goal.

1:45pm Central and Neuqua tied at 1-1 early, Fenwick leads Oak Park 3-0 nearing the end of one period, and Ignatius clinging to a 3-2 lead over Latin (all girls games)...Yadi Leon scores on an outside shot after a timeout to make it 4-2 Ignatius.

1:38pm Claire Henderson answers for Latin after Nora Kennelly scored for Ignatius; Ignatius leads after one period 2-1.

1:33pm Ali Durkin scores the first goal for St Ignatius as they lead Latin 1-0 early...Palatine in control at halftime over Fremd 7-3...

1:27pm Put two more in progess signs up, as St Ignatius-Latin should be a close game and the same goes for Naperville Central-Neuqua Valley.

1:23pm Palatine leads Fremd by one goal after the opening period at their sectional (3-2)...

1:16pm Three boys games are in play right now; Palatine-Fremd, Lyons-Sandburg, and LWE-LWC..one girls game has also started just now (Fenwick-Oak Park).

1:14pm Fenwick has knocked off St Patrick 9-6 to advance to state...in the other games, Nate LeRoy led Loyola with 6 goals in the Ramblers win over Evanston...both Kevin Bell and Tyler Olsen scored three goals in Central's sectional win over Waubonsie...

12:59pm Naperville Central beats Waubonsie 9-6 to advance to state...Latin wins14-5 over St Ignatius...Mundelein advances 14-11 over Stevenson...and as mentioned before, Loyola beat Evanston 13-5.

12:55pm Loyola advances to state with a 13-5 win over Evanston...Stevenson creeps closer with two quick goals in the fourth quarter; they trail 12-9...Latin, already up 4 most of the game, played man-up the entire fourth quarter after a brutality call on Ignatius and now leads 12-4 with a few minutes left...

12:49pm Loyola looking like the first team to advance, as they hold a 10-4 lead on Evanston...Latin also seeing a state berth ahead of them as they lead Ignatius 9-4 heading to the fourth quarter...

12:42pm Mundelein ahead of Stevenson 10-7 with one quarter remaining...Latin leads Ignatius 8-4 in the third...Loyola leads Evanston 8-4 after the third period...Central leads Waubonsie 7-4 after three...

12:35pm St Ignatius got to within 7-4 of Latin, but Jordan Himmel scored with 4:14 to go in the third period to keep the Romans in control....Naperville Central now leads Waubonsie 5-3 halfway through the third quarter...

12:31pm Mundelein posts an 8-6 lead over Stevenson at halftime...Loyola scores two quick goals to lead Evanston 5-2.

12:26pm Aaron Hecht makes it 5-2, but Grant Wilkie scores just moments later to push Latin's lead over St Ignatius to 6-2...Waubonsie and Central are deadlocked at 2-2 late in the first half...Evanston's goal at the end of the half was disallowed as time had expired before the shot, so they remain behind 3-1 at the half...Ignatius scores with 0:13 seconds left in the half to try and hang in with Latin, as they now trail 7-3 at halftime...now Central has gone ahead of Waubonsie by one goal at halftime (4-3)...no report from Fenwick-Pats or Mundelein-Stevenson.

12:19pm Balanced attack for Latin has the Romans ahead 5-1 midway through the second...Evanston has gotten a bit closer with their first goal cutting Loyola's lead down to 3-1 with 2:15 to play in the half.

12:11pm Nate LeRoy has scored twice for Loyola and the Ramblers are in control early with a 3-0 lead on Evanston...St Ignatius got on the board late in the first quarter but Latin had an answer and leads 4-1 heading to the second quarter...Waubonsie and Naperville Central are even at 1-1 after one period of play.

12:04pm Sam Kettlewell strikes for Latin and the Romans have a 1-0 lead after their first possession. Grant Wilkie scores from up top to make the score 2-0 Latin...no score reports from elsewhere yet.

12:00pm The sectional finals begin......NOW!

Getting Closer...

2006-05-06T09:14:00.000-05:00

We are less than 3 hours away from our first sectional finals...5 boys games get started at noon; Latin vs St Ignatius, Waubonsie vs Naperville Central, Fenwick vs St Patrick, Mundelein vs Stevenson, and Loyola vs Evanston. The other 3 boys games start at 1:00pm, while the earliest girls game starts at 1:15pm (Fenwick-Oak Park) and the latest game is at 2:30pm (McAuley-Sandburg). Good luck to everyone playing!!!

Saturday Live Updates

2006-05-06T03:07:00.000-05:00

Yes it is 3:00am and yes I am still doing work on the site. I don't even think the Red Bull works anymore so who knows what I am going to do tomorrow...anyways, I will be updating the scores on the main page right in the middle, just scroll down a little bit to see them. I'll also be posting live updates on the blog while attending two of the sectional final games myself. I am trying to get as many contacts as possible at as many sites that I can to keep me (aka you) updated frequently, but if you are attending a game and want to help out with text messages or even phone messages, please do so...

Send text or voicemail to (847) 331-6520. You won't have to talk to anyone if you call, you can just leave a quick message.

Anyways, I'd say I was tailgating but I don't think the Taco Bell drive thru at 3:00am counts the same as grilling burgers or ribs out in front of a football field or something. I actually don't even know what I'm talking about at this point so I'm just gonna shut up and wait for 16 water polo games between 12:00pm and 3:00pm.

Send updates if you got em!!!

Sectional Semifinals - Blogging With My Eyes Half Closed

2006-05-05T15:58:00.000-05:00

Ok maybe more later...

9:43pm Fremd cruised to a 15-8 win over Rolling Meadows - they meet Barrington tomorrow. Final score not posted...Lincoln-Way East vs Andrew...

9:25pm Latin pulls out a 9-8 victory over Evanston to advance to face St Ignatius tomorrow afternoon. Sandburg is officially in after beating Stagg 11-8.

9:10pm Loyola and New Trier both advanced at the GBN Sectional. Latin and Evanston are locked in a tight battle that will come down to the final few minutes at UIC.

8:54pm #3 seed Oak Park defeats #2 seed York 13-6 to advance to the sectional final against Fenwick tomorrow afternoon. Neuqua Valley wraps up a win over Hinsdale South, while Mundelein does the same over Libertyville.

8:44pm Latin leads Evanston 6-5 at halftime in one of the best games of the night!

8:37pm In the 2-3 matchups going on now, New Trier does battle with St Viator, Latin-Evanston should be very tight all the way through (overtime in their regular season game), York-Oak Park could go either way as they split their games this year, LWE-Andrew and Meadows-Fremd could go either way, while Stagg and Libertyville look to pull upsets over Sandburg and Mundelein, respectively.

8:34pm Come on....STILL waiting for the Loyola/P-W update...the other 7 girls scores are in with all the top seeds advancing; Barrington was the latest with a 17-8 win over Conant.

8:17pm Last batch of games for the evening. I wish I had some master scheme to get to every Sectional final tomorrow, but everything is all happening at once so...it renders my usual Sectional Road Map useless this year (if you even remember what I am talking about). I may have to break that thing out again...in the past years, the sectional finals were staggered so I ended up going to four places on the final Saturday to see different teams advance to state, preceded by my going to the other 4 sites in the previous 2-3 days for the quarterfinals and semifinals. And I was tired and I drew a map in Paint while I was driving and it didn't end up looking so great, but it was funny.

8:00pm As expected, the top seeds are advancing, as Fenwick, McAuley, Ignatius, Stevenson, Naperville Central, and Lincoln-Way Central are into the sectional finals. Can Loyola and Barrington also get there???

7:24pm The early reportshave McAuley up on Lyons 6-2 and Naperville Central ahead of Hinsdale Central at the half 8-2. Other games with question marks...Loyola and Prospect/Wheeling have not faced each other this year, so there is upset potential there...can Conant carry their overtime win and the momentum over to tonight's game with Barrington...the other games going on include Fenwick-RB, Ignatius-Young, and Stevenson-Lake Forest.

7:09pm And........EVANSTON!!! Tim Silkaitis scored 4 goals to help the Wildkits advanced with a 10-9 win over New Trier. Girls games are all getting in gear, plus the one remaining boys game between Lincoln-Way East and Andrew is also underway.

7:07pm Lincoln-Way Central holds off Lockport 14-11. Waiting.......New Trier vs Evanston....waiting.....waiting....waiting...

7:00pm As a few of the girls games get underway, we now learn that Fremd has shocked Conant 7-6 to advance to the Palatine Sectional final. The final two outcomes we are waiting to hear about are the Evanston-NT game and Lockport-LWC.

6:45pm Late game winners so far: Stevenson, Sandburg, Naperville Central, St Patrick, and St Ignatius. In the final minutes, Conant-Fremd and New Trier-Evanston are coming down to the wire.

6:36pm Sandburg is about to eliminate Brother Rice...in the closing seconds, the Eagles lead it 8-5.

6:31pm A lot of interesting things going on. #3 seeds with late leads include Fremd (4-3 over Conant) and Evanston (8-6 over New Trier). Naperville Central up 10-6 on North late in the third.

6:16pm Naperville North creeps back into the game late in the second half with Naperville Central, as the Huskies trail 7-4.

5:59pm The second wave of games are all underway, as we await some of the official scores from the earlier games. Naperville Central has jumped out to a 4-0 lead over Naperville North in the first three minutes of their game. Some of the other great matchups include Sandburg vs Brother Rice, New Trier vs Evanston, to name a few...

5:44pm Palatine advances with a 20-8 win, while Lincoln-Way Central becomes the first girls team to advance to the finals with a hard-fought 9-5 win over Homewood-Flossmoor.

5:38pm Waubonsie Valley has pulled away and holds a late 11-8 lead over Neuqua Valley.

5:31pm Mundelein beats Lake Forest 13-2 to advance to the finals. They face the winner of the Stevenson/Libertyville game up next.

5:25pm WV scores the only goal of the third quarter to tie the game with Neuqua. Elsewhere, Lyons clinches the first finals spot with a 10-3 win over St Rita...Peter Cosentino led a 10-1 run for Lyons with 5 goals.

5:14pm Lyons has pulled away and taken control of their game with St Rita to lead 8-3 after three periods. The Lions have gone on an 8-1 run after trailing 2-0 early on.

5:08pm Interesting...Neuqua Valley scored right before the half and leads Waubonsie Valley and 7-6 at the half. Palatine also has a comfortable lead over Buffalo Grove; Fenwick, Mundelein, and Latin also look strong and lead at the break...no word from the Loyola-GBS game yet.

4:52pm Lyons bounces back to score 3 straight goals in the second quarter for a 3-2 halftime lead.

4:45pm Fenwick is in control early against York; same goes for Mundelein against Lake Forest.

4:41pm Woah...St Rita jumps out to a 2-0 lead on #1 seed Lyons at the Sandburg sectional after one period.

4:30pm The games are underway and in the first quarter. The lone girls game is a good one between #1 seed Lincoln-Way Central and #4 seed Homewood-Flossmoor. H-F won the latest meeting between the two teams at the end of the regular season. Meanwhile, defending state champ Fenwick is in action as we speak, as are all of the boys' #1 seeds other than Lincoln-Way East, who plays Andrew at 7:00pm this evening. Score updates soon...

4:08pm The sectional semifinals get underway in about 20 minutes, and I'm trying to keep my eyes open after a long day of work and no sleep with a couple cans of Mountain Dew Amp. Seven boys games and one girls game kick things off at 4:30pm, and we'll be live the rest of the night and well into tomorrow morning with some tailgating before the Sectional Finals tomorrow at noon.

Just think...in less than 24 hours there will be 16 teams heading to state and before things get started tonight 64 teams still have a chance.

Let's Get It Started - Girls Sectionals' Blog

2006-05-04T16:38:00.000-05:00

9:36pm Hinsdale South pulls the upset and wins over Naperville North 9-8. Both Hinsdale teams beat two Naperville/Aurora teams for quite a first round performance. Heather Stephenson had 4 goals to lead the Hornets in the victory.

9:15pm Hinsdale South takes the lead! 7-6 going into the 4th quarter...advancing teams so far in the late games include Meadows, Evanston, Stagg, Libertyville, and St Viator.

9:01pm 5-4 Naperville North over Hinsdale South at the half. The other games aren't as close. We'll start seeing results in the next few minutes.

8:45pm Naperville North and Hinsdale South are tied at 2-2 after the first period. I would not be surprised to see the Hornets pull out the win. They got hot down the stretch of the season and Heather Stephenson is a definite baller on the offensive end.

8:20pm Just 8 games left to go before we are down to the final 32. As expected, New Trier, LWE, Neuqua, and Fremd also advanced. Let's see what happens with these 3-6 games.

8:06pm Mundelein, Sandburg, and Lincoln-Way East have advanced...Neuqua leads STC North 9-5 going to the 4th quarter.

7:35pm 7th seed St Charles North is hanging in with 2nd seed Neuqua Valley, with the score tied at 2-2 after one quarter. Meanwhile, Mundelein scored 9 goals in the first quarter to lead Deerfield 9-1 after one period.

7:14pm Lake Forest, with versatile sophomore Joy Corona leading the way, pulled the upset over Highland Park 5-2 to advance to the second round to face Stevenson tomorrow night.

7:10pm Not sure on exactly who scored the game winner in all the excitement, Amy Werkema scored 3 goals and Whitney Anderson scored 2 goals to lead the Red Devils to the sudden death victory. Lisa Rudolph scored 3 of the 5 goals for Waubonsie...if I can get more of a "who scored the important goals" update I will, as everyone deserves credit in such a great game. ADD: Lisa Heidkamp recorded the game-winner for Hinsdale Central.

7:05pm And it finally comes to an end...Hinsdale Central wins in SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME to advance over Waubonsie Valley 6-5. Scoring updates in a flash...

7:02pm WV-HC heads to a fourth overtime tied at 5-5...and CONANT wins in overtime over Buffalo Grove to pull the first upset of the night. Great win for senior lefty hole set Ashley Rebou, Major props!

6:55pm H-F prevents the upset bid from Marian Catholic with an 8-5 win and have to be considered a darkhorse at the LWC Sectional. Megan Chandler, Amanda Housing, and Andrea Peterson scored two goals apiece in the win for the Vikings.

6:53pm Ohhh yeah!!!! Waubonsie ties it in the final three minutes and the WV-HV game now goes into SUDDDDDDENNNNNNNNN DEAAAAAAATTTTHHHHHHHHH...

6:44pm Hinsdale Central strikes first and leads WV 5-4 with 0:50 remaining in the first overtime period.

6:42pm P/W explodes for five straight goals in the fourth quarter to win their first round game 10-3 over Hersey. Lyons does the same, outscoring Richards 6-2 in the final quarter to advance with a 17-9 victory.

6:39pm And we have our first overtime game for the girls...Amanda Murphy and Heather Merz have each allowed only 4 goals as WV and HC go to the first overtime period.

6:38pm Waubonsie ties Hinsdale Central and there is only 1:00 remaining. Overtime?!?!?!?!

6:33pm Prospect/Wheeling and Hersey are heading to the fourth quarter, with the Wild Knights leading 5-3.

6:31pm Look out! After a quick goal to start the period, Hinsdale Central scored on their next two possessions and have turned a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead at Waubonsie Valley with 5:00 minutes to go!!!

6:29pm Richards has gotten a bit closer as they head to 4th quarter trailing Lyons 11-7. Meanwhile, Hinsdale Central, trailing 3-1 after three quarters, scored in the first minute of the final period to cut the lead to 3-2. Things are getting exciting...

6:19pm Close game at Waubonsie as the host and 5th seed Warriors leads 4th seed Hinsdale Central 2-1 at halftime. Richards was down just one after a quarter but Lyons went on a 5-1 run to lead 8-3 at halftime. P/W is up 3-0 over Hersey in the second quarter. And the White Sox won. And the Bulls will lose.

5:26pm Naperville Central, Barrington, and Loyola have joined the others in the second round with early wins this evening. Now the fun begins with the 4-5 games in about 25 minutes. Keep an eye on Hinsdale Central-Waubonsie Valley as Amy Werkema and Amanda Murphy will try to get Central to the semifinals against the offense of Lisa Rudolph and defense of Bailey Gucinski. H-F vs Marian should be an interesting battle, as any team in the LWC Sectional has a chance to get to state...Richards will look to advance with an upset against Lyons at the Sandburg Sectional, while Ashley Rebou leads the Conant Cougars against Denise Gates and Buffalo Grove at Palatine; Hersey will try to upset 4th seed Prospect/Wheeling without their top offensive player Sarah O'Toole (illness); other games include Highland Park vs Lake Forest and Whitney Young vs Highland Park.

4:37pm There are only three games beginning at 4:30pm today, as #1 seeds Lincoln-Way Central, Stevenson, Fenwick, St Ignatius, and Mother McAuley all received first round byes (#2 seed York also has the night off with a bye).

4:30pm And the opening round games for the girls are underway...live updates here all night! And I'm not sleeping until Sunday...

Round 1...Ding, Ding - Illpolo Blog

2006-05-03T17:14:00.000-05:00

9:40pm Boys first round comes to an end as Libertyville wins over McHenry 11-10 in the fourth overtime. More reports coming soon or tomorrow or something.

9:39pm It ain't over yet!!! Libertyville and McHenry have gone into the fourth overtime to decide the final first round outcome. Winner takes it all...

9:25pm Ben Leboza and Danny Lejuene have helped Libertyville avoid an upset as McHenry has taken the Wildcats into overtime...the two are tied at 10-10 with 3:00 minutes left in the second OT period. Update in a few, like maybe three minutes...

8:30pm Only one game has avoided the higher seed winning, as Glenbrook South defeating Prospect/Wheeling has to be considered a minor upset. Otherwise, things will clear up for the Final 32 in the next few minutes and we will be ready for the girls' first round tomorrow afternoon.

7:04pm In the Rita vs Stagg game, 15 of the 19 goals scored were in the shallow end. Neuqua held on for a 15-12 win, Mikuzis had 8 goals...

6:43pm GBS defeated Prospect/Wheeling 9-4, as a 5th seed knocked off a 4th seed for the first, I guess we could call it, upset, of the tournament. And yes, I'm calling it tournament cuz I was "sick" for the first day of the NCAA Tournament so WHY NOT for the water polo sectionals...I'm calling it tournament and Sweet Sixteen and The Big Dance and The Final Four and I have no editor so...and if anyone asks, I have strep throat. Next week too.

6:39pm Best game so far, Neuqua holding a slim lead over Mike Serrao and Hinsdale South. John Mikuzis, the freshman hole set for NV has been solid, but senior and Hornets hole set Serrao has played out of his mind in this one and has given HS a chance to win. 12-10 the last time I looked at the scoreboard...

6:24pm GBS, one of our favorite upset picks in round one, has a 5-3 lead over Prospect/Wheeling midway through the opening round game...Mike and Chris Deletto plus goalie Tim Yurashev give them a chance to create a stir in the GBN Sectional. Meanwhile, Hinsdale South, led by Lenny Wanta and Mike Serrao, got to within one goal of Neuqual Valley after the half (8-7), and now the Wildcats lead it 10-9 heading to the fourth quarter.

5:35pm And the 4-5 games have gotten underway. The best matchups are going down now, with a close eye on games like P/W-GBS, Neuqua-Hinsdale South, BG-Hoffman, Andrew-HF, and St Rita-Stagg. Upsets???

5:30pm: The top seeds in each sectional breezed through the opening round...Latin, Palatine, Waubonsie, Lyons, Fenwick, Mundelein, and Loyola all end up winners tonight, joining Lincoln-Way East in the semifinals (the Griffins had a first round bye). Official scores will be posted momentarily.

4:30pm: The first round has offically begun!!!

Boys Sectionals

2006-05-03T11:52:00.000-05:00

Only one team will have been eliminated by the time the boys sectional quarterfinals begin this evening at 4:30pm. By 9:00pm, only 32 teams will be left standing and ready to move on to the semifinals on Friday night.

For the site, we will be updating the scores on the right side of the main page like normal in addition to the scoreboard page and on each page of the 2006 Sectional Center as soon as the scores come in. We will post whatever game reports and information we can get our hands on here in the blog as well as updating the Sectionals Baller list for this week.

We should have all of the scores as soon as the games are completed, but don't be afraid to err on the side of caution and either email, text, or call in scores, states, updates, etc. if you get the opportunity.

We also should have a new set of Power Rankings for the remaining teams by the end of the night. Plus anything else we can think of adding. Which could mean new videos and also the plans to release a DVD of all the footage recorded this season.

Stay tuned!

Chicago Public League Tournament Results

2006-05-02T14:26:00.000-05:00

Here is the scoring information from last weekend's CPL Tournament:

Boys championship - Von Steuben 7 Mather 3

Goals (Von): Adnan Ovcina 5, Mile Knabe 2 (Goalie Pement)

Goals (Mather): Manuel Gurrola 1, Zumba 1, Duharkic 1 (Goalie Petrov)

Boys consolation - Whitney Young 10 Lane 6

Goals (Young): Parro 2, Chavez 3, Solis 1, Donnelly 1, Komisarz 3 (Goalie Alvarez)
Goals (Lane): Zuckerman 1, Matias 1, Tabares 1, Mark Lexby 3 (Goalie Constanzo)

Girls championship - Lane 6 Whitney Young 2

Goals (Lane): Iza 2, Micheli 1, Kane 1, Deguzman 2 (Goalie Maglaya)

Goals (Young): Emily Meyer 2 (Goalie Anguiano)

Girls consolation - Northside Prep 10 Curie 6

Goals (Northside): Kurda 1, Donnelly 1, Grigoropoulous 1, Klontz 7 (Goalie Granato)

Goals (Curie): Jewel Villanueva 6 (Goalie Sewell)

Sectionals Underway!

2006-05-01T18:05:00.000-05:00

St Viator started the postseason off by defeating Maine East this evening 19-4. The 8th seeded Lions advance in the Glenbrook North Sectional to take on the 1st seeded Loyola Ramblers on Wednesday night. In the win, Mike Barry scored 5 goals to lead the team, while Ryan Torii and Kelsey Boyer each scored 4 times and starting goalie Rob Vavrik made 4 saves to help Viator advance.

For now, we have one more day of peace and quiet with each team preparing for the exciting finish to the ninth week of the season. Stay tuned for more updates!!!

Postseason Begins

2006-05-01T08:58:00.000-05:00

Monday marks the start of Sectionals, with the only game being played at Maine East High School; the play-in game at the Glenbrook North Sectional starts at 5:30pm between 8-seed St Viator and 9- seed Maine East. The winner advances to take on Loyola in Wednesday night's opening round.

As for the next two days, be on the lookout for a few new videos and hopefully some sort of sectional preview, as well as awards for things like:

All-Freshman Team, All-Sophomore Team
All-Defense, All-Versatile, All-Lefty, All-Illpolo

...and of course the JV Ballers list has already been posted on the site.

Meanwhile, check out the videos from the past weekend at Fenwick, as the Friars won the Catholic League titles for both boys and girls.

Regular Season Comes To A Close

2006-04-29T16:28:00.000-05:00

Here is a quick recap of the final day of the regular season:

BOYS
Fenwick won the MCAC Championship, holding off St Patrick 15-8 behind 4 goals from Tom Parolin. The Shamrocks got to within one goal in the third period, but the Friars responded with goals by John Barrett, Chris Wendt, and Luke Baldwin. Earlier, the Friars advanced with a 13-4 win over Brother Rice, while St Patrick knocked off St Ignatius 13-5 in the other semifinal. Sean Coghlan scored 8 goals to lead the Crusaders to third place, as they defeated St Ignatius 15-9.

Elsewhere, Lyons wrapped up the WSC Championship with a 19-8 win over Oak Park. Von Steuben, led by another strong performance from Adnan Ovcina, cruised to the CPL title, and Homewood-Flossmoor upset Naperville North 6-5 at the Stevenson Tournament.

Awaiting scores from the CSL Championships and the rest of the Stevenson Tournament and the CPL Championships.

GIRLS
Fenwick held off Mother McAuley 16-12 to claim the MCAC Championship on Saturday afternoon. The Mighty Macs tied the game late in the third quarter and were always close until the end, but Fenwick's Morgan Bonk and Farren Rixter each scored 4 goals in the win, while Maggie Wood led McAuley with 8 scores. To advance, Fenwick beat St Ignatius 21-10 while McAuley defeated Loyola 13-8. In the third place game, Kathleen Maloney scored two straight goals in the second overtime period as St Ignatius came from behind to stun Loyola 12-11.

In other action, Oak Park emerged victorious from the WSC Tournament, as they beat Hinsdale Central and Lyons to wrap up the title. Earlier, Lyons upset York 10-9 to advance to the final game.

Mundelein won their tournament, beating Latin 10-3 and earning wins over Palatine and Buffalo Grove as well. Latin finished second after beating both the Pirates and the Bison, and Palatine took third after upsetting Buffalo Grove 6-5.

New Trier and Evanston advanced to the title game of the CSL Championships..awaiting a score on this game; also, Glenbrook South beat Glenbrook North for 3rd place and Highland Park beat Deerfield for 5th.

Awaiting scores from the Stevenson Tournament and the CPL Championships.

Girls Conferences/Tournaments

2006-04-28T07:55:00.000-05:00

CSL-New Trier earned the #1 seed after knocking off Evanston and going undefeated in the CSL; the teams appear headed for a Saturday showdown for the conference tournament championship if they can avoid upsets against teams like Glenbrook South and Highland and Park.

CPL-The Public League is up for grabs, as Young appears to be the favorite but must deal with Curie tonight and either Lane or Northside on Saturday at UIC.

MSL-Prospect/Wheeling went undefeated in the MSL and won the conference championship game over Barrington 4-3 on Thursday night.

MCAC-McAuley earned the #1 seed with a win over Fenwick earlier this year, and both teams earned a first round bye in the MCAC playoffs. McAuley plays the Loyola/Viator winner and Fenwick gets either Ignatius or Marian.

NSC-Stevenson went undefeated in the conference, beating Stevenson in the regular season and in the Lake County Tournament midway through the season.

SWSC-With no conference tournament, Sandburg wins the overall crown after posting a 14-0 conference record. Lincoln-Way Central, Andrew, and Lincoln-Way East tied for the second position.

WSC-York went 5-0 in the conference and heads to Lyons for the WSC's postseason tournament on Saturday.

Boys Conference Results/Tournaments

2006-04-28T07:40:00.000-05:00

CSL-New Trier beat Evanston to go undefeated in the CSL in 2006; the teams appear headed for a Saturday showdown for the conference tournament championship if they can avoid upsets against teams like Glenbrook South and Glenbrook North.

CPL-Mather is the #1 seed while Von Steuben has played a tough nonconference schedule, and the two could meet for the Public League final on Saturday at UIC.

MSL-Palatine ran the table in the conference, going 10-0 in the regular season and beating Prospect/Wheeling in the East-West championship game.

MCAC-Fenwick went undefeated in the regular season, and the final four is set...with the Friars, St Pats, St Ignatius, and Brother Rice advancing to Saturday's semifinal games.

NSC-Mundelein went undefeated in the conference, beating Stevenson in the regular season and in the Lake County Tournament midway through the season.

SWSC-With no conference tournament, Lincoln-Way East wins the overall crown after posting a 14-0 conference record, holding off 12-2 Sandburg.

WSC-Lyons and Hinsdale South earned first round byes in the tournament, and York and Oak Park advanced to tonight's semifinal games with first round wins on Thursday night. Lyons is the #1 seed after going undefeated in the conference.

Palatine Wins MSL Championship

2006-04-26T19:36:00.000-05:00

Earlier tonight, Palatine wrapped up a perfect season in the Mid-Suburban League with an 11-5 championship game win over Prospect/Wheeling. Led on offense by Skylar Davis, Kevin Wood, Mitch Tucker, Chris Wolocha, and Mike Nocella and on the defensive end with Steve Gryzbek and goalie Spencer Blackham, the Pirates now gear up to host their own sectional as the #1 seed after their impressive weekend showing at the Stevenson Tournament and a successful defense of the MSL crown in 2006. Video of the game coming once I pick a song.

Video from the Sandburg vs Ignatius game from Tuesday night also coming soon, once I edit the 34 minutes of footage.

Sorry about the lack of posts by the way...going back to work has been rough; I'm very thankful to the makers of Red Bull, Amp, and all other associated drinks.

Naperville Central 11 Mother McAuley 10 (2 OT)

2006-04-25T07:02:00.000-05:00

Nikki Nelson scored with 0:17 seconds left in the first overtime to tie the game at 10-10, then scored the game winner in the second overtime with just 0:16 seconds left as #5 Naperville Central stunned #3 Mother McAuley last night in Naperville.

The Redhawks were forced to come from behind, as the Mighty Macs' Laura Perez started the game off with three straight goals, and Maggie Wood added another score midway through the first period as McAuley jumped out to a 4-0 advantage. Central's Sarah Pucci finally got the Redhawks on the board with a late goal in the first period to make the score 4-1 after one quarter of play.

Perez and Wood would both score in the second period, giving McAuley a 6-2 lead at one point late in the half, but Central's Kara Wilson scored twice before halftime to cut the lead to 6-3 at the break.

Central responded at the start of the third quarter, as Wilson scored on a counterattack in the opening minute, while Nelson would add two straight goals to tie the game at 6-6 less than two minutes into the period. Lily Cortes answered for the Mighty Macs with a goal, but Wilson tied things at 7-7 with 1:37 remaining in the third. Then, with under 0:30 seconds left, McAuley regained the lead as Perez tallied her fifth goal of the evening to make the score 8-7.

The teams traded goals in the fourth quarter, as Wilson tied the score at 8-8 in the first minute, followed by Cortes' second goal of the half to put McAuley back on top. Central's Denise Oldenburg tied the score at 9-9 with a goal from two meters just seconds later, and the teams would fail to capitalize on scoring opportunites before the end of regulation and the game carried on into overtime.

In the first extra session, Wood scored from four meters out to put McAuley ahead 10-9, but Nelson would score in the closing seconds of the first overtime to even things at 10-10. Both teams would draw an ejection early in the second overtime, but neither could score, and then Nelson finally scored the game-winning goal with 0:16 seconds left to play. McAuley would have one last opportunity to send the game into a third overtime, but their last chance was deflected back to Central goalie Brittany Walk as time expired.

Wilson led the Redhawks with 5 goals, while Nelson scored 4 times and Oldenburg and Pucci added one goal apiece. Perez led the Mighty Macs with 5 goals, with Wood adding 3 tallies and Cortes scoring twice. Brittany Walk had 12 saves for Naperville Central, while Bridget Kelly stopped 10 shots for McAuley.

Stevenson Tournament Videos

2006-04-23T23:25:00.000-05:00

10 NEW VIDEOS from the Stevenson Tournament are on the way. Took about a day to edit all of them but the coverage should be worth it. I hope. Uploading all 10 takes a few hours, but expect links to everything sometime early in the morning after my quick nap before work.

Best matchup of the Monday night games is #3 Mother McAuley at #5 Naperville Central. Just six more days until the postseason...

Stevenson Tournament - Day 1 Report

2006-04-21T20:59:00.001-05:00

Stevenson 8 Brother Rice 8
In the tournament opener, the Patriots jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first quarter, as Brian Mitchell scored 3 goals and Kevin Alland and goalie Dmitry Simonoff added one score each. After falling behind 7-2 late in the second period, the Crusaders battled back, using a 6-1 run, started off by a Sean Coghlan goal late in the second period and completed with the game-tying goal with just :26 seconds remaining after a timeout.

St Patrick 8 Oak Park 3
With the score tied at 2-2 late in the second quarter, James Ridgeway scored twice before the half to start the Shamrocks on a 5-0 run, leading to an 8-3 win over Oak Park.

Fenwick 10 Mundelein 4
The Friars jumped out to a 7-0 lead en route to a 10-4 win over Mundelein in the first round game. Junior Tom Parolin scored 3 goals to lead the way for Fenwick, while John Barrett and Like Baldwin each scored twice in the victory.

Naperville Central 7 Stevenson 3
Ryan Alberts recorded 3 goals and Pat Leclair scored twice as the Redhawks held on for a hard-fought 7-3 win over Stevenson.

St Patrick 12 Palatine 10
In the evening's best game, St Patrick recovered from a 9-7 deficit late in the third quarter to squeak past Palatine 12-10. James Ridgeway led the Shamrocks with 6 goals and Joe Przekota added 4 scores in the win. Palatine's Skylar Davis led the Pirates' upset bid with 6 goals.

Fenwick 13 Lake Forest 3
Luke Baldwin scored 3 goals and John Barrett, Tom Parolin, and Tom Grusecki each tallied 2 goals by halftime as the Friars coasted to a 13-3 win.

Friday Update

2006-04-21T15:01:00.000-05:00

The IHSA has finally listed the times for all of the sectional games, so likewise, I have everything listed in the Sectional Center and everything should be accurate by now.

Stevenson and Fenwick went to overtime last night, with the Friars winning in the second overtime and, as always, the video will be loaded up for viewing within an hour or so.

Weekend tournaments are going down at Stevenson (boys) and Lockport (girls) on both Friday and Saturday, with Latin hosting for both boys and girls on Saturday morning/afternoon. Should be some interesting matchups all over the place this weekend.

One more week to go after this 'til Sectionals!!!

Back In Business

2006-04-20T07:05:00.000-05:00

After only a few games were played last night because of the sectional seed meetings, we are back to business as usual with a full slate of games on tap for Thursday night (18 boys games, 19 girls games).

All eyes should be on #1 Fenwick vs #2 Stevenson in Lincolnshire at 5:30pm. The rematch from last year's title game is one of the biggest games of the year, as the two teams have yet to play in an all-deep pool in the 2006 season.

Other games of interest include:
BOYS
Fremd at Palatine: Rivals clash in what is normally a very close game
LWE at H-F: Can the Vikings hand the Griffins their first conference loss?
Lyons at Neuqua: Lions are on a roll, with their next stop against John Mikuzis and Neuqua Valley
LWC at Andrew: Tommy Hosty and LWC travel to Andrew to take on Tim Arif and Co.
Latin at Evanston: Romans looking to bounce back after tough games against Fenwick and Pats

GIRLS
Meadows at Hersey: Interesting matchup between 6-3 teams in the MSL
Stagg at Sandburg: Sandburg can clinch a conference title with a win over the Chargers
Evanston at Latin: Potential sectional semifinal preview pits the Wildkits against the Romans
Richards at Naperville Central: Upstart Bulldogs thinking upset against #5 Redhawks

Hinsdale Central 10 LWC 9 (OT)

2006-04-19T17:17:00.000-05:00

Amy Werkema scored with under two minutes left in the second overtime and Olivia Denton made a key save with 0:10 remaining as Hinsdale Central held off Lincoln-Way Central 10-9 in two overtimes on Wednesday night.

The game went back and forth throughout the first three periods, as Werkema and Lincoln-Way Central's Ava Caffarini recorded the bulk of the scoring for each respective team. Hinsdale Central led late in the second half after goals by Werkema and Whitney Anderson, but the Knights' Emily Watson made a steal with 0:13 seconds left in regulation and drew an ejection on the Red Devils' goalie, then assisted a driving Stacey Wymer for an open net goal to tie the score at 8-8 and send the game to the extra session.

In the first overtime, Hinsdale goalie Amanda Murphy made a save on a powerplay situation to keep the score tied, but Wymer scored again to give Lincoln-Way Central a 9-8 lead with two minutes to play in the first overtime. Knights' goalie Tricia Ramsey made a brilliant save to prevent a goal late in the first overtime to preserve the one goal lead, diving to catch a lob shot that was headed for the back of the net in the shallow end.

In the second overtime, Anderson scored again for the Red Devils from two meters to tie the score at 9-9, right before Werkema would connect from the left side to give Hinsdale Central a lead they would not relinquish over the final two minutes.

The win was the first in a three-game span for Hinsdale Central over Lincoln-Way Central, as the Knights beat the Red Devils twice on Saturday at the St Charles East Tournament. Both teams will also be in attendance at this weekend's Lockport Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

NOTE: Video due on Thursday morning.

Wednesday - Week 7

2006-04-19T09:53:00.000-05:00

After 40 games on Tuesday night, just 9 total games are on the slate for this evening (due in part to the Sectional Seed meetings). Buffalo Grove takes on Prospect/Wheeling in boys' action to determine the MSL East champion at 4:30pm, with the winner advancing to the MSL championship against Palatine next Wednesday. St Ignatius also travels to Oak Park in a boys' matchup, while Lincoln-Way Central takes on Hinsdale Central to highlight a night with only three girls games.

As for the sectional seeds, I will likely receive about half of the seeds tonight and the rest of the information by tomorrow morning. Everything will remain unofficial, especially the game times, until sometime Thursday afternoon when the IHSA posts the official schedules. Most of the seeds aren't a mystery, but there are a few sites where teams that split their games in the regular season or have never played each other and vote will be necessary to determine the appropriate seeding.

Anyone have a Neuqua Valley vs Hinsdale South boys score from last night? Anyone? Buehler?.... Buehler?....Buehler?.....Buehler?

39 Games

2006-04-18T01:34:00.001-05:00

Woah...I just looked at the schedule for today to see that there are 39 games scheduled. I'm no math major but that means there are 78 teams in action on a Tuesday night. I can't even come close to figuring out which game to attend...please help by sending scores in scores after the games are completed!!!

Videos, Stats and Thoughts

2006-04-18T00:10:00.000-05:00

There's about 9-10 new videos on the main page of the site...36 total videos so far this season. The latest includes last night's game between Fenwick and Latin.

Also new to the site are the Strength of Schedule and Ratings Percentage Index listings. SOS probably is easier to understand since it is basically measuring who has played the more difficult schedule so far after six weeks of water polo. The RPI is a little more in-depth and attempts to balance out strength of schedule with quality wins, number of wins, etc. And depending on your outlook of things, you could pretty much use any of the rankings to determine how well your team is playing or at least provide a little better picture as to where each team stands. If you're not into statistics or anything, then you might not even care to look at the links. Anyways...

I was just randomly thinking at 1am what a shame it is that the boys and girls state tournaments have to be played on the same weekend at the same site. I'm pretty sure no other sport in high school has that same setup, and, I understand the logistics issues and such but, wouldn't it be much cooler to have 16 teams advance to state instead of 8? Then at least the teams that advance to the Sectional finals get to play on the main stage in front of everyone instead of just at their small sectional site where no one outside of the teams involved gets to watch them play in their last game. I'm not gonna get into seeding or ranking the teams, but last year, just like in years past, a couple of the top teams in state didn't get the chance to play at state because of the way the current system is set up. I know I get the chance to see pretty much everyone throughout the course of the regular season, but most people do not get that same opportunity.

Two Weeks To Go

2006-04-16T22:06:00.000-05:00

Just two short weeks remain in the regular season...Sectionals are fast approaching, the Sectional Seed Meeting will take place on Wednesday night to determine who plays who and when they will play at each site...

Four new videos are posted on the site from the past week or so, with 4-5 more fresh videos coming either later tonight or by the end of the day tomorrow. I should also have the Sectional Center ready to roll sometime this week, as well as some either new stuff in addition to the usual features.

That's all from my end, time to go watch Sopranos.

Easter Weekend

2006-04-15T22:33:00.000-05:00

Spent the weekend at Naperville Central and Sandburg, so basically all of the boys scores are covered and the video highlights are coming soon. The question is, where are the girls scores? Honestly, I have not gotten ANYTHING from YORK, VERNON HILLS, STEVENSON, or WHEELING for any scores or reports so if you want to know who won and who did what and who had a great performance and who scored and who did what, well, all I know is that Lincoln-Way Central won the St Charles East Tournament over Hinsdale Central Tournament and that's about it. No one else bothered to help. Thanks. Or something.

See, there is this site called Illpolo.com and it has scores and standings and this other stuff so if you play, ya know, send the scores!!! Happy Easter.

The Homestretch

2006-04-14T23:18:00.000-05:00

Friday night marked the beginning of some very interesting water polo matchups over the next few days. #5 Naperville Central easily handled #4 Mundelein 14-4 at the Best of the West Tournament on Friday night, setting up a potential showdown with Naperville North in the championship game at 1:30pm tomorrow.

Meanwhile, #5 Lyons and #1 Fenwick set up a game for Saturday afternoon at 1:00pm in Oak Park, their first matchup since as long as I can remember. Fenwick will follow that game by hosting #2 Latin on Monday night, while Lyons will play host to Naperville Central on Tuesday night.

Evanston also plays New Trier next Tuesday might, as both teams enter that game undefeated in the CSL conference and could also meet at Sectionals. In girls action, #1 Fenwick is slated to take on #2 Stevenson on Thursday night, then the big tournament at the end of the week is at Stevenson for boys, with Fenwick, St Pats, Mundelein, Naperville Central, Brother Rice, Palatine, Oak Park, Stevenson, and Lake Forest all in attendance.

But that's next week, when everyone else is in school and working hard and I'm on Spring Break. More on that probably every single day that the sun is shining and the sky is clear on a 70-degree day while everyone is in school except me and like a few other people. I'll let you know how it goes.

STATE BRACKETS URGENT

2006-04-12T11:16:00.000-05:00

BOYS
Bracket drawing:
Game 1 - St. Ignatius Sectional vs Palatine Sectional

Game 2 - Waubonsie Valley Sectional vs Sandburg Sectional
Game 3 - Lincoln-Way Central Sectional vs York Sectional

Game 4 - Vernon Hills Sectional vs Glenbrook North Sectional

Semifinals
Game 5 - Winner of Game 1 vs Winner of Game 2
Game 6 - Winner of Game 3 vs Winner of Game 4

Consolation - Loser of Game 5 vs Loser of Game 6
Finals - Winner of Game 5 vs Winner of Game 6

GIRLS
Bracket drawing:
Game 1 - Waubonsie Valley Sectional vs York Sectional

Game 2 - Vernon Hills Sectional vs Lincoln-Way Central Sectional

Game 3 - Glenbrook North Sectional vs St. Ignatius Sectional

Game 4 - Sandburg Sectional vs Palatine Sectional

Semifinals
Game 5 - Winner of Game 1 vs Winner of Game 2
Game 6 - Winner of Game 3 vs Winner of Game 4

Consolation - Loser of Game 5 vs Loser of Game 6
Finals - Winner of Game 5 vs Winner of Game 6

Tuesday Night

2006-04-11T19:44:00.000-05:00

Fenwick most definitely DOMINATED tonight against Naperville Central. Both boys and girls. The boys won 14-3 while the girls won the later game 17-4, with both games being played at Fenwick.

Elsewhere, Palatine wrapped up the MSL West with a convincing 8-2 victory over Conant, handing the Cougars their first MSL loss in the process. (BOYS)

And St Ignatius held off Latin this evening 6-5 in a potential preview of the UIC Sectional coming up in three weeks. (GIRLS)

Still waiting for some more results as I try to update the site and download some video footage as I drive down 290 while steering with my knee...or something.

Monday Nitro

2006-04-10T21:35:00.000-05:00

BOYS
So far this evening, Brother Rice came from behind (down 7-3 going into the 4th quarter) to beat Latin in overtime 9-8 at Latin. Palatine beat Stevenson for the second time in three days 12-8 as they head into their MSL West showdown with Conant.

Stevenson beat St Ignatius with a well-balanced attack in girls action...with video coming shortly.

More later....maybe.

St Patrick All-Tournament Team

2006-04-09T21:42:00.000-05:00

St Patrick won their tournament over the weekend, with Loyola placing second and Brother Rice placing third. Here is the All-Tournament Team, as voted on by the participating coaches:

Joe Przekota (St Patrick) ***MVP***

James Ridgeway (St Patrick)

Sean Coghlin (Brother Rice)

Brandon Schawel (Mundelein)

Nathan Leroy (Loyola)

Andrew Peterson (Mundelein)

Grant Gucinski (Waubonsie Valley)

Pat Szyska (St Patrick)

Joe Frantz (Brother Rice)

Kyle Drake (Waubonsie Valley)

Bob Conrath (St Rita)

Looking Ahead To Monday...

2006-04-09T14:12:00.000-05:00

I'm actually kinda depressed today since there is no water polo to cover. Anyways, here is what's going on for Monday:

BOYS
#17 Stevenson hosts #15 Palatine in a rematch from the Latin Tournament this weekend, where the Pirates won 5-4. #12 Waubonsie Valley travels to #18Oak Park, #11 Sandburg takes on #23 Lincoln-Way Central, and #10 Brother Rice heads to #2 Latin.

GIRLS
#4 St Ignatius takes on #2 Stevenson in a rematch from the Fenwick Tournament; the Patriots won the first meeting 8-7. #7 Sandburg plays host to #18 Lincoln-Way Central, #20 Waubonsie battles #17 Oak Park, and #23 Fremd plays at #11 St Viator in other Top 20 action.

Players To Watch - 2006

2006-04-09T08:39:00.000-05:00

New list for today...the Players to Watch list follows up on the All-Illpolo Teams that came out last week. It includes a large amount of players who have emerged for their teams in 2006 after five weeks of water polo action. The point is to try and recognize as many players as possible, plus I like lists, so there you have it...

More Saturday Tournaments

2006-04-08T21:23:00.000-05:00

As quickly as I can before the Saturday night begins...Loyola beat St Ignatius (girls) to win the Ignatius Tournament at UIC. Colleen Shaw and Jackie Sershon had big offensive games for the Ramblers and Shaw ends up as the unofficial MVP of the tournament. Look for an article about this one in the SunTimes tomorrow.

At St Viator, three teams went 4-1 so the tournament ended up going to point differential, so Prospect/Wheeling took that crown (+29) over St Viator (+26) and Huron, MI (+20) even though St Viator beat P/W in the final game 6-4, since Huron beat Viator while P/W beat Huron and my head just spun in a circle firguring that out. Similar to how 6 teams went 1-2 at the Ignatius Tournament for three-way ties in both brackets that also were determined by tiebreakers.

It would seem as though St Patrick will win their tournament; they dominated against Loyola 14-3 in the first place bracket, while Loyola defeated Rice 12-11 (the final game was between Pats and Rice). Hopefully we will have those scores and the All-Tournament Team voted on by the coaches there later tonight.

Stevenson won the Lake County Tournament over Mundelein 14-6, Barrington took third with a 6-4 win over Libertyville, and Highland Park jumped to fifth place in the tournament with wins over Vernon Hills and Deerfield over the weekend.

It was already mentioned that Naperville Central won their tournament over the likes of Oak Park, Stagg, and Fremd...

...Glenbrook South went 3-0 to capture the small tournament at Highland Park (boys)...

...and Latin went 3-0 at their tournament, beating Stevenson, Palatine, and Neuqua Valley in the process of winning that title. Palatine also knocked off Stevenson and Neuqua, which are impressive wins, while Neuqua held off Stevenson 13-9.

There were a couple other tournaments out there, but I haven't heard of who played, when they played, where they played (well I guess I know that), or even if they played...so if you are one of those teams without scores or games listed and you know for a fact or are at least pretty sure that you played today....uhh, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-maaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiillllllllllll me at illpolo@yahoo.com. PEACE be unto you.

Naperville Central Tournament

2006-04-08T16:37:00.000-05:00

Naperville Central won their tournament on Saturday, closing things out with an 8-5 win over Oak Park to claim the title. Earlier in the day, the Redhawks beat Fremd 9-1 and Lane 8-1 to advance to the title game. They were led by Denise Oldenburg (5 goals), Nikki Nelson (3 goals), Sarah Pucci (3 goals), and Brittany Walk (34 saves).

Oak Park finished in second place, beating Stagg 6-4 and Young 12-1. Lauren Daggett led the Huskies on the day with 5 goals.

Fremd finished in third place, beating Stagg 9-3 after an 8-3 win over Lane.

Friday Night

2006-04-07T20:05:00.000-05:00

The big news so far on Friday night comes from the St Pats Tourney, where Loyola defeated Mundelein 6-5. In the game, Nate LeRoy scored 5 of the 6 goals for the Ramblers, drawing two 4-meters and another ejection in the win.

The St Ignatius Tournament has already seen two shootouts in three games, as Homewood-Flossmoor beat Marian Catholic 6-5 in the second game, followed by Naperville North knocking off Waubonsie Valley 5-4 after the shootout session.

Otherwise, Pats has won twice at their tournament, while Rice has won their first game and is currently taking on Waubonsie Valley for the second time in 8 days.

St Ignatius has already beaten New Trier (girls) and leads Waubonsie 4-1 in the first quarter of their second game. Loyola also knocked off Lyons 12-4.

Final report and scores coming as the games wrap up for the evening. I'll be at Richards, Ignatius, Naperville, Ignatius again, and Viator before the weekend is over. Woo hoo!

Spring Bracket Drawing

2006-04-07T11:41:00.000-05:00

I made a call to the IHSA today to find out when the brackets will be drawn for the state tournament in 2006. Their plan is to draw the brackets randomly on Wednesday, April 12th at around 9:00am or 10:00am. I was thinking about going down to their headquarters and film the drawing like the NBA Lottery is done, but uhh...perhaps I'll just on my computer and click reload every two minutes to find out how things will play out this year.

Anyways, next Wednesday, check back either here or directly on the IHSA site for the bracket drawing. They will list them; I will make brackets and set everything up and analyze and do whatever I need to do soon after on that day.

And obviously, the way the brackets are drawn makes a major difference in how the teams place at state; the right draw or the wrong draw can sometimes determine whether a team has a chance at a state trophy at the end of the season.

Wednesday Night

2006-04-05T19:55:00.000-05:00

Some big matchups this evening in water polo. In boys games, St Ignatius defeated New Trier 9-6, Evanston knocked off Stevenson 6-4, and Latin held off Naperville Central 9-6. On the girls side, Naperville Central beat Latin 8-3 and Ignatius got past Evanston 8-5. More updates and some new videos once I finally make it home at some point tonight.

Tuesday Night

2006-04-04T20:58:00.000-05:00

There were a TON of games tonight...40 if I know how to count this late in the night. I saw two one-goal games at Fremd and New Trier (not exactly right next door to each other, but I made it to both places). I have close to half the scores updated...I'm gonna try to stay up late enough to get everything completely updated as the scores come in but, be warned, I'm gone on that Nyquil so I might fade out earlier than normal. We'll see...two videos to edit next.

Tuesday Morning

2006-04-04T09:16:00.000-05:00

Last night, Northside Prep beat Whitney Young last night on a last second shot. Max Swaitlowski drew a kickout in the last few seconds to set up the winning goal. Max Kakacek scored four goals to led them in the win. Also, I should have video highlights from the Prospect/Wheeling vs Rolling Meadows (girls) and Loyola vs Brother Rice (boys ) games later this evening.

A lot of games are scheduled for tonight! Where to go........

Monday Night Live!

2006-04-03T19:26:00.000-05:00

I love a good, live blog report as much as anyone, but I didn't expect it to be waiting at a McDonald's next to the National Tire and Battery as I wait for them to replace the flat tire that I got on my way home this evening. Regardless, I did find out that they still have shamrock shakes so umm, I made them SuperSize one for me and I don't even think they do that for pop anymore....

I did see two good games though, Prospect/Wheeling, led by Patti Blatter, beat Rolling Meadows...after a slow start, the Wild Knights built a 5-2 lead at halftime en route to the win. Then, Loyola beat Brother Rice for the second time in three days by a score of 10-7, as the Ramblers got a balanced attack from Ryan Egan, Matt Stonequist, Nathan LeRoy, etc. and Adam Weissart was sharp in goal.

Other than that, send me some scores and I will post them LIVE! from the McDonald's booth I am sitting in.

Monday Morning

2006-04-03T08:54:00.000-05:00

The MIdseason All-Illpolo Teams have been listed...the twist this year should hopefully be a good one that allows for more players to be included. I basically broke the lists into four regions, with the North and Northwest Suburbs bunched together, teams from the South and the Southside bunched together, and then the East and West regions. It's not really all that important who is where I guess , but it just helped in the organization of the lists.

This obviously is much different than the usual First Team, Second Team, etc. but it is probably a bit more fair and at least easier to compile, since it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine who is on which team, considering some teams haven't played as many games as others or some players haven't started playing since the first game of the season and on and on...

I also just listed the players in each region in order of their overall ranking, and the players from each team are just randomly listed; so there is really no particular method to how everyone is listed other than the regions.

And with that, I'm out for awhile.

Midseason Illpolo Teams...

2006-04-02T22:23:00.000-05:00

...will be ready to go tomorrow sometime in the morning. They are basically done, just need to fix a few things and make sure a few names are correct.

We are back to a full slate of games tomorrow as Spring Break has come to an end for most of you. If you could fly back in last night, as I know many flights were cancelled from coming in due to the weather...I didn't even notice it was even raining.

And if you read a surprising post about the site not being updated anymore last night, or have heard about it from someone else who read it, all I can say is that yesterday was April 1, 2006. That's all I hope I need to say...

New videos

2006-04-02T12:23:00.000-05:00

New video footage has been added from the Lincoln-Way Central vs Lincoln-Way East game from last night. Another video is on the way from the Hinsdale South vs Richards game from the same tournament.

I'll have some other new updates later this evening.

Rice Tournament Update

2006-04-01T20:22:00.000-06:00

Fenwick just beat Mundelein 11-9 in the Brother Rice Tournament championship game. Fenwick beat St Patrick in their final game in the perliminary round to advance to the final game, while Mundelein beat both Brother Rice and Sandburg today. Loyola ended up in 5th place after a 12-10 victory over Brother Rice.

UPDATE
And now....St Pats beat Sandburg for third place 11-6. Another interesting score was Sandburg shutting down Waubonsie Valley 11-5 earlier in the day.

Lincoln-Way East Tournament

2006-04-01T20:09:00.000-06:00

In the third place game, Hinsdale South fought off Richards in a closely contested 13-9 battle. The Hornets held an 8-6 lead in the third quarter, but Angie Drwal cut the lead to one for the Bulldogs and Jessica Nelson tied the score late in the period with a goal. But Hinsdale South's Heather Stephenson was in the right place at the right time twice in a row, as she responded with two rebound goals, and the Hornets never looked back in a 13-9 win.

In the title game, Lincoln-Way East rushed out to a 2-0 lead on scores by Rachel Peyton and Erin Reilly, before Emily Watson cut the lead in half off an assist from goalie Tricia Ramsey. Ramsey then denied Peyton on a breakaway chance at the buzzer at the end of the first period, only to see Peyton win the next one-on-one battle just ten seconds into the second quarter to give the Griffins a 3-1 advantage. Ava Caffarini responded with a goal on a penalty shot, but Peyton continued to excel, scoring her third goal on an outside shot with 4:00 left in the half, then adding her fourth tally just one minute later. Caffarini scored just seconds later from midpool to cut the lead down to 5-3, but Reilly tacked on her second score of the half to make it 6-3. Before the end of the half, Caffarini scored her third goal from outside seven meters after drawing a foul to narrow the deficit to 6-4.

In the third period, Watson scored twice in a row to tie the game at 6-6, and Central appeared to have the momentum early in the second half. She recovered a loose ball at two meters and scored to get the lead down to one, then her third goal of the game came from outside seven meters. Lincoln-Way East was able to respond, as the Griffins scored twice before the end of the period to lead 8-6. Both defenses then took over in the fourth period, as neither team was able to score, and Lincoln-Way East won their own tournament 8-6 on Saturday night.

Saturday 2

2006-04-01T15:03:00.000-06:00

More notes from Saturday...at the Rice Tourney, Mundelein has advanced to the championship game after beating Brother Rice and Sandburg today. My notes are a little choppy, but they should end up playing the winner of Fenwick/Pats, which takes place in about half an hour. Other than that, the winner of Rice/WV is unknown to me, so that determines who plays who in the 3rd and 5th place games.

I believe Lincoln-Way East will play Lincoln-Way Central this evening at the LWE Tourney, which should make for a good rivalry game.

George Mason plays at 5pm so hopefully they can beat Florida.

And by the way, I am done with the site as of this evening. Don't expect any more updates as I am moving out of state in less than a week. Sorry.

Saturday Afternoon

2006-04-01T14:14:00.000-06:00

I just added video highlights from this morning's Sandburg vs Loyola game. Sandburg won it 9-8, as Sam Cody scored three straight goals in the fourth quarter to put the Eagles ahead for good. Colleen Shaw got the Ramblers to within one goal with two straight goals, one after drawing a four-meter and the other a rebound goal off her own breakaway miss, but Loyola could not get a shot off in the final seconds with a chance to tie the game.

I'm now headed to Lincoln-Way East for their tournament this afternoon. Wait...Schaumburg to Wilmette to Schaumburg to Frankfort (Lincoln-Way) to Schaumburg. Grr. I hate gas prices too. The only trip that could be further is if I went to Lake Forest or maybe McHenry first. I'm not talking myself out of this. Later.

Thursssday

2006-03-30T21:02:00.000-06:00

Very few games to report on tonight, although Loyola beating Evanston 12-5 (boys) is probably an important score in terms of the GBN Sectional in five weeks. Loyola has stopped both New Trier and Evanston so...on March 30, they have to be considered the favorite to advance to state this year! Sorry, I just wanted to sound all ESPN right there as if this was like some major day.

Stagg beat Marian Catholic tonight in a battle of #19 vs #23, as Karina Kennedy scored 3 goals an drew 3 ejections in the win, Bridget Maul led MC with 2 goals and three kickouts drawn. Marian had a chance to tie the game as time expired, but Stagg goalie Lauren Buchler deflected the shot off the post to preserve the win for the Chargers.

And uhh...I have nothing else. Not yet at least. Maybe later.

Wedz

2006-03-29T19:12:00.000-06:00

Seriously, when I am on Spring Break in a few weeks and everyone else is at school, I am definitely gonna let you know about how I woke up at 2pm and did nothing all day. I know we just passed Wednesday but I get asked to do all kinds of work in addition to teaching with this video stuff and yet I see teams are scheduled to play games at 10am which means there is polo going on and I can't go because of work. I honestly had to film an 18-minute video of some teacher doing math problems on an overhead to show in 8 classes and have to edit it and make a DVD out of it and to be honest and sorry math teachers and all but BOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRINGGGGG. I am mad about this. I'm moving on. Wait not yet, at least the weather has been crappy. Yeah.

As for polo, McAuley beat Ignatius 8-6 at home, the second straight win over the Wolfpack in five days. Close game though, once again.

Meanwhile, Lincoln-Way East had Lincoln-Way Central on the ropes in the third quarter with a 7-1 lead, as they scored 4 straight to start the second half after holding a 3-1 advantage at the break. The game looked all but over, but LWC outscored LWE 5-1 over the next three minutes to get to within two goals of the Griffins with seven minutes left to play. Then, in the fourth quarter, Emily Watson scored with :24 seconds left to cut the lead to one, but Central came up short (8-7) against their crosstown rival.

Woah, I just realized I might have missed Shamrock shakes at McDonalds this year. If anyone knows of a McD's that still has them let me know, considering I drive everywhere anyways. I totally forgot about that. I think I'll uhh...write more later.

Videos + Serious Info!!!

2006-03-28T20:37:00.000-06:00

The site (YouTube) I am using to host the water polo videos is having some web issues, so you probably won't be able to access any videos for a short while. I am working on uploading to a different host site and hopefully will be able to put the new video into the Illpolo Blog if I get the chance. This site has the bar that shows the progress of the file, and it moves about a centimeter every five minutes which is painful to watch if you are the one behind-the-scene just sitting there trying to upload a video. It ranks right up there with watching paint dry, golf on TV, or any game of soccer. I guess watching the grass grow would probably also be on that list.

By the way, a few things to mention:
1) Parents/players can send scores or any other information. When I usually talk about Illpolo I always say WE instead of I whenever I can, because the site wouldn't be efficient without the support of parents and players in addition to coaches, as information is always hard to come by. As long as you aren't making up things like Joe Bagodonuts scored 44 goals for Evanston in a 234-2 win over New Trier you can feel free to pitch in and help whenever possible.

2) There is no staff for Illpolo. In the past, my favorite emails were "you and your staff should do this..." or "To the Illpolo.com Staff" - Quite honestly, I am sitting in a semi-studio, which is basically three computers with the main one in the middle and one on each side with all kinds of stuff like DVD burners and external hard drives and camcorders and DVDs and whatever you can think of in certain places....then you have pizza boxes strewn about and an Asteroids machine on the left but uhh...

3) Donations. Seriously, these keep the site running. I barely even glance at how much they are in dollar amounts, it is just the greatest gesture anyone can get for their work. At least at this point it is...as I usually just think of new and innovative ways to improve the site and the coverage based on donations...the more I get, the more I put into the site, since I absolutely never wanted to profit from this site. I have always strived to breakeven if possible, and I already hope that I can get an even better camera and more bandwidth so that I can just host my own videos and have the clearest picture possible with the footage I get. Especially for those college coaches who keep emailing.

4) DVDs. I might as well mention now, all of the video footage I have gets stored somewhere...I hope I can remember where, as I plan to put everything onto a DVD for purchase or whatever at midseason or postseason or something. It's all a new thing, but I have gotten a lot of emails about this and am trying to figure out the best way to get people DVDs of the footage of their son or daughter or friend or player or themselves. So if anyone has comments about this or suggestions, please let me know. In terms of price for the DVD, what would be expected, what should be included...I would love to know. I already plan for some sort of All-State or All-Illpolo type of video yearbook, but, I mean, that has to be a rare thing in high school sports so it is just another confusing thing for me to deal with.

5) T-Shirts. Would Illpolo.com or Baller T-shirts be cool? If anyone wants to help with this, let me know. I mean, I guess I am purposely throwing about 200 times more work at myself with this post but what the heck, who needs sleep?

More updates later if I can keep my eyes open. Doubtful. Peace.

Spring Break Tuesday

2006-03-28T19:27:00.000-06:00

While everyone is enjoying their nice, relaxing Spring Break week, I'm stuck at school since we don't take the week off until mid-April. I am very jealous. Anyways, not much polo tonight, but I do know that Evanston defeated Oak Park 15-8 behind 5 goals from Tommy Doyle and 4 tallies by Tim Silkaitis. I also know that Neuqua Valley (girls) held off Sandburg at home in a game that come down to the final minute. Sam Cody scored two late goals for the Eagles to get them within one, but Wildcats goalie Kayley Provow made a powerplay save to preserve a one goal lead with 1:32 remaining and Lauren Quebbeman slammed the door shut with a goal in the final minute to seal the victory.

Fenwick (girls) video coming in probably 20 minutes. Maybe another one later. Depends how much I can do in two hours.

Site Problems

2006-03-28T11:19:00.000-06:00

If you try to check the site and get a server error and it does not come up, try http://www.nolimitpolo.com and it should work temporarily while the site host fixes the domain problem. Yesterday the site had well over 5,000 hits and has used 56 GIGS of bandwidth in the last 28 days. Also, in a four year period, the site has over 1.5 million hits (I just checked this today while calling my host). Pretty cool.

Monday's Late Update

2006-03-27T22:22:00.000-06:00

I would have updated earlier, but I pretty much fell asleep driving from Bolingbrook to Oak Park to Schaumburg to see Fenwick vs Ignatius. More the first drive from work to the game after stopping at Portillos...the food coma set in and I don't even remember going from Lagrange to Oak Park but I made it that's all that matters.

New video will be up in moments for the boys game...Fenwick dominated from the third minute of the 1st quarter until the end - Ignatius scored the first goal and from there the Baldwin/Barrett/Parolin trio took over.

Girls video will be ready at some point tomorrow...a lot of footage there for the defending champs finally (since I accidentally deleted the only game they played on Saturday as I wanted to hook them up with some video highlights but failed...). It was uhh...a long 15-hour event on Saturday.

Well, I could keep talking but, I have a school district video, Fenwick video, and three other movies to edit so if you need info or have a comment please send to illpolo@yahoo.com - or you could just be like HEY GREAT JOB, YOU ROCK DUDE or something like that if it doesn't take too much time. Actually, the first person who emails HEY GREAT JOB, YOU ROCK DUDE will get a free...I dunno; you get a free prize, it'll be something cool. I'll go refresh my email for like 20 minutes waiting too...

Video Footage

2006-03-25T23:43:00.000-06:00

I am working on getting some videos on the site by early morning...maybe even when everyone either gets back from going out or from waking up after a long Saturday, but, it is tough to put this much footage online, not to mention how long it takes to edit this stuff. I honestly say this not for sympathy but because to record 374 minutes of water polo and then find the best clips and then add credits and music and then render them as videos and then upload them and then make a page for each video and then a link for each video and then watch them all again just to make sure I didn't screw up too much...okay, I'm asking for sympathy because it's almost midnight and I'm editing water polo videos and I also left the house at 6:30am to do this so I am willing to bet $210,000 that I spend 24 hours on water polo...I need to get a date or something.

And for the record, I am listening to the song "Lonely Day" by System of a Down as I write this. Just thought I would mention this, for what reason I have no clue.

Go UCONN and NOVA!

Yellow Colors

2006-03-25T23:39:00.000-06:00

This is probably an obvious statement but, if you play water polo for a team that has a BRIGHT YELLOW COLOR surrounding your scheduled game on the scoreboard page for the week, it basically means I've checked every paper, school web site, prayed, or tried to guess what the score of the game was and who won but didn't feel like that would be accurate...what I am trying to say is PLEASE SEND YOUR SCORE IN SO I CAN UPDATE THE STANDINGS AND BE ACCURATE!!! There has to be one person out there with an email account...

Saturday Marathon

2006-03-25T22:45:00.000-06:00

Water polo from 7am-10pm today at the Fenwick Tournament today, and here are some things that I remember thinking at some point:

-The nightcap between Mother McAuley turned out to be one of the best games of the tournament. Neuqua took a 4-2 lead at halftime on a shot from outside 9-meters, but McAuley tied it quickly in the second half. The score was tied at 5-5 late in the fourth quarter, but Lily Gonzalez scored the game-winner and the Macs won 6-5.

-St Ignatius, while losing twice, probably played their most impressive water polo under head coach Mike Cashman. They lost by one to Stevenson and by two to Mother McAuley, but both games basically came down to a game-winning goal from the opposition in the closing minutes.

-I'm going to have about 15 minutes worth of video from the tournament...that's condensed to saves, steals, and goals - basically I spent 15 hours for 15 minutes...which is about right but, I guess I proved to myself that I love water polo and love making movies or else I woulda been watching college basketball, eating Chili Fritos, and ordering 80's DVDs from Amazon.com. Trust me, I wrote a 36-page book thing about the NCAA tournament back when I was in junior high because I wanted to be a sports reporter/author and that was in my spare time over Spring Break, so to miss NCAA tournament games for polo today was like, a big thing.

-Quite honestly, there seemed like there was a game where every team was very impressive. Neuqua looked great in the 6-5 loss to McAuley, as they played some intense pressure defense to limit McAuley's chances. Yet McAuley got things done in the end in their game with Ignatius and just continue to be a team that knows how to win close games. Sandburg had their best game early in the morning to beat New Trier, then beat Evanston, then got tired and lost to Mundelein. Homewood-Flossmoor didn't get a win but you could see a major difference in their play in the fourth game of the day after playing against tough competition as a mostly young team. Fenwick...only got the chance to see them once, which was rather unfortunate for me, their parents, coaches, etc; but they dominated for that 28-minute span anyways, and I am sure I'll see them more on Monday against Ignatius.

-More posts after the jump. And I don't know what the jump is...I think it's like when there is a link that takes you to a page with more comments that don't fill up this page, but since I dont have that, I'm just gonna say that the jump or my jump is where I just post stuff so you can read it and then I add to it later. So yeah. I'm random. I'm rambling. Long day. 15 hours of polo. Yeah.

HELP

2006-03-24T19:15:00.000-06:00

On my way out of work today, I was blindsided by someone running through a red light and I couldn't make the Fenwick Tournament tonight. So if anyone attending can send scores and updates, please let me know. I don't know what it says that I was probably worried more about not getting to see the games and get some good footage and info instead of the fact that my car was damaged and I was standing out in the snow and thankful I only had somewhat minor injuries to deal with. And now, as long as I can find a ride, I can make the games tomorrow, but if anyone happens to have an extra car or helicopter I could use that would be great. Or just a ride there. I guess I could bike there and use it as Ironman training, but I'd have to leave at 4am and take a lot of side roads and get there to watch games from 7am to 11pm, which is crazy in itself. So uhh, see ya there tomorrow...maybe.

Thursday Night

2006-03-23T20:36:00.000-06:00

So far tonight a few games have come down to wire, including the Stagg girls upsetting Lincoln-Way Central in sudden death overtime...Tricia Ramsey gave Central the lead in the first overtime, but Stagg's Sophia Papanastos answered and tied the game at 7-7 after the second OT. Finally, Stagg's Lauren Reeder scored the game-winner in sudden death.

Conant boys also beat Buffalo Grove in the closing seconds of regulation, scoring with under 30 seconds to remain undefeated in the MSL.

And Duke decided not to show up for their game either and ruined my chances in one of the 26 pools I'm in. More later...

Fenwick 12 St Patrick 3

2006-03-22T19:18:00.000-06:00

Fenwick was pretty much dominant tonight against St Patrick...they jumped out to an early lead and were up something like 5-2 at half, then John Barrett erupted for 4 straight goals and it was over from there. Fenwick led 10-2 at one point before Joe Przekota added a fourth quarter goal, but Tom Parolin and Luke Baldwin tallied once each in the final minutes to finish off thh Shamrocks 12-3.

Wednesday updates

2006-03-22T11:22:00.000-06:00

New video for today comes from a game between Fremd and Buffalo Grove (girls) last night. I can't promise this type of thing for every night, but sadly I'm getting addicted to giving myself more work so, if the ends justify the means...

THOUGHTS
#3 St Pats is at #1 Fenwick in the big game of the evening...last night, Waubonsie Valley looked like the much better team beating Naperville Central 9-7 in Aurora; with those two favored to be the top two seeds at the sectional hosted at WV this season, things are looking good for the Warriors...York girls defeating Oak Park last night means that the Dukes are now in position to win the WSC...For girls, Marian travels to Richards as both teams will have something to prove after the Bulldogs beat Marian over the weekend and Richards is looking to remain one of the hottest teams in the state...Loyola at Oak Park and Naperville Central at Sandburg are interesting matchups on the boys side tonight...same can be said for Sandburg at Central and Oak Park at Ignatius on the girls schedule.

Midday Tuesday Update

2006-03-21T12:27:00.001-06:00

Ballers for Week 2 are posted...a few more names will be added with a little extra research tonight. I even have one baller listed for Week 3 already...so I'm trying to stop underachieving in that department.

Standings are updated for now...keep in mind that the win/loss totals could be off by a game until I get a chance to sweep through all of the results when I finally get some down time (or if I do), so if the record is off by one it's probably not something to fret about as it will likely get fixed in a short period of time.

A few more ads/sponsors have been added to the main page...I'm still working on that LIVE! scoreboard link/banner...

Tuesday Morning

2006-03-21T07:44:00.000-06:00

NEWS AND NOTES: New video footage from last night's thriller between Loyola and New Trier is added to the site...apparently now that the state tournament for boys' basketball is finished, the Sun Times and Tribune decided not to post any water polo scores online so, if you see an unreported score (and there are more than usual) please email those scores...still working (sadly) on Ballers for Week 2 and now for Week 3; I know who they are, I just have to type them in off of a written sheet...I'm adding a LIVE SCOREBOARD logo to the site today if possible, hopefully making it easier to locate a list of the day's games and scores that is easily visible...if you are interested in triathlon, check out the link on the left side of the main page to the Elkhart Lake Multisports organization; they put on one of the BEST races that I have ever participated in, and would be a great event for both beginners or veteran triathletes...have a great day!

Dilemma Time

2006-03-20T22:38:00.000-06:00

My question for the night is this...all the video footage and, for that matter, all of the coverage is meant to be positive and reward everyone involved with the sport. However, while doing the video thing, there are times when a player might miss a chance to score at the end of the game, make a bad pass, turn the ball over, and on down the list of things that can go wrong when playing a sport, so...

...if it happens at the end of a close game, where the play determines the outcome of the game, what do I do? I'm pretty sure that this question sounds hypothetical to everyone but maybe the two teams involved from this evening, so I would just like to gauge the opinions of the people playing this sport or especially from the one's involved in this particular game. No message board planned for this blog so, email will have to do. illpolo@yahoo.com

Monday results

2006-03-20T22:02:00.000-06:00

Reports are coming in as the night goes on, which includes an 9-8 win by Mother McAuley at home against #1 Fenwick.

Amy Jackson, Maggie Wood, and Lily Cortes each scored two goals for McAuley. Laura Perez, Lily Gonzales, and Elaine Ginger each added one goal.

Rixter led Fenwick with 4 goals and Keely Baldwin scored twice for Fenwick.

Also:

--Loyola beat New Trier 10-9 (boys) after fighting off a late Trevians rally on Monday night, while St Ignatius defeated Brother Rice 7-5 for the first time in school history.

--Rolling Meadows (boys) had their first ever win over Barrington 10-8 as John Heer scored 6 goals and Konrad Waksmundski made 18 saves.

--Prospect/Wheeling (girls) shut out Highland Park 5-0 led by the combined efforts of goalies Liz Dix and Lindsey Mills.

--Colleen Shaw scored 7 times and Jackie Sershon added 4 scores in Loyola's 14-5 win over Marian Catholic.

--Neuqua Valley beat Lockport 14-6 this evening, led by: Amanda Redek - 4 goals, Lauren Quebbeman - 3 goals, Kathleen Patterson - 2 goals

New Trier vs Loyola highlights coming soon...

The Illpolo Recap Show (Vol. 2)

2006-03-20T20:19:00.000-06:00

New video has been added to the site, The Illpolo Recap Show (Vol. 2). This one focuses simply on the New Trier Tournament with footage from games between Sandburg-St Viator and the final game between Evanston-New Trier. Enjoy!

Monday Updates

2006-03-20T11:54:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the lack of updates...I'm working on another video for the recap show's second edition that should be up later tonight. The main thing I am still working on is Ballers of the Week for the past seven days. I'll get to it once I get the chance at work.

BOYS
Tonight's big games...Loyola takes on New Trier in a boys' matchup that could be a preview of the GBN Sectionals (either semis or final game)...St Ignatius, who moved up to #10 in the rankings after beating Loyola will try to continue their impressive start against Brother Rice, who was without goalie Joe Frantz over the weekend at the Fenwick Tournament due to illness...Waubonsie Valley travels to Sandburg for what could be a very interesting matchup...Lyons is at Homewood-Flossmoor and Oak Park heads to Stevenson looking to upend the Patriots.

GIRLS
Fenwick beat Mother McAuley over the weekend at Mundelein's tournament, so now they will look to repeat that performance on the Southside at 5:30pm tonight...Fremd takes on Naperville North earlier in the evening, while Oak Park vs Hinsdale South could be a very entertaining WSC matchup...other potential close games include Homewood-Flossmoor at Lyons and Conant at Lake Forest.

So...new video later, Ballers 2 later, scores later, and maybe some nightly highlights depending on what game I attend later. LATER.

'Saturday'

2006-03-19T10:16:00.001-06:00

There is a brand new video posted on the site, which follows the action from Saturday's tournaments. It's 5-minutes in length and will be interesting to say the least...it is edited like a movie intro and uses the theme from the movie Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il.

I should have the rest of the site updated by later this afternoon...still have to update standings, rankings, ballers, Super Ballers, etc.

Oh, also, I made the videos bigger on the site so they should be easier to watch...

'Saturday'

2006-03-19T10:16:00.000-06:00

Saturday update

2006-03-18T16:46:00.000-06:00

On the road between Naperville and Hinsdale/Fenwick, here is the latest update for today as I stop at this next red light:

At Fenwick, the Friars finished their side of the bracket 4-0 with a win over York. Earlier, St Pats and Naperville Central battled to a 9-9 tie while Central beat Brother Rice 12-10 and Pats takes on Rice momentarily. Lincoln-Way East looked impressive in a win over Oak Park and is currently taking on Evanston. And the Florida team, Winter Park, went 4-0 on the same side of the bracket with NC, Pats, and Rice...they scored in double figures in every game on their trip.

At Mundelein, Fenwick is one win away from winning the Shamrock Invitational (Evanston is ther final game). They beat Stevenson 9-6 and McAuley 15-9 so far. Stevenson then beat McAuley, while Mundelein knocked off Evanston in the tournament opener. Just a few more games to play out here.

At Hinsdale, Lyons will play for the title against Conant, who was yet to lose this year (but did tie Hinsdale Central earlier today. Hinsdale Central has somehow tied Andrew, Hoffman, and Conant in their three weekend games, which has to be some kind of record. I expect nothing less than a tie in their final game of the night. Conant beat Andrew as well, and should jump a few spots inthe rankings a few spots as a result (and more if they could beat Lyons.)

At Naperville Central, St Ignatius' hole set Nora Kennelly scored on an outside shot in sudden death overtime to give the Wolfpack a 9-8 win. Neither team could score in the first two overtime sessions, so a third OT was necessary. Ignatius led for most of the game but Central tied things late and both defenses took over from there. Kennelly scored with under thirty seconds left as well, or this game would have gone to the fourth OT. York beat Lyons for 3rd place while Katie Kleinhample scored with :02 left on the clock to help Vernon Hills beat Lake Forest 6-5 for 5th place.

At Lake County, Mundelein beat Stevenson for the second time this year 7-5. Lake Forest beat Barrington for third and Vernon Hills topped Libertyville for fifth place.

Loyola girls beat Waubonsie Valley 12-4 earlier this morning, and I am curently just waiting for results from tournaments at St Charles North, Bremen, and Maine East (girls tournaments) and the final 2-3 games at Fenwick, Hinsdale, and Mundelein.

Oops..gotta go; green light! More later...

Fenwick Tournament

2006-03-18T06:37:00.000-06:00

Video highlights are now available on Illpolo.com from the first day of the Fenwick Tournament. Enjoy.

Stay tuned the rest of the day for updates, except for during the Duke game at noon. Full recaps by the end of the night or the beginning of Sunday, depending if I make it back without getting another ticket.

Friday night

2006-03-17T22:10:00.000-06:00

I finally have the scores updated for this evening that have reported thus far. Long story on the delay; first the Sprint wireless connection wasn't working for most of the night, then I wasn't paying attention and completely missed the exit to get off 290 at Thorndale and ended up going all the way to 59 (and I live in Schaumburg...oops). Then in the rush to get home and update everything I saw the cop car pull out behind me, slowed, waited for it, waited, waited...then BOOM the berries flashed and I got a ticket and lost my license. So I SPED home after that anyways and got home to update and so...

Evanston won the last game at the Fenwick Tourney over Oak Park 6-5 as Tommy Grossinger scored with 0:14 remaining. Winter Park (FL) is GOOD and beat both Brother Rice and St Pats in somewhat convincing fashion. Fenwick had wins over Oak Park and Lincoln-Way East and Naperville Central beat Homewood-Flossmoor for the second time this week.

Elsewhere...well, I don't really know yet, but I should have more updates and some VIDEO footage soon.

Weekend Production Schedule

2006-03-17T16:00:00.000-06:00

I'll just say one thing, if you see me this weekend, don't hesitate to give me some Gatorade (or gas money)...here is where the coverage will be:

Friday
4:30pm DRIVE TO FENWICK
5:40-10:00pm York-Evanston, NC-HF, Fenwick, LWE, Rice vs FL, OPRF-Evanston
10:00pm Drive and update site, update site and drive

Saturday
7:00am DRIVE TO HINSDALE CENTRAL
8:00am HC vs Hoffman
8:50am HS vs Lyons
9:40am Andrew vs Conant
10:30am DRIVE TO FENWICK
11:20am St Pats vs Naperville Central
12:15pm DRIVE TO NAPERVILLE
1:00pm 5th place game
1:50pm 3rd place game
2:40pm 1st place game
3:30pm DRIVE TO FENWICK
4:30pm St Pats vs Brother Rice
5:10pm OPRF vs York
6:00pm St Pats vs HF
7:00pm Drive home, update site
8:00pm Pass out

NCAA Tournament

2006-03-16T20:18:00.001-06:00

Quite honestly, this has been the greatest Thursday that the NCAA Tournament has ever seen since I was a youngster following this thing...and yes, I wrote a 37-page book/story/whatever about the 1990 tournament after reading a John Feinstein book about the '88 season (I still have the transcripts just in case no one believes I would write about this stuff as a 12-year old)...so uhh, if you have scores and stuff just send them along and hopefully they will be posted tonight.

I wish Illinois water polo could have a tournament like this...

Seed the teams 1-16 and forget about regions and crap since everyone is within an hour of each other if we don't count McHenry or Bradley (no offense, just saying); single elimination.

The Illpolo Recap Show

2006-03-16T06:25:00.000-06:00

The recap show video has been posted after being finalized and reviewed by a few of the Illpolo insiders. Three games and one tournament have been covered, and there should be additional footage coming soon from another tournament and games from Week 2.

Make sure to click the play button on the middle of the picture, as it will allow you to watch the video directly from the Illpolo.com site, otherwise you will be taken to the youtube.com page to watch it there. Also, the quality of the video isn't great due to the file size issue, but the actual DVD footage is much clearer, larger, and an overall better picture.

Enjoy.

Nitpicking

2006-03-15T22:44:00.004-06:00

One thing that makes me mad when I'm trying to get scores is how biased the newspaper coverage is of certain sports. I'll start by saying that my favorite sports personally are in order: NFL, NCAA Basketball, MLB, NCAA Football, and from there just throw the rest in a pile and pick one and that probably would include water polo but...

...when there are IHSA Sectional/Supersectional basketball games there is this huge rush to post the scores and updates and what not so I can check the Tribune site at 8:00pm and magically the polo scores are posted and I can update the site. The next day, when no basketball is to be played, fuhhgettabouttit, they aren't updating the site or the scores until well after midnight so the random Illpolo guy can't go to bed until after that happens.

Now, I understand that some sports are more popular or bigger "money makers" than others but, the writers on these sites like Barry Tempkin and Bob Frisk aren't exactly Woodward and Bernstein and I don't see much award-winning journalism coming from them at all...with Tempkin being the more biased of two in the teams that he favors.

The sad thing is that you can get much more information about water polo from the Daily Herald or the Daily Southtown than you can ever hope for from the SunTimes or the Tribune. If these publications would realize that there are more than two sports being played at the high school level they might even gain some readers or subscribers but, in the meantime, they'll stick to trying to act like know-it-all's with shoddy and predictable coverage of the two major sports which makes them come off as very amateur in their reporting. And currently it's now 11pm, 3 hours after when they reported scores last night, and they can't be bothered to update things because there is no basketball to be played...

(By the way, I wouldn't be so fired up about this if someone from the random schools each night would take the time, approximately 27.3 seconds, to send me an email with the score of the game if they don't see it listed on the site)

...and yes, I plan to sit here and click reload on the Tribune web site until they update this just so I can reference how many hours basketball coverage gets over water polo and other "minor" sports as they would call them.

(and yes, I'm still mad that the SunTimes reporter who used my pen because the one she had ran out of ink at state last year didn't credit me for my assistance in her article, even though she used half or 3/4 of her material from my site all year long anyways)

...and with that note, I'm gonna find something better to do at 11pm anyways and just check back at midnight, and if they haven't updated things at the Trib by then, I'm burning my neighbors Cubs flag.

Wednesday Evening

2006-03-15T21:16:00.000-06:00

So far tonight, St Ignatius (boys) had their biggest win in recent years as they shut down Loyola 7-2 at home. Matt Middleton scored three goals, Brian Jucas had two, and Matt Noonan had a strong defensive effort to help the Wolfpack get the win. Meanwhile, the Ignatius girls defeated Loyola in Wilmette 14-5.

Sandburg also beat Oak Park (boys) 18-8 and the Sandburg girls knocked off Waubonsie Valley 16-3. And Mundelein had another amazing defensive effort in smashing New Trier 11-1 at home. And for more news...

Slow updates
There has been a lack of posts here for a day...due to the fact that I sleep about 3 hours a night and have given up Red Bull and other caffeine drinks so I don't have that to fall back on. End result...I woke up an hour and a half late this morning and work is 45 minutes away so that could be a problem. But, instead of rushing, I just sat down and spent 5 quick minutes updating scores so that you, the reader, had all the information by the time you have your morning coffee (I'm jealous of the caffeine) or you're in 1st period class. All ended up well...the site was updated and no one noticed I was gone or that I slipped in the side door (and I have 1st period free so it didn't matter much anyways).

The Illpolo Recap Show
Momentarily, I will be adding a 4-minute recap/highlight show filled with video footage from four games with music, voiceover, etc. The footage you see now is likely to ve streaming video, which means that all you need to do is click on the still-frame picture and it will play as fast as your Internet connection will allow it...no need to download the footage and no need to wait for anything. This is a new feature so obviously there could be a few bugs but it should make for a pretty cool new addition to the site. More to come soon about possible DVD production of this stuff because, as I imagine, there aren't too many water polo highlight shows anywhere in the US or anywhere else.

Illpolo.com 2006

The Difference Between All-Illpolo and All-State

All-State, Postseason Awards, Etc...

Dust Settles On State Tournament

Fenwick 13 Ignatius 5 (Final)

Fenwick 19 Latin 5 (Final)

Stevenson 11 McAuley 5 (Final)

Lyons 11 Mundelein 10 (Final)

State Finals Set

Ignatius 10 McAuley 3 (Final)

Fenwick 14 Stevenson 6 (Final)

Fenwick 17 Mundelein 1 (Final)

Latin 12 Lyons 11 (Final)

State Quarterfinal Top Players

Mother McAuley 11 Barrington 5 (Final)

Ignatius 9 Loyola 5 (Final)

Stevenson 14 LWE 5 (Final)

Fenwick 16 Naperville Central 4 (Final)

Day 1 Wrapup

Mundelein 10 Loyola 8 (Final)

Fenwick 19 Lincoln-Way East 4 (Final)

Lyons 12 Naperville Central 11 (Final)

Latin 15 Palatine 7 (Final)

State Water Polo Eve...Or Something

All-Illpolo Teams

Weeeeeee Reaady - Sectional Finals Blog

Getting Closer...

Saturday Live Updates

Sectional Semifinals - Blogging With My Eyes Half Closed

Let's Get It Started - Girls Sectionals' Blog

Round 1...Ding, Ding - Illpolo Blog

Boys Sectionals

Chicago Public League Tournament Results

Sectionals Underway!

Postseason Begins

Regular Season Comes To A Close

Girls Conferences/Tournaments

Boys Conference Results/Tournaments

Palatine Wins MSL Championship

Naperville Central 11 Mother McAuley 10 (2 OT)

Stevenson Tournament Videos

Stevenson Tournament - Day 1 Report

Friday Update

Back In Business

Hinsdale Central 10 LWC 9 (OT)

Wednesday - Week 7

39 Games

Videos, Stats and Thoughts

Two Weeks To Go

Easter Weekend

The Homestretch

STATE BRACKETS ***URGENT***

Tuesday Night

Monday Nitro

St Patrick All-Tournament Team

Looking Ahead To Monday...

Players To Watch - 2006

More Saturday Tournaments

Naperville Central Tournament

Friday Night

Spring Bracket Drawing

Wednesday Night

Tuesday Night

Tuesday Morning

Monday Night Live!

Monday Morning

Midseason Illpolo Teams...

New videos

Rice Tournament Update

Lincoln-Way East Tournament

Saturday 2

Saturday Afternoon

Thursssday

Wedz

Videos + Serious Info!!!

Spring Break Tuesday

Site Problems

Monday's Late Update

Video Footage

Yellow Colors

STATE BRACKETS URGENT