The Oak Park and River Forest High School girls’ water polo team wrapped up their season with a 12-16 record, falling just short of the sectional finals.
OPRF was seeded third for the sectional tournament this year, and after easily getting past the quarter-finals with a 15-2 win over Riverside Brookfield on May 14, they lost to Fenwick in the semi-finals 3-6. It was their second loss to Fenwick this year after losing 5-8 on April 13.
According to senior Abi Ago, the girls played more as a team this time around and showed overall defensive growth this season during the game. “We were more organized, pressured better and worked together to slow down their offense much more effectively than before,” said Ago. Despite the loss, “sectionals showed how far we had come together as a team.”
Setting aside a rough end to the season, the team had a solid regular season. They pulled prominent victories May 5 against Neuqua Valley, March 26 against Waubonsie Valley and March 23 against Lincoln-Way East.
As usual, West Suburban Conference competition was tough. The Huskies struggled to triumph against ranked teams including York and Lyons Township. They had a 0-3 conference record, according to Max Preps.
Setting aside struggles in conference matchups, senior Evie Hasenbalg said this “season has been going very well for us. We have had a lot of close games and where we have had good passing and shooting.”
Out of the three home games played this season, OPRF only won one match (15-8) March 12 against St. Charles. In the team’s final home game against third-in-the-state St. Ignatius, they fell a few goals short of victory with a score of 10-7 on April 23.
This match was the team’s final competition in OPRF’s West Pool, soon to be demolished to make way for new athletic facilities that are scheduled for completion in August.
Despite this hard loss, the team made up for it with an exciting recreational scrimmage on senior night. “It was just really special to be a part of the last game before the new facilities are finished next year,” said Hasenbalg.
The seniors and the rest of the girls finished off their time using the West Pool in a positive manner by defensively succeeding and forming high-quality player connections. “Our defense is pretty strong, but putting the ball in the net is kind of our weakness,” Head Coach Beth Perez.
Ago, the goalkeeper, led the defensive end this season and noted that “our defense is very good with helping with the ball and preventing the other team from shooting on me.”
Juniors Claire McFarlin and Yulie Wnorowska, along with senior captains Avaa Ruffer, Hasenbalg and Ago, were the only varsity veterans. “A lot of our new players have helped fill in missing spots this season,” said Head Coach Beth Perez. In addition, “Our newcomers have been able to contribute more than expected.” Newcomers who have made a big impact this season include sophomore Naomi Schubkegel and junior Yejoun Kim.
The growth of player connections helped foster better teamwork during games. Ago reflected that their “main goal this season was to play as a team more. In recent games, we have played as a team more, which has been really great.”
Teamwork has had a big impact on positive performances at in-season tournaments. They went 2-1 at the Homewood Flossmoor Quad and 2-2 at the Naperville Central Invite. The girls ended the regular season on a high, going 3-1 during the weekend trip to Michigan on May 1-2. “We went out to dinner and laser tag, there was a lot of team bonding, and we really connected through that trip,” said Ago.
