Early Saturday, Lyons Township girls water polo coach Megan Jacobs promised her players she would take a celebratory postgame jump into the pool if the Lions simply reached the state championship match. That night, Jacobs and her assistants took the plunge after the Lions nearly pulled off their greatest upset in program history.
As huge underdogs, the Lions lost to undefeated, No. 1-ranked and two-time defending champion Stevenson 6-5 for the title at the Patriots’ home pool in Lincolnshire after leading 4-2 entering the fourth quarter.
It’s the second-highest finish for the Lions (24-5-1), the 2010 state champions who also finished third last season and in 2022 and fourth in 2015.
“Right now, it’s very bittersweet. I’m very happy that we won second place. It’s the first time in 15 years that LT has gone to a final,” said LTHS senior Maya Mladjan, the Brookfield resident who will play at Michigan with older sister Emilia. “I’m super proud of the team. I’m proud of myself. I know I have a big future ahead but I’m going to be sad because of that bond that’s been built with the rest of my girls and coaches.”
The Lions rode a whirlwind path to the finals, outlasting fourth-place York 14-11 in overtime in the semifinals earlier Saturday and beating St. Ignatius 5-4 in Thursday’s quarterfinals. When the Lions played at Stevenson (36-0) back on March 15, the Patriots won 18-9.
“It’s crazy how much we grew from game one to game three (at state), let alone the beginning of the season to the end of the season, losing by nine (to Stevenson, then) losing by one,” Jacobs said.
“Our team grew a lot. The chemistry is much better. We have an amazing goalie (senior Delaney Judkins) that’s helped us in every game at state. We have some great seniors (like) Maya. And Bella (Recker), Avery (Watanabe) with the lob shot, Maddie (Wieczorkiewicz) as a freshman stepping up.”
Mladjan scored the first two goals against Stevenson. Goals by juniors Recker and Watanabe with her lob opened a 4-2 lead just 20 seconds into the third quarter. After being kept scoreless for two quarters, the Patriots stormed back in the fourth. They tied the game with 4:52 left, pulled ahead 5-4 just 42 seconds later and went up 6-4 with 1:19 left. Wieczorkiewicz scored with 35 seconds to go.
“We were pretty emotional all over the place, especially for me because I was sad we didn’t get first place, but at the same time second was amazing,” said Judkins, who made 16 saves.
“The fact that we tried so hard for all of the games leading up to this was the biggest accomplishment. I honestly did not think we were going to win that first half and we did. I was so proud of my teammates.”
Mladjan said she’ll remember the team’s organized egg hunts and late-night event at the south campus with “no rules” water polo using a greased watermelon.
Recker and junior Bebe Wright agreed the Lions’ team bond was their strength. They added the final link at the hotel between Saturday’s games.
Those bonds truly were tested. Against York, LTHS led 8-4 in the third quarter but York (22-6) forced overtime at 10-10 after scoring with 44 seconds left in regulation. Wieczorkiewicz, Wright, Mladjan and Watanabe then scored the first four overtime goals.
The Lions rallied to beat St. Ignatius on Watanabe’s goal with 25 seconds left after Recker tied the game 4-4 with 3:06 left.
“In the beginning of the season, we were getting used to each other. You could definitely tell as our games went on we got better and better,” Wright said. “At the end, we really came together. I think we gave everything we had.”
Boys tennis
After being a defensive standout for the Lyons Township boys soccer team, senior Fred Chen used a similar mentality in getting to his first Class 2A boys tennis state tournament. Chen and freshman doubles partner Mateja Nokic are among the Lions’ three state entries after top-four finishes at the Hinsdale Central Sectional.
“I regret not working as hard as possible throughout my high school tennis career, but at least I had this opportunity to qualify for state,” Chen responded. “It took a lot of help from my teammate (Nokic), who has a very fast serve and fast ground strokes. It makes my job of being scrappy and more of a defensive player easier.”
Also advancing for the Lions were junior Shay Sweigard (17-7), who was fourth in singles, and the doubles team of juniors Rohan Nagale and Jackson Albee (9-9), who took third place 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 over Chen and Mateja (8-8).
This is the third straight state trip for Sweigard and second in singles along with freshman year.
RBHS doubles teams of Linden Leander and Humza Ahmad and Charles DeButch and Mathias Kubon, singles player Jake Corollo and the Lions’ Manny Gonzalez reached the round of 16. DeButch and Kubon won a play-in match.
