OP_033017
The Orland Park Prairie 033017
The Orland Park Prairie 033017
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
opprairie.com sports<br />
the orland park prairie | March 30, 2017 | 45<br />
Boys water polo<br />
Sandburg has troubles<br />
with passing, LW East<br />
Jason Maholy<br />
Freelance Reporter<br />
The Lincoln-Way East<br />
boy’s water polo team entered<br />
this season with lofty<br />
goals.<br />
Several players who were<br />
key components to the Griffins’<br />
run to the 2016 state<br />
quarterfinals returned to the<br />
pool this year. And if that<br />
was not reason enough for<br />
first-year boys head coach<br />
Ryan Lodes to be optimistic,<br />
East’s ranks were reinforced<br />
by players from a Lincoln-<br />
Way North squad that fell<br />
one win shy of qualifying for<br />
the state tournament.<br />
SouthWest Suburban<br />
Conference rival Sandburg,<br />
meanwhile, has plans for a<br />
deep postseason run of its<br />
own, after advancing to the<br />
sectional semifinals a season<br />
ago.<br />
The Griffins and Eagles<br />
have a long way to go before<br />
the playoffs, and met Thursday,<br />
March 23, in Frankfort<br />
for a contest that provided<br />
each team the opportunity<br />
to gauge where it is in the<br />
young season. East was the<br />
victor this time, topping<br />
Sandburg 11-5 and handing<br />
the visitors their first loss of<br />
the year.<br />
Lodes said his squad is<br />
coming together and that the<br />
win was their best game of<br />
the season.<br />
“The guys are beginning<br />
to work as a team,” he said.<br />
“This game was the first<br />
“They went up 4-0 because our<br />
passing was very horrendous.<br />
We’ve got to fix that. I think we’re<br />
as talented as them; I think were<br />
just as good as them, but we didn’t<br />
show it today.”<br />
Jim Caliendo — Sandburg boys water polo coach,<br />
on losing Thursday, March 23, to Lincoln-Way East<br />
game where I saw us work<br />
as a team for the four full<br />
quarters. We didn’t have one<br />
kid that had a steal or that<br />
caused a turnover today. It<br />
was all seven of us.”<br />
Andrew Brozovic led<br />
the Griffins (6-1) with four<br />
goals, and Jason Parkinson<br />
came close to matching him<br />
with three goals and an assist.<br />
Ryan Murphy found<br />
the net twice for East.<br />
Sandburg’s Joey Jenkot<br />
and Josh Grella each scored<br />
two goals.<br />
East opened the game<br />
on a 4-0 run before Grella<br />
answered for the Eagles<br />
(3-1), who turned the ball<br />
over several times in a first<br />
quarter during which they<br />
managed only two shots<br />
on goal. Sandburg eventually<br />
settled down, and had<br />
closed the gap to 6-4 midway<br />
through the third stanza<br />
before a flurry of Griffins<br />
goals bridging the third and<br />
fourth quarters put the game<br />
out of reach.<br />
Sandburg coach Jim Caliendo,<br />
in his last season at<br />
the helm for the Eagles, said<br />
it was “little things” that<br />
undermined an otherwise<br />
strong effort by his squad.<br />
“I thought we played well,<br />
played hard, gave a great effort,”<br />
he said. “It was only<br />
6-4 late in the third quarter.<br />
We got down early, and we<br />
hit back to within two goals,<br />
and then they put a couple<br />
more in on us. We might<br />
have gotten a little tired; I<br />
don’t know. But I thought<br />
we battled them good.”<br />
Poor passing that led to<br />
giveaways was an issue,<br />
particularly early in the<br />
game. But some of those<br />
turnovers were the result of<br />
good defense by East.<br />
“They went up 4-0 because<br />
our passing was very<br />
horrendous,” Caliendo said.<br />
“We’ve got to fix that. I<br />
think we’re as talented as<br />
them; I think were just as<br />
good as them, but we didn’t<br />
show it today.”<br />
Lodes said Brozovic’s<br />
performance was impressive<br />
but not necessarily surprising,<br />
as he has come to<br />
expect consistently strong<br />
showings from the senior.<br />
“He’s hardworking and<br />
a team player,” Lodes said.<br />
“I’ve personally witnessed<br />
him work harder than most<br />
people in the off-season,<br />
and it shows today. He was<br />
tired at the end of the game,<br />
but it only shows how much<br />
he puts into each game. I<br />
can always count on him. ...<br />
He always brings it.”<br />
Parkinson, Lodes said,<br />
is a “phenomenal player”<br />
whose leg strength and<br />
awareness of the ball are<br />
among the best of anyone<br />
on the team. The coach<br />
is, however, counting on<br />
contributions from up and<br />
down his roster to help the<br />
Griffins to their goal of a<br />
state championship.<br />
“We have a deep squad,<br />
we have a ton of experienced<br />
players,” Lodes said,<br />
and noted the influx of former<br />
North players provides<br />
a wealth on both fronts.<br />
“Both [East and North] had<br />
pretty disappointing losses<br />
at the end of their seasons.<br />
I think that fuels the fire for<br />
this team. We don’t want to<br />
end up like we ended up last<br />
season; we want to use that<br />
to move forward.”<br />
visit us online at www.opprairie.com
Change language