ETHS Girls Earn Return Trip To State Water Polo Tourney

New Trier embraced their rare role as an underdog in girls water polo in Saturday’s sectional championship game against Evanston at Glenbrook South and even scored the first goal of the game.

But with the season on the line, the Wildkits showed their rivals that how you finish is more important than how you start.

Evanston edged New Trier 5-4, limiting the losers to just one goal in the second half, and advanced to the Elite Eight for the second year in a row. Four goals by senior Maya Vincent helped the Wildkits earn back-to-back trips to the Illinois High School Association state tournament for just the second time in school history, matching the accomplishment by the 2003 and 2004 squads.

Saturday’s triumph was the 12th in a row for the Wildkits. Their reward for that win streak? A matchup with defending state champion Stevenson in the state quarterfinals next Thursday at 4:30 p.m. at the Patriots’ pool.

Other first-round state tournament games will match Naperville North against Fremd, St. Ignatius against Lyons Township, and York against Lincoln-Way Central. The semifinals and finals will be played Saturday at Stevenson.

The Trevians refused to go quietly after losing to the Kits and tying them once prior to Saturday’s showdown. Fortunately for ETHS head coach Maggie Hatcher, her team was able to match that intensity and improved to 23-4-1 on the season.

Zaya Arellano’s goal early in the second half stood as the game-winner after New Trier did manage a score with approximately two minutes left in regulation. But the losers couldn’t get any closer against the stout Wildkit defense.

“It was closer than we would’ve liked it to be,” Hatcher admitted. “New Trier came out hard at us and you have to give them credit. It took us a little while to settle in — I’m not sure if we ever really settled in — but we got the job done.

“To play a team five times in a season and come out with a win is pretty tough to do. We didn’t play our best game, but we did what we had to do to win it. In the fourth quarter our defense did a really good job of adjusting to what New Trier was running on offense. They scored their only goal on a power play, so I thought we were pretty dominant with our defense. We just need more offense.

“We know we’re at our best if we take control right away, but it some ways it really doesn’t matter if we don’t, because these girls don’t quit. They take what they’ve learned and do whatever they can to make it happen. I’m so incredibly proud of this team for winning a sectional. Mostly, though, I’m relieved.”

The Wildkits lived up to their No. 1 sectional seed and kept their season alive in a year where they didn’t figure to take another trip to State. Especially after losing three of their first four games with a new cast of players trying to fill the big shoes of the graduated standouts who accounted for a state runner-up finish a year ago.

Since that slow start, however, Evanston’s only loss came by a 12-8 margin back on April 12th — against Stevenson.

“We had to have a new goalie step in for one that was No. 1 in the state, and this is a completely different team from last year,” Hatcher noted. “But they worked very, very hard in the club season and in the summer and winter after getting a taste of what we did last year. Most of them didn’t play in the close games last year, but getting a taste of what we did last year lit a fire in a lot of these girls.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but they were ready to step up. This team has really only been together for one winter and I can’t say enough about them. Defense has always been our foundation and those early losses were all by one or two goals. I thought it was just a product of them playing together for the first time.

“I wasn’t worried early on after those losses. We talked about how unrealistic it was to compare yourself to a team that only lost three games (2024). That was crazy and that’s not something we wanted to carry around with us. The beginning of the season is always about getting experience playing together, getting in game shape and figuring things out. And we could have won all of those games.”

That includes that mid-April meeting with Stevenson. Evanston actually led the game entering the fourth period before the Pats fought back with six goals to snatch victory from defeat.

The two teams met in last year’s state championship game and Stevenson has dominated postseason competition in girls polo, winning six of the last nine IHSA state crowns. But being on the same side of the state tourney bracket with the Pats doesn’t faze Hatcher’s squad.

“We all feel that we’re hungry for some payback,” said Hatcher. “We’ll prepare like we always do. They’re just another team and we’re capable of beating any team if we play together and fight.”