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State Champs!

The Jr. Bills capped off another impressive season by winning the Missouri District Tournament, subduing the Spartans for the fourth time.

Steve Sigman opened the scoring on the first possession off a pick play. DeSmet tied the score on a well-placed perimeter shot, but William Page returned the favor, finding the far upper corner from even farther out. Again the Spartans responded, this time with a cheap goal off a deflected shot, but Will Derdeyn’s counterattack goal off a smart feed from Trent Going put the Jr. Bills ahead to stay.

In the second quarter, Sigman again started the scoring, finding the back of the net from 7 meters out. John Heafner powered in a penalty shot drawn by Derdeyn, and Player of the Game John Savio’s counterattack goal forced DeSmet to call timeout and regroup. It worked momentarily, as the Spartans scored once, but Savio’s skip shot from 8 meters with one second remaining in the half restored SLUH’s four goal advantage.

On their first possession of the third quarter, the Spartans scored off a rebound to trim their deficit to three. But that goal turned out to be their final score of the game, as the Jr. Bills’ defense racked up steal after steal. Late in the period, Savio completed his hat trick with the goal of the game, taking advantage of the DeSmet goalie’s near-side positioning and surprising him with a backhand inside the far post.

SLUH sacrificed offense for defense in the fourth quarter, and it worked, as DeSmet was held scoreless. Derdeyn’s 6-on-5 goal with three minutes left sealed the outcome, and after playing keepaway for a few possessions, the starters exited the pool to the cheers of a large crowd.

The Jr. Bills shot only 33 percent, well below their season mark of 51 percent, but they still won handily because the defense limited the Spartans to a paltry twelve shots for the entire game. SLUH could afford to press because Michael O’Neill and Trent Going capably shut down the first and third leading scorers in the area.

The state championship is SLUH’s fourth consecutive and fourteenth overall, most in the history of Missouri Water Polo.

Published: May 16, 2009 | Categories:
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