Boys water polo: Lyons uses big run to power past Latin

Updated: April 17, 2012 10:21PM

In a game between two state powers that had more of a playoff feel than a mid-April game, Lyons’ boys water polo team showed where its at with a month to go to the playoffs Tuesday against Latin.

The Lions scored five straight goals to start the fourth quarter and power their way to a 17-12 win to improve to 19-2 on the season, building on winning their own tournament over the weekend.

“The boys did really well,” Lyons coach Doug Eichstaedt said. “We needed to come out and play better today. We did what we needed to at the end of the game, and this is a good test for us. With sectionals coming up, we know we have to keep working.”

Latin (8-4) played without a starter and a key reserve who were out for a choral concert, and the Romans haven’t played many high-intensity games since the start of the season due to a three-week school break in March, but they were up to the challenge most of the day.

It was a gritty, physical battle throughout, and Latin, which never led in the game, cut the lead to 12-10 at the end of the third quarter thanks to two goals from Jacob Himmel and one from Dylan Levin.

But Lyons put the hammer down on the Romans in the fourth quarter. Kovas Zygas and Peter Dore started the scoring, and then Joe Shannon scored three straight goals to push the lead to 17-10. Shannon was dominant in the win, scoring eight goals overall.

“They gave us a run for our money,” Shannon said. “We like to take pride in our defense, but they messed with that and I kind of took it personally. I wanted to take it to them.”

Despite giving up 11 goals, Lyons goalie Chris Sekula was dominant in stretches, posting two assists and 13 saves to keep the Lions in control throughout.

“We wanted to force a few more outside shots, and it didn’t happen,” Eichstaedt said. “He’s a strong goalie and we want to force more of those outside shots because we know he can gobble them up.”

Himmel and James Ruggiero each scored four goals in the loss for Latin, which is trying to get things going with the playoffs a month out.

“No excuses,” Latin coach Noah Himmel said. “We had opportunities and we didn’t take advantage of them. The boys played hard. This was our first competitive game since the first week of the season, so we have our work cut out for us. It’s a good indicator of where we are. It’s mid-April. It only matters what happens in mid-May.”

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