Boys Water Polo: Curie wins Public League title in dominating fashion

Updated: May 5, 2012 10:32PM

Curie’s boys water polo team won its sixth consecutive Public League title Saturday at UIC, and the Condors didn’t take anything for granted.

Despite beating rival Young handily earlier this season, the Condors came out and put the hammer down in a 22-5 win as they roll into the York Sectional next week.

Curie used runs of 10 and nine goals to build a commanding 20-2 lead late in the third quarter as the Condors soared to the title.

“We knew what they were doing, so we just had to shut them down before they got into the game too,” said Curie star Eduardo Chavez, who scored seven goals in the win. “I think we’ll always have a rivalry with Whitney Young. We just had to make a point. It starts off here, the intensity for next week.”

Young (7-11) tied the game at 1-1 on Seth Hughes’ goal with 5:30 left in the first, but that was the last time the Dolphins were in the game. Curie scored the next nine goals, five coming from Chavez, to blow the game open. When the Dolphins scored again, Curie (19-3) answered with 10 straight goals.

Ramiro Almaraz added five goals in the win.

“It’s all about our speed and our counter attack, that’s what our team is based on,” Curie coach Omar Vazquez said. “We knew that our conditioning would pull it off in the end. They’re our biggest rivals, so every time we play them it’s high intensity. Even though we beat them earlier in the season, they still have a pretty good team.”

Curie will find the competition level increased quite a bit more at the loaded York Sectional next week. Despite the Condors’ fine season, they are the No. 3 seed in the sectional thanks to the presence of the state’s top two teams, Lyons and eight-time defending state champion Fenwick. Curie starts its quest to reach state Wednesday against sixth-seeded St. Patrick with a potential showdown with Lyons looming in the semifinals.

“I’m excited,” Chavez said. “It’s the moment of truth. It’s a challenge. Hopefully we can win it and move on to the next round.”

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