York boys water polo takes second at Best of the West tournament

NAPERVILLE – It was an uncannily similar experience for Naperville Central, Naperville North and York Saturday at the 27th annual Best of the West boys water polo tournament.

The invite traditionally brings out some of the top teams in the state, and the Redhawks, Huskies and Dukes all excelled by finishing the tourney with 3-1 records.

They also rued what might have been, as each squad came with whiskers of 4-0.

Naperville Central’s only loss was to Glenbrook South, 8-7 in overtime in pool play; Naperville North fell to York by the same score in the semifinals; while the Dukes advanced to the title match, where they were defeated 8-4 by tournament champion New Trier.

The tourney was hosted by Central and North, with Saturday’s games at North’s pool.

“I think we’re getting better by the day,” said James Behrend of Naperville Central, which took fifth place with a 13-7 victory over Hinsdale Central.

“We’ve got to keep looking forward, and I think we can be special if we keep working this hard.”

Redhawks coach Bill Salentine said that his team “fell apart a little bit in the second half” of their match against Glenbrook South, but added that he thinks the future looks bright.

“We’re still trying to work a few things out,” he said, “but overall it was a good finish here against a very talented Hinsdale Central team.”

In the third-place match against Glenbrook South, Naperville North wasted no time asserting themselves.

Titans senior goalie Kevin O’Connor made a couple of good early stops, but when Jack Boudeman of the Huskies ended the first quarter with a goal off an assist from teammate Jack Reif, the score was already 8-0 Naperville North.

The Huskies went on to win 11-5. Reif and Boudeman led the team with three goals apiece, all coming in the first period.

With the big lead, Naperville North was able to get their reserves some well-earned action in the second half.

“It was a fun day and we learned a lot,” said Reif. “Very disappointing with that one loss to York, but I think it’s good to have those type of games. That gives you the ability to understand how to play from behind, come back and ride together as a team.”

“We were bummed with the loss, so we kind of took out our anger in the first quarter (against the Titans). Then we were able to get the players in who wouldn’t have necessarily played in the higher level games, and get them some playing time.”

Huskies goalie Caleb Uson, a senior, said that it was rewarding to watch his team run out to the 8-0 advantage over Glenbrook South.

“It’s nice to see us come out that strong,” he said, “and it definitely encourages me to do the same on defense as they do on offense. It’s a team effort.”

York kept things close early against New Trier in the championship game. Senior Tim Jensen scored twice in the first half as the Dukes trailed the Trevians just 4-3 at intermission.

New Trier took a 7-4 lead heading into the final period. York goalie Aaron Rivera kept his team in the game with a big save on a penalty shot in the first minute of the fourth quarter, but the Dukes couldn’t get their offense going thereafter.

The title match win was the 21st in a row for New Trier, state champs in 2022 and 2023, after opening its season with two straight losses.

Ironically, those two defeats came at the hands of York and Naperville North.

“Coming into this tournament,” said Dukes coach Brian Drumm, “and being able to play New Trier and Naperville North, that’s a win for us. It’s going to be great film, and I think all three teams got better today. That’s why we do this.”