Sandburg fends off McHenry, reaches semifinals

It took Sandburg seven years to win its first state water polo trophy. The Eagles wasted no time claiming No. 2.

Sandburg outscored McHenry 5-3 in the fourth quarter to fight off the Warriors' upset bid to earn a 14-12 win Friday in a state quarterfinal at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire.

Cody Siemeck scored three of his team-high five goals in the final period for the Eagles, who clinched their second straight state trophy after finishing fourth a year ago. Joe Kamper added four goals and Eric Niemeier had three for Sandburg.

The Eagles (27-7) will meet Lyons Township (22-6), a 14-10 winner over Glenbrook South, in a semifinal at 11:30 a.m. today.

"This feels so good," Kamper said. "Coming here last year for the first time was great, but to get back again and win another trophy after losing a lot of players really shows what kind of a team we are."

After the Eagles led 5-2 late in the first quarter, McHenry (20-7) outscored them 7-2 over the next 1 1 / 2 quarters and led 9-7 late in the third.

Kamper and Niemeier scored to tie the match, and Sandburg looked like a different team in the fourth quarter, scoring four goals in the first 2 1 / 2 minutes of the period to take a commanding 13-9 lead. A suddenly swarming Sandburg defense blocked several shots and took the pressure off goalie Ryan Mann in the final quarter.

"The kids tied the game and they just got a fire in their eyes," Sandburg coach Jim Caliendo said. "They kept their heads, and I told them they won the game on heart and desire."

Siemeck scored twice during the fourth-quarter run, but the biggest goal of the game may have been Niemeier's laser from way outside that gave Sandburg an 11-9 lead and seemed to demoralize the Warriors.

The scoring from Niemeier - a sophomore who had just 18 goals in 33 games prior to Friday - and Kamper opened things up for the team's leading scorer, Siemeck, to finally get some looks.

"That's so nice for me," Siemeck said. "When they are scoring from the outside, it frees me up a lot more inside. McHenry was very physical, and we had to adjust to their defense."

Kamper had a huge first quarter, scoring three goals as the McHenry defense clamped down on Siemeck.

"If they're just going to leave me open, I'm not going to pass up shots," Kamper said. "I've got to be able to step up and score those."

Jonathan Lesniak, who scored five goals to lead McHenry, was nearly unstoppable in the middle quarters, scoring three times and setting up several chances for his teammates. Sandburg's defense finally shut him down late.

"A couple of their guys had really weird form with their shots," Kamper said. "We had never seen shots like that. Going to the fourth quarter, we just came together and said we had to stop them. The fourth quarter is where you have to step up."

In March, Lyons defeated Sandburg 13-12 in overtime, and the teams have played overtime matches the last two years. Sandburg expects another close match in today's semifinal.

"It could go either way," Kamper said. "It's going to come down to who wants it more."