18U COED
Y Pro-Pittsburgh Coed 14U Fifth Place Game at 2021 National State Challenge
AMBLER, Pa. — Due to technical issues, statistics for the Y Pro versus Pittsburgh 14U Coed Fifth Place game at Wissahickon High School are not available.
New Trier Edges North Penn, 7-6, to Take 14U Coed Third Place Game at 2021 National State Challenge
LANSDALE, Pa. — Player of the Game Holden Hiebeler scored with 4:48 left in an overtime period as New Trier edged North Penn, 7-6, in the 14U Coed Third Place game of the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.
Competing at North Penn High School, New Trier overcame a 3-1 halftime deficit to acquire a two goal lead with 1:40 left on the clock in the third quarter. However, Emily Pironti and Ella Pironti scored back-to-back goals with 25 and two seconds left in the frame to knot the score at six-all. Following a scoreless fourth quarter, the game would not be decided until Hiebeler’s heroics in overtime.
Trailing 2-0 with the clock winding down in the first quarter, Ethan Kim put New Trier on the scoreboard in the closing moments to pull back to within one goal.
North Penn padded its its lead to a pair at 2-1 prior to the halftime horn by finding the back of the cage once again with 3:30 to go in the first half.
However, New Trier rallied back as Marie Mohr drilled in shots at 6:36 and 6:01 to start the third quarter and balance the scoreboard at three-all. Elias Panachyda returned the lead to North Penn at 5:13, but a man-up score by Rafti Naftali at 4:06 followed by a five-meter penalty shot from Mohr at 3:39 turned the tables and pushed New Trier ahead 5-4.
Hiebeler padded the lead to a pair at 6-4 with 1:40 remaining on the clock, but the Pironti punched in the equalizers to set the stage for the overtime finale.
Mohr led New Trier with three goals, while Kim and Naftali both chipped in solo markers. Hiebeler joined Mohr in posting a multi-goal game by connecting on a pair.
2021 National State Challenge 14U Coed Third Place – New Trier
Maverick Outguns Brooklyn, 23-21, to Claim Coed 14U Championship at 2021 National State Challenge
LANSDALE, Pa. — In likely the highest scoring game in the history of the American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge, Maverick used nine goals by Owen Sherry to outlast and overcome Brooklyn Water Polo, 23-21, in the 14U Coed title game of the 2021 Championship at North Penn High School.
Tied at five-all at the conclusion of the first quarter, Maverick pulled ahead 13-9 prior to halftime. However, Brooklyn rallied back to knot the game at 17-all prior to Maverick pulling out the win down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
Brooklyn’s Noah Castillo earned Player of the Game recognition for netting a game-high 11 goals.
2021 National State Challenge 14U Coed Second Place – Brooklyn Water Polo
2021 National State Challenge 14U Coed Champion – Maverick
18U GIRLS
Ridge Raptors Rise Above CHIWPC, 15-0, to Secure 2021 National State Challenge Girls’ 18U Championship Game Berth
AMBLER, Pa. — Darragh Martin (four), Lea Preston (three) and Adilyn Garges (three) combined for 10 of their team’s 15 goals as Ridge Raptors shutout CHIWPC, 15-0, at Wissahickon High School to likely secure the No. 1 position for the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge 18U Girls’ title game against Wilson at 2:00 p.m.
Ridge Raptors – which previously defeated North Penn (11-7 W), Maverick (15-4 W) and New Trier (13-6 W) to go along with a 10-10 tie versus their title game foe Wilson – will compete in the title game slated for 2:00 p.m. at North Penn High School in Lansdale, Pa. The team will hold the No. 1 spot if Wilson does not defeat New Trier by more than 22 goals as Ridge Raptors currently hold a +37 goal differential against all common opponents, compared to Wilson’ +15 heading into its 10:00 a.m. game versus New Trier.
For the victors, Ava Vesey, Hannah Sayre, Allyson Ricciardi, Raegan Vesey and Madelynn Evers each tacked on solo markers.
Wilson Completes Round Robin Action by Taking Down New Trier, 12-4, to Secure 2021 National State Challenge Girls’ 18U Championship Game No. 2 Spot
AMBLER, Pa. — Kayla Dietrich, Lexie Gonzalez, Avonlea Lechleitner and Maddy Nigrini each scored twice as Wilson claimed a 12-4 defeat of New Trier to secure the No. 2 position for the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge 18U Girls’ Championship title game versus Ridge Raptors.
Ridge Raptors and Wilson will meet at 2:00 p.m. later today at North Penn High School in Lansdale, Pa., to decide which program claims bragging rights and a check for $1,000.
It will mark the second meeting of Ridge Raptors and Wilson as the two teams tied at 10-all on Saturday, July 10, at Wissahickon High School in Ambler, Pa.
Facing New Trier at Wissahickon prior to making the drive to North Penn for the final clash with Ridge Raptors, Wilson never trailed by holding 3-0 and 5-0 scoring advantages in the first and third quarters, respectively, to go along with 2-2 offensive outputs by the teams in the second and fourth frames.
Hailey Brigle, Morgan Valeriano, Mikayla Arthur and Kaitlyn Gundersen accounted for the remainder of Wilson’s offense with solo tallies.
New Trier received solo strikes by Carmen Crewe, Annie Lewis, Claire Miller and Seren Uzkan in wrapping up the weekend with a 1-4 record, including an 8-6 win over CHIWPC.
Ridge Raptors Edge Wilson in Overtime, 8-7, to Snag 2021 National State Challenge Girls’ 18U Championship
LANSDALE, Pa. — Adilyn Garges made two of her three goals in the game count the most to knot the score courtesy a penalty shot with no time remaining in regulation and bury a man-cup chance with 5:15 left in a sudden death overtime period to give Ridge Raptors an 8-7 victory over Wilson in the Girls’ 18U Championship game at the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.
Competing at North Penn High School, Ridge Raptors needed to overcome a 7-5 deficit entering the fourth quarter to have a chance at victory.
Down by a pair with the clock working against them, the team pulled to within one with 4:50 to go in the final quarter of regulation as Allyson Ricciardi slipped in a shot to make it 7-6. Ridge Raptors – which tied Wilson during round-robin play – appeared destined to claim a runner-up finish, but luck was with the ladies as a penalty call against Wilson goalie Shannon Bella with one second left provided literally last second hope.
Garges delivered to tie the score and again in overtime to win the crown as Ridge Raptors claimed arguably the most dramatic victory in the history of the National State Challenge.
The game appeared destined to be a rout in favor of Wilson in the early going as Mikayla Arthur (4:14), Avonlea Lechleitner (2:47) and Kaitlyn Gundersen (1:31) torched the Ridge Raptors for back-to-back-to-back goals in opening up a 3-0 lead in the first quarter.
Lea Preston put the Raptors on the scoreboard at 1:11, but Leah Eckert delivered a response with 55 seconds remaining in the opening frame to provide Wilson a 4-1 lead through seven minutes of action.
Hopes dimmed further for the Raptors less than a minute into the second quarter as Kayla Dietrich added to Wilson’s lead at 6:01 to widen the gap between the programs to four goals.
Darragh Martin (4:31) and Garges (3:50) trimmed the deficit back to two at 5-3 less than midway through the second quarter, but Arthur returned the lead to three at 6-3 with a strike at the 2:13 mark.
Down by three goals with 14 minutes remaining in regulation, the Raptors hopes dimmed once again as Morgan Valeriano (3:13) broke free to deliver another blow for Wilson and make it 7-3.
However, Ricciardi (1:40) and Samantha Darrell (45 seconds) increased the possibility of a dramatic comeback by ripping in natural and man-up scores, respectively, to inch the Raptors back to within a pair at 7-5 heading into the fourth quarter.
Following over two minutes of scoreless water polo in the final quarter of regulation, Ricciardi struck again by putting away a shot with 4:50 on the clock to set the stage for Garges last second and overtime heroics.
For Ridge Raptors, Player of the Game Garges (three), Ricciardi (two), Darrell (one), Preston (one) and Martin (one) all dented the twine in the championship comeback win. Courtesy the victory, the team earns bragging rights for a year and a check for $1,000.
Arthur (two), Gundersen (one), Valeriano (one), Eckert (one), Dietrich (one) and Lechleitner (one) accounted for Wilson’s seven goals.
2021 National State Challenge 18U Girls Second Place – Wilson
2021 National State Challenge 18U Girls Champion – Ridge Raptors
18U BOYS
North Penn Locks Up Spot in Boys’ 18U Championship Game by Taking 16-5 Win Versus Brooklyn at 2021 National State Challenge
LANSDALE, Pa. — Player of the Game Nathaniel Rawa posted a game-high four goals as North Penn stopped Brooklyn, 16-5, to clinch a position in the 18U Boys’ Championship title game at the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.
Competing at North Penn High School, the home squad pulled ahead 3-2 by the conclusion of the first quarter prior to adding 3-0, 5-1 and 5-2 scoring advantages in the second, third and fourth quarters, respectively, to earn a 4-1 record to date on the weekend.
North Penn previously defeated Wilson (10-7 W), New Trier (10-8 W) and Swim RVA (11-8 W) with a loss to Maverick (12-6 L). Maverick and Wilson can also finish 4-1 if they are victorious against Swim RVA and New Trier, respectively, later in the day. However, if both teams win their final round-robin games, goal differential if contests among the three will place Maverick in the No. 1 position for the title game, while North Penn will claim the other berth due to its head-to-head victory over Wilson. If Wilson wins and Maverick loses, North Penn will hold the No. 1 spot for the title game against Wilson at 3:00 p.m. later today at North Penn. If Maverick wins and Wilson loses, Maverick and North Penn will be No. 1 and 2 and will clash in the title game.
North Penn never trailed in the game as Robert Freece lined in the ice-breaker 50 seconds into the game (6:10). Owen Randazzo knotted the score at one-all with 4:51 left in the first quarter, by Timothy Swhar (3:31) answered to return the lead to North Penn approximately midway through the frame. Yash More (1:20) once again squared the squads at two-all via a penalty shot, but Rawa wailed in a go-ahead strike with 17 seconds left to stake North Penn to a 3-2 lead through seven minutes of action.
Brooklyn was unable to pull even the rest of the way as Freece (5:20) opened the second quarter with a tally prior to Owen Fritz (1:54, man-up) and Chase DiMauro (two seconds) padding the margin to 6-2 by halftime.
North Penn blew the game open in the first two minutes of the third quarter as Rawa (6:32, 5:09), Andrew Davis (6:13) and Freece (5:33) combined for four goals to enlarge the scoring gap between the teams to 10-2. Davis added a man-up strike at 4:33 prior to More converting a six-on-five chance for Brooklyn at 4:10 to set the scoreboard at 11-3 heading into the final seven minutes of regulation.
Rawa (6:41) and Randazzo (6:24) exchanged goals to open the fourth quarter prior to Schwar (5:56, man-up), DiMauro (5:03), Lance Engel (4:37) and Fritz (3:45) cashing in on back-to-back-to-back-to-back scoring chances to make it 16-4. Daniel Whalen (2:56) trimmed Brooklyn’s final deficit back to 11 prior to the closing horn by drilling in his first goal of the game.
For North Penn, Freece joined Rawa in netting a hat-trick or better, while DiMauro, Fritz, Schwar and Davis each found the back of the cage twice. Engel chipped in a solo marker.
Randazzo and More led Brooklyn with pairs of goals to accompany a single marker by Whalen.
New Trier Stuns Wilson with 14-14 Tie to Impact 2021 National State Challenge 18U Boys’ Title Game Matchup
LANSDALE, Pa. — The New Trier 18U Boys’ team entered its final game at the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge with a chance to play spoiler – and the team may have by tying Wilson, 14-14, to build suspense for the 3:00 p.m. championship game showdown.
Due to the tie, Wilson now stands at 3-1-1 with a 10-7 loss to North Penn, a 14-10 win over Swim RVA and a 20-8 defeat of Brooklyn to go along with an 11-8 dispatching of Maverick. North Penn guaranteed itself a title game berth by topping Brooklyn, 16-5, in the first game of the day to raise its record to 4-1.
The suspense comes due to Maverick having one game left. Wilson holds an 11-8 win over Maverick. A tie or loss by Maverick versus Swim RVA at 11:00 a.m, puts Wilson into the title game versus North Penn based on hits head-to-head win over Maverick, while a Maverick win improves the team to 4-1 and sets up a North Penn-Maverick title tilt.
For Wilson, Ben Gerhart led the offense with seven goals. Kagen Boettner posted a trio, while Isaiah Eberly notched a pair. Chadd Corson and Brady Wolf each accounted for solo scores.
The outcome of the game was decided in the closing moments of the fourth quarter.
Trailing 11-9 entering the fourth quarter as Wilson outscored New Trier 4-2 in the second quarter to grab a 7-5 lead by halftime prior to the teams exchanging four goals in the third quarter, a late surge proved to be the difference.
New Trier climbed back into the game as goals at 5:51 and 2:59 (man-up) squared the teams at 11-all. New Trier pulled ahead as Ian Perry cashed in on another six-on-five opportunity with 2:19 on the clock, but Gerhart came right back for Wilson to make it a 12-12 contest.
Jorg Yonan returned the lead to New Trier with consecutive goals at the 1:41 and 58 seconds (man-up) marks to give his team a 14-13 margin with under a minute left. However, Gerhart connected on his third tally in less than two and a half minutes to deadlock the teams with 43 ticks on the clock.
Neither team was able to find the back of the cage again in the waning seconds to cause a 14-14 tie. Per tournament rules, overtime is only played in championship games (with the first to score claiming the win).
Swim RVA Shocks Maverick, 10-9, to Give Wilson a 2021 National State Challenge 18U Boys’ Title Game Berth
LANSDALE, Pa. — Petar Stjepanovic and Stefan Lacmanovic both scored three times as as Swim RVA took down Maverick, 10-9, to put Wilson into the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge 18U Boys’ title game at North Penn High School.
Swim RVA – which previously fell to Wilson (14-10 L) and North Penn (11-8 L) to ago along with wins versus Brooklyn (22-11 W) and New Trier (16-10 W) to stand at 3-2 – claims Third Place in the six-team standings due to its win over head-to-head victory over Maverick.
Maverick – which also finishes 3-2 with wins over Brooklyn (20-4 W), New Trier (9-5 W) and North Penn (12-6 W) to accompany losses to Wilson (11-8 L) and now Swim RVA – needed to defeat Swim RVA and the team would have been the No. 1 seed for a title game match-up versus North Penn (4-1) courtesy a head-to-head win. However, the upset loss combined with a 14-14 tie by Wilson (3-1-1) versus New Trier places Wilson into the title tilt at 3:00 p.m. at/against North Penn. North Penn holds the top spot for the title game due to a 10-7 defeat of Wilson on Thursday, July 8, in the first 18U Boys’ game of the weekend.
For Swim RVA, the quartet of Mihailo Lemaic, Brett Sill, Brevin Bugausian and Koji Wood each scored once in the win.
Zack Kaplan and Gavin Brooke led Maverick with three goals each. Bram Schork and Zach Yardley completed the scoring with two and one, respectively.
North Penn Bests Wilson, 10-9, to Claim 2021 National State Challenge 18U Boys’ Championship
LANSDALE, Pa. — Robert Freece scored five goals, while Player of the Game Tim Schwar made his lone tally the game-winner as North Penn went down to the wire in beating Wilson, 10-9, to claim the Boys’ 18U crown at the 2021 American Water Polo (AWP) National State Challenge.
Playing at North Penn High School, the institution trailed by two at 8-6 with 45 seconds remaining in the third quarter. However, a goal by Freece with 32 seconds left until the fourth quarter ignited a 4-1 scoring run to the final horn to allow North Penn to escape with the win, the championship and a check to the victors for $1,000.
Down 8-7 entering the final seven minutes of competition, Freece found the back of the cage to freeze the score at eight-all with 3:46 left in regulation. Nathaniel Rawa followed at 1:37 with a go-ahead score – marking the first time North Penn held an advantage on the scoreboard since going ahead 5-4 at the 3:43 mark of the second quarter – before Brady Wolf netted a tying goal with 1:10 on the clock to raise the possibility of sudden death overtime.
However, Schwar delivered the decisive throw with 32 ticks left to allow the North Penn program to defend home water and conclude the weekend $1,000 richer.
The game was a close affair throughout as neither team led by more than two goals during its duration.
Wilson acquired the lead first as Wolf slipped home a shot 17 seconds into the first quarter. Freece responded for North Penn via a five-meter penalty shot at 6:14 prior to Isaiah Eberly putting Wilson ahead once again at 5:44.
North Penn pushed into the lead over the next three minutes as Andrew Davis (4:01) and Rawa (2:30, man-up) dented the twine prior to Chadd Corson (32 seconds) balancing the scoreboard at three-all by the concluding horn of the first quarter.
North Penn acquired its largest lead of the game at 5-3 less than 50 seconds into the second quarter as Freece (6:49) and Owen Fritz (6:14) fired in shots to make the score 5-3.
The margin lasted less than four minutes as Kagen Boettner (3:43) and Ben Gerhart (2:27, penalty shot) connected before Wolf (36 seconds) gave Wilson a 6-5 lead heading into halftime.
Freece pulled North Penn even at six-all at the 3:03 mark of the third quarter courtesy a penalty shot, but back-to-back scores by Gerhart (1:21, penalty shot; 45 seconds) appeared to put North Penn on its heels at 8-6.
However, the appearance was deceiving as Freece’s second score of the third quarter ignited North Penn’s path to glory.
For North Penn, Rawa joined Freece posting multi-goal games with a pair, while Fritz, Davis and Schwar each contributed solo markers in the win.
Wolf and Gerhart powered Wilson with hat-tricks (three goals) to go along with single tallies by Eberly, Corson and Boettner.
2021 National State Challenge 18U BoysSecond Place – Wilson
2021 National State Challenge 18U Boys Champion – North Penn