Boys and Girls Water Polo Semifinals

The Chicago Public League continued its stay at UIC’s pool with the boys and girls water polo semifinals Friday evening. The top four seeds in both of the girls and boys brackets advanced to the semifinals, with the Jones/Payton, Young and Lane programs having both their boys and girls teams there. They were joined by Curie’s boys team and the co-op of Lindblom/Goode on the girls side.

Below are Friday’s results as well as the schedule for Saturday’s games

Boys semifinals

Young 12, Jones/Payton 2

After falling in the championship game last season, the Dolphins will look to win their third city championship in four years after their win over Jones/Payton. Luka Spasic again led the way for his squad with five goals in the first half. Ryan Choi was the only other Dolphin with more than one goal, finishing with two. Leo He scored both goals for Jones/Payton.

Lane 17, Curie/Kelly 8

Alexander Ivascu continued his breakout freshman campaign by leading his squad with six goals. Brayan Ruiz had five goals and Isaac Gross four in the win. Kevin Gama, also a freshman, led Curie with four goals.

Girls semifinals

Jones/Payton 16, Lindblom/Goode 3

The defending city champions will look to defend their crown when they take on Young Saturday after a dominating semifinal win. Morgan Butney was the high scorer for the Greagles with four goals, while Nita Thaci and Brenna Perinne each had three. Jones/Payton had the shutout going until Taniah Miles scored midway through the third quarter. Miles would score all three of her team’s goals.

Young 13, Lane 5

Apolonia scored four of her game-high five goals in the second quarter and the Dolphins advanced to the title game, where they’ll be looking to win their first city title since 2016. Valeria Reyes added three goals in the win. Young’s defense came up big in the win, not allowing a goal in either of the second or third periods.

Photos by Ashley Harris/OSA