The top two ranked girls water polo teams in the state met Wednesday afternoon, and the big showdown between No. 1-ranked host Stevenson and No. 2 Naperville North definitely lived up to the hype in Lincolnshire.
This ever-growing rivalry saw the visiting Huskies take a 5-1 lead into halftime only to see the four-time state champion Patriots totally steal the momentum back to force a 5-5 tie going into the fourth quarter.
But defending IHSA state champion Naperville North (23-1-1) was not to be denied as the Huskies outscored Stevenson (25-1-1) 2-0 in the final quarter to come away with an exciting 7-5 nonconference victory in what might have been a preview of the 2022 state title game on May 21.
Junior Sophie Raquel gave the Huskies the lead for keeps at 6-5 as she lofted her third goal of the game over Stevenson goalie Katie Delaney (11 saves) and into the left corner of the net with 4:41 to play.
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