Maggie Hatcher’s first two years as a coach for the Evanston girls water polo program included back-to-back trips to the Elite Eight and a runner-up finish at the Illinois High School Association state finals in 2024.
Now she’s gone from a best seller to an open book.
Wiped out at the varsity level with the graduation of eight seniors, Hatcher and the Wildkits will have to start over in 2026 beginning with Tuesday’s home opener versus Libertyville.
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There’s no doom and gloom as Hatcher weighs her team’s potential success this season, however. She sees the glass as half full and believes that opportunity is knocking for a lot of new faces, including three seniors who are moving up from the junior varsity level.
“It all depends on your perspective, and I look at it as an open book,” she said. “There are no expectations right now. We just want to find our identity as a team, and then see what we can do.
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“Every year is a new year, every season is a new season, and every year is a new opportunity with new personnel. We’ll just try to grow collectively. I’m not going to compare this team to last year, or to the year before. But nothing’s off the table for this year. A lot of our girls have worked really hard in the off-season and I’m going to push them to be their best.”
Hatcher, who was an All-Stater during her playing career at ETHS, won’t ask one single player to replace center Maya Vincent on offense. Vincent poured in a school record 141 goals last spring, including all six Evanston goals in an 11-6 loss to Stevenson in the state quarterfinals.
Evanston’s top returning scorers are the only returning starters, Tacy Jamison (18 goals) and Chloe Lundervold (17). Those totals were achieved during a 26-6-1 season that included a second straight sectional crown and a second straight triumph at the Central Suburban League tournament.
“It’s an opportunity for Tacy and Chloe to step up into a more prominent role,” the coach said. “Last year was an exception with the great year Maya had. This will be a more collective effort on offense. I think it’s a more dangerous team when the offense comes from everyone. We have people who are capable of taking control of the offense. That’s exciting, because it will take all six players for us to have success. I think we have some amazing perimeter shooters.”
At the start, Evanston’s likely starting lineup should feature Jamison and Lundervold, plus senior Lilia Johnson, junior Sophia Noone, and perhaps junior Abby Quail. Sophomore Julia Lane has earned the starting nod at goalkeeper and will face attacks from some of the top teams in Illinois this season.
Hatcher believes the second-year player is up to the task.
“Julia has improved an insane amount, and she has an amazing coach (former ETHS standout Olivia Everhart) to work with,” Hatcher pointed out. “She’s very committed to water polo and we’re excited about what we’ve seen from her. I think she’ll be great.
“The seniors moving up (Eden Osborn, Tessa Schmeiling, Zuzanna Wlodek) have worked hard and they understand the game. The door is wide open for them. I think there will be a lot of playing time (available) for everyone. We’ll see what combinations work best.”
Help will also come from a bench that includes juniors Teddy Woodward, Lauren Milman, Lillian Lorch and sophomores Charlotte Lemon and Liv Hammer.
“This is a totally new team,” Hatcher noted. “It’s hard to predict how we’ll end up. My goal is always for us to get better every game. I care more about how we grow than about the wins and losses.”
