Top-Seeded Kit Girls Sink Taft In Sectional Opener

Evanston’s top-seeded girls water polo team cruised to a 17-1 victory Saturday over Chicago Taft in the first round of the Glenbrook North Sectional tournament.

And the best is yet to come.

Zeroing in on what could be the first Illinois High School Association state championship in program history, the Wildkits improved to 22-2-1 on the season behind three goals apiece from senior Aveen Cunningham and junior Maya Vincent.

Elise Pollack, Chloe Lundgren and Eve Harrell added a pair of goals apiece and Zaya Arellano, Libby Quail, Grace Cummins, Alice Lemmon and Teagan Kinney also found the back of the net in the rout.

Evanston poured in 12 goals in the first half in the kind of name-that-final-score no-contest you often see in a first-round postseason matchup.

First-year head coach Maggie Hatcher knows it will get tougher from here. The Wildkits will meet host Glenbrook North, a 7-6 winner over Maine South on Saturday, in next Friday’s semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Winner of that game will face either No. 2 seed New Trier or Maine West in the title game.

The Wildkit girls are seeking their first Elite Eight appearance since 2008. Before that, Hatcher herself played on ETHS teams that also reached the Elite Eight in 2003 and 2004 (3rd place).

Evanston’s only losses in 2024 have come against defending state champion Stevenson and No. 2 ranked Naperville North. The Kits blanked nemesis New Trier 3-0 in the championship game of the Central Suburban League tournament last week and have adapted a refuse-to-lose mentality, according to Hatcher, that is fueled by last year’s postseason loss to the Trevians that eliminated Evanston.

“Last year ended in a disappointing way for us,” said Hatcher, who was an assistant coach in 2023 and succeeded head coach Andy Miner following that campaign. “When we had our first (preseason) meeting the captains (goalie Nina Kaiser, Cunningham, Harrell) expressed the determination and desire to go out with a bang. I’m a big believer in goal-setting, and right from that first meeting they talked about winning State.

“It’s a testament to their drive and their hard work that they’ve become a powerhouse like this. I think this is a magical group. This team is really special, because every single person in the pool is capable of taking over a game. Our tradition has been that we’re always strong defensively --- but I’d take this group over any of our past teams.”

Hatcher had the luxury of resting her starters in the second half Saturday. Evanston built a 7-1 lead in the first quarter and stretched it to 12-1 by halftime.

Starting goalie Kaiser only faced three shots and watched from the sidelines as junior backup Ella Feeney, just promoted from the junior varsity squad, accounted for 9 saves in a sterling second half performance.

“This was a really good team game for us today,” Hatcher praised. “It’s always a good feeling when you play together like we did, and everyone gets to be part of a team win.

“As the No. 1 seed sometimes it’s easy to not come out and play your game. It felt good to see a full team effort like that. It was nice to see everyone get an opportunity and for our goalie (Feeney) to get a shutout in the second half.”