Villa Park Stymies Esperanza

Villa Park used a strong defensive effort to defeat Esperanza, 7-3, in the first round of the Southern Section Division I girls’ water polo playoffs Thursday at Villa Park High.

Goalkeeper Brandie Seligman had six saves, including several key ones down the stretch, and Villa Park advanced to Tuesday’s second round to play Long Beach Wilson.

Sophomore Kristyn Pulver and junior Shannon Buckner each scored twice to lead the Spartans (20-6), but the Aztecs (17-10) tried to make it interesting.

“A couple of breaks just didn’t go our way,” Esperanza Coach Max Miyahara said. “We missed some shots in front, hit a couple of bars . . .”

Trailing, 5-2, in the final minute of the third quarter, Esperanza’s Suzanne Kuyper worked free in front of the goal but her shot went wide. With two seconds remaining in the quarter and Esperanza working with a six-on-five advantage, Seligman stopped a shot from the perimeter by Kristin Kuyper.

“Brandie made some key saves at the right times,” Villa Park Coach John Carcich said. “If Esperanza scores any of those goals, it would have changed the momentum.”

Esperanza’s Andrea Griffith scored her second goal to pull the Aztecs within 5-3 with 4 minutes 6 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, then she had a chance to bring Esperanza within one, 1 1/2 minutes later. But Griffith’s shot from the hole hit the crossbar.