Boilermakers clamp down on defense to earn 4th straight win

BRADLEY – The Bradley-Bourbonnais girls water polo team came into Monday’s home game against Maine East riding the first winning streak for the program in about six years. Tied 7-all at halftime Monday, the Boilermakers had to make some defensive adjustments to try to extend that streak from three wins in a row to four.

After allowing Maine East’s Roxanne Lazanyi to score all seven of the Blue Demon’s goals in the first half, the Boilers held Lazanyi and Maine East off the scoreboard in the third quarter and surrendered just one goal in the fourth.

Bradley-Bourbonnais got two second half goals from Isabelle Trudeau, one from Maddy Miller and one from Sophia Domont to pull away for an 11-8 win, improving to 4-2 on the season. The four-game winning streak is the longest for the team since they won four straight from March 28 through April 6 in 2019.

Coach Jana Sheely said the team did a good job making the necessary adjustments on defense to stifle Lazanyi and the Blue Demons down the stretch and keep the winning streak alive.

“The girls are working like a team and ultimately clicked on to what we were trying to teach them in that moment, and that is to draw back on her,” Sheely said. “That seemed to solve the issues.”

The Boilers got four goals each from Miller and Trudeau. Domont finished with one goal, as did Abby Bonilla and Bria McCrary.

Bonilla’s goal came with one minute remaining in the second quarter and tied the game at 7 just 45 seconds after Maine East had taken it’s first, and ultimately only, lead of the game. Miller put the Boilers back on top 8-7 just 40 seconds into the third quarter, and Domont’s goal with just under five minutes to go in the third quarter proved to be the game winner, giving the Boilers a 9-7 lead.

On the defensive end, a key performance for the Boilers’ came from an unlikely source Monday. With both of the team’s hole set players getting into foul trouble, senior Kloey Bull had to step into an unfamiliar position and help lead the team’s defensive surge in the second half.

“She had to go in for a position she’s never played before tonight, and she was able to go in there and command it,” Sheely said. “She was able to do everything we asked of her plus more.”

Bull said that she thought the team did a great job overall to limit Maine East’s offense in the second half, which showcases the positive changes they have been making as a group.

“I think our team all stepped up a lot playing defensively,” Bull said. “We adapted very well, and we really worked as a team for this game. ... Our team has really come together this season, and we’ve improved a lot since last season. Just playing as a team and helping each other out, even just on the bench helping each other.”

The Boilers already have tied last season’s win total in 15 fewer games. With plenty of tough tests still ahead on the schedule, Sheely said the team has done a good job this season taking positive steps for the program.

“Right now we’re clicking, we’re making sure we know what we’re doing,” she said. “Not only here during games, but during practice there’s a discipline that we haven’t had for a very long time in the water.”

That discipline will be put to the test Thursday, when the Boilers will be back at home to play a Bremen team that Porter says will provide a physical challenge for the team. She said they just have to keep focusing on shoring up the fundamental work they have been doing to this point.

“That’s going to be our biggest game to this point,” Sheely said. “We need a win first and foremost, but we’ve got to play tough. Bremen is a tough team and we have to show up ready to play, and we can’t make little mistakes that will cost us in the long run.”