Coming off its best season ever, the Lockport Township High School boys Water Polo team will have to find a way to replace last year's seniors. A lot of them.
"We had a great year," Lockport boys coach Joe Lewandowski Jr. said. "But we lost 16 seniors. We knew this year we'd be rebuilding."
Behind 83 goals from Pat Cavanaugh and 52 from Joe Hernandez, the Porters boys registered their best ever record at 24-8 last season. That included an 11-5 mark in the though SouthWest Suburban Conference.
This season only two seniors are on the team. Dan Kammer, who will be the primary goalie, and Austin Marcolina.
"We are coming off a really good swimming sectional, "Lewandowski said. "So we should be in shape. We've been doing a lot of motivation and team building. We know there will be mistakes, we just have to overcome them."
Two returning juniors will be a big part for the Porters this season. One is Brian Cavanaugh, Pat Cavanaugh's younger brother, who tallied 25 goals in his sophomore season. The other is Chris Bowman, who had 17 goals and 19 steals a season ago.
The conference favorites include last years state runner-up, Sandburg, and Homewood-Flossmoor.
"H-F is going to be really good," said Lewandowski, who called last seasons victory over SWSC power Lincoln-Way East one of the highlights. "There are some very successful coaches in this conference."
While the Porters hope to remain competitive in the league, they also expect a lot closer games this season.
"Last year we were able to win a lot of games by five or six goals," said Lewandowski, who is in his eighth season. "We expect a lot of one goal games this season."
But no matter how the season plays out, Lewandowski and assistant Pat McGrath, are excited for it to start.
"The kids are very pumped up for the season," Lewandowski said. "This is the largest team we've had in my eight years here and it's great."
"Coming off the winningest season in Lockport history, we are trying to keep the momentum going."
The boys will open up the season on Tuesday, March 16 with a 5:00 match at St. Rita. Then they go to Hinsdale Central for an invite the following Friday and Saturday, before coming home to face Naperville North in a 6 p.m. match on Tuesday, March 23, at Lockport East.
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