Despite losing their pool and adopting a cramped and inconsistent practice schedule mid-season, the St. Louis U. High water polo team enacted revenge on the Parkway West Longhorns last Saturday to emerge as Missouri State Champions for the 22nd time in program history. The boys in blue went into their first state finals match in three years. Their hunger for victory was akin to a starving great white, but the foe was no pushover, with the P. West Longhorns being the only Missouri team SLUH had lost to this year.

“I felt really good going into the game,” said Penilla. “But I knew it was a long game and of course felt confident in what we were capable of. We hadn't run any plays against them all year, so I felt like we could get at least a couple good looks via timeout, our 6-on-5 had been looking good, and I knew our defense would be fine. Of course there was anxiety because of it being a good game, but also a lot of belief in what the team was capable of.”

The game kicked off as usual, with senior Cooper Scharff immediately getting the ball on the swim off, propelling the team to offense. After three back and forth possessions with indestructible defense from both teams, Scharff turned one of the Longhorns in front of the goal, faked, then fired a layout into the back of the net to gain an early lead of 1-0 just 1:00 into the game. 

Two minutes later, senior goalie Nick Figge made his first save of the game, then immediately made a full pool pass to junior Brandon Harris, who rocketed an uncontested shot into the goal. To end off the first quarter, after a plethora of steals from senior captain Connor Buehring to shut down the Longhorns' offense, he passed to Scharff on the wing for another goal. 

Soon after, Figge proved to be a brick wall, saving a 5-meter penalty shot, stealing an early offensive ball, then diving for another save to end the first with a shutout. The quarter ended at 3-0, but the Jr. Bills could not rest yet.

“I thought we kept a good, even keel throughout the game. It would have been easy to get all pumped up when we raced out to a 3-0 lead,” said Penilla.

During the second quarter SLUH's defense fell apart, allowing P. West to go on a three-goal run to tie the game. Immediately following the Longhorns’ third goal, senior captain Sam French’s killer instinct activated, with him getting a sniper-esque goal from the 7-meter line, putting the Jr. Bills ahead once again.

West returned the favor to even the game up, but French put a skip shot in off of a well-orchestrated 6-on-5 play. 

“I personally feel that my role in the game was keeping the momentum because both of my goals put us up by one when we had been tied,” said French.

To cement their lead, on another 6-on-5 with just 8 seconds left in the half, junior captain Joe Zarilli sent a perfectly placed pass to senior Brody Nester, who gave it a delicate two-finger tip to redirect the ball into the goal, putting the squad up 6-4 at half.

“(One of the best moments) was when Brody scored on the 6-on-5 play because we had been practicing that play for a long time leading up to the final,” said Scharff. “He really stepped up and made the play of the game.”

“It got us up by two after we had kinda stalled out our momentum and got us ready to go into the second half with confidence and speed,” French added.

And confidence and speed they had, with Zarilli scoring a half pool lob shot just 30 seconds into the third quarter. Figge got another chance to showcase his goalkeeping prowess, making another 5-meter save said to be “unbelievable” by the game’s announcers. 

“(One of my favorite moments) was when Nick saved that 2nd penalty shot,” said Scharff. “Having saved the first penalty shot (which is almost unheard of), the second one is what sealed the deal and caused despair in the other team's offense. Saving one penalty shot is impressive, saving two in a single game is unheard of.”

With Jr. Bills’ momentum ever increasing, sophomore Aidan Brawer took a cheeky lob shot from the lane line 10 meters away from goal, and managed to perfectly plop it into the far corner, bringing the SLUH squad up 8-5. 

After some defensive back and forth, the Longhorns put one in, but Scharff responded by plowing the ball near side low off of a cross goal pass from Harriss with just 23 seconds left to end the third quarter 9-6.

“I think we had so much success because we played a very tight defense. People were constantly dropping off the (less important players) to help defend the middle,” said French. “That really shut down a lot of the back door and driving plays that West likes to run.”

Just 40 seconds into the final quarter Zarilli was able to draw a 5-meter off a counterattack, which he promptly fired into the back of the net to put SLUH up by four, their largest lead of the day. 

Just two minutes later Harris drew a second 5-meter, allowing Zarilli score yet again. After this goal the Longhorns resorted to putting their strongest player in goal, hoping to set up a 7-on-6 play to come back, but the Jr. Bills’ active defense left no gaps to exploit, and the lack of a goalie resulted in Harris getting a cross goal opportunity, then Zarilli skipping one in full pool to put the nail in the coffin and secure a 13-6 lead with just 1:40 left in the game. 

With the lead insurmountable, the SLUH squad allowed their bench to join the fray and run out the shot clock. West didn't halt their offense, putting two more in, but it wasn’t enough, with the U. High coming home with the victory at a 13-8 final score.

“I think our success in that game was because of our defense that we played,” said Scharff. “We had a lot of good plays offensively, but we won that game by locking them down and making them force plays that went to our benefit.  We all played our specific role and we all did it to perfection.”

After continuous turmoil this season, the Jr. Bills can at last rest with the rings they had been working so hard for. With the student section packed in the MICDS natatorium, cheers rang out that could be heard all the way back on Oakland Ave. 

Not only did the terrific talent contribute to the victory, but so too did the unbreakable brotherhood of the team. One key motivator for the squad was senior Dennis “the Joker” McDaniel, who ran the SLUH water polo Instagram, and was the subject of the season’s motto “Free Dennis.” The “Free Dennis” mantra was eventually transformed into the team’s playoff shirt, and propelled the squad to gain a large lead in the finals so that Dennis could be released on the opposition. This spirit of playing for each other was truly the driving force behind the team’s success.

“Every time I think about the game, even now, I get pumped up,” said Penilla. “I really think of this year as a conclusion of the last three. There have been challenges as a program to sustain expectations and traditions through COVID and weird schedules and multiple practice locations. Plus, the Class of '22 endured a lot as a group in terms of development to COVID. It's quite gratifying to have completed the year with such success.”

“I couldn’t be more proud of how this team has played this year. We’ve been wanting this trophy since 2019 and getting third last year only added fuel to the fire, so I couldn’t be happier,” said Scharff. “We’ve put ourselves back on the podium and followed in the footsteps of those who came before us in SLUH water polo and now, I’m excited to say, we’ve become a part of that tradition and have cemented ourselves as champions as well.”