Curie knocks off Young, captures eighth straight city title

Curie’s boys water polo team continued its impressive string of city championships Friday with a 10-4 win over rival Young at UIC.

The Condors have now won eight straight city titles.

“It feels the same every year,” Curie coach Victor Sanchez said. “It feels great. They put in the work every year, and they get the reward.”

Young (12-15) jumped out early when Charlie Reyes started the scoring in the first period. But Curie (18-5) scored four straight goals to end the first half, three coming from Manny Martinez.

The Dolphins cut the lead to 6-3 in the third quarter on Reyes’ second goal of the game. But Curie answered with five straight goals to pull away and lead to another celebration, and another championship plaque.

“They’re tough,” Young coach Carlos Solis said. “Both teams hustle and work hard. Unfortunately we had some little mistakes. Goals are hard to come by when these teams play, so when you get chances, you have to take advantage of them.”

Curie pulled off the title with only one senior on the roster, goalie Julius Bradsfield, who transferred to Curie this year from Hope Academy.

“It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made, to come to school here,” said junior Ivan Ariza, who led the Condors with five goals. “These guys are more than a team. We look out for each other. We always stick together, no matter what. It’s like a family.”

For Solis, win or lose, he knows the city championship is the springboard to the postseason, which begins next week.

“For us, this is bragging rights, that’s all it is,” Solis said. “That doesn’t mean that we don’t want to win it. We want the bragging rights. But our goal, just like their goal, is to be in the state tournament. We want to be in the state tournament.

That’s our goal every year. This game is always a tune-up for sectionals. This is a state-quality game.”

Martinez scored three goals for Curie in the win. Geronimo Chavez added a pair of scores.

In the third-place game, Northside Prep took down Von Steuben, 11-7.