The 2016 girls varsity water polo team faces new challenges and expectations this season, according to juniors Kelly Klish and Maddie McMillin. Head Coach Michael Stancik says that this could be the team’s  best season in years.

The leading struggle for the women this year is a lack of players, according to McMillin. The small amount of players is due to graduated seniors and to other school or sport commitments.

“We lost Rachel Spector and Dana Grad due to graduation,” Klish said. “Both girls were key players for last year’s team.”

Along with the lack of players, injury is another challenge the team faces, according to McMillin. McMillin is a victim of injury, suffering from a concussion early on in season. While standing outside of the pool next to the net, she was hit in the head with a ball. Later on that day, she went on to play two games and had been hit in the head a few times during game play, according to McMillin. According to McMillin and Klish, water polo can be very violent at times.

“I saw a girl with a black eye, and it’s mostly scratches,” McMillin said. “Girls play pretty dirty, those things are common.”

Although there are challenges that are in front of the girls, McMillin and Klish are both very optimistic about this season. Led by senior captains Carolyn Levy, Julie Abair, Margot Rocha and Nicole Vochek, the girls and Stancik  are more committed to the team’s success than they have been in previous years according to McMillin and Klish.

“We’ve had had less numbers this year than we’ve had last year, but I think that we’ve kind of gotten to a point where everybody on the team is buying in a little bit more,” Stancik said. “It’s a tighter team, and I really like that, and I really want to grow that.”

The girls have also had a very strong start to the season with a record of 15-8-1, according to Stancik. With a win percentage above 60 percent, Stancik says that they have broken their goal of having 50 percent by a lot with only two games left in season.

Many of their wins have been won in the last dying seconds of the game, usually from big saves from Levy, and desperation goals from Klish, according to Stancik.

“Our most productive offensive player on our team is Kelly Klish, who is a junior. She has 30 percent of our team points with 72 goals and 14 assists,” Stancik said. “When we need goals scored, they go to Kelly.”

With the season coming to an end, the girls go into a tough, but competitive playoffs according to Stancik. Their opponents will be Loyola Academy, Evanston Township High School and New Trier.

“I think we [still] have a chance to rise,” Stancik said.