ST. CHARLES – St. Charles North senior girls water polo player Sarah Stern found empathy and ecstasy in Thursday’s home rout of St. Charles East.

Not long ago, the North Stars absorbed the wrong end of such games, so pardon Stern and her teammates for basking in a 17-4 victory that continued a torrid start.

“I’ve been on varsity for three years now, and I’ve really enjoyed watching our team grow,” Stern said. “Because when I first started, we didn’t win a game, so it’s really awesome now that we’re coming out really strong.”