Boys lacrosse: Scouting Northwest

BarringtonCoach: Jason Kaiser

Barrington's boys lacrosse team is looking to defend its title from 2017 in the Mid-Suburban West, and the Broncos believe they have the talent to do so.

"We're expecting good things from this team," said coach Jason Kaiser. "We have some key players back from last season. We just need to be able to execute and play with confidence."

Barrington will have a two-goalie threat in senior William Moston and junior Aidan Sadler. They'll evenly share playing time.

"Most goalies will play 95% of the time," Kaiser. "With Moston and Sadler we have found that they both have played well for us. If one player becomes injured we have a player with experience in the net."

The Barrington attack features Ethan Beyer, Mark Danelz, and Kevin Twohig. Midfielder Kristofer Casey will be heading to Furman University next season. Matthew Bischof and sophomore Nathan Nguyen will also see plenty of time in the midfield.

Defenders include senior Sean Ambroz and juniors Bryce Cerkleski and Samuel Kuta.

"Beyer is a returnee for us," said Kaiser. "He's quick and has good hands. Danelz is a very offensive-minded player and we're hoping for him to help carry the offense. Twohig is left-handed and we think he will be a good player for us."

Kaiser is hoping that as the season goes on, the Broncos improve.

"Traditionally we get stronger as a team as the season goes on," said Kaiser. "We need to play all 48 minutes at a competitive level. On any given night in this conference it could be anyone's game."

ConantCoach: Nico Vega

Conant's boys Lacrosse team is having a rough start at 1-5 after Thursday night's loss to Wheaton North. The sub-.500 record is not dampening things for coach Nico Vega, who formally coached the Falcons and is now in his second year at Conant.

"We just need to continue to improve every time we take the field," said Vega. "We may not be a contender, but I want to see them make progress. We need to play hard all four quarters."

Conant is led all by all-conference returnee senior midfielder Ryan Kelly. Vega looks to Kelly as the field general who directs the Conant offense. Junior Dylan Drawer, who has drawn collegiate interest from Augustana, is teamed up with senior Brett Goron and junior Nick Reyes. Senior Josh White handles the face-offs. The Cougars' main defenders are seniors Steven Cores, Tommy Demaret, and Nick Silvestri.

Vega looks to Cores to help break up other team's offensive intentions. Demaret is the most steady defender and Silvestri continues to show improvement. Sophomore Erik Braun made his first start in goal against Wheaton North.

"This team needs to keep their heads up when adversity happens," said Vega. "In lacrosse, the game can change around real quick. It will be interesting to see how our juniors and sophomores approach the season. We have to have the drive to play better against the good teams on our schedule."

FremdCoach: Nick Mamula

Outlook: The Vikings came into the 2018 season with high hopes, and so far, they've followed through on that idea. Fremd started off 4-0 heading into nonconference games with Maine South and Evanston (a 16-10 loss Thursday night). Fremd will face St. Viator on April 9 before getting a key Mid-Suburban West match at home with neighborhood rival Palatine on April 12.

Sophomore attacker Jack Hipchen returns after a stellar freshman season with a team-high 41 points. Senior attacker Kyle Hanen was second in points with 23. Another key returnee for Fremd is senior goalkeeper Alec Liautaud, who was a steady performer with a 55 percent save percentage.

Brady Palazzo, Matthew Zanichelli both seniors return as attackers. Carson Mahon is a senior midfielder as will Sam Arnson. Dylan Michalak, a junior will also be an attacker. Defensemen Alex Park (fr.), and Nathan Stevens (soph.) will pair up with juniors Tim Fasick and Paul Ponte. Sophomore Elliot Lee and junior Eric Jeon alternate at the faceoff.

"They have a great intensity they they play with in games and practice," said coach Nick Mamula. "This is a great group of players we have this year. They are very excited that our sport now is a IHSA state series. We have a lot of skill players on offense."

Hoffman EstatesCoach: Joseph Garofalo

Outlook: Hoffman Estates' coach knows that if the Hawks want to make a statement in the Mid-Suburban West, the juniors will have to step up. "We have some really good athletes on both ends of the field," said coach Joseph Garofalo. "There's some good experience we have on the field."

One key player for Hoffman Estates will be junior midfielder Alan Sanchez. Senior Bailey Hurd will head up the defensive effort, along with junior Cameron Orsborn. All three were all-conference performers last season.

Brendan McMahon will start off the Hawks in the face-off circle, and senior Mark Heitkotter is a strong midfielder.

"One player we are going to really need to step up is Anar Tumubaatar for our defense to be successful," said Garofalo. "This team has a lot of potential. We know we need to figure some things out but I think we can be a pretty good team. This is a fun group to coach."

A key early matchup will be Hoffman Estates' contest against Schaumburg April 12.

Palatine

Coach: John Cygnar

Outlook: Palatine coach John Cygnar has been coaching lacrosse for 20 years. And with the developing feeder program in the Palatine area, he is starting to see more advance players coming into the program. The Pirates played their first match of the season Thursday, night falling at Mundelein.

"Yes, we are a young team but we have some talent," said Cygnar. "We're able to mix in some of our young players with the experienced players we have and as they play together more we can become a good team. But, we have to grow quickly to keep up with the other schools' programs."

The Pirates have a good player to build around in Brian Cygnar, an all-conference performer on varsity for his third year. Cygnar was Palatine's leading scorer last season. Junior Nicholas Oswald and freshman Peter Russchenberg flank Cygnar as attackers. All-conference midfielder Sam Russchenberg returns to go with sophomore Jared Wright and freshman Brady Foote.

The defensemen are all juniors - Cormac McGrath, Joseph Henrikson and newcomer Mateo Gjoni. The Pirates' goalie is freshman Rand Paddack.

"Paddack has the ability to excel," said Cyngar. " I think he can be a top area goaltender by the time he's a senior.

"Our first game was an eye-opener for these players," said Cygnar. "We've got a long way to go. We just have to grow some in every game."

St. ViatorCoach: Bill Sanford

Outlook: The Lions have come out of the gate roaring with a 5-0 record and 3-0 in East Suburban Catholic Conference play. A stout defense and time scoring are making St. Viator one of the top area teams.

"This is one of the biggest rosters we've had in a long time," said St. Viator coach Bill Sanford. "This is also one of the deepest teams. This group is very competitive."

Defense has been the strong point for the Lions. St. Viator returns 14 seniors.

Senior Kyle Pearce, one of the fastest players on the field, is one of the top midfielders in the area. Sanford said his forte is disrupting other teams' attackers. Other returning defenders are seniors Anthony Mesi, Wyatt Rich, and Cole Cavanaugh.

Zo Lombardo (Soph.) and Andrew Ewalt (Fr.) share the face off position.

Attackers include Elijah Black, a standout from the football team who will be playing lacrosse at Ohio State after his senior year. Charlie Hildestad, another returner, will take his talents to Illinois Wesleyan. Midfielder Lucas Baer is another top-flight returnee. Michael Campagna, a sophomore, is fitting right in with the senior-dominated team as a defender.

"Having as many seniors as we have," said Sanford, " is really going to help our younger players to develop."

The Lions will host Grayslake North at 5:30 p.m. Friday in a game that will be televised on Comcast Sports Net (Channel 100 on Comcast) at Robert Morris University in Arlington Heights.

SchaumburgCoach: Joe Carey

Outlook: The Saxons were hit hard by graduation last season as two-time all-stater Michael Anzelmo plus three top defenders graduated.

"This is the youngest team that I have had at Schaumburg," said coach Joe Carey. "We think we have some good offensive players but our defense is going to have to learn as we go along. Our focus will be developing anc creating chemistry. We just need to play together. In the past, we depended on one or two players to be our scorers. This year we're going to spread it around."

Junior Lucas Dudek will be the goalkeeper for Schaumburg. Christopher Kula will handle the face off duty. Attackers include seniors Chris Scislowski, Alec Greenholdt and Nick Reiger. Juniors attackers and mid-fielders Sean Solon, Nick Woodworth, and Jon Sorg will be asked to help with the scoring.

The Saxons have won 4 of the last 6 conference titles.

"With a new group of defenders," said Carey, "they have showed me that they are working hard in practice and games to get better."