Boys lacrosse: St. Viator adapts, prevails against Grayslake North
It took the better part of a quarter before St. Viator's boys lacrosse team could figure out Grayslake North's defensive scheme.
"They used a sliding defense, which we haven't seen much of," said St. Viator coach Bill Sanford. "I credit their coach, Brad Fish, for putting in that move. It took us time to adjust to it, but we figured it out."
Trailing 3-2 to the Knights after the first quarter, the Lions outscored Grayslake North 4-1 in the second quarter to take a 6-4 lead. St. Viator then pulled away by earning a 4-1 scoring advantage in the second half to pull out a 10-5 nonconference win at Robert Morris University Field in Arlington Heights on Friday night.
The Lions, one of the top lacrosse teams in the area, remain unbeaten at 6-0 while the Knights, a perennially strong team in Lake County, dropped to 5-3.
Kyle Peterson, Mikey Brown, and Tayo Oladunmoye scored goals in the first quarter for Grayslake North. Elijah Black and Jack Baer scored for the Lions.
The second period showed the pace picking up as Black's second goal tied it at 3 with 11:09 left in the quarter.
Eight seconds after the face-off, Charlie Hildestad scored, giving the Lions a 4-3 lead.
Nicholas Fish tied the game on an assist from Oladunmoye with 3:26 remaining.
The Lions countered by scoring quickly. Junior Max Rudolph put St. Viator ahead for good at 5-4 with 1:38 remaining. With :51 left, Connor Freeman scored the first of his 2 goals for a 6-4 lead.
"As a team, we were a little sloppy at first," said Black, an Ohio State recruit. "When we scored those 2 goals at the start of the second quarter that got us going. Our defense played well, and that's what got us going.
Kyle Pearce, Anthony Mesi, Wyatt Rich, and Cole Cavanaugh kept the Knights away from goalkeeper Bobby Tangredi, who had 10 saves on the night.
Hildestad made it 7-4 in favor of St. Viator with 10:27 left in the third quarter.
Brett Lila's goal closed the gap to 7-5 for the Knights with 9:44 left in the quarter.
Lucas Baer and Freeman scored on goals from assists by Hildestad in the last five minutes of the quarter.
Drake Imhoff scored on an assist from Black in the fourth quarter to finish the Lions' scoring.
"We picked up the pace once we started scoring," said Hildestad. "Our passing and catching improved in the second half. Our stalling tactic late in the game was good. We just feel that we can compete with anyone in the area."
The Lions will have another chance to prove it on Monday, when Fremd hosts the Lions.