Boys lacrosse: Casey, Danelz power a big Barrington win
Faceoff artist Kris Casey and attacker Mark Danelz were a key part of Barrington's 5-0 Mid-Suburban West boys lacrosse championship effort last season.
On Thursday night at Conant, they were at it again.
Casey and Danelz combined for 8 goals and 4 assists in the Broncos' 18-1 win over the Cougars.
It was both teams' conference opener. Barrington improved to 3-2 and 1-0 while Conant dropped to 2-6 and 0-1.
"What we wanted to do tonight was to keep our heads up and play hard," said Casey, who scored 5 goals with an assist and is committed to Furman University. "Coach had us work in practice this week on controlling the middle of the field and to play unselfishly as a team. We just need to go out and play hard and see where it takes us."
Casey was instrumental in the first period, assisting on Danelz's first goal with 10:24 left. Following Ethan Beyrer's goal, Casey scored back-to-back goals. The first came on an assist from Danelz; the second was the result of winning the faceoff and going straight up the field to score for a 4-0 Barrington lead.
"It's really helpful playing together like Kris and I have for several years," said Danelz, who is also a senior. "We know each others' tendencies."
"Casey and Danelz help control the offense," said Barrington coach Jason Kaiser. "They are both two-year starters and they know what to do on offense."
Danelz had an impressive night with 3 goals and 3 assists.
"Coach prepped us for a speed game tonight," said Danelz. "Play fast and crisp and push the ball in transition. It came together for us tonight."
Casey and Danelz both scored 2 goals in the second quarter as Barrington built a 13-0 lead by halftime.
"We played a full 48 minutes tonight," said Kaiser. "In previous games we've struggled to do that. We were able to control ball possession. Ball possession is so important in this game. "
Matthew Rizzo added 3 goals for the Broncos. Kevin Keck and Kevin Twohi each had 2 goals. Joseph Porter and Keanu Goetz each scored one goal.
Conant's only score came from Joe Modrejewski in the third period. Cougars coach Nico Vega was looking for answers.
"We played really well Saturday in our 8-3 win over Geneva," said Vega. "When we had the ball, we executed our game plan but we just couldn't get the ball in the net. Tonight we didn't work as one. We need to take steps forward, not backward. We just spent too much time on defense."
Fremd 12, Palatine 8: Brady Palazzo scored a team-best 3 goals and Nathan Stevenson, Jack Hipchen and Kyle Hanen finished with 2 apiece to help host Fremd's winning effort in MSL West action.
Brian Cygnar paced the Pirates with 3 goals, and goalie Rand Paddack made 14 stops in goal.