Boys lacrosse: Glenbard West scores 11 straight to beat Neuqua Valley
A battle of two heavyweights in any sport, including boys lacrosse, isn't supposed to go down like this.
According to LAX Power, Neuqua Valley entered its showdown with Glenbard West as the No. 1 team in Illinois. The Hilltoppers were third in the same rankings.
And early, it looked like the Wildcats would play their top-ranked role to a T. They jumped out to a 3-0 lead and looked to be on cruise control.
But then something changed. The Hilltoppers suddenly found the back of the net.
Eleven straight times.
That's right. Eleven unanswered to prevail 11-3 and avenge an 11-5 loss to Neuqua Valley a few weeks ago at the St. Viator tournament.
"It's just another game, but it's a great confidence-booster for the entire team," sophomore midfielder Josh Crosby said.
It also sets up a potential IHSA supersectional matchup, a rubber match that will be most intriguing should it happen.
"Both in the previous game and tonight, we were forcing things offensively," Glenbard West coach Eric Nuss said. "In that first quarter we had probably five unforced errors. Two of their goals came from there, and the other one came from a penalty. We told the guys, slow it down, we don't want to force anything, just work the ball for open shots.
"Once we did that, we were pretty successful."
No doubt. The Hilltoppers improved to 15-2 behind an effort in which six players scored. Crosby and junior attackman Ben Frick each scored 3, while senior midfielder Luke Andreasik added a pair.
The scoring binge began innocently enough, with Andreasik taking a pass from Frick and depositing it top shelf at 3:41 of the second quarter to make the score 3-1.
Then a harbinger of things to come occurred with two seconds left in the quarter, as junior midfielder Mark Winters rejoined the game after a one-minute penalty and promptly scored to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Frick wasted no time tying the game coming out of the six-minute halftime. He won the faceoff and came right down center to score seven seconds in.
The Hilltoppers were off to the races. Senior midfielder Matt Cranny coming down the middle, taking a pass from Frick from behind the net. Senior midfielder Parker Michel driving left. Crosby firing from the right side 10 yards out. Frick again with a tally immediately after winning the faceoff. Andreasik with an unassisted blast from the right side that made the score 8-3 at the conclusion of the third period.
"After we got that buzzer-beater and then that faceoff with the goal right out of the half, we rallied behind that and put our foot on the pedal," Frick said.
Ball possession is crucial in lacrosse and Frick was particularly effective at the faceoff position, winning 9 of 10 in the second half and 11 total for the contest.
"I think they stepped it up second quarter, and throughout the rest of the game they outworked us on the groundballs, and faceoffs, I don't know if we won a single one in the second half," said Neuqua Valley coach Josh Maluta, whose team fell to 12-1. "They had possession and we couldn't get the ball back. They weren't making mistakes, they weren't throwing the ball away.
"You can't score without the ball, and when we did get the ball, we were super-excited to be on offense and we turned the ball over," he said. "Just couldn't contain it."
Glenbard West outshot Neuqua Valley 44-27 and won the faceoff battle 12-4.