Boys lacrosse: Sorg's swift start helps Schaumburg past Fremd
Schaumburg junior attacker Jon Sorg knew what he had to do in the Saxons' boys lacrosse showdown against Fremd.
"I had to score right away, and then we had to build on the lead," said Sorg.
Sorg scored the first of his season-high 7 goals in the game's first :33 to lift the Saxons to an 11-7 win over the Vikings at Schaumburg's Gary Scholz Field on Thursday night.
The win gives Schaumburg its second Mid-Suburban League title in the last three years. The Saxons finished their conference slate a perfect 5-0 and improved to 9-9 overall.
Fremd fell to 2-2 and 6-8, with Barrington still on the conference schedule next Tuesday.
"It had to be done tonight," said Sorg, whose shot has been clocked at 97 mph. "This was for the conference title. This was also our last home game on our turf. To me this game meant everything. I've played with many of these seniors since grade school. This is a group I will never forget."
Sorg scored the first 3 goals for Schaumburg in the first quarter and a 3-0 Saxons lead. Fremd's Kyle Hanen, who scored twice for the Vikings, put his team on the board with 7:15 left in the quarter.
Chris Scislowski, Alec Greenhold (2 goals, 3 assists) and Sorg scored for the Saxons to build a 6-1 lead before Carson Mahon broke the string with a goal with just under a minute left in the quarter.
Sorg and Mark Dewees gave the Saxons a 8-2 lead in the second quarter before Fremd began to rally.
The Vikings' Sam Arnson scored 2 goals and Matthew Zanichelli had 1 to narrow the lead to 8-5 at halftime.
Hanen scored his second goal with 4:07 left in the third quarter to pull the Vikings within 2 at 8-6.
"We didn't play well in that stretch," said defender Nathan Kasner of Schaumburg. "Once they got close like that, we had to get our composure back and play smart. Their attackers did a lot of dodging and we had to control that, which we did."
Sorg, who shattered his left wrist last year, scored back-to-back goals to give the Saxons some breathing room at 10-6 going in to the final quarter.
Greenholdt scored for Schaumburg early in the fourth quarter for an 11-6 lead before Fremd's Jack Hipchen stole the ball and came up with a goal to end the scoring.
"When I shattered my wrist," said Sorg, "I had to work my body to work right-handed. Now I shoot a wicked shot on the run and it makes it difficult for goalies to follow the ball."
Schaumburg coach Joe Carey said Sorg's work has paid off.
"He's really been shooting the ball well the past three to four games," said Carey. "With the way he gets to his location and shoots, he gives opposing goalies something to think about.
"We knew this wasn't going to be a one-sided game. Fremd is a quality team and we knew they would give us a battle. We had to play our best to win this game."
To Fremd coach Nick Mamula, the slow start was costly.
"We made it a game," said Mamula. "We struggled at the start, but you saw what we can do when we start playing. We need to learn how to start the game strong.
"I was really pleased with the play of defender Dorian Cazarez. He was our player of the game. It was the best game he had this season. He was our best defender."