Boys lacrosse: Glenbard West depth pays off against Hinsdale Central

For a little while it looked like it might very well be a sour holiday weekend for the Glenbard West boys lacrosse team.

The top-seeded Hilltoppers were up by one measly goal early in the fourth quarter of their sectional championship tilt Saturday afternoon against West Suburban Silver rival Hinsdale Central.

But senior midfielders Parker Michel and Luke Andreasik ensured that all the barbecues and family gatherings in Glen Ellyn would be festive.

Key goals midway through the fourth quarter by the recently graduated pair lifted Glenbard West to a 12-6 victory and a date with Neuqua Valley in the Downers Grove South supersectional at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The Hilltoppers (23-2) and Neuqua Valley (22-2) split their first two meetings this season. The winner heads to the state semifinals Thursday against either New Trier or Grayslake North.

"I think a big key was our depth, because on such a hot day like today you have to have a lot of players to sub, or else it won't happen," Andreasik said. "They had a couple of 'D' middies who were playing the whole game and we were trying to take advantage of them at the end and get our dodges going on them because we could see they were pretty gassed."

Hinsdale Central, which finished 14-5, crawled to within 7-6 with 9:13 to go on a goal by senior attackman Jack Crews, and it looked like the momentum might have shifted to the Red Devils.

But less than a minute later, at 8:21, Michel got loose for a goal wide-open dead center, on a pass from behind the net by senior attackman Blaise Bishop.

That got the Glenbard West bench going, and less than a minute after that, it was Andreasik with a shot left from about 7 yards out that ended up in the top right of the net.

After Glenbard West coach subbed in two defensive midfielders to protect the lead, seniors Jake Smith and Conor Bleuher, it was Andreasik again with another wide-open shot coming down Main Street after taking a pass from sophomore midfielder Josh Crosby.

And that was pretty much that. Junior Matt Cesario and Bishop added a pair in the last 3:33 to set the final score, advance to the supersectional, and allow their team to retain The Bucket, the West Suburban Silver's traveling trophy, an old-school lacrosse helmet on a wooden base.

"We just knew we had to keep doing what we were doing and we were just making small mistakes that we had to (correct) and move the ball around and not make stupid dodges," Michel said.

A big factor in the game was the 15 faceoffs junior Ben Frick won, which allowed the Hilltoppers to outshoot Hinsdale Central 37-20. Twenty turnovers didn't help the Red Devils' cause.

"We're deeper, so we were able to rest Luke and Parker and Josh Crosby by putting in other players, so when the fourth quarter comes around, they're fresh," Glenbard West coach Eric Nuss said. "That's a big advantage."

Of course, the Hilltoppers' depth also was crucial on a mid-80-degree day that felt a lot warmer on the artificial turf.

Across the field Hinsdale Central coach Rich Mares was sad to say goodbye to 17 seniors, including attackman Peter Madden, who finished with a hat trick.

"This was a big rematch game for us. We knew coming out guys would be fired up," Mares said. "We knew it was going to be a close game for the most part … I never could have told you they were going to score five goals in the fourth quarter, but I can't speak enough to the grit of the senior class and the guys we've got on this team."