St. Charles knocks of St. Viator

Almost, but not quite.

That's been the story for the St. Viator Lions' boys lacrosse team.

Since the program started six years ago, the Lions have been unable to reach the third round of the Illinois High School Lacrosse Association playoffs.

This year looked like a possibility when the Lions faced the St. Charles Fighting Saints.

"We knew they were talented," said Viator coach Bill Sanford.

The Lions (16-5) played well for the first eight minutes, but the Saints took over and dominated every aspect en route to a 14-3 win, sending St. Viator home again in the second round.

"We came out and played well," Sanford said. "They just had so much skill and athleticism, we couldn't keep up."

Even though the Lions failed to reach the third round, Sanford said he was proud of his team, which finished 8-0 in the regular season.

"We had fun this year," Sanford said. "We worked hard, had fun, and accomplished all but one of our goals."

Viator will graduate most of its skill players, but Sanford said that doesn't mean his team won't be competitive next year.

"I think our guys will be underestimated next year," Sanford said. "And I think that plays to their advantage and will motivate them to play better to prove people wrong."

Lyons 9, Palatine 3: Palatine was unable to pull off an upset of the state's top-ranked team as ranked by laxpower.com as Lyons topped the Pirates 9-3.

"They were just a better team," said Pirates coach Heath McFaul. "Our guys played great, but [Lyons] was just a better team."

The Pirates fell behind by 4 goals early as the Lions came out firing.

"We got down early and were never able to erase the deficit," McFaul said.

After the game McFaul said he couldn't have been more proud of his guys.

"I told them we had nothing to hang our heads about," McFaul said. "We played a great game and left it all out on the field."

Palatine is losing three key seniors in defender Nick Venegas, goalie Dustin Mehrtens and midfielder Sean McLorrain.

"We'll miss them but we're returning our entire attack and our three leading scorers," McFaul said.

The Pirates finished with a 9-8 overall record and a 9-3 conference record, good for second in the Mid-Suburban League.

St. Viator camp: Coach Bill Sanford of St. Viator would like to extend an invitation to all prospective lacrosse players in grades 6-8 to participate in a summer camp running from Monday through Thursday, June 16-26. The camp is open to all players. For more information go to www.saintviator.com and click on the summer camps link under the sports/activities tab.