Steady Viator set for showdown at Palatine

St. Viator boys lacrosse coach Bill Sanford was concerned about losing a lot of leadership and scoring from a year ago.

But the Lions have been piling up the goals lately and improved to 13-2 overall as they outscored Conant, Schaumburg and Benet 41-10 in 3 wins this week.

"Although we have struggled with our offense at times, we've managed the game really well and our defense has been steady," Sanford said. "There are only two or three guys that ever played lacrosse before high school on this team and I have been impressed at what they've accomplished with limited experience in the sport."

Seniors Joe Shaxted (middie) and Joe Peart (defense) and juniors Matt Barry (defense) and Nick Juris (defense) are the Lions' only returning starters.

"We also decided to use some of our best athletes (Rich Markovits, Connor Ptacin, Will Mitchell and Marcus Niro) strictly as defensive middies," Sanford said. "Although there has been an adjustment period for the younger guys, we've been pretty happy with their adaptability."

Viator is 6-0 in the Mid-Suburban League and has a big showdown at 5-0 Palatine at 7 p.m. Monday.

Palatine was off to a 7-3 start overall behind scoring leaders Jamey Silviera and Tommy Morris and defenders Jake Houp and Danny Pauly. Senior goalie Sebastian Dabrowski came up big in an 11-10 overtime win over Oak Park-River Forest.

"He has made some huge saves along the way," said Palatine coach Heath McFaul. "I've been really impressed with his play.

"The toughest part of our season is this week with foes St. Viator and Barrington (Wednesday). These are two quality programs and they've been playing very well so far this season.

"I think our team is well prepared - these have the makings of great games."

Conant looks for consistency: Conant started 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the Mid-Suburban with excellent play from senior midfielders Dale Balsitis, Josh Summers and Ryan Bauch.

"We are still trying to put together four quarters of high-level play," said Conant coach Martin Kulak. "We have times where we play brilliantly and times where we look at each other and wonder what happened.

"We have a talented group of players and I am confident that they will put it together by the end of the season."

Jimmy Samargis and Jon Wheet lead the attack Kulak is happy with the midfield defense of Brett Bibel, Michael Cerami and Mike Lorenz.

Stapleton leads Fillies: Senior Audrey Stapleton was third in the Mid-Suburban in scoring with 41 goals in leading Barrington's girls to a 6-5 start against a rugged schedule.

Stapleton is also second in the league in ground ball control and fourth in interceptions.

"Audrey has great field knowledge and is a dynamic leader," said Barrington coach Sara Lersch. "She steps to the ball and is unstoppable on offense."

Senior captain Allison Beveridge is number one in the league for interceptions and juniors Michelle Zei and MaryKate Solymossy have been solid in goal.

Hawks make big strides: The Hoffman Estates boys have made a big jump from a 1-16 finish last year to a 4-4 start for coach Joe Garofalo. Two of the losses were by a goal.

Greg Gliniewicz and Joe Divizio lead the attack and Garofalo said Jake Hollingsworth has been a consistent force at midfield with his scoring and defense.

Mike Multerer has also become a dominant goalie with an average of more than 18 saves a game.

Nice start to second season: The Palatine girls started 5-1 for coach Leslie Schock. Junior midfielder Maureen Brodeur had 6 goals against Schaumburg, midfielder Amy Vojta averages 2.5 goals and an assist a game and goalie Christine Cosejo is averaging 15 saves a game.