Wheaton North tops Glenbard West for Lacrosse Cup

Wheaton North and senior Ben Berry picked the right time to get hot.

Berry scored 5 goals and also added 5 assists, while the Falcons defense slowed down a potent Glenbard West offense in securing the Lacrosse Cup with 13-8 victory at Oak Park-River Forest High School on Saturday.

Fifth-seed Wheaton North (15-5) defeated top seed Waubonsie Valley, No. 2 Glenbard West and No. 4. Deerfield in securing its first title in the Lacrosse Subdivision.

"It's awesome," said Berry, who finished with 10 points in helping the Falcons secure their 11 straight victory. "We started playing our best lacrosse at the right time, and that is all that matters in the tournament."

Wheaton North was clinging to a 6-3 lead entering the second half, but the Falcons outscored the Hilltoppers 5-0 in the pivotal third quarter to take a commanding 11-3 advantage entering the final quarter.

Berry had 3 goals and 1 assist in the third quarter to spur the Falcons' attack.

"What can you say about a kid like that?" asked Wheaton North coach Chris Weed of Berry's performance. "This is what he does every game. He played a heck of a game."

Glenbard West (17-4) came into the title game riding a 10-game winning streak and had outscored its first three playoffs opponents 46-19.

But goalie Alex Meek, midfielder Mike Hoare and midfielder Erikh Paradise did the job defensively, as the Falcon outscored the Hilltoppers 9-1 in the second and third quarters.

"I have to give a lot of credit to the defense, especially the midfielders for keeping the ball on the other side," said Meek, who made two spectacular stops to start the third quarter. "It's unbelievable. Our team has been clicking at the right time and we just kept getting better and better."

"It's a dream come true for us," added senior Taylor Myers of the Falcons' title in its third varsity season. "When we play our game nobody can touch us, and the second and third quarters we played our game."

Glenbard West offense, which was missing in the middle two quarters, came alive in the final quarter with senior Tim Hollowed scoring 3 of his 4 goals, but it was little too late for the Hilltoppers.

"We had a slow start," Hollowed said of the Hilltoppers' attack. "But we always come hard in the second half. Today we just couldn't catch up."

Mitch Meyer and Joey Busch also aided the Hilltoppers' attack.

"We tried to force the ball on offense and that hurt us," said Glenbard West coach Carl Landi, "but defensively we just could not get on the same page."