Boys lacrosse roundup
It may be challenging to play lacrosse as many as 10 hours in a one day, but it’s more challenging to even get the opportunity to play.
Marmion’s annual Cadet Challenge was held on Saturday, May 15, and it continues to gain popularity as one of the best tournaments in the state.
According to Marmion coach Kevin Griffin, it took less than six hours to book all the teams for this year’s tournament, and some teams even FedExed their checks the next day.
“I think we’re becoming one of the premiere tournament in the state of Illinois,” Griffin said. “There’s a lot of people who put a lot of effort into this and and the teams like having two officials per game and being able to bring their full program. It’s not just the varsity but they bring their frosh/soph and JV team, which you don’t get a chance to do elsewhere.”
In addition to the action on the field, New Wave Lacrosse and Chicago Lacrosse were on hand and merchandise was also available. In a day and age where you’re lucky to get a Xerox copy of a team’s roster when you enter a game as a fan, the Cadet Challenge featured a full color program on heavy stock. The program included rosters of each participating team, an easy-to-read breakdown of the schedule for the day, as well as a list of temptations from the concessions, featuring everything from hot dogs, pizza, nachos and ice cream, as well as healthier options like fruit and granola for those worried about how they’ll look in swimsuit this summer.
“It’s a neat thing because you get to see how everyone sets up camp and spends the day,” Bartlett coach Mike Steichen said. “It’s a very well run tournament and a real neat experience for the kids.”
Grayslake North won the tournament with a 5-0 record. Geneva, Grayslake Central, Marmion, Minooka and West Chicago participated at the varsity level while lower-level teams from Bartlett, Marian Catholic and Montini also competed.
“We had a lot of fun today,” Griffin said. “We’re still only a second-year varsity team. We beat Minooka and played really hard against the other teams and kept the games close in my opinion. I’ve very proud of our boys as well as everyone’s effort in making this tournament possible.”
Fish-ing for MVP: Grayslake North completed a long but productive Saturday, posting a 5-0 record to win the 2011 Marmion Cadet Challenge.
A.J. Fish led the Knights with 14 goals and 14 assists during the tournament, including 3 goals and 4 assists in a 10-5 championship game win against Grayslake Central. Fish was named MVP of the tournament for his offensive heroics.
“It was a lot of fun to beat a couple teams down south and it’s always nice to beat our crosstown rival, especially twice today and after losing to them during the week,” Fish said. “We didn’t give up at all today. (Grayslake Central) played a zone and we didn’t see it coming so we were prepared for it in practice and we got it.”
Grayslake North beat Grayslake Central (6-4), Geneva (8-7), Marmion (13-2) and West Chicago (13-2) before dropping the Rams a second time in the championship game.
“He really can single-handedly take a game over,” Marmion coach Kevin Griffin said of Fish. “We had stayed close with them for the first half and then he pretty much took the game over and did it a lot of it by himself.”
While spending a whole day onsite and playing five games was tiring, it was also a lot of fun, especially when you keep on wining.
“We never gave up, which is great about our team. They’d score two on us and then we’d score four unanswered,” Fish said. “It’s been a tiring day, but it’s been awesome. It’s great to be out here all day.”
Home sweet Bartlett: Bartlett had its first-ever home contest on May 4 and beat St. Charles East 7-2 in a JV game. Bartlett coach Mike Steichen estimated that more than 300 people attended the contest. While no other home games are scheduled for the remainder of this year, Steichen expects more home games next year and beyond.
“We had a huge turnout,” Steichen said. “It was a great day for Bartlett lacrosse.”
Bartlett was in action on Saturday at the Marmion Cadet Classic. At the JV level, the Hawks went 3-1 but lost out on an opportunity to play for the championship by losing the tie breaker of goal differential. The freshmen/sophomore team split its games on Saturday.
Area college recap: Several local colleges recently finished their seasons, including Carthage College which finished 12-5. One of the Carthage’s standouts was junior Lake Zurich graduate Andrew Bellville, who had 42 ground balls and was named first-team All-Midwest Men’s Lacrosse Conference. Junior goalkeeper Spencer Curley, who is also a Neuqua Valley graduate, had 124 saves and was a second team all-conference selection.
Aurora University concluded an 11-6 season in its inaugural campaign and head coach Brendan Dawson was named Midwest Lacrosse Conference coach of the year.
Wheaton College went 3-11 this season and advanced to the league tournament semifinal round for the fourth consecutive season.
Judson College had a 1-9 season. Its lone victory came against Cornell College.
While Benedictine University has been home to many evening lacrosse games this season for area high schools, the school still doesn’t offer a men’s team, but will begin doing so in spring 2013.
Young Cadet success: Marmion has won four straight games in the IHSLA to improve to 8-2. The Cadets overcame a rainy evening at Fichtel field on May 5 and beat conference foe Notre Dame 7-3 behind a solid defensive effort. Goalie Zack McNally recorded 11 saves and the Cadets received 3 goals from Colin Smith.
The Cadets improved to 6-0 in conference play on May 9 with an 8-2 win against Montini. Sam Kellett scored twice and added a pair of assisted, Smith added two scores and Sam Ford and Paul Marek each scored and had an assist. The victory sets up a huge conference showdown on Friday, May 20 against St. Rita with the conference title on the line.
Last Tuesday, Marmion honored its seniors and beat Lane Tech, 8-2. Smith had 3 goals, Brian Lirot scored twice and Kellett and Marek each scored and had 2 assists. Coach Kevin Griffin was also pleased with how his defense played, led by Mike Conway, Manny Rodriguez, Jack Duguay, Jack Sagstetter, Mike Carbonara and Andrew Green.
The Cadets went 1-3 on Saturday during the Cadet Challenge.
On the air: The Internet as a medium, along with simple digital video editing and recording, has created plenty of opportunities to communicate sports action. It’s now even seeped into high school lacrosse as Wednesday’s Naperville North 13-10 victory against Naperville Central is available as an mp3 download at www.sportstownchicago.com/lacrosse.cfm.
Too much Trier: St. Charles has seen enough of perennial powerhouse New Trier over the years. The Trevians ended St. Charles’ season a year ago and the team two met on Saturday. New Trier was coming off a 6-5 loss to Loyola Academy, its first loss of the season, and obviously a rarity for the six-time reigning Class A champions.
St. Charles kept it close early as the teams were knotted at 1-1 through the first quarter, but the Trevians pulled ahead to a 5-2 lead at halftime and controlled the second half to win handily, 12-4. Brian Sullivan, P.J. Bogel, Marcus Stammen and Spencer Motley all scored for St. Charles.
DuPage dominance: Wheaton Warrenville South continued to be stellar against its DuPage area foes, blasting past Naperville Central 18-9 on Monday, edging Glenbard West 10-7 on Tuesday and then shutting down Hinsdale Central 13-4 on Friday.