Letmanski powers Glenbard West

Glenbard West’s success on the girls lacrosse field is the byproduct of a number of factors.

For starters, the Hilltoppers, who were 21-3 through late last week, can score goals.

Christina Letmanski had 75 goals and 38 assists through late last week, while Samantha Harkless had 55 goals and 33 assists.

“Christina has smashed the school record for goals. She’s having a huge year,” said Glenbard West coach Bob Regan.

That offensive prowess allowed Glenbard West to record a recent 14-12 overtime win against Benet Academy and a 12-11 win over Arrowhead, the No. 1 team in Wisconsin.

The Hilltoppers are also strong on defense where Molly Strieker and Kylie Maloney are standouts, along with Ellen Wendte, Hailey Walch and the midfield trio of Katie Fleming, Elizabeth Simoneit and Kirsten Ward.

“We’re good on defense and we communicate well on transitions,” said Regan.

And there is no forgetting the strong season Clare Byrne is having in goal for the Hilltoppers.

“We have a lot of girls — a lot of talented girls,” said Byrne. “We work really well together. One of the most important parts is we support each other on and off the field. That’s made us come together as a team. We worked out a lot in the preseason and that made us a lot better as a team.”

Byrne gets to see the team’s strengths unfold right before her eyes.

“Our offense is really strong,” she said. “We have a very strong midfield. It takes both offense and defense to succeed. We have some really high scorers and the defense that is in front of me, I couldn’t be happier with. We play a unique defense and it works out well for us.”

Senior attacker Rebecca Abellera has noticed a change in the team this season.

“We have really stepped up our teamwork,” Abellera said. “We’re working as a team instead of trying to score individual goals. Our transition and our general passing skills have improved so much. This team works so well together. The focus is the team and it’s really showing this season.”

Sophomore midfielder Sara Letmanski, the younger sister of scoring standout Christina Letmanski, is a fan of the team’s new defensive scheme.

“Our defense is picking it up,” said Sara Letmanski. “It’s a new setup and that has changed everything so much. On top of that, our starters in the midfield and attack have picked it up from last year. We have the best of both worlds here.”

Added Christina Letmanski: “We just click. We play with a ton of intensity and we are very aggressive anywhere the ball is.”

Fleming, a senior midfielder, gives credit to the team’s defense and Byrne in particular.

“Clare Byrne is awesome,” Fleming said. “She doesn’t let anything by her. She’s really stepped it up this year. The whole defense has done a great job.”

The Hilltoppers are looking forward to the upcoming state series.

“We have to stay positive,” Christina Letmanski said. “We have 13 seniors on the team. There might be senior-itis at school, but we don’t want that on the field. We have to come out focused and really to play and ready to help each other out.”

“All we have to do is continue working as hard as we do at practice and not have any end-of-the-season letup,” Byrne said. “We have a lot of talented girls here. If we can keep together as a team, that is only going to make us better and keep us where on track to where we want to go.”

Playoffs? Playoffs?: To steal from former Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Mora, it is, indeed, playoff time.

The state girls’ lacrosse playoffs kick off this week around the Chicagoland area. Here’s a quick primer for where Herald City teams are headed (with sectional seeds in parenthesis).

Today, Fremd (5) faces Schaumburg (4) to kick off the Schaumburg sectional. Tuesday features Warren (5) traveling to Vernon Hills (4) as part of the Libertyville sectional. The battle of Naperville takes place Tuesday at Commissioner’s Park with Naperville Central (5) facing Naperville North (4). York (6) plays Fenwick in the Oak Park sectional.

Metea Valley (6) hosts O’Fallon (3) as part of the Hinsdale Central sectional Wednesday.

Libertyville (1) hosts either Warren or Vernon Hills Thursday as part of the Libertyville sectional. Stevenson (3) and Lake Zurich (2) square off next week.

Fremd or Schaumburg faces top seed Barrington Thursday at Schaumburg. Palatine (3) and St. Charles (2) follow.

Wheaton United (4) and Montini (1) face off Thursday as part of the Neuqua Valley sectional at Commissioner’s Park. Glenbard West (3) and Neuqua Valley (2) follow.

The Metea-O’Fallon winner will face Benet Thursday at Hinsdale Central. Benet is the No. 2 seed at Hinsdale Central. The Naperville North-Central winner then faces top seed Hinsdale Central.

The York-Fenwick winner gets Lyons Township Thursday at Oak Park-River Forest.

Sectional finals are Monday and supersectionals are Wednesday. We’ll have those matchups in next Monday’s column.

A Passion for the sport: Montini sophomore midfielder Sarah Lugo has been playing the sport since seventh grade.

“I like that it’s very fast-paced,” she said. “It’s really not a sport where you stand around. You’re always active in the game. There is always the opportunity to have the ball and take it up the field.”

Lugo has been impressed with how the Broncos have created scoring opportunities this season.

“I like how we’ve been passing around the 8-meter to create chances for each other to take it to the goal,” she said. “We’ll set up a play and draw 2 defenders so one of the other girls is open.”

Lugo plays lacrosse in the off-season with the prestigious Lakeshore and Northwestern Wildcat Elite club teams.

“I go to several places for summer tournaments, too,” she said. “My goal is to play Division I lacrosse. I love playing lacrosse.”

Growing up: Stevenson junior goalie Alyssa Gorenberg was a sophomore on the varsity last season.

“It was a little intimidating last year. It was really scary,” she said. “Freshman year, I tried the sport for the first time. I tried out for goalie. I was the frosh-soph goalie and worked really hard in the off-season. I never thought in a million years the next year I’d be the varsity goalie. Now, I’m a lot better with my communication. I’ve improved with it and the defense has improved with it by communicating back to me.”

Gorenberg enjoys the practice aspect of the position.

“I take a lot of shots,” she said. “A lot of girls like to practice shooting and they have very powerful shots. I’ve had thumbnails broken and fingernails cracked. It’s about being confident back there and being able to take abuse. I’m working to get better. I’ve been able to step up and accept the pain that comes along with it.”

Thus, a save in lacrosse is a rather big deal.

“It’s huge,” she said. “My teammates make such a big deal out of it. They know how tough it is to catch that small ball and you have no other equipment. You have to have good hand-eye coordination. Making a save means a lot. Everybody recognizes it. It’s a great feeling.”

Scooping up the ground balls: Barrington senior defensive wing MacKenzie McPike is one the state’s best when it comes to ground balls.

“You have to be aggressive out there,” she noted. “I don’t have a skill physically where I pick them up. It’s being aggressive and being determined to go into a group of girls and think and know you are going to get the ball and then actually get it. You have to be the most intimidating girl out there so other people back off. Confidence is the key. You also have to box out and stand in front of the girl to make it hard for her to get around you.”

McPike has seen the dynamic of the conference-champion Fillies change this year.

“We have a really good offense,” she said. “We’re good at running plays and passing. Last year we relied on 1-on-1s with one girl running in and scoring. Our offense is a lot more hard-working and that helps a lot with our defense.”

Barrington recently won another Mid-Suburban League title. McPike would like to see that success continue this week with the start of the state playoffs.

“We have to go into every game ready to play whether we’ve beaten a team before or not,” she said. “We have to commit to win all the battles and all the ground balls and all the draws and make the interceptions. Winning every battle counts.”

McPike will continue her lacrosse career at Division III Wesleyan University in Connecticut next season.

Lake Zurich update: The Bears scored a recent 12-5 win over Stevenson. Emily Handrahan was the team’s leading scorer through late last week. She had 53 goals and 14 assists. Junior midfielder Katherine Anderson had 45 goals and 14 assists. Kristy Peterson had 35 goals and 9 assists, while Jessica Kittle had 21 goals and 2 assists.

Lake Zurich coach Julie Bryniczka has been pleased with her defensive unit of late.

“Our communication between the defensive players,” she said when asked of the team’s current strengths. “Our fantastic goalie, Alexandra Sopocy, is working extremely well with our defense. On the offensive side, we’re doing a much better job at assisting goals instead of just creating an iso (1-on-1 situation).”

Mistakes are on the downslide for the Bears.

“We’ve really worked on learning from our mistakes. Instead of being disappointed and down, we’ve grown to learn from our mistakes and change them for next game,” said Bryniczka. “That’s why we’re excited to start the playoffs.”

Anderson and Handrahan were cited for strong play on the attack.

“They work very well together and can seem to always read each other’s mind,” she said.

Jaclyn Papa has helped the team with midfield transition, while Taylor Gore and Gina Barbaglia are helping on the defensive end.

“Taylor has really stepped up as a defender and led our defense with excellent communication,” Bryniczka said. “Gina has stepped up on defense after one of our top defenders (Maddie Carrigan) recently tore her ACL.”

Handrahan was tied for second in the state for most goals scored (53) through late last week and was leading the state in caused turnovers (46). Peterson was in the top 15 for draw controls (39), while Sopocy was second in the state in saves (220), just 3 behind the state leader.

Stevenson update: The Patriots sported a 10-5 mark through late last week. Stevenson downed Deerfield 15-13 in a recent match.

Junior midfielder Rachel Banas was leading the team in scoring with 57 goals and 24 assists through late last week. Junior midfielder Kelsey Patten had 33 goals and 17 assists, while senior Emily Nisson had 32 goals and 8 assists.

Coach Janette Eichfeld has seen her team move forward with its teamwork and speed. The team has improved on transitioning the ball from defense to attack; Eichfeld noted that has clearly made a difference in how quickly her team controls the game.

Senior Hilary Burger (attack), juniors Erin Rice (midfield) and Eva Alibone (attack) and sophomores Nikki Brodeur (attack), Makala Udoni (midfield) and Lauren Huber (attack) have been instrumental in opening attack space and working together to create scoring changes.

In the Deerfield win, Gorenberg, along with defenders Taylor Halpert (senior) and Emily Loretto (junior) worked together to prevent Deerfield from ever gaining the lead in the game.

Banas, Nisson and Gorenberg were recently named to the all-conference first team.

Neuqua Valley update: The Wildcats were 15-3 through late last week. One of those wins was a recent 17-16 thriller against St. Charles, which tied the game at 16-16 with 1:29 left to play. Neuqua Valley gained the last draw control, ran time off the clock and scored the game-winner with seven seconds to play.

“What a great display of teamwork by both teams,” Neuqua Valley coach Lauren Rippy said.

Sophomore Ali Gosselin had 6 goals and 1 assist against St. Charles, while Rachel Leibovitz had 6 goals and 5 draw controls and dominated possession in the game.

Freshman Leah Newman had 2 goals off the bench in a recent game against Naperville North and added a goal in the St. Charles win.

“She is coming into her own as a player. I love seeing her hunger and drive for the ball as she enters the game,” Rippy said.

Neuqua and Wheaton United were scheduled to face off for the DuPage Upstate Eight Conference title Monday at 5 p.m. at Commissioners Park in Naperville.

St. Francis update: The Spartans ended their season with a 4-7 overall mark. Goalie Annalyse Kohley saved 56 percent of the shot taken against her in a match against state-power Loyola. She made 14 saves in 25 chances.

St. Francis recently scored a 7-6 win over Neuqua Valley.

Sarah O’Connell and Megan Parisi each had two goals, while Meghan Keyes, Kailey O’Connor and Sam Morris each had a goal.

“We could not have won this game without the tough defense of our field players, and of course, our goalie,” St. Francis coach Brittany Borgeson said.

St. Francis ended the season on a four-game winning streak.

“The girls have shown much improvement over the last two-and-a-half months,” Borgeson said. “These last few games have been fun to watch as things seemed to start clicking. There was a lot to be proud of this season. Starting a new sport is something hat is never easy, but these 25 girls have worked hard since January to become a competitive team. They communicated well, encouraged each other, were teachable and were determined. I’m looking forward to another great season next year.”