Geneva’s having fun winning
A high school sports team should never become so burdened about wins and losses that having fun is no longer an option.
Most coaches will tell you that having fun goes hand-in-hand with winning, and Geneva is enjoying both this spring.
The Vikings finished play in the IHSLA with an 10-2-1 record against fellow Class B teams and closed the regular season on a five-game winning streak. Both losses came to undefeated Waubonsie Valley. The Vikings also upset Class A Schaumburg and dropped Class A contests to Neuqua Valley and St. Charles.
“The kids are having fun and winning games and have been psyched all season,” Geneva coach Rick Nobregas said. “It’s all about having fun here and playing lacrosse.”
Geneva’s athletic programs have enjoyed a great deal of success over the years, especially in football and girls basketball in recent years, and the athletes receive tremendous fan support from their peers as well as the community. Lacrosse is slowly starting to gain some attention as well.
“I think there’s a big relationship between all the sports as we’re more of a family than a team and it’s not just this team,” Geneva’s Joe Cella said. “We’ve looked pretty good this year and might become an (IHSA sanctioned) sport next year, so more people at school know about lacrosse and we’re still growing.”
In addition to a busy regular season schedule, the Vikings participated in two local tournaments this spring. They won West Chicago’s Sticks & Stones Classic as Ryan Solon was honored as the tournament MVP. Last weekend, they fell short of the title in the Marmion Cadet Challenge, but had a hard fought 8-7 loss to a very talented Graylake North squad, which claimed the title with a 5-0 record.
“Stick & Stones was our very first tournament win so that was big for us,” Solon said. “At Marmion we ended up just losing to (Graylake North), but it was a very enjoyable tournament playing good competition.”
The Vikings have had plenty of time to bond as a team too, with lengthy bus trips to Belvidere, Elmhurst, Lemont and New Lenox.
“We appreciate all the coaches, all the players, all the teams as one big family,” Nobregas said. “There’s a lot of teams that aren’t that great but have great athletes and we all win and lose together. Hopefully this summer we can help some of these teams with pick up games.”
For now the Vikings are focused on playing well in the playoffs.
“We’ve got a lot more depth now then when we started,” Geneva’s Teigan Dwyer said. “The younger guys have stepped up as attackmen and in the midfield and faceoffs. We’re all growing and doing well so it’s going to be great to see them continue.”
Ten unanswered goals: The number of high school athletes, coaches and athletic director who have hollered at Mother Nature this spring is enormous. Looking back at what happened on April 19 though, Naperville Central coach Blake Zinn has to be pretty satisfied with what the poor weather allowed his kids to do almost a full month later.
The Redhawks were trailing Lincoln-Way 9-3 with 1:16 left in the first half on April 19 before poor weather caused the suspension of the contest. Fast-forward to Tuesday night, and the teams were back in Naperville to finish up, and a seemingly new Redhawks team took to the field and then took it to the Wolves, by scoring 10 unanswered goals to win 13-9.
“The first time, the kids weren’t mentally prepared,” Zinn said. “They knew it was Lincoln-Way’s first year and Max Rubin, who has had an amazing year, didn’t win a single faceoff. On Tuesday he won every one of them and the kids came ready to win.”
Zinn knows his team is talented. What he hasn’t been able to figure out with any consistency, is which team is going to show up each night. Is it the one that’s mentally prepared to win, or a lackadaisical unit?
“It’s been a very interesting year in that our mental game has been far more important than the physical game,” he said. “We have 12 seniors with a ton of talent and it’s just a matter of showing up and always being ready to go out and play.”
Zentner saves Barrington: Barrington finished its regular season last week by avenging a loss to Palatine earlier this season, surviving a double overtime finish against Glenbrook South on Tuesday and then dropping a competitive contest to Lyons, arguably one of the top five teams in the state, on Thursday.
Indeed, the Broncos saw a little of everything recently to prepare themselves for the postseason.
In the 12-11, double overtime victory against Glenbrook South, goalkeeper Tyler Fitzgerald made a huge save with 90 seconds remaining in the second overtime and then Brett Zentner scored the game winner shortly thereafter. Against Lyons, the Broncos kept it close at the half, but had no offensive production in the second half.
“We feel pretty confident and it comes down to the seeds in the first and second round,” Barrington coach Chris Bluse said. “Overall we feel pretty good. The team is primed and ready to go, no matter who we get.”
Bluse noted that splitting games with Palatine and Fremd were the biggest disappointments of the regular season, but that overall, he was pleased with how the Broncos competed this spring.
“We met our expectations and the kids played really well and rallied when they needed to,” he said. “The defensive prowess of the guys is what has kept us in a lot of games.”
Lions roaring and winning: St. Viator finished off a fantastic regular season on Friday by cruising past Benet 16-3. The Lions finished 15-1 in the IHSLA, 7-0 in the Catholic League and are currently ranked No. 4 in the LaxPower rankings. The only teams ranked higher than the St. Viator are Lyons, which won 9-1 back in late March, six-time defending state champion New Trier, who the Lions have not played this spring, and Loyola Academy, who the Lions beat 5-4 in double overtime on April 6.
“You only have about eight spots to fill with teams after your conference and some geographical assignments are set,” St. Viator coach Bill Sanford said. “We didn’t play all Top 10 teams but we played three of the Top 5.”
The Lions added another impressive victory to their resume on Tuesday, beating Wheaton Warrenville South 8-6.
“It was a fun night, a good crowd, the weather was decent, and we were fortunate to open an 8-4 lead at the end of the third quarter,” Sanford said. “We made a couple mistakes that cost us 2 goals, but we beat a pretty good team.”
Seedings for the postseason tournament will be available today, and Sanford and the Lions could receive a bye in the first round after their excellent season.
“It’ll be interesting to see who we match up with because some teams aren’t ranked in the Top 5 or Top 10 but can present some problems,” Sanford said. “We just want to go out and do what we do best, which is defense, ground balls and transition, and playing mistake-free on the offensive side of the ball. We think it doesn’t matter who we play, if we do these things we have a good chance of winning.”
The Lions didn’t become successful overnight this spring and have dedicated themselves throughout the season by working hard in practice and stayed focused each game.
“The No. 1 thing that made us better everyday and ready for the playoffs was the solid practice environment,” Sanford said. “Our seniors, guys like Brian Goss, Conner Murphy, Chad Holsworth and Mike Krzoska really have helped ensure that the kids come back each day to have fun and feel successful while making memories that will last.”
Turn on the lights: Glenbard, a NILAX team made up of players from Glenbard South, Glenbard East, Glenbard North and Immaculate Conception, honored its seniors on Friday night at Glenbard North. The team was battling with Johnsburg in a 10-10 game and only 45 seconds remaining when the lights went out. Unable to continue playing without lights, the game was ruled a tie by the referees.
Hopefully the lights will be back in working order at 8 p.m. on Wednesday when Glenbard hosts Crystal Lake South in the NILAX tournament.
In the tie to Johnsburg, Tony Esposito led the team with 4 goals, Brian Sanborn had a pair of scores and Cole Bridgman, Brett Hegarty, Charlie Asselmeier and Brian Weihmuller all added one goal apiece.
Finishing strong in St. Charles: What can St. Charles say about its losses in the past month to Culver Academy (Ind.), Wheaton Warrenville South and New Trier? Culver is one of the most highly regarded teams in the Midwest, Wheaton Warrenville South has won 10 of its last 11 games and New Trier has won every state title since 2005. St. Charles hopes to have learned from its losses and will be able to utilize it during postseason play this week. The team ended its regular season in finish strong last week with a 12-4 win against Wheaton North and a 10-5 decision over St. Ignatius. Spencer Motley led St. Charles with a hat trick against the Wolfpack.
Lax fever: With the playoffs beginning this week, time is running out this spring for you to check out any of the area high school teams. Now is as good of a time as ever to check out a game and if last week is any indication, the excitement is just beginning. Last Thursday, Wheaton Warrenville South beat Naperville North, 7-6, Oak Park edged Fremd, 13-12 and Glenbard West clipped York, 8-7. The 1-goal differentials continued on Friday as Deerfield nipped Highland Park, 7-6 in double overtime, West Chicago survived Lemont, 12-11, in quadruple overtime and lastly, St. Rita spoiled Marmion’s hopes for a conference title in the B-Class, beating the Cadets in Aurora, 8-7.
The playoffs: Playoffs begin on Tuesday for the A-Class and B-Class in the Illinois High School Lacrosse Association. Checkihsla.org for pairings. A playoff tournament also begins in the NILAX. Visit www.nilaxleague.com for all the specifics.