Boys lacrosse roundup
Geneva hopes to battle for a Class B state title this spring. The Vikings head into Tuesday night’s key matchup at St. Charles North with a great deal of momentum. The team had a tremendously successful spring break trip sandwiched between a couple wins and losses in the IHSLA.
Geneva (2-2 IHSLA) has beaten Schaumburg (Class A) and Naperville Central (Class B) while falling to a pair of Class A teams in Waubonsie Valley, 15-2, and Naperville Central, 9-8.
The Vikings spent spring break in Kentucky and compiled a perfect 4-0 record. A slow start in their opener against Louisville Male didn’t come back to bite them. The Vikings pulled out a 6-2 victory. After a quick sandwich from Jimmy John’s, the Vikings made it to DuPont Manual freaky fast, but the Vikings needed to rally late to pull it off. Down by three with three minutes left in regulation, the Vikings put three in the net to force overtime and pulled out a 9-8 victory in double overtime.
“By this time you can see our boys actually becoming a team,” Geneva coach Rick Nobregas said. “They now are playing for each other.”
The team bonded later that evening while watching game film and devouring many slices of pizza.
Nobregas utilized his second lineup in the next day’s opener against Louisville Eastern as their toughest test remained later in the day against Ballard. The Vikings put on an offensive show against Louisville Eastern, pulling away, 15-7. Afterward, in a mark of great sportsmanship and promotion of the sport, the Vikings gave Louisville Eastern players Geneva lacrosse t-shirts while Louisville Eastern barbecued burgers and hot dogs for the Vikings players.
Playing for the fourth time in 24 hours, Geneva started slowly against high-powered Ballard, leading just 2-1 at the halftime. Apparently the Vikings caught their second wind in the final half, outscoring Ballard, 7-1, and pulling away for a 9-3 victory. “This was the moment as a coach you wait for,” Nobregas said. “They now have meshed as a team. It’s no more individuals. They all believe in each other and trust each other.”
Despite being sore and tired, the VIkings turned their attention to fun off the field for the remainder of the trip. They rented a private room at Logan Roadhouse for a big dinner and to watch the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship game, before concluding the night by battling one another on an indoor go-kart track.
A familiar face on TV: Did anyone catch the Syracuse vs. Rutgers game on ESPNU on Saturday?
If you did, you certainly couldn’t have missed former St. Viator standout Brian Goss.
Goss led Rutgers with 2 goals and an assist but the Scarlet Knights were beaten handily by the Orange, 19-6.
The game was the featured opening game in the ESPNU Warrior classic. Played at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., the game drew more than 6,000 fans, certainly way, way more than Goss used to play in front of during a high school career that saw him named team MVP in both his junior and senior seasons.
Big wins, tough losses: Libertyville (4-2) picked up its biggest victory of the young season with an 8-5 decision against Lake Forest on April 5, but couldn’t continue its winning ways on April 7, dropping a heartbreaker in overtime to Lake Zurich, 5-4. Interestingly, Lake Forest pounded Lake Zurich, 10-2, four days later.
Juniors A.J. Schmidt and Nick Ward both scored twice in the victory over Lake Forest, while Ward also had an assist.
Libertyville regrouped to beat Stevenson, 10-1, and Warren, 8-2, last week before falling short against a very talented St. Viator squad, 7-4 on Friday the 13th.
Where it all started: Waubonsie Valley saw its hard work pay off with a Class B title last June.
Coach Mike Julius’ hard work allowed him to advance to play at The Ohio State University in the mid 80s. It also helped guide him into a career in aviation as well as to coaching the Warriors.
Julius, who was raised in a single-parent household in Long Island, New York where opportunities were limited, took the team to Long Island over spring break for a few games of lacrosse as well as to educate the team about hard work, education and, of course, lacrosse.
While Julius had a chance to reminisce with his old high school coaches, he was also surprised by a visit from Freeport Mayor Andrew Hardwick. During the Warriors game against Julius’ alma mater, Freeport, Hardwick interrupted the game to address the teams about the significance of this game and Julius’ sentimental return.
“Lacrosse offered me a chance to improve myself,” Julius said. “The mayor cited my life experience of what is possible when you work hard and stay in school.”
Waubonsie Valley defeated Freeport, 10-5, before retreating to the Freeport firehouse for pizza and refreshments.
The next day the Warriors held off a pesky East Meadow squad, 8-7. The Warriors went ahead 2-1 but were never able to fully pull away. “They were very adept at man ball,” Julius said. “This kept us on our toes and they were very physical. This was the type of game where you always has to be on your best.” Players enjoyed fellowship afterwards during a delicious barbecue.
The final game of the trip proved to be too much for the Warriors as Plainedge held on for an 11-7 victory. “This team was good and relentless,” Julius said. “They moved the ball well and were methodical on offense. The defense was solid and the slides were good.”
Back home, the Warriors have continued the same success they had a season ago, despite making the leap to Class A. They’ve won their first five games, including Saturday’s 12-6 win over Grayslake North, the same team they beat for the Class B title last June.
Grayslake North made didn’t make things easy for the Warriors, trailing just 6-4 at halftime. Matt Schlagetter scored four times for the losers and Bryce Hermsen was a formidable presence in leading the defense, but the Warriors once again had too much firepower for the Knights.
The Warriors have outscored its five IHSLA opponents, 74-21, and have a busy week ahead with Neuqua Valley, Naperville Central and O’Fallon all on the schedule.
Datoli a difference-maker: St. Charles North junior goalkeeper Alec Datoli has been playing back-up to Colin Snook this season, but he found himself playing his first full game of the season on Saturday. Of course, Saturday’s contest wasn’t any normal regular season game, but the inaugural St. Charles East versus St. Charles North contest. In other words, this was big.
Snook separated his shoulder in a loss to Waubonsie Valley last week and was sidelined.
“We had been going back and forth between those guys through the off-season so it wasn’t like we had a starter picked out before the season,” North Stars coach Andy Thompson said. “They’re different styles, but I wasn’t surprised at all with how Alec played.”
The North Stars beat the Saints 9-5.
While Snook is more of a technique player, Datoli’s driven by pure athleticism.
“He’s a kid that’s going to get pumped up on his own and you only worry about him getting too nervous and too anxious,” Thompson said. “You don’t want him to abandon his technique and do freelance stuff, and fortunately it wasn’t an issue. He channeled his energy in the right direction.”
The North Stars rewarded Datoli with a game ball for his efforts.
Burgeoning Bartlett: Fielding a varsity team for the first time this spring, Bartlett recorded its first official victory, shellacking West Chicago, 16-0, on April 11. They certainly got some revenge on the Wildcats, who beat the Hawks, 7-6 in double overtime during exhibition play in the Hoffman Estates Spring Break tournament. The Hawks experienced a pair of victories in during that same tournament. They edged Vernon Hills, 2-1, and had just enough offense to beat Mundelein 6-4 but also dropped an 8-7 decision to the hosts.
“I would say the season has gone well in the fact that every game has pretty much been a one-goal game except for Lake Zurich,” Hawks assistant coach Mike Steichen said. “That’s all you can ask for. We’re about 3-4 goals away from being (undefeated).”
The Hawks have certainly been one of the most exciting teams to watch this year. In addition to winning once by a single goal, they’ve dropped three games by a single goal (twice in exhibition play as well as a 5-4 decision to York.)
“The York game was a great one,” Steichen said. “We had several shots late to tie the game but just didn’t pull it off, but I’d rather have a game like that than 16-0.”
The Hawks are certainly one of the programs to watch in lacrosse as they continue to make big strides despite being a young team and a first-time varsity program.
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