Boys lacrosse: Brewster's clutch goal lifts Grayslake Central
For many lacrosse players, they run it through their head: It's sudden-death overtime, and they have the ball one on one with the goalie with a chance to win the game for their team.
This thought became reality for Grayslake Central senior Peter Brewster, whose goal lifted the host Rams to a 6-5 win over Libertyville on Saturday.
Libertyville's last six games were canceled due to inclement weather.
"We were definitely antsy heading into the game," Wildcats coach Tyler Cauble said. "Guys were very anxious and nervous heading into the game, and it showed in our play."
The Rams and Wildcats exchanged goals during the first half of play with the Rams' Mitchell Burkart scoring two of them. The schools were tied 4-4 at the half.
"I kept telling my guys (in the huddles) to keep playing hard, that I liked their energy and to keep being aggressive with the ball," Grayslake Central coach Chris Ridella said.
Libertyville had to play freshmen Matt Brenner and Matt Marshall a lot of minutes due to injuries to senior starters. Both Brenner and Marshall scored their first goals of their high school careers in tight moments of the game.
"Our senior leaders have done a great job taking our younger players under their wing to give them the confidence to take shots, take dodges against players that are 3-4 years older than them," Cauble said.
The game remained tied through the third quarter. Early in the fourth, Marshall ended the tie with his goal. Libertyville had most of the momentum, until the Rams' Zach Wichlin scored his second goal of the game to tie the game at 5-5.
The Wildcats had many opportunities to take the lead, including a couple man-up situations, but they couldn't convert. So, the game headed into sudden-death OT.
During the break, both teams were excited and nervous.
"(The seniors) kept telling the guys that we need to continue to play hard, play through the whistle, and get every ground ball," Brewster said.
The Rams won the faceoff at the beginning of overtime, and their shot was saved by Libertyville junior goalie Matt Wagner. But a costly pass gave the Rams a 3-on-1 opportunity, and that is when Brewster got the ball.
"I knew I had to fake the ball one way and score up top," Brewster said.
The seniors for the Rams stepped up as well.
"It was the seniors who got us through the game, and it was a senior that finished it," Ridella said.
Libertyville hopes to get back in the win column on Thursday, when it begins conference play against Warren.
"The biggest thing for us moving forward is getting all of our guys ready to step up and play and make sure that they don't get overly anxious when they see that varsity defender coming at them," Cauble said.
Grayslake Central next takes on Antioch on Wednesday.