Boys lacrosse: Naperville North nips South Elgin in OT
It took four years for Naperville North to turn its struggling boys lacrosse program into one of the state's top teams.
It took a fraction of the final second of Tuesday's Hoffman Estates supersectional for the Huskies to stun South Elgin and force overtime where less than a minute later they scored the game-winner to earn a trip to state with an 11-10 victory.
The Huskies (17-3) will face powerhouse Loyola Academy, a team that has won 9 state titles, during Thursday's IHSA state semifinal at Hinsdale Central.
"Just three years ago this team was 4-16," Huskies coach Kevin Benages said. "We have great seniors, 15 of them, and great leadership and they've built a culture here. I couldn't be more proud of the leadership we've gotten from the past alumni and these seniors."
And then there's freshman Jacob Lubrant who helped the Huskies squeeze out the victory by scoring the game-tying goal at the end of regulation and the game-winner.
Almost speechless afterward, Lubrant said he was thrilled to deliver for the upperclassmen.
"I don't know what else to say other than this is amazing," he said. "These kids, they're so worth it. All the upperclassmen made me feel so comfortable with them. This was all for them and why I worked so hard in practice and the off-season."
South Elgin (13-1) took its largest lead of the game at 8-5 after Joey Cipriani scored with just 3:12 left in the third period, but Lubrant answered with 1:55 on the clock to pull the Huskies to within 8-6 entering the final period.
Sean Sullivan's goal with 8:31 left in regulation tied things at 8-8.
"We did the unbelievable," Sullivan said. "I don't think I thought we would ever get this far, but our sophomore year we had 12 or 14 sophomores so I knew we would be a strong team by the time we were seniors."
Steve Dinse answered with 6:56 left to give the lead back to the Storm at 9-8, but Scott Allgood responded with a goal with 5:37 left to tie the game at 9-9.
It remained that way until Cade Newton put the Storm ahead at 10-9 with 2:52 left, which is where it appeared destined to end before the Huskies forced a turnover and scored a game-tying goal with 0.7 on the scoreboard. It was nothing short of a miracle.
"We got a fast break and Braden Dunlap got it to Scott (Allgood) and I was just sitting back door," Lubrant said. "I didn't do too much. I just was there for a good look from him and Braden. They did all the work. I was just lucky to be the one to put it in and tie the game and get it into OT."
Lubrant moved off a pick in the overtime and once again Allgood found him, setting him up perfectly for the game-winner just 55 seconds into the bonus period.
"I wasn't even a part of this team before this year so I don't understand how this feels for all of them." Lubrant said. "I'm just so honored and happy to be a part of the first team at the school to go to the final four."
The game featured 5 ties.
"South Elgin is a really good team that's super athletic and can get up and down the field," Benages said. "We were having a tough time with that, but we kept chipping away. We missed some opportunities, but we stayed positive and kept shooting and found the back of the net, and found a way to win."