Boys lacrosse: Libby, Wheaton North edge St. Charles East

Winning faceoffs. It's what Wheaton North freshman Kaiden Libby does.

That ability is a powerful weapon in boys lacrosse, and it paid off for the Falcons handsomely Monday in DuKane Conference action against St. Charles East.

Libby was the primary reason Wheaton North won 86 percent of faceoffs in a tight 10-9 victory over the Saints. The Falcons improved to 5-8 overall and 2-2 in the DuKane.

"I love having him at the faceoff axis," Falcons coach Chris Weed said. "When he came in, he was very raw, and now he's worked at his craft and he's very good technically. He's been working outside of the confines of practice to make a difference on varsity."

How effective was Libby on Monday? Consider this mid-third quarter stretch.

With his team down 5-3 after the Saints' Maxwell Connelly scored his third goal of the contest, Libby won the post-goal faceoff, which led to a goal by junior attackman Nic Richardson at 6:07.

Libby won the ensuing faceoff, which led to senior attackman Will Clemens' second goal of the night at 5:20.

Libby was just getting started. He won the next faceoff and, you guessed it, it led to a another goal by Richardson, a shot from 10 yards out at 4:28, with the assist from senior attackman Alex Blum.

And for good measure, he won the next faceoff, which resulted in a goal from senior attackman Ben Farrady, his second of the night.

"I was just worrying about possession first," Libby said, "trying to get the ball down to my attack and let them do the work."

But perhaps the biggest faceoff win came with 46.2 seconds to go. The Saints had nearly overcome a 10-6 deficit thanks to a pair of goals in the final 4:13 from Connelly and another from sophomore Vinnie Smith.

With Wheaton North up just 10-9, Libby set up for the faceoff - and simply watched as his opponent moved after the ball was set by the referee, giving Libby the ball. He cleared it, and it ended up on the stick of junior attackman Matt Gemkow, who ran out the clock.

"I knew exactly what to do," Gemkow said. "Just keep the ball and keep running. I gave it my all. They're not going to win."

The loss overshadowed the efforts put forth by Connelly, who scored six times Monday, 3 in the fourth quarter. The first came with 8:47 and his team down 8-5. He drove down the right side and deposited his shot into the right side of the net.

Connelly added another goal, this time from the left side with 4:13 to go, and then went back to the right with 46.2 seconds to go to pull the Saints within 10-9.

But that's as close as they got.

"I just found the space," Connelly said. "I found the openings. Just getting open and realizing when someone is not facing me, and just stepping in the lane and get ready to shoot."

Penalties were a problem for St. Charles East (4-4, 2-1) in a decidedly chippy contest, which included the carting off of Wheaton North midfielder Tate Moorhouse with four minutes to go in the third quarter. Still, Saints coach Nicholas Leonard was pleased with Connelly's efforts.

"There was definitely some self-inflicted factors for tonight's game, but Max is definitely one of those junior leaders on the team," Leonard said. "Even though he doesn't have the 'C' on the scorebook as a captain, he definitely embodies everything that it means to be a captain. It's great to see."