Fremd boys lacrosse team hitting on all cylinders

The Fremd boys lacrosse team holds the town bragging rights.

The Vikings downed crosstown foe Palatine 14-3 recently to secure The Anchor trophy in this annual rivalry game.

Fremd started the week 13-2 overall and ranked 15th in the state according to one online statistical service. The Vikings also sported an 8-0 Mid-Suburban League mark.

Starting the week, senior goalie Gabe Seidman had made 140 saves and had a .765 save percentage. Senior Aidan Halloran had 39 goals, 8 assists and 50 groundballs. Senior Grant Gruchot had 28 goals and 6 assists, while junior Nathan Roos had 23 goals and 38 assists. Sophomore Jack Wienke had a team-high 42 goals to go with 16 assists and 74 groundballs. Junior Peter Vlahakis had 64 groundballs, 50 faceoff wins and a .602 faceoff winning percentage. Senior Cody Seaver has added 51 groundballs. Eric Song also has 68 faceoff wins (.515 winning percentage).

Coach Nick Mamula also lauded the efforts of junior Karol Niemiec. "Karol has turned into one of our strongest defensive players who plays a big role in our clearing game in addition to having a sense for grabbing groundballs," he said.

Mamula pointed out sophomore Evan Frukacz, Vlahakis and Song for their team-first attitudes in changing positions throughout the season. "Evan, Peter and Eric have been incredibly selfless," he explained. "They changed positions either at the start of the season or in the middle of the season in order to help the team. Our entire team has an unselfish chemistry I have not seen before in my tenure as a coach."

Prospect update: The Knights were 10-6 overall to start the week and sported a 7-1 MSL mark (3-0 MSL East). Prospect started the week on a six-game winning streak and has won its first MSL East title.

During this recent run, Sebastian Wildhart had 13 goals and 3 assists in those six games, including three contests with more than 3 goals. Nick Lobacz had 9 goals and 11 assists, including an overtime game-winner against Rolling Meadows. Charlie Carroll had 6 goals and 4 assists, including the go-ahead game-winner with 48.6 seconds remaining against Hersey. Carter Jedras sported a .702 save percentage in goal and had 66 saves in those six games.

Prospect coach Joe Battaglia also pointed out superb defensive play from defensemen Matt Orzechowski and Luca Bir. "Matt and Luca have been lockdown animals on defense for us," he said. "Their physical and smart play has led the defense. They are a collaborative unit and help each other to produce the best results in games."

The Knights await the winner of the MSL West in the MSL title game May 12.

"The boys continue to challenge themselves to get better every day," Battaglia said. "They place an emphasis on continual growth. They have developed a great chemistry with each other and have really been gelling as a unit these past six games."

Palatine update: The Pirates started the week 5-6 overall and 4-2 in conference play. Sophomore Griffin Simons and junior Rocco Paddack lead the offense.

Coach Chris Gantz noted sophomore goalie Daniel Dorszewski has really blossomed this season. He has a .620 save percentage and leads the state with more than 140 saves, averaging 13 per contest. "The biggest star of the Palatine program is Daniel," he said.

Gantz added the Pirates "continue to embrace an attitude of grinding with a young and small program this year."

Hoffman Estates update: The Hawks snapped a 10-game losing streak with a pair of recent wins.

Hoffman goalie Charlie Randolph, a Division II Quincy University commit, has a .620 save percentage and allows 7.8 goals per game and averages 12.9 saves per contest. "Charlie is one of the best goalies in the area," coach Dan Canace said.

Kylar Pierce had 6 first-half goals in a game against Buffalo Grove recently. He averages 2.3 goals and 3.1 points per game. Shawn Barnes averages 3.9 groundballs per game.

Canace is also high on the play of long-stick midfielder Lorenzo Digiacinto. "Lorenzo is always tasked with taking the other teams' best offensive player," he said.

Wheeling-Elk Grove coop update: The Wheeling-Elk Grove co-op team recorded a solid 5-3 win over Hoffman Estates recently.

Co-coach Pete Karamitos noted Hector Cabrera-Paliz has provided a nice spark of late. "Hector stepped up to play goalie and has led the team to two straight wins," he said.

Yannick Gbekouk had 2 goals in the Hoffman win, while Alexis Guillen also has played well on defense. "Alexis has stepped up on defense to break up some major plays and has scored in each of the last two games," Karamitos pointed out.

Gbekouk was leading the team in scoring with 8 goals in eight games. Cabrera-Paliz has a 2-1 record in goal.

St. Viator update: The Lions stood at 11-4 overall and 3-0 in East Suburban Catholic play at week's beginning.

Cade Faulkner leads Viator with 67 points (40 goals, 27 assists). Coach Patrick Gaeger noted the Lions' starting attack unit has combined for 116 goals and 47 assists in 15 contests.

Also of chief help for the Lions have been close defender Dallas Starr and long-stick midfielder Colton Faulkner. "Dallas and Colton have been a dominant force on the defensive side of the ball," Gaeger said.

The Starr-Faulkner combo has combined for 79 take-aways and 48 groundballs.