Girls lacrosse: CL Central edges Downers Grove to earn first state berth
As soon as they completed postgame handshakes and stick taps with Downers Grove North, Crystal Lake Central captains Addie Bechler and Fiona Lemke sprinted to receive the supersectional championship plaque so they could enjoy the historic moment with their teammates. Finally, after three years of season-ending losses to Lake Forest following a sectional title, Central’s two four-year varsity players felt super after a supersectional.
Bechler scored five goals, Lemke added three, and Central survived a fourth-quarter rally to beat Downers North 10-8 in the Benet Academy supersectional on Tuesday night at College of DuPage Stadium.
The win earned the Tigers a state berth for the first time in program history.
“It’s just awesome to grab that plaque and jump up and down and smile with the team,” Bechler said. “It’s an amazing feeling.”
It was even more spectacular considering the emotional roller coaster the Tigers experienced the past three postseasons.
“First, it was like anger, and then it was like tears,” Lemke, who opened the scoring 1:52 into the match off a pass from Bechler, said of the three supersectional losses to Lake Forest. “I remember we would hang out every time we lost at supersectionals. We would just be crying and talking about it. It was a terrible feeling.
“But now we’re winning.”
Central (21-1) will next face defending state champion Loyola Academy in a state semifinal at 5 p.m. Thursday at Hinsdale Central. Coach Joe Capalbo called it a feeling of relief after his Tigers, who never trailed, survived three unanswered goals by Downers North (21-3) in the fourth quarter.
Ashley Poquette scored early in the fourth to cut Central’s lead to 10-6. The Trojans still trailed by that score when Alexandra Kellam scored with 3:45 left. Then 69 seconds later, Emma Enright’s third goal of the game got Downers North within two goals with 2:26 left.
“I think we all realized that it was going to be our last game if we lost,” said the Eastern Michigan-bound Poquette, who had two goals and three assists. “We all love each other so much. We just wanted to fight to keep playing with each other. Just working together, we got the momentum [in the second half].”
The Trojans ran out of time, however. Central won the ensuing draw after Enright’s hat-trick goal and ran out the clock, setting off a celebration on the field for the Tigers.
Bechler said her team’s energy was what finally allowed her team to get to state this time.
“From the beginning of the season, we had June 3 [supersectional date] on our minds,” said Bechler, who will play at George Mason next year. “This was the goal we’ve been working for all season. I just think working toward that all year and having it in the back of our minds, and using those past losses [to Lake Forest] as motivation, really helped us get to this point.”
Central senior Mykaela Wallen was part of a stout defensive group in front of goalie Anya Korczak that also included Quinn Bruggeman, Lyla Meyers and Isabella Jackson. The 5-foot-9 Wallen, a volleyball player and first-year lacrosse player, usually plays about 5-8 minutes a game, coach Joe Capalbo said.
Against Downers North, she came off the bench and played a lot more minutes than usual.
“She’s a competitor, and I just wanted to put my best competitive team out there tonight,” Capalbo said. “It was a gut decision to go with Mykaela. She’s a super athlete, and I felt she would give us that competitive edge that we needed.”
Downers North held Villanova-bound Anna Starr without a goal, but the 5-11 junior attack had four assists. Bechler’s four goals and assist and Lemke’s two goals helped Central build a 7-2 lead by halftime.
Sydney Cruz then opened the second-half scoring, after taking a feed from Starr. But Downers North stormed back with goals by Enright, Central Michigan commit Ella Williams and another by Williams.
The Trojans’ ability to win more draws and make defensive adjustments suddenly had them back in the match.
“We switched up our defense a little bit,” Poquette said. “We were able to mark up on the cutters more, so we could try to stop the feeds into the 8-[meter area]. I think that helped a lot.”
Central responded with goals by the Austin Peay-bound Lemke and Bechler, both assisted by Cruz, to take a 10-5 lead into the fourth.
“I think we had a lot of adjustments that needed to be made in terms of how we were covering the defense,” said Downers North coach Jon Gargiulo, whose team outscored Central 6-3 in the second half. “They have a really strong offense, really strong players, and there were physical differences. They have a lot of tall players. We just needed one more quarter.”