Boys lacrosse: Glenbard West, Libertyville among those hoping to challenge Lake Forest

The race to the final day of the boys lacrosse season could be a wide-open affair this year, with a group of local schools cradling chances to unseat two-time defending champion Lake Forest.

First among those may just be Glenbard West, who claimed the runner-up state trophy in 2024 and reached the Elite Eight in 2025.

“We are really excited about this season,” said Hilltoppers coach Eric Nuss. “We feel that we are one of the top teams in the state and hope to compete for the championship.”

Leading athletes for Glenbard West this season will include three seniors; Jacob Quintos, a four-year starter on defense who was second team all-state as a junior; Jack Davis, a midfielder who will be one of the Hilltoppers top scorers; and Andrew Engle, who Nuss says “provides great leadership and scoring abilities.”

Another team with high hopes this year is Libertyville. They finished 13-7 a season ago and graduated some seniors, but Wildcats coach Brady Sullivan says that many contributors are back.

“We look to compete in our conference,” said Sullivan, “and also in the state, to be one of the top teams.”

The coach made mention of three players who should be leading the way for his side: Connor Luxon (junior, attack), who was the Wildcats leading scorer in 2025 with 72 goals and 25 assists; Logan Tayfel (senior, midfield), who won 73% of his faceoffs last season and is a top offensive threat; and Paul Santi (long-stick midfielder), an “excellent leader” per Sullivan.

York returns five all-conference players back to the field this campaign. They are seniors Simon Kodosky, Drew Richardson and Aaron Park, and juniors Josh Redick and Cole Bartlett.

Dukes coach Thomas Coyne says that “Simon and Drew make up the best unit on our team, the midfield defense, and both are also standouts on York’s excellent football team. Aaron is a three-year starter we are relying on to lead our athletic defensive unit, and Josh and Cole are both extremely talented players and will lead our offense.”

York will also rely on some new faces in 2026 in a pair of freshmen, midfielder Max Cahill and goalie Roman Donofrio. Coyne explained that “it’s rare to have freshmen with the stick skills and speed/strength to play varsity, but Max and Roman have shown that they will contribute right away.” Also on Coyne’s radar is senior Jack Paschen, who the coach says is a challenge to cover one-on-one.

Lake Zurich’s roster will include attacker Evan Peterson, a second team all state player last year and a three-sport athlete (football and basketball). Peterson earned 37 goals and 59 assists for the Bears in 2025, and that was the LZ single season point record and assist record.

Also in the fold for the Bears will be Camryn Powers (attack), a junior with 78 goals over his freshman and sophomore years, and a Division 1 (Bellarmine University) commit. Coach Michael Sutton will also count on junior Crew Soldano, who the coach says is “a true throwback two-way midfielder that can play physical, transition, dodge, feed and score.

“Lake Forest has owned the NSC (conference),” continued Sutton, “but we look forward to challenging them each year. We like to take the season one game at a time.”

Neuqua Valley, which has posted a fourth-place state finish the last two years, is going to be driven this season by “the culture of our program”, according to coach Jordan Bobbo.

“Our group will have returning faces, new faces, and young faces,” added the coach, “who will have to contribute this season. We are looking to be a group who will battle until the final whistle and improve each day.”

Three competitors will stand out for the Wildcats in 2026; seniors Benjamin Stefanski, Carson Cassell, and Grant Randolph.

“Benjamin (three-time team captain) is an excellent young man who we are looking forward to having back for his final year,” said Bobbo, “while Carson has grown into a leader for us and is excited for his senior year. Grant brings a lot of passion to the game on both sides of the ball.”

Each of the trio will compete at the next level after graduation: Stefanski at Arkansas, Cassell for Barry University, and Randolph at Arizona State.

St. Viator will enter the fray this season paced by top returning players Kearon Franzen (senior, midfield, second team all-state in 2025, committed to U-Mass) and classmate Gunnar Higdon (defense, second team all-state in 2025, a Bryant University commit.)

“Led by our two senior captains,” said Lions coach Geoff Harty, “we’re looking to reload after graduating five first team all-state and All-Americans last spring.”

Viator was an Elite Eight qualifier last season.

“With 14 underclassmen on our varsity roster,” continued Harty, “this is our youngest team in the last five years. So we are looking to grow together quickly.”

Josh Christian, the head coach of Grant, mentioned that his team had success last year due to the stellar play of 22 seniors, and they set the tone for the program’s future. He’s returning five seniors this year along with most of his starting defense.

Some of the top returners for the Bulldogs include Ethan Mortenson, Logan Meyers, Grayson Lennon, Logan Wischnia, Reed Palladino and Jackson Fudala.

“(We) have a talented group of underclassmen we expect to step into larger roles,” said Christian, “which the program hopes to continue building on over the next three seasons. Our schedule will be challenging, but we’re really looking forward to it.”

Other area teams with high hopes to contend in 2026 include Barrington, Huntley, Fremd, Antioch, Wheaton Academy, Hinsdale Central and Warren.

Hampshire, Downers Grove North and Stevenson have been mentioned by several coaches as “up and coming” sides.

Prairie Ridge coach Dana Nielsen is looking to “invest in the future of the program” this year with the majority of the team being upperclassmen.

Seniors Trenton Horton and Trevor Sebastian, and sophomores Raffel Massart and Wyatt Alberts will be setting the standard for this season’s Wolves campaign.

“We have a great senior group,” says Nielsen, “and the underclassmen are going to make a big impact. We have a large group of kids in development in the youth program that will provide us some impact players as freshmen — this year’s freshman class has potential for varsity playing time.”

Benet will take to the field this season with an outstanding group that includes senior captain Pat Carr (attack), a “physical dodger and a great leader” according to coach Brandon Singleton, and senior Zak Gorman (goalie), who the coach says “allows us to play more aggressively on the defensive side and will be a big part of our defensive plan.”

Another athlete that the Redwings will be counting on is senior midfielder Joey Keating.

“He’s the leader of the midfield, with a quick first step and great vision,” said Singleton. “Joey can create his own shot and is not afraid to make the extra pass.”