Girls lacrosse: Starr shines bright, scores 6 goals as Crystal Lake Central co-op holds off Huntley
Senior attacker Anna Starr had Huntley circled on her calendar.
In a matchup that players from both sides deemed a rivalry game, Crystal Lake Central co-op fought to remain unbeaten, while the Red Raiders looked to avenge a trio of losses to the co-op last season. Huntley, which has finished second in the Fox Valley Conference girls lacrosse standings five years in a row, made a charge early on.
But Starr, a Villanova recruit, shined bright in a pivotal game for both sides. The senior scored a team-high six goals, including three quick ones to start the third quarter, as the co-op overcame foul trouble late and held off Huntley 9-6.
Starr added one assist for the co-op (6-0, 2-0 FVC), which remained undefeated with Friday’s victory.
“We know it’s going to be a competitive match from both sides,” Starr said. “We just had to keep a good mentality coming in. Huntley’s good and they definitely challenged us to get that done. I definitely have to thank the rest of my team, especially the defense. I wouldn’t be able to take those risks without knowing the defense was staying strong.”
Driving an offense that’s now averaging 15.3 goals per game, Starr scored four of her six goals in the second half. The senior frequently won possessions off the face-offs, allowing her offense to bide time while players like Makayla Simonic worked around the crease. Simonic put in a pair of first-quarter goals to spark Central co-op’s attack.
“We’ve always had a rivalry with them and it’s always competitive,” Simonic said. “It’s always a hard game, but we always come back in the second half. We’re already ready to right and win. Everyone wants a goal. Everyone wants to participate, even when they’re off the ball.”
Huntley (3-4, 2-1 FVC) never trailed by more than two goals in the first half. Rallying behind senior middle Leah Holmberg and junior middie Mya Holmberg, the Red Raiders were equally as efficient. Mya assisted on two of Leah’s five goals including one midway through the second quarter that helped Huntley make the score 4-4 at the half.
“This is a rivalry game for all of us,” said Leah Holmberg, a Mercyhurst commit. “It really pumps us up and we have a lot of energy. We’re very gritty and that’s why we worked well as a team in this game. [Mya] and I play club together and we’ve played together for all of high school. I think it’s so fun playing with her and we just flow like that.”
Starr converted three goals in less than three minutes to put Central co-op ahead 7-4 early in the third quarter. She added another goal at the 1:50 mark, and senior attacker Avery Younge beat the buzzer soon after, firing a ball into the net with only 0.7 seconds left on the clock.
Huntley remained within striking distance though. The Holmberg girls connected on a goal in the third quarter before Leah made it a three-point game with a goal in the fourth. The Red Raiders then gained a one-player advantage after Central co-op drew its fourth yellow card, forcing the team to play down a girl for almost a nine-minute span.
“We knew they would face guard one of us and it happened to be me,” said Mya Holmberg, a Temple commit. “We worked off of that. We got other people open and Leah happened to score all of them. She works hard off ball and I was lucky to send her a couple of those passes.”
Despite the foul trouble, Central co-op managed to keep Huntley off the scoreboard for the remainder of the match. Senior goalie Anya Korczak, who finished with five saves, made a pair of tough stops in the game’s closing moments to help the co-op clinch the victory. McKenna Wiley collected four saves in goal for the Red Raiders.