Boys lacrosse: St. Viator wins thriller to advance to state tourney

After defeating Lake Forest 7-6 in early May, the St. Viator boys lacrosse team had high hopes when they faced the host Scouts Tuesday night for the IHSA supersectional championship.

And the Lions got the job done again in dramatic fashion as they scored 2 goals in the final 7:22 of the contest to break up a 3-3 tie on their way to a 5-3 victory to win the title.

St. Viator (22-2) will face Glenbard West in the state semifinals Thursday at Hinsdale Central at 7 p.m. Tuesday's victory marked the fifth time in school history the Lions have advanced to the Final Four, including a second-place finish in 2023.

Lake Forest (19-4) tied the game at 3-3 on a close-range goal by Neason Lui with 9:46 to play. But St. Viator responded when freshman Charlie Drake assisted all-state senior Keaton Franzen for his second goal of the game from a really tough angle on the right wing for a 4-3 lead with 7:22 to play.

Then Franzen assisted junior Henry Crane's goal from close range with 3:44 to play and the Lions were never seriously threatened after that point.

"The seniors and the captains have been so resilient, and I can't say enough about them," said St. Viator coach Geoff Harty, whose team was outshot 24-20. "When it would have been easy to buckle they came through. Crane got second team all-state so he has been a huge part of our success."

Lake Forest got on the scoreboard first when sophomore Dante Federighi fired a shot past St. Viator goalie Steven Wright from the point for a 1-0 lead with 7:19 left in the first quarter. Wright had 2 huge saves with less than two minutes to play, including when the Scouts had a 1-man advantage.

The Lions came out patient and disciplined in the second quarter, and it paid off. From behind the Lake Forest net, Crane assisted Franzen, who fired a shot from the right wing past goalie Thomas Walsh to deadlock the score at 1-1.

The contest remained a defensive struggle until Crane once again worked his magic from behind the Scouts net. This time, Crane assisted senior Brady Tyrrell for the goal and a 2-1 lead with 5:43 remaining in the first half.

"We knew it was going to be a battle the whole game, everyone stayed focused, and we wanted it more than them," said Crane, who is a transfer student from Palatine. "We're just going to push through (at state), and work harder than the other team to win each day."

The Scouts had eliminated St. Viator last year in the playoffs, but they could not stop the Lions this time around.

"They are patient, they possess the ball well, and when they had opportunities they scored," said Lake Forest coach David Hone. "We made some adjustments, and it ended up a game of possession. But we just couldn't get the ball in the back of the net."