Boys lacrosse: St. Viator wins sectional semi against Stevenson
St. Viator's boys lacrosse team roared into the sectional final round of the state playoffs with a 14-3 win over No. 6 seed Stevenson on Wednesday night at Robert Morris Stadium in Arlington Heights.
The Lions, the No. 2 seed will face top seed New Trier at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Robert Morris Stadium. The Trevians knocked off Glenbrook North 16-3 the the first semifinal Wednesday.
"If we can match their demeanor, poise, and discipline it will be a good game," said St. Viator coach Bill Sanford. "New Trier has great history in advancing in playoffs. The biggest thing for us will be limiting our turnovers."
The Lions (15-3) sure looked like a worthy opponent after handling the Patriots (7-13) for a second time this season.
Quick scoring and balance were keys for St. Viator.
Hunter Loprino, a junior attacker, got the Lions going in the right direction by scoring with 8:20 left in the first quarter. Charlie Hildestad, Jacob Freeman, and 2 goals by Jack Baer (3 goals, 2 assists) gave St. Viator a 5-0 lead.
"I think getting that first helped get the offense clicking," said Loprino. "It helped us to get some good opportunities to score. We worked on getting good looks. It was important to us to keep building the lead as the game went on."
Sanford agreed that the quick start was essential.
"To me it was huge to score first," said Sanford. "One we scored, we settled into our offense and we made good choices. We didn't force things, we stressed patience an shared the ball."
Five different St. Viator players scored in the second quarter in building a 10-0 lead.
Drake Imhoff, Hildestad, Jack Baer, Loprino, and Mason Ade led the way in the quarter.
Goalie Bobby Tangredi blanked Stevenson in the first half while making 4 saves and had plenty of help from defensive players like senior John Toomey.
"We took away their offense," said Toomey. "We really played good defense in the first half. Even though they scored 3 goals in the third quarter, we still played pretty well. We communicated well with each other, a lot of talking to each other and good movement."
Caleb Benoit-Dimaria, Ryan Walsh, and Cole Okmin scored for Stevenson in the third quarter but were matched by goals from Cole Cavenaugh, Loprino and Hildestad.
Loprino scored if final goal early in the fourth quarter.
"We've gotten ourselves in trouble in the first period several times this year," said Stevenson coach Patrick Fitzgibbons. "You can't get down early against a team like St. Viator. It makes it difficult. Ben Niesman won 10 of the 18 faceoffs for us but we couldn't main control of the ball."
"Kyle Pearce was instrumental in getting to the ball after they won faceoffs," said Sanford. "He was able to cut off the passes and prevented them from getting fastbreaks. We had a good effort. I was pleased with the team."