Boys lacrosse: New Trier sets the standard, ousts Grayslake North
Success breeds success.
And Grayslake North senior lacrosse player and all-stater Matt Carr knows plenty about that, being an instrumental cog in the Knights' wheel over his career.
"I didn't want to come off the field knowing that it was the last time I was wearing my Grayslake North helmet," said Carr, who will showcase his talents at Marquette next school year. "It's hard to see it end. It takes a while for it to sink in."
Even though Grayslake North came up short 14-5 to top-seeded New Trier in the Warren supersectional on Tuesday evening in Gurnee, Carr and his running mates once again made some noise this season - especially in the playoffs, including a dramatic 8-7 sudden death victory over Warren for the sectional title last week.
"Every year I've been here, we've had good playoff runs," added Carr, an attacker who takes care of business on the face-offs. "But we'll be in good shape next year too. We have a lot of good and younger players coming back."
In Carr's four prep seasons, the program made it to two quarterfinals and a Final Four, and now a supersectional with lacrosse becoming an official IHSA sport this spring. During that span, Carr and the boys racked up 69 wins against only 17 losses, including a 17-6 final mark this spring.
"We have the best coaches," Carr said. "It's been great to be a part of this. We just needed a little more energy tonight."
The first half went right on schedule, with Grayslake North (17-6) trailing the Trevians only 5-3.
"I was really proud. We stayed with them in that first half," said Knights coach Brad Fish. "But it's a numbers game and they (New Trier) are the pinnacle and where we want to get to."
The teams traded punches in the first. The Trevians got on the board first with Henry Scherb's goal with 2:37 left.
But 25 seconds later, junior attacker Mike Trabulsy scored the equalizer, while Knights senior keeper Boyd Herlt (10 saves) made 2 huge saves in goal, including a shot on a fastbreak just before time expired in the period.
Grayslake North used that momentum to take a 3-1 lead with 9:25 left in the half after a pair of goals by freshman attacker Nicholas Fish, the latter on a man-up situation.
"A lot of credit to Grayslake North. They threw some offensive schemes at us, but we had some huge checks and goals in transition," said New Trier coach Tom Herrala, who team improved to 20-3 and will face Glenbard West in the state semifinals Thursday at Hinsdale Central.
New Trier then gained some momentum, scoring four unanswered goals for a 5-3 lead at the break. Freedman scored 2 of his 5 goals in the frame, while single goals were scored by Scherb and junior middie Brian Sitzer, whose goal ended up giving New Trier the lead for good at 4-3 with 4:37 left in the half.
New Trier then went crazy in the third with 5 unanswered goals and a nice 10-3 cushion heading to the fourth.
Junior middie Gavin Randle and Freedman each scored twice and Sitzer once.
Grayslake North wasn't going down easy, though.
"We kept fighting and fighting," added Carr.
After Freedman's fifth goal made it 6-3, the Knights answered with a pair of goals. Trabulsy first fed sophomore middie Tayo Oladunmoye. Oladunmoye then dished off to senior middie Corey Pech to cut the deficit to 11-5 with 8:31 left in regulation.
But New Trier quickly put an end to the run with three straight scores - two by sophomore attacker Brendan Chestnut and one by freshman attacker John Babnik - for the final margin of victory.
"They score a lot and in bunches. I just think we were a little tired in the second half. We gave up some easy goals but overall, this was one of our best games," added Fish.