Boys lacrosse: Naperville Central hangs tough against Lyons Twp.

Depending on the poll you follow, the Lyons Twp. boys lacrosse team is ranked in the top three in the state.

In other words Monday presented a most formidable opponent for host Naperville Central and coach Jay Havenaar.

Know what? The Redhawks ultimately lost 10-5, but take away a tough third quarter and they held their ground against the undefeated Lions.

The game was a good barometer for where Naperville Central is right now - 0-4, but on the cusp of big things.

"For us, we did the same thing against Hinsdale (Central), we played them tight and lost by one," Havenaar said. "We know we're the type of team that can hang with anybody. It's just we have to put together four quarters."

True. The Redhawks played fast and loose in the first half, getting two goals from senior attackman Jake Stegman. The first, which started the evening's scoring, was a cut in from the right sideline and a blast past Lyons goaltender Ryan Fitzpatrick from about 7 yards out. The second came with 10.6 remaining in the half, from about 15 yards out on the left side that tied the game 5-5 heading into halftime.

Between the two Naperville Central got goals from junior midfielder Matt Kaszuba, senior midfielder Luke Anstrand and senior midfielder Leyton Wilcox.

But that wasn't the only story for the Redhawks. Consider sophomore goalie Tyler Swanson, who made 6 saves in the first half, including a big 4 in the first quarter alone. The defensive tandem of junior Spencer Moore, senior David Bendis and junior Cameron Andrees held Lyons senior attackman Jack Meagher, an All-American and arguably its biggest scoring threat, to nothing.

Looking good, right?

Well, not so much. The Lions scored on their first three shots of the second half, including a pair within a minute of each other from Meagher. Senior attackman Nick Johnson scored his fourth goal of the night at 6:48, and then it was Meagher again with 45 seconds before the end of the period.

That put the Lions up 9-5, but Naperville Central was back at its usual self in the fourth quarter, allowing just 4 shots and 1 goal, with 2:07 to go in the game. Swanson had a pair of saves.

"They were definitely the better team than us, but we came out blazing, with so much energy and fighting for every ground ball and every possession," Stegman said. "We came back after halftime, they were playing better than they did in the first half and our intensity just dropped."

Swanson said the key defensively in the first half was just that - energy.

"In the first half we did a nice job with energy, and pushing them out and being aggressive and causing those ground balls, and we did a great job communicating, and did a good job clearing," Swanson added. "In there second half I think our energy level dropped."

Lyons outshot the Redhawks 28-21 and also narrowly won the faceoff battle 8-7.