Lacrosse: Second year of IHSA playoffs begin Friday
Friday kicks off the second year of IHSA-sanctioned boys and girls lacrosse playoffs, and Fox Valley schools are ready to roll.
There are both intriguing seeds and matchups early on in the playoffs. On the girls side, St. Charles (14-2) is the top seed in its own sectional and could face a sectional semifinal match Wednesday against the No. 5 seed Huntley (10-7). It could be likewise that day for No. 6 seed Geneva (2-9) and No. 7 seed Hampshire (3-11).
On the boys side, South Elgin (16-1) is the No. 2 seed in the Geneva sectional, and could face a sectional semifinal matchup Monday against St. Charles North (10-3), the No. 3 seed. Host Geneva (13-4) is the No. 4 seed and will faceoff Monday against No. 5 seed St. Charles East (5-5) in the sectional quarterfinals. The winner will likely get top seed Neuqua Valley (12-3) Wednesday in the semifinals.
Cary-Grove (9-2) is the No. 3 seed in the Hoffman Estates Sectional, and it's a special time for the Trojans, as it's the first year they will participate in the IHSA playoffs. Coach Zach Cheatle is a 2010 Cary-Grove graduate and has been dreaming of this moment from his own playing days.
"We're excited," he said. "If we can band together, we can have a little run. The goal was always to be at this point. We're finally here and we're going to enjoy it."
It won't be easy, though. The Trojans will face either conference opponent Jacobs (1-14), the No. 11 seed, or No. 5 seed Hoffman Estates (8-14) in the sectional quarterfinals Monday.
Key to Cary-Grove's playoff fortunes could be senior goalie Blake Nolan, who has been playing lacrosse for a decade and will play at Division 2 Lindenwood next season. Nolan tweaked his calf in a 7-6 win over Lakes on April 22, a game in which he had 24 saves. But he's back, and ready for the playoffs.
"Being one of the leaders on the team, I think we have a good shot at moving forward in the playoffs if we stick to our game," Nolan said.
Nolan is a bit of a renaissance man for Cary-Grove, as he is heavily involved in music and theater productions at school. In fact, he was nominated for Best Actor in the state out of over 300. He has music, merit and athletic scholarships to Lindenwood.
Which begs the question: Does he sing on the lacrosse field?
"When I was younger, I sang on the field, the whole thing," he said with a laugh. "(Today) I may hum a few tunes if I have to memorize a song."
St. Charles East enjoying itself: The operant word for St. Charles East's season has been fun. And the Saints have been having a lot of it, according to junior midfielder Maxwell Connolly, one of the area's most dangerous goal scorers.
"We struggled a little last season," Connolly said. "We put fun aside and focused on winning games. (This year) we have more competitive stuff in practice, offense versus defense, and the winner doesn't have to run. That's good motivation to win."
According to coach Nicholas Leonard, the fun is evident in things like line nicknames such as the Squirrels and the Dirty Dragons.
"I can call out their line names and they hoot and holler and get ready to go in," Leonard said. "Before this season, it would have to be a big play to get the team worked up, but as the season has gone on, those little plays, like contested one-on-one balls, we're cheering about that."
The Saints have 8 juniors that are the building blocks for next season. Connolly is joined by goalie Mitchell Majewski and defensemen Calvin Eberhart, Erik Anderson and Michael Wirkus. Plus, there is plenty more in the pipeline. There are 13 juniors at the JV level.
What would make St. Charles East enjoy this season even more is a deep playoff run.
"We're all having a good time," Connolly said. "Postseason play is what really matters. If we can do well in the postseason, it will be a successful season."
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