Boys lacrosse: Warren wills its way past Glenbard West in state semifinal
Warren had the will to win Thursday.
As a consequence, the Blue Devils will play for a boys lacrosse state title Saturday.
Warren jumped out to a 2-goal lead over Glenbard West in an IHSA semifinal and never looked back en route to a 12-9 victory.
The Blue Devils will play New Trier for the championship at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Trevians defeated Neuqua Valley 8-6 in the first semifinal.
"We challenged these guys before the game, what kind of legacy do they want to leave for Warren Township High School?" Blue Devils coach Greg Janczak said. "They put it all in there and out there today. It was awesome."
Warren (19-1) got a big lift off the bench from junior Carson Ghys, who scored five times Thursday despite not starting, including a pair in the first quarter that staked his team to a 4-2 lead.
After scoring his first at 2:39, Ghys tallied again just over a minute later, taking a shot from center while falling down about 5 yards out. He secured a hat trick with 11:15 left before halftime.
Glenbard West senior attackman and faceoff specialist Ben Frick scored a pair of second-half goals that, combined with tallies from junior midfielder Josh Crosby and senior attackman Nate Crawford, nearly pulled the Hilltoppers back and in a position to win at 10-9 with under five minutes to go.
But as he had in the first half, Ghys went to work. He scored on a shot from dead center about 7 yards out with 4:47 to go, then added his fifth goal, and the game-clincher, at 2:48, on a shot falling down on the right side.
"I usually practice before every game at my house and shoot around and pass with this wall ball machine I have so I can get reps in and already be warmed up before pregame," Ghys said, "so I can try doing the best I can do to get the win.
"We really want it this year. It's about that will."
The Blue Devils won despite getting outshot by Glenbard West 38-26. Frick was terrific at faceoff, winning 19 of 25. Plus, the Hilltoppers won the groundball battle 26-20.
Nevertheless, Glenbard West (21-6) will once again play for third place at 11 a.m. Saturday, the same position it was in last year.
"At the end of the day, I think it came down to our execution on both sides of the ball," Frick said. "First half, we were losing the groundball battle, but every kid went out there and sold out and played their hearts out and that's all I can ask out of my teammates."
Frick led the Hilltoppers with 10 groundballs, while senior midfielder Dryver Larrison had 8. Crosby and senior midfielder Matt Cesario each scored a pair.
"Everybody gave 100 percent, there was no doubt about that," Glenbard West coach Eric Nuss said. "People were committed and were working hard. But I don't know, we just didn't execute well."