Girls lacrosse: Haley, Maine South cruise by Vernon Hills

Maine South senior midfielder Annie Haley already locked in her college plans.

A four-year lacrosse varsity player, Haley is planning to ditch the cold winters to attend Arizona State next fall.

But Haley, a three-year starter, is currently focused on leading the Hawks to a memorable "summer" season.

"I'm just trying to get better for college and work as hard as I can to help the team," Haley said. "I'm so happy we even got a season this year after we lost last year. We want to get back to the playoffs and hopefully we will see New Trier again. I'm so excited to be back playing."

Haley scored 2 goals and added an assist to lead the Hawks to an 18-8 victory over Vernon Hills on Wednesday night in Park Ridge.

The Hawks (3-3) jumped to an early lead and never allowed the Cougars (2-5) to get into the game. Maine South led 9-1 early in the first half to seize a 14-4 halftime lead.

Maine South coach Claire Smith said Haley, Alyssa Nilles, Maia Chisari and Katarzyna Lorenc are part of a strong leadership group.

"All (four) are good leaders and they work really hard," she said. "They're workhorses, and when they get the ball, they know what to do. They're good leaders, especially on offense. It's helpful, like tonight, to have them lean on the girls.

"Annie is great on the draw and defense and great on offense. We've really looked to Annie to lead the team, set the tone and the pace."

Haley credited the victory to a patient offense. Seven different players scored for the Hawks, with Chisari tallying 5 goals and Lorenc adding 4 goals and an assist.

"We settled in on offense, took our time and worked it around and worked on the simple things," Haley said.

Vernon Hills battled back behind the aggressive play of senior captain Lisa Boehmer, who scored 7 goals. Boehmer netted 3 straight goals to end the game.

"We finished the game a whole lot stronger than we started it," Vernon Hills coach Steve Werntz said. "I was really proud of their hustle and they kept their heads in the game."

Boehmer, who plans to play lacrosse at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, said the Cougars have to build off their second-half showing.

"I thought we came back a lot stronger in the second half," Boehmer said. "We've had some tough games this season, but we're really learning who we are as a team and to keep playing through that and not giving up. We have to learn to come in stronger and be ready to compete, like we did in the second half."