advertisement

Boys lacrosse: Huntley's balanced attack too much for Palatine

Dominic Saccomanno wanted to change the way his team played this season.

The Huntley coach thought the Red Raiders relied too much on Ian Watson, who tallied a school-record 116 points last year. He knew the team needed to spread the ball around the field if it wanted to win a sectional title this year.

Saccomanno's vision was on full display on Tuesday against Palatine. Eight different players scored goals, six with two or more, and Huntley picked up a 16-1 win.

"I told them going into this season that wasn't going to be the case," Saccomanno said of relying on one player. "We're going to try to balance out the field across so we're not so one-dimensional. I think we're showcasing that as we get further into the season."

Nico Andrews led the way for Huntley (9-4, 3-0 FVC) with four goals while Brady Mollsen, Andrew Baumley, Tyler Hall, Tyler Readinger and Andrew Toman each scored two goals. Connor Ardell and Danny Binetti each scored a goal.

Mollsen tallied the first goal of the game by picking up the ball after a missed shot and driving to the net to score with 9:07 left in the first quarter. Palatine quickly responded when Luke Jorden scored at 8:31 left in the opening frame, but Andrews scored eight seconds later to give the Red Raiders the lead for good.

The Pirates played a pressure defense where they attacked the ball carriers and off-ball guys, which created one-on-one matchups for other Red Raiders. Once Huntley players cut to break Palatine's press, they found open guys who scored.

Huntley players have bought into sharing the ball the way Saccomanno wanted and have seen its worth.

"It's a lot more helpful because you don't need that one guy," Andrews said. "You just look to a guy to the left or right of you and they can put it in too."

Palatine (5-8, 4-3 MSL) lost a large group of players to graduation from last season's team that lost in the sectional semifinals.

The Pirates struggled to keep up with less experienced players, but Palatine coach Chris Gantz was proud of the way his team battled.

"We knew this was going to be a tough game with how their season is going and last night we had a tough night at Fremd," Gantz said. "We'll see how the rest of the season goes."

Palatine will host Schaumburg on Thursday while Huntley resumes FVC play against Jacobs on the same day.

The Red Raiders are looking forward to the final stretch of the season, including their matchup against Hampshire on May 12 that Saccomanno expects will decide the conference title.

Huntley made changes in order to improve upon its sectional-final loss last season. The Red Raiders are excited to see whether the adjustments will lead to a longer run.

"Our job is to take care of our business," Saccomanno said, "make sure we're in the position we want to be going into the sectional so we can go in with home-field advantage and take it a step forward than last year."

Huntley's Andrew Baumley, right battles with Palatine's Joseph Spizzirri during a boys lacrosse match Tuesday, May 3, 2022, between Huntley and Palatine at Huntley High School. Gregory Shaver/gshaver@shawmedia.com
Huntley's Connor Ardell tries to shoot through the defense of Palatine's Adam Heikkinen and goalie Daniel Dorszewski during a boys lacrosse match Tuesday, May 3, 2022, between Huntley and Palatine at Huntley High School. Gregory Shaver/gshaver@shawmedia.com
Huntley's Nico Andrews tries to run move against Palatine's Austin Cortez during a boys lacrosse match Tuesday, May 3, 2022, between Huntley and Palatine at Huntley High School. Gregory Shaver/gshaver@shawmedia.com
Huntley's Nico Andrews shoots on Palatine goalie Daniel Dorszewski during a boys lacrosse match Tuesday, May 3, 2022, between Huntley and Palatine at Huntley High School. Gregory Shaver/gshaver@shawmedia.com
Palatine goalie Daniel Dorszewski saves a shoot during a boys lacrosse match Tuesday, May 3, 2022, between Huntley and Palatine at Huntley High School. Gregory Shaver/gshaver@shawmedia.com
Huntley's Dylan Abordo tries to get through the defense of Palatine's Andrew Philbin during a boys lacrosse match Tuesday, May 3, 2022, between Huntley and Palatine at Huntley High School. Gregory Shaver/gshaver@shawmedia.com
Huntley's Connor Ardell and his teammate, Andrew Baumley, celebrate a goal during a boys lacrosse match Tuesday, May 3, 2022, between Huntley and Palatine at Huntley High School. Gregory Shaver/gshaver@shawmedia.com
Huntley's Dylan Gehl the defense of Palatine's Rocco Paddack during a boys lacrosse match Tuesday, May 3, 2022, between Huntley and Palatine at Huntley High School. Gregory Shaver/gshaver@shawmedia.com
Huntley's Dylan Abordo shoots on Palatine goalie Daniel Dorszewski during a boys lacrosse match Tuesday, May 3, 2022, between Huntley and Palatine at Huntley High School. Gregory Shaver/gshaver@shawmedia.com
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.