Central Avenges Loss to North in Lacrosse

The last time Central and North met on a lacrosse field, both teams scored in double figures and the Knights were victorious.

The second meeting came Thursday night on North's home field. Jake Paust scored the winning goal at the one-minute mark in Central's tense 6-5 win over North.

Central coach Peter Olszewski pointed out it was a clean sweep for the Rams as the JV team also prevailed in another tight match (5-4).

So where was all that offense that marked the first meetings of these clubs? Olszewski gave credit to his team's defense.

"North’s offense was shut down by both Thomas Halloran and Jimmy Soto in goal,'' Olszewski said. "And Lee Brown, Nick Celeslie and Sean Halloran on defense."

One of North's top scoring threats, AJ Fish, sustained a knee injury which slowed him down. He should be back in North's lineup in a week. Despite his knee, Fish still led the Knights with two goals.

"The knee certainly appeared to hamper his play as the game wore on,'' said North coach Brad Fish. "And it did limit his time at the midfield position."

Paust had 3 assists to go with his 2 goals. Also scoring for the winners were Kyle Engdahl, Peter Ota, Colton Brunk, and Jason Koziol. North countered with goals from Matt Schlagetter, Colin Chatten and Patrick Walker.

Central moved to 8-3 with this win. North fell to 9-5.

Youth Night: As lacrosse fever spreads through the area, the two teams also hosted youth night for Grayslake boys from second grade to eighth grade. In addition to watching that exciting match between North and Central, the participants were treated to a hot dog, soda and a T-shirt handed out by the GYLA.

"This really has turned out to be a fun night for all involved,'' said coach Fish. "As many of the kids now doing the scoring for both high schools are former members of the GYLA."

Fish noted that the number of players in lacrosse in Grayslake has grown from 30 players the first year to 135 players now.

Recap: On Tuesday, North stopped Lake Zurich 11-6. The Knights fell in a quick 4-0 hole but the Knights took over from there.

Fish had a strong outing in this comeback win. He scored 4 goals and added 4 assists. Chatten and Schlagetter added hat tricks. Both Patrick Walker and Dylan Cotter shared time in the goal. Ben Smith and Shane Pech stood out on defense. Josh Kortenkamp also played well in the midfield.