Boys Lacrosse Hold Successful Fundraiser

Fans of high school sports teams generally know what a team does on the field. But there are plenty of scenes played out when no one is watching. Such as practice and those hours spent raising money to help out the program.

On April 30, the Libertyville High School boys lacrosse team put away their sticks and instead became delivery boys. It was time to hand out some mulch to their neighbors. With 90 lacrosse players in the sales force, the Wildcats managed to break all records for lacrosse mulch sales.

The report came in that 14,000 bags of mulch were sold. On Saturday, those players did their part by handing it out to the paying customers.

Recap: In the first meeting between rivals Libertyville and Stevenson, the Wildcats had an easy victory. On Wednesday, that Wildcats rout seemed to be in the cards again as Libertyville raced to a quick 4-0 lead over the Patriots. However, Libertyville's offense was quieted down after that. This game went to the fourth quarter knotted at 6-6. Stevenson prevailed 9-7.

Scoring two goals each for the Cats were Nick Ward and Zach Friedman. Also scoring in this loss were Patrick Geary, A.J. Schmidt and Connor Loucks. Schmidt and John Luehrsen both had two assists. Griffin Adams notched 7 saves in goal.

Last Friday, Libertyville led start to finish and stopped a good Grayslake North squad, 14-10.

Friedman (5 goals) and Schmidt (4 goals) led the Wildcats offense. Ward added two goals. Luehrsen, Loucks and Geary also tallied. Adams had 12 saves. On Saturday, the Wildcats take a trip to Lyons Township for a match.

On Thursday, the Wildcats fell to Lake Forest 10-7. Luehrsen had a strong day with 4 goals.

Girls Lacrosse: The girls team posted a 19-13 win over Glenbrook North on Monday. Head coach Dana Brady pointed out the team gets a boost from Katie Piazzi. Her specialty is defense.

"She has been our leading defender all season,'' Brady said. "She really stepped up in this game to shut down one of GBN's shooters."

Brady likes the way Piazzi takes charge of the Wildcats on defense.

"She leads with poise both on and off the field,'' Brady said. "Many times I see her huddling with the defenders after we've been scored on.  I always see her making small yet effective adjustments on the game field to create the best defense possible."

After 10 matches this season, Hope Nishimoto was the team leader in goals scored with 30. Meghann Stelzner (24 goals) and Olivia Meyer (11) were also helping the offense. In goal, Molly Toohey had 61 saves.

This team, too, did some good deeds prior to the season. Back in October, the girls lacrosse team went on a five-mile walk through Independence Grove all in support of breast cancer research.