Girls lacrosse: Lake Forest does it again, ending CL Central co-op’s season for a third straight time

CRYSTAL LAKE – Crystal Lake Central co-op’s girls lacrosse team achieved so much with a 20-4 season and by winning its third consecutive sectional title.

The main goal the Tigers were unable to reach was a trip to the IHSA Girls Lacrosse State Tournament, because their nemesis the previous two years, Lake Forest, once again was in the way.

The Scouts never trailed, maintaining a two- to three-goal lead most of the final three quarters, on their way to a 9-6 victory Tuesday in the Crystal Lake Central Supersectional at Owen Metcalf Field.

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Crystal Lake Central players gather around Addison Bechler (14) after her second goal against Lake Forest during girls lacrosse supersectional action at Metcalf Field on the campus of Crystal Lake Central Tuesday. (Patrick Kunzer for Shaw Local/Patrick Kunzer for Shaw Local)

Lake Forest (20-5) meets Benet Academy, a 21-7 winner over Lockport in the Streamwood Supersectional, in Friday’s second state semifinal at 7 p.m. at Hinsdale Central.

“We’ve definitely closed the gap [on Lake Forest],” Tigers coach Joe Capalbo said. “We lost to them two years ago 11-2. This season and last season we took them to double overtime. We keep making progress and building the program.

“This was not our best game. Defensively, to hold them to nine was pretty good, that was our goal to hold them under 10 goals for an elite offense. We just couldn’t get anything going offensively. They took Anna (Starr) away, who’s our best player, and we never really got in a groove offensively.”

The start to the fourth quarter was critical as Lake Forest, leading by two goals, held the ball for 3:40 before Chloe York scored off a pass from LuLu Keil.

“We had an awesome season,” said Central’s Addie Bechler, who scored the Tigers’ three first-half goals. “We progressed with each game and today, it just came down to them holding the ball on offense and killing the clock, which is definitely a frustrating thing, but that’s the game of lacrosse.

“Each year we play them, the gap gets smaller and smaller, it shows we’re progressing each year.”

Scouts coach Cat Catanzaro was even impressed by the way her team opened the fourth quarter.

“Take our time and make sure we’re taking the right shot, not just ‘a’ shot,” Catanzaro said. “We knew they’re a great team and they can come back hard. Maintaining possession was the most important thing in that fourth quarter.

“We said we’re still looking to score, but if it takes us a minute or two, we’re perfectly fine with that. And, of course, they had to one-up me and go for three.”

Lake Forest’s Maeve Farrell scored twice in the first quarter, as did Bechler for the Tigers. The Scouts scored four goals in the second to Bechler’s one to lead 6-3 at halftime.

Central’s Colleen Dunlea scored twice in the third as the Tigers cut the lead to 7-5, but the start of the fourth quarter made things extremely difficult for Central.

“Last year we were in a similar situation, we were down late in the second half and before the quarter started we wanted to double, and they’re so good moving the ball it got us chasing and I thought we got a little exhausted on the defensive end,” Capalbo said. “For them to go up 8-5, that goal kind of killed us.”

Starr cut the lead to two with a goal at 6:34 of the fourth, but that was all the Tigers could get. Keil added an insurance goal with 1:53 remaining.

“I’m so proud of our team, we’ve come so far from the start of the season,” Dunlea said. “We set goals and we met about 90% of our goals and we changed as a team so much and we’ve become closer. We’ve done a really good job learning how to play with each other.”

Starr, a sophomore, will be one of the leaders coming back as the Tigers will try for four sectionals in a row next year.

“We had a great season again,” she said. “The one goal we can’t get is beating Lake Forest. Like Addie said, ‘The margin’s getting smaller and smaller.’ We lost in double-overtime to them in the regular season. Next year’s going to be our year, we’re going to beat them.”