Sports
LT Lacrosse Wins Playoff Opener Over St. Charles East
The Lions' Luke Gallagher led the way with three goals and give assists to give LT the 12-6 win.
Lyons Township's boys lacrosse team scored two goals in an eight-second span Tuesday, making the lead too much for St. Charles East to recover from in the opening round of the playoffs. LT won 12-6 following the second-half outburst.
The Saints opened the game with two goals by Alex O'Brien and Brett Hickey, Lyons tied the it at 2 with 39 seconds left in the first half thanks to a goal and assist by Luke Gallagher, who led the way with three goals and five assists.
"He's the best goal-scorer in the state," Lyons coach Bill Kalbfleisch said. "He's the best offensive player we've ever had. He sees the field really well."
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Some confusion on LT's defensive side during a power play led to a goal by the Saints' Nate Campana, but the teams would finish the half tied 4-4.
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That's when the Lions started to pounce. Emmett McNulty scored for LT, and then the Lions flew down the field for two goals in eight seconds by Matt Faucher and Gallagher to put LT up 7-4.
Saint Charles East tried to make things interesting in the fourth, when O'Brien scored twice more to make it 8-6. But Gallagher scored again and got two more assists, to McNulty and Kilrea.
"We just got a little lazy on our slides and make sure we've got that backside help," Saints coach Aaron Vermedal said. "We've got a good team. Last year they graduated a lot of good seniors, they've got a lot of growth this year."
The No. 14-seeded Lyons will face the winner of No. 3 Glenbrook North and No. 30 Conant, who play Wednesday. The second-round game will be on Thursday. Kalbfleisch said his team needs to start the game better than it did against St. Charles East.
"They didn't come out ready to play," he said. "But we were able to outscore them 8-2 in the second half. That's just a matter of self-discipline. I have to call them in and remind them they've got to put their foot on the gas pedal."
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