State semifinals are upon us as it’s a battle between one seeds with Benet Academy and Lake Forest battling for a shot at the girls lacrosse state championship game at Hinsdale Central. The Redwings enter after a dominating 21-7 win over Lockport Township, while the Scouts come in off a 9-6 victory over Crystal Lake Co-op. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Early on with Benet up 1-0, the Scouts get themselves going as Megan Rocklein rings around the net and throws a sidearm that gets through for the goal. Lake Forest ties the game up at 1-1.
The Benet offense clicks into gear
However Benet would take charge from there. All-State senior Shannon Earley starts the night off strong. With pressure in her face, she takes the shot and gets it through to get the goal and give Benet a 2-1 lead.
Then off a penalty restart, Earley takes the ball and runs towards the net, putting it in over the goalie to make it 3-1 in favor of Benet.
A little later it’s another first-team All-State Benet player, Gigi Kurelko with the ball and with Scouts all over her she takes a shot as she’s hit and goes to the ground, but the ball finds the corner of the net to extend the Redwings lead up 4-1.
The red-hot start for Benet would continue as Payton O’Neill passes it to Madeleine Trapp who then finds Earley as she gets a quick redirect to go in as Benet makes it 5-1 halfway through the first quarter.
No stopping Shannon Earley
Now in the second with the same score, Earley gets in on the assist action as she finds Madison Timmons in front of the net who gets another shot home as Benet goes up 6-1 just seconds into the quarter two.
The roles are reversed this time as Earley gets the short pass and charges forward to put another shot in for her fourth goal already as Benet leads up 7-1.
After that, it’s monkey in the middle with Benet as the passing game sees freshman Tierra Hammock finding Trapp in front of the net as she puts in the shot to make the score 8-1 Benet.
On the ensuing faceoff, it’s Benet taking the passing game behind the net, as Hammock gets the ball now and puts it top shelf to make it a 9-1 margin for the Redwings who kick it into overdrive up 13-3 at the half. All-State goalie Madeline Jensen and the Redwing defense make it difficult for the Scouts to start any kind of a comeback.
The second half features more of the same, Trapp is behind the net again and now finds Kurelko right in front of the net again, as she pushes past for another goal as Benet makes it a ten-point margin up 14-4.
The Redwings head to the state championship for the first time ever
Then to ice it a little later, the early bird special is here with Shannon Earley getting the pass and driving the Redwings home with another goal. Both teams would trade goals later on but Benet advances to their first state championship game appearance with an 18-6 win over Lake Forest girls lacrosse. They Redwings play Loyola Academy on Saturday afternoon for the state title.
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