Benet Academy boys lacrosse takes on Saint Charles East in the Sectional Semifinals at Geneva High School. A spot in the final against Wheaton Academy is on the line. Both teams come off 8-4 wins in the previous round—Benet taking down Naperville North, while the Saints beat St. Francis. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Benet boys lacrosse opens the IHSA Sectional Semifinal with a 5-0 lead in the second
The Redwings strike first—Tommy Bartenhagen gets the scoring started with his first goal of the night, putting Benet up 1-0 early in the first quarter.
Next up, Patrick Carr joins in on the fun—he finds the back of the net to extend the lead to two.
Benet’s defense makes its presence known. Goalie Zack Gorman comes up with a big save on Duncan Cooper to preserve the shutout.
Back on offense, Riley Butas gets in on the scoring as Benet builds a 3-0 lead.
The Redwings keep it rolling—Luke Mazurek scores to push the lead to 5-0 in the second quarter.
The Saints go marching in – Wilko Ryan makes it a game for St. Charles East boys lacrosse
The Saints begin to respond. Wilko Ryan finally gets them on the board with their first goal of the game.
And he’s not done—Ryan strikes again just five minutes later to cut the deficit to three.
Saint Charles East keeps chipping away—Isacson Chase scores to make it a two-goal game. Benet leads 5-3 at the half.
Bartenhagen opens the second half with his second goal of the night, stopping the Saints’ momentum.
Then Billy Tierney adds one of his own to give Benet a 7-3 cushion.
Gorman comes up with another big save for the Redwings!
But the Saints aren’t going quietly— Ryan scores his third of the game to complete the hat trick and keep his team within striking distance.
Hermann Dallas scores shortly after, cutting the Redwings’ lead to two heading into the fourth.
Zack Gorman comes up clutch for the Redwings
But Bartenhagen steps up again—he nets his fourth goal of the night to give Benet some breathing room. It’s 8-6 Redwings with under two minutes to play.
Saint Charles East answers—Nicholas Gabe scores with just a minute left to make it a one-goal game!
With under 30 seconds to go, the Saints get one last chance, but Gorman slams the door shut with a clutch defensive stand. He makes two great stops to help lift the Redwings past the Saints!
Benet holds on for the 8-7 win and punches its ticket to the sectional final against Wheaton Academy.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page.
