North Central College hosts Naperville North boys lacrosse against conference rival, The Valley. The two teams met twice already this season with the Huskies winning both by scores of 10-5 and 8-6, so this should be another tight matchup. The Valley is coming off an opening round victory over Marmion to start sectional play. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
The Valley strikes first in a quiet first quarter
Not much action in the first half of the opening quarter. The Valley has possession and looking to break the scoreless tie, but Sean Delaney comes up with the stop in net for the Huskies.
Near the end of the quarter, the Valley is back on offense. Alex Wohlfahrt passes to Zach Hayes who whips it over to Kale Bergante for the first goal of the night as The Valley leads 1-0 after the first quarter.
The Huskies end the first half strong
Early in the second, Naperville North gets its first great opportunity. Lucas Marschitz heads towards the net and flips a pass to Jack Houck who charges from the back and scores on the wrap around to even the game at 1-1.
Following a goal from Griffin Ferguson, the Huskies score in nearly identical fashion as Marschitz connects with Houck once again as Naperville North takes a 3-1 lead.
With the first half winding down, Marschitz decides to take the ball himself and rockets a shot into the net as Naperville North heads to halftime with a 4-1 advantage.
The Valley boys lacrosse gets a spark in the third
The blue and orange continue to attack. Griffin Fiore with a shot that Jonah Greifenkamp deflects, but Mattix Groves scoops up the ground ball and scores on the behind-the-head shot. A little razzle-dazzle to expand the Naperville North lead to 6-1.
Trailing 7-1 midway through the third, the Valley needs some offense. Jack Owen passes to Bergante from behind the net, who delivers his second goal of the game to provide a spark.
Just a minute later, Ben Seago takes the ball and sprints upfield. He finds Jack Owen in a crowd and the captain puts it home to get the Valley back within four.
Naperville North pulls away from The Valley boys lacrosse and moves on to the sectional semis
The Huskies look to stop the run as Jacob Springer takes the ball from behind the net and fires home the goal to put North in front by an 8-3 score.
With the third quarter winding down, Lucas Marschitz adds to his total, giving himself a hat trick with a driving shot into the bottom corner of the net. The Huskies are on the verge of victory with a 10-3 lead heading into the final quarter.
Naperville North is able to hold on from there. Jack Houck finds Springer who adds his third goal of the night to make it 11-3. Naperville North boys lacrosse eliminates The Valley to win its 11th game in a row. The Huskies advance to the Sectional Semifinals to face Neuqua Valley.
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