St. Rita boys lacrosse with an amazing comeback victory over Neuqua Valley

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St. Rita boys lacrosse outscores Neuqua Valley 8-1 in the second half for a come-from-behind victory to move on to the sectional final. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.

It’s the sectional semifinal at St. Rita High School where the third-seeded Mustangs play at home against the two-seeded Neuqua Valley Wildcats with a spot in the final on the line.

Liam Gramza leading Neuqua Valley in solid first half

Neuqua looking to get on the board first and they do with Cary George turning the corner, pump faking and scoring on the low shot. They lead 1-0.

St. Rita boys lacrosse answers right back with Liam Nolan spinning off of Benjamin Stefanski and bouncing it between goalie Sanjit Gajjala’s legs.

Another Liam gets on the score sheet in Liam Gramza as he takes the pass from George and whips it into the back of the net. Wildcats up 2-1.

Neuqua on offense again as it moves the ball around and Gramza finds some space to fire a rocket to the net for another goal. He’s not done yet, though.

In the second quarter, he works the give and go with Cary George and shoots it right past the goalie. What a half for Gramza and his team takes an 8-2 advantage into halftime.

St. Rita storms back

After struggling to get going in the first half, St. Rita starts to show some life in the second. Kevin Gaughan makes a move to his right and scores on the tough shot. That cuts it to five.

Skipping to late in the third quarter, and the Mustangs have come back to make it a two-point deficit. Liam Nolan picks up the loose ball and bounces it in. They score five unanswered goals in the third and trail by just one going into the fourth.

St. Rita trying to even things up as Tommy Richter spins, goes behind the net, and finds Jack Cronin who’s off balance, but still able to put it in. This game is tied at 8. What a comeback.

A wild finish

Mustangs hope to take the lead now. Nolan looks for a shot, but the ball hits off Drew Tedrow’s leg and it rolls all the way to the other side of the field. Griffin Olah picks it up, sprints towards the goal, and tosses a low shot in to give Neuqua its first goal of the half and the lead.

We are tied at nine with less then a minute left in the game. Nolan jukes by Jonathan Ostendorf, spins in between two defenders and puts it in as he’s falling down. That shot would be the game winner as St. Rita outscores Neuqua 8-1 in the second half for an amazing comeback victory. They move onto the sectional final to face number one seed Benet Academy.

For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!