Girls lacrosse: Crystal Lake Central co-op cashes in on penalties to top Hersey, win 3rd straight sectional

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – Crystal Lake Central co-op took advantage of Hersey penalties to secure a 12-7 win over the Huskies at the Hersey Sectional championship Friday.

The Tigers (20-3) scored six of their goals off penalty plays to secure their third consecutive sectional title.

Crystal Lake Central co-op, which combines with Cary-Grove, Crystal Lake South and Prairie Ridge, will meet Lake Forest in Tuesday’s Crystal Lake Central Supersectional. Lake Forest beat Prospect 10-4 on Friday night.

“We are excited to get back to the supersectionals and play at home this year,” said Central co-op coach Joe Capalbo, whose team has been eliminated in the supersectionals by Lake Forest in each of the past two seasons.

“Our speed has been very good. I thought in the past we weren’t as conditioned as well as we should be. We have spent the last two weeks conditioning in practice and trying to get ready for the state playoffs.”

Hersey (14-8), which had won sectional titles in the previous two seasons, got off to a fast start.

“Our speed has been very good. I thought in the past we weren’t as conditioned as well as we should be. We have spent the last two weeks conditioning in practice and trying to get ready for the state playoffs.”

—  Joe Capalbo, Crystal Lake Central co-op coach

The Huskies dominated play in the offensive end, thanks to some very crisp passing. That enabled Kailee See to shake free during the first two long possessions and tally a pair of goals to make it 2-0.

Anna Starr was just that – a star – at the faceoff line for Central. The sophomore was a key factor in her team getting extra possessions when she won a sizable number of the draws. That helped the Tigers surge ahead.

“It is important to get those possessions,” Starr said. “It gives us an opportunity to score and keep the ball away from them.”

Central began to use its speed to take over. The Tigers scored four consecutive goals with Colleen Dunlea and Fiona Lemke each scoring and Addie Bechler scoring twice to take a 4-2 lead. Dunlea and Bechler each scored after Hersey penalties.

See cut the margin to 4-3 with 3:19 left in the second quarter. But Central went on a three-goal flurry to close out the half with Lemke scoring once and Bechler twice, including a goal with just one second left after a Hersey penalty.

“We like to play fast and keep the ball moving,” said Bechler, who finished with five goals. “It gives us opportunities to open up the field.”

Hersey battled back to close to 8-6 with 3:28 left in the third quarter thanks to the play of Becky Hwang. She assisted on a goal Kate Donovan off a sweet pass. Hwang also scored a goal and assisted on Ava Harwood’s goal.

Only a goal by Dunlea kept Central ahead.

“A big thing we have been working on is drawing and looking for our flies,” said Dunlea, who scored all three of her goals after penalties.

“I like the punch shots and running in. And a couple of cradles and punches. They are my go-to.”

Leading 8-6, Central scored four unanswered goals to put the game away. Dunlea, Starr and Lemke each scored after penalties while Bechler also scored to make it 12-6.

Hersey’s Ellie Cataldo scored late in the game for the Huskies’ final goal.

“We had a good strategy,” Hersey coach Lindsay Baer said. “We had possessions early. We wanted to avoid those one-handed reaches. They just had a little more endurance. And they were able to get to the hash and really cause a lot of fouls. But I am really proud of our team. For a four-year old program, we are doing pretty good.”