Boys lacrosse stepped onto Lazier hoping for an easy win against Deerfield on Thursday night.
That wasn’t the case on a cold night.
Both teams battled hard, but Deerfield wasn’t willing to lose and secured a 5-4 win against the Kits, extending Evanston’s losing streak to four games as the Kits continue to battle with injuries.
Down seniors Michael Singer, Colin Swanson and junior goalie Omar Pryor, Evanston started off strong by recovering after a lost face-off and driving to the goal. The Kits’ offensive line dominated Deerfield’s defense, which resulted in junior Tommy Allocco’s goal. Evanston continued to put intense pressure on Deerfield, breaking down their defense and allowing junior Sebastian Rene to put the Kits up, 2-0, at the end of the first quarter.
Going into the second quarter, the Warriors were ready to attack. After a couple of Evanston missed shots, Deerfield sophomore Sam Cohen broke away and cut the deficit to one. At this point, Evanston’s offense completely disappeared. Freshman backup goalie Will Palin stayed strong in the net, but a Deerfield goal tied the game at two as Evanston struggled to get many offensive opportunities. Palin reflected on what playing for varsity was like.
“I think that it was a really surreal experience playing on varsity. Even though I was goalie, I think I made a big impact on the game,” Palin said. “I thought the team did well on clearing the ball and keeping possession. We could have scored a lot more and could have communicated better.”
In the last couple of minutes of the second quarter, senior Matt Streicker drove the ball down the field and secured another goal for the Kits. However, Deerfield quickly countered and scored off a rebound, leaving the teams tied at three at the half.
“We did not play as hard as we possibly could. We could have cleaned up the offense a little bit better,” Evanston head coach Rob Fournie said. “We could have done better on second-chance ground balls.”
Deerfield won the faceoff and immediately broke the tie, putting the Warriors up 4-3. After the Warriors got a lead, both teams just went back and forth for the remainder of the game. Deerfield secured a final goal in the last minute of the third quarter, putting them ahead of Evanston, 5-3.
“We’re learning a lot—how to play for each other and how to play hard all four quarters,” Fournie stated. “We are a younger squad. We are learning how to be lacrosse players, not just throwing and shooting, but how to film properly, how to prepare for games properly, and how to bring the same energy to every game– not just the New Trier game.”
Evanston’s fight to try to close the lead from the Warriors until the very end of the game came up just short. The Kits scored one final goal but didn’t have enough in the tank to complete the comeback.
“Our goals as a team are to keep the energy up and stay mentally focused through the whole game,” Palin said.
Fournie emphasized those same sentiments.
“We could have just played harder, but we only played harder at the end. We need to play hard in the first three quarters,” Fournie said.
The Kits will look to end their losing streak when they take on Naperville North at home on Monday, Apr. 4 at 7:00 pm.
