On Wednesday, April 24, the varsity boys lacrosse team played their fifth home game, remaining undefeated in home games this season, as they bested the Lake Zurich Bears 9-4.

The two teams were evenly matched going into the game. 

Libertyville was 9-2 overall and 1-1 in conference, following a 9-2 win against the Warren Township Blue Devils on April 9 and a 12-2 loss to the Lake Forest Scouts on April 17.

Lake Zurich took the field with a cumulative 10-1 record and an undefeated conference record, their only loss being a 10-9 overtime battle against the Glenbrook North Spartans.

The Wildcats scored multiple times in the first quarter against the visiting Bears, with freshman attackman Connor Luxon (24) scoring twice early on. 

Following a goal by senior attackman and North Central College commit Kyle Carollo (4) and another by Luxon, his third of the night, the home team exited the first quarter with a 4-0 lead.

“I think we did a pretty good job of handling the pressure and getting the ball moving, going against a very high-pressure defensive team,” Head Coach Brady Sullivan, who has been coaching for 18 years, said.

Luxon scored again in the second quarter, bringing his total to four to mirror a similar effort in the season opener, an 18-2 win over the Rolling Meadows Mustangs. Despite Lake Zurich scoring their first goal, courtesy of junior attackman and midfielder Coplan Oettinger (4), Libertyville held a comfortable 5-1 lead going into the half.

“I’m proud of how we opened up,” senior midfielder Jake Gimbert (7) said. “We weren’t scared. We went out there going harder than they did the whole game, were more aggressive, wanted it more, got the ground balls [and] were physical.”

The high-scoring contest continued into the second half, with Carollo scoring twice, Gimbert scoring once and senior attackman Luke Kazian (5) scoring once. 

Assisting both Gimbert and Carollo was senior long-stick midfielder Luca DiCarlo (12). A commit to Ohio Wesleyan University, DiCarlo said that he thought the team worked well together.

“I think our team did well keeping our composure,” DiCarlo said. “We kept our composure with this win. I think our team did a really good job today on the field with locking down their offense.”

While Lake Zurich managed more goals in the second half, the game overall came to a close with Libertyville holding the lead. With a 9-4 score, the last few seconds ran off the clock and the Wildcats celebrated their fifth home win of the season.

“It’s our guys really working to get better at what we’re doing, buying into the things we’re doing and trying to come together as a team,” Coach Sullivan said. “Where I think we could improve is just focusing on us and what we do, just doing our things the best without worrying about other things going on.”

With 10 wins under their belt, the Wildcats will next play at home against the Wheaton North Falcons on Thursday, April 25.