Boys:

Coming off an early playoff defeat last year, the boys varsity lacrosse team is looking to rekindle their talent and prove themselves as a championship contender this year.

“I don’t think any of us were satisfied with the results last year,” head coach Brady Sullivan expressed. Libertyville finished the 2015 season with an overall record of 13-7, falling in the second round of the playoffs.

This year, the team will travel to Kentucky and Indiana over spring break to play some pre-season games before they launch into conference play. Once April comes around, Libertyville will meet up with anticipated competition in the North Suburban Conference.

“Grayslake North is in our conference and they were a talented young team last year, so I expect them to be tough,” Coach Sullivan exclaimed.

Lake Forest is also expected to be a top-notch competitor, who has always battled alongside Libertyville for the conference championship. Due to the large size of the North Suburban Conference, which consists of the normal schools plus Grayslake North and Central,  the team only plays six non-conference games a year.

“We have our traditional rivals that we play every year, so we actually only have a couple games that change each season,” Coach Sullivan commented.

Several seniors graduated last year, but according to Coach Sullivan, it is not going to be a rebuilding year. “A lot of our top contributors are back. So while we graduated a lot of seniors, our leading scorer, Noah Moderwell, goalie, Walker Hare, and one of our top defenders, Brandon Boulger, are back. Plus, our whole second line of midfielders are back, and they were playing really well at the end of last year.

“We graduated a lot, but we are returning a lot of talented players. JV players will fill up the varsity roster and see the field,” he said.

Three players are currently committed to play lacrosse at the collegiate level. Hare has committed to Rochester Institute of Technology; Boulger will be attending Milwaukee School of Engineering; and Kyle Smith will be attending Southern Virginia University.

Moderwell, who has division one options, is still undecided on whether he is going to take up his athletic opportunities or focus solely on academics. “It’s just going to be what’s the best fit for him academically and if he can make lacrosse work. That’s always our goal,” Coach Sullivan stated.

The players have been very busy in preparation for tryouts and the season.

“Our offseason work ethic and commitment is what makes Libertyville lacrosse different than most team sports. From the time our spring season at LHS ends, we transition directly into playing in summer tournaments for the Libertyville Warriors,” junior Noah Giles stated.

Open gyms are held twice a week, and several athletes have been cross training through different sports in the fall and winter.

Giles expressed that the players train individually on strength, speed, and stick skills throughout the fall, then are put on a regular lifting regimen in the winter while keeping their focus on becoming the best versions of themselves by the start of the season.

With the season rapidly approaching, the lacrosse team is ready to prove itself as a legitimate state championship contender.

“Our goal is always to win our last game. That’s always the goal,” Coach Sullivan said.

The varsity boys opening home game will be Thursday, March 17, at 4:45 p.m against St. Charles North at the stadium.

Girls:

The girls varsity lacrosse team is ready to continue their success into the 2016 season.

Overall, head coach Andra Dalton was pleased with how last year went: “We had a successful season last year. We had a relatively young team and I look forward to seeing what they accomplish this season.”

Libertyville will bounce right into their season with hopes of making their mark in the North Suburban Conference this year. Dalton is anticipating the games against Stevenson and Warren to be highly competitive.

“I look forward to the veteran leadership that is returning at the varsity level this year. Maddie Burns and Liz Stevens were co-captains last year and critical to our success, as well as Maggie Piazzi. We also had several other players who added to our success because of their versatility and willingness to play anywhere on the field,” Coach Dalton stated.

In preparation for the season, several players participated in the Libertyville Warriors club lacrosse team. Dalton expressed that there has been a strong turnout of players at the weekly open gyms at LHS.

The new turf field at Brainerd will be a major asset in the practice schedule for the girls lacrosse team. “We hope to be over there as much as possible,” Dalton shared. “It will be an additional space that we can use when Butterfield isn’t usable. I think the athletes are excited to be there, too.”

The spring is on its way and the Libertyville varsity lacrosse team will be pursuing their goal to “make it further in the playoffs than the previous year,” Dalton stated.

The girls’ first matchup will be on March 15 at Glenbrook North.

“We’re really excited for this upcoming season, and I think this is going to be a good year for us. We lost a lot of seniors last year, but our program has grown so much in the last year, that there’s no doubt that we will have the depth necessary to bounce back,” Stevens stated.

On the Rise:

Lacrosse is considered an emerging sport through the Illinois High School Association. Its classification as “emerging” has to do with the number of schools that participate in the sport. There are currently 80 schools that offer boys lacrosse and 55 schools that offer girls lacrosse in the state.

There is a policy set forth by the IHSA Board of Directors to be considered a sport for the IHSA. This policy states that “The Board will entertain proposals to add a new state series when ten percent of the member schools engage in regularly scheduled competition in the sport or activity.” As of now, lacrosse does not meet this standard.

“Currently, the number of schools in Illinois that participate in lacrosse is below the 10 percent threshold. There are some schools in Illinois that only have lacrosse as a true club sport, so that is one of the reasons that the number of schools stays lower,” athletic director Briant Kelly stated.

Despite the sport not meeting the requirements, the IHSA Board may consider adding lacrosse as a sport, Mr. Kelly commented.  Dalton expressed that “it would be beneficial if more schools had a girls lacrosse team. If more teams are added, then [it] can become an IHSA sport.”

As a result of its emerging status, the sport requires higher dues to the LHS athletic department, where the players pay $260 to play lacrosse, which is about $200 more than other high school sports, like soccer and football.