Getting by With a Little Help from Our Friends

Wheaton North has matured into a team of the second half, adjusting to opponents, and then finishing in control of the game.

Against Conference favorites Geneva and St. Charles East, which were both one point games where the Falcons trailed at half, in both instances Wheaton North came out and dominated the third, outscoring their opponents 11-5, and then controlled and maintained the game into a finish in the fourth.

What does coach Weed feed the boys at half? How about a song bird, a bat, or maybe the inspiration to offer a little help to their friends.

Braden Aguiar has become a solid solution for the early season clearing problems, offering the goalies a sound outlet and alternative to tossing the ball desperately down the field, hoping to connect with the talented attack, on a lucky bounce.

The result is the Falcons controlling the middle of the field, and thus the tempo of the game.

But the help doesn't stop with Aguiar. It is as if the whole team has drawn a line in the sand, from box to box, and have claimed the mid-field territory as their nest, guarding it like a Peregrine Falcon:

TO NOTE: (The Peregrine Falcon is a raptor, or bird of prey. Adults have blue-gray wings, dark brown backs, a buff colored underside with brown spots, and white faces with a black tear stripe on their cheeks. They have a hooked beaks and strong talons. Their name comes from the Latin word peregrinus, which means "to wander." They are commonly referred to as the Duck Hawk. Peregrine falcons are the fastest-flying birds in the world – they are able to dive at 200 miles per hour. Peregrine falcons eat other birds such as songbirds and ducks, as well as bats. They catch their prey in mid-air. Peregrine Falcon chicks, called eyases, eat an incredible amount of food - in six days, they double their weight, and at three weeks are ten times their size at birth! The Peregrine Falcon can survive in a wide variety of habitats including urban cities, the tropics, deserts and the tundra. Some migrate long distances from their wintering areas to their summer nesting areas. Peregrine falcons have adapted to living in many cities and make use of tall buildings that provide suitable ledges for nesting and depend on the large populations of pigeons and starlings in cities for food. They dive and catch their prey in mid-air. Peregrines have few natural predators. Peregrine falcons mate for life and breed in the same territory each year. The male courts the female for about one month, using aerial displays. They make a nest, or scrape, on ledges and in small caves located high on a cliff. Some peregrine falcons will use man-made structures such as bridges and skyscrapers to nest. The Parents incubate the eggs for about one month. The chicks start to fly in about 42 days, but are still dependent on their parents to learn how to hunt. Peregrine falcons are very territorial during breeding season and will vigorously defend their nests.)

Thus, against St. Charles East, in a critical moment in the game, in the middle of the field, Gemkow, Clemens and Faraday, three attackmen, surrounded and cut off one of the unfortunate East players trying to clear through the aggressive ride of the Falcon attack.

The result was the East side intruder being grounded, the ball being turned over, and the transition back to offense, being achieved. Thus, the Falcons get by with....a little help from their friends.

When your attack rides a defense and attacks them like the Falcons have, it forces mistakes, it disrupts a plan, and it takes control of a game.

This motivates the entire team to "fly to the ball", contest every shot, and above all, protect the nest.

But in lacrosse, a game can be won or lost in moments, as after each score, the face off allows a team new life, whether they are winning or losing.

But this is where senior Joey Bonelli and junior Braden Aguiar, have embraced a role, as the protectors and wing men to North's new face off specialist, freshman Kaiden Libby.

Dominating the axis, the young Falcon FOS either sweeps the ball out to one of his wings, who fly in and grab it up, protecting the nest, or with lightning speed, draws and passes it up to one of the attack, who grab it out of the air and finish in the blink of an eye, leaving the crowd to try to try to fill in what just happened.

The result has been that in the last three games, North's opponents, who each have lost by just one point, were each shocked, believing that they were going to prevail.

But it is hard to calculate the power of a true team, or how to contend against it. And as North has matured into a second half force, the Falcons have identified the little things, that make a lacrosse team truly powerful, like the wingmen on the face, or the middie who can clear, or the attack who rides the ball, or protects it, like Peregrine Falcons protecting their nest.

Goalies

WN

22 - Sr. Nathan Ritscherle - 8 saves on 21 shots

30 - Jr. Mitchell Majewski - 5 saves on 41 shots

Face Offs

WN

15 - Fr. Kaiden Libby - 19 wins on 22 attempts

4 - Jr. Braden Aguiar - 1 win on 1 attempt

SCE

19- Jr. Drea Domenz - 3 wins on 23 attempts

Teams

WN - 52 grounds balls, 41 shots, 12 clears on 19 attempts

SCE - 26 ground balls, 21 shots, 11 clears on 27 attemtps

Stats

WN

2 - Jr. Matt Gemkow (Attack) - 3g,2a - 5gb, 11 shots, 2TA, 1TO

28 - Sr. Will Clemens (Attack) - 3g - 3gb, 10 shots, 1TA, 5TO

8 - Jr. Nic Richardson (Attack) - 2g,1a - 1gb, 5 shots

17 - Sr. Ben Farraday (Attack) - 2g,1a - 7gb, 3 shots, 1TO

3 - Sr. Alex Blum (Attack) - 2a - 4gb, 3 shots, 1TO

15 - Fr. Kaiden Libby (Middy) - 1a - 12gb, 2 shots

6 - Sr. Joey Bonelli - 1a - 4gb, 3TA

4 - Jr. Braden Aguiar (Middy) - 7 gb

30 - Sr. Haven Hoffenkamp (Defense) - 1gb, 1TA

20 - Sr. Cory Goetz (Middy) - 3gb

1 - Sr. - Isaac Nolan (Defense) - 1 gb, 1TA, 2TO

18 - So. Hudson Moss (Defense) - 2 gb, 1TA

23 - Sr. Tate Moorhouse (Middy) - 1 gb, 5 shots, 1TO

10 - Jr. Parker Haney (Middy) -2TO

22 - SR. Nathan Ritscherle (Goalie) - 2gb, 1TO

SCE

14 - Jr. Maxwell Connelly (Middy) - 6g

18 - Jr. Calvin Eberhart (Defense) - 1g

6 - Sr. Mitchell Canaies (Attack) - 1g

25 - So. Vinnie Smith - (Attack) - 1g