The Best Game of the State Finals!

In the 2019 IHSA's second State Championship match ups, in both boys and girls high school lacrosse, it was New Trier that prevailed at Hinsdale Central High school, weathering both the home team girls in a 12-4 victory over Hinsdale Central, the tournament host, as well as the new comer, Warren Township, 16-4 in the boy's final, to spite at least two stadium emptying lightning delays on Saturday, June 1st at Red Devil field.

To advance, the New Trier girls bested 3rd place winners; Glenbrook South, 15-14 in the girls state semi-finals on Thursday, May 31st, also at Hinsdale Central, while the boys made it past third place finisher Neuqua Valley, 8-6, to advance to meet the Blue Devils of Warren on Saturday, June 1st; the Illinois High School Lacrosse State Championship Day.

However, the best State Championship game of the day happened earlier on at Lewis University, in the Boys High School Club State Championship Game between the New Trier Garbage Men and the Southwest Jaguars.

Tied after the first quarter at twos, the Southwest and New Trier match up was posturing to be a repeat of 2018, which ended in a 13-12 OT victory for New Trier, awarding them with their second Illinois High School Club State boys lacrosse title.

However, Southwest had come to play, and was determined to gain back their crown, having relinquished their 2017 title to New Trier in 2018 in the exciting overtime finish at Lewis University, allowing the Garbage Men to tie the Jaguar's claim to two Illinois Club HS State Championships.

Glenbard had won the first Illinois High School Boys Club State title in 2013 defeating Marian Catholic 10-9. In 2014 Southwest had bested New Trier 10-6, winning both the Varsity and the JV title games by defeating Latin School in the New/JV team State Championship. Then in 2015 Dunlap overwhelmed New Trier 16-4, which apparently motivated the Garbage Men the next year as in 2016 they came back to defeat Southwest 13-6 in the first High School Boys Club State Championship game held at Lewis University. Washington and Southwest would match up in 2017, with Southwest prevailing 15-7, while also beating the Springfield Capitals in the JV State Championship to capture both the Varsity and the New/JV Team titles for the second time. The Garbagemen would earn their second State Championship however in the exciting sudden death overtime vistory against Southwest just last year, setting up the rubber match taking place at the 2019 Illinois boys high school club state championship game.

At half, Southwest had gained a 5-4 advantage, and by the third had moved the margin to three points, as New Trier trailed 8-5. But two quick goals before the close of three quarters, brought the Garbage Men right back into the game, giving the Jaguars fair warning that the G-men of Winetka would not be taken out so easily.

In the fourth both teams popped in two goals midway through the quarter, keeping the margin at one as Southwest stayed up on New Trier, 10-9. Then with 7:06 left in the game, New Trier tied it up with a goal by attackman, #00. Southwest's star Midfielder, #24 (4g) countered at 6:05, giving the Jaguars back their one point edge, 11-10. But New Trier responded seconds later as #44 penetrated Southwest's red zone at 5:58 to tie it back up at 11. Then with 4:31 left in the game, New Trier's midfielder #10 (4g,1a), handled a pass from #44 (1g,1a), giving the Garbage Men their first lead of the day; 12-11. It took the Jaguars three minutes before #99 was able to beat the Garbage Men's Defense, tying the game at 1:32 in the fourth. Time expired with a 12-12 tie, setting up the exact same scenario from a year earlier as Southwest and New Trier headed into the four minute overtime, locked at a dozen for the second year in a row.

The Southwest Jaguars and New Trier's Club lacrosse team, the Garbage Men, are a classic match up, representing the distinctions in high school club lacrosse in Illinois, with one team being made up of the boys who, for whatever reason, did not make their school's varsity team after their sophomore year (aka. the "Garbage Men"), and the other being a multi-school community program comprised of several communities without a varsity team at the respective high school disctricts in the area, combining to create a high school club lacrosse team.

Earlier in the day, the Loyola Club (the Goon Squad), a similiar team to that of New Trier's, defeated a new community club program birthed off of the Glenbard team, made up of kids from Roselle and Carol Stream in the New/JV Club State Championship game, 15-8.

The New Lake Park Club and Loyola's Club, the "Goon Squad" had matched points all the way through the third quarter of the game, tied 8-8 going into the fourth, before Loyola took charge of the game with the play of some of their experienced play makers. Lake Park, unable to keep up, saw Loyola outdistance them through their skilled players exploiting the opportunities, as Lake Park, even with a larger roster, yielded to fatigue, which deteriorates players' skills, especially in younger teams.

With New Trier and Loyola, the clubs are made up of experienced players who would start on other high school varsity teams, but who with the depth of the lacrosse community in Winetka, find it necessary to create a club team in order to absorb the desire to continue to play by those who have dedicated many years to the game.

In the Plainfield area, which the Southwest club serves and represents, there is an opposite need to develop a lacrosse community that can attract enough kids from youth on up to create a program that can help the teams compete with the depth of the Winetka area.

As the more veteran communities of lacrosse continue to grow there will be more clubs like New Trier and Loyola forming to offer a place for kids to play who might not otherwise have the opportunity to do so as the space on varsity teams gets limited. However, as the sport grows across Illinios and the Midwest, more teams like Southwest and Lake Park will also be needed to form to help build areas into viable lacrosse communities.

This is the High School Club lacrosse world in Illinois; a world of two extremes that finds a way to meet in the middle, in a kind of no man's land, pitting up the elder against the younger, the "George Foreman" against the "Mike Tyson"; the establishment against the entrepreneurs of the game. And to spite some very distinct culture differences, the Club Lacrosse world of Illinois, not without difficulties at times, finds a way to meet in the middle, through celebrating kids who might otherwise be forgotten, being either overwhelmed as a small fish in a big pond, or being limited as a fish out of water, without a place to really swim.

In both cases, although perhaps not yet realized by the players themselves, the middle ground is made up of many "plays" of practical and sacrifial love, executed by parents, coaches, players and supporters alike, who each sacrifice in some way to develop the game. "The Cross" as a game that was meant to teach the lessons of sacrifice was named for such a merit, is in truth a middle ground, pulling the diverse cultures together, and allowing them the latitude to beat each other with sticks, and then shake hands and embrace at the end of the contest, as a those who have "left it all" on the field for that "moment" that embeds itself in life forever.

Tied at two championships apiece, in a repeat of the previous State Championship game, locked again at 12, the Southwest Conference Champion Jaguars were headed into overtime against the Northeast Conference Champs and Lax ROX Tournament Winning Garbage Men.

But 2019 would be a different kind of year than the previous one, with a different kind of finish, as the two teams expended themselves through the first overtime period without either team able to score, creating the need for a second overtime!

The day was hot, the anticipation high, the game locked in what appeared to be potentially a never ending battle. Southwest had called time out with possession, to plan their end shot. The play nearly worked, but the shot bounced off pipe and went wide, and New Trier managed to recover.

Then something unexpected happened.

"Holy cow that kid is fast!", someone from the stands exclaimed as #29, Austin Douthit, had from his end line already cleared the ball past midfield in the blink of an eye. But Austin did not settle the ball, as was likely expected by the Jaguar defense. Instead, seeing the moment, he just kept running, right into the Southwest Box, penentrating the hot zone, and then taking a shot right on the front door on the Southwest goalie.

Moments later, after the initial shock, it was a flood of orange "city worker" jerseys that swept over the field, as the wave of Garbage Men, tossing gloves and sticks in the air, overwhelmed their unexpected hero.

New Trier had broken the tie, of both the game as well as of the Illinois High School Club State Championship series, 3-2. And on the day where the sage lacrosse community that is New Trier would win three State title games, it is perhaps the 100 yard dash, measured on the lined-for-football and lacrosse stadium field, and the final 2nd overtime score at Lewis University that will be remembered most, as on the play of the day of the Illinois High School Lacrosse State Championship games, a boy ran like "the wind", and seeing the moment, took a shot that likely will be heard all around New Trier.