SCN Sundara makes Falcons pay attention

North Star FOGO Specialist #15, Sophomore Kyle Sundara, as soon as the first whistle blew, shut down any hope the Falcons had for victory by continually winning the draw, offering the Stars quality opportunities to score a barrage of points against Wheaton North's assaulted team at North Star stadium on Thursday Night.

SCN #17, Junior Attackman, Josh Uhri (5g) anticipated Sundara's victory right out of the gate, giving St. Charles a quick goal on the very first possession. Then he and Sundara, along with Junior Midfielder, #7 Jack Cunningham (3g,1a) and Senior Attackman, #12 Vincent Balara (3g) took charge of the game, posting an 11-2 halftime defecit from which the Falcons never recovered.

An 18-7 shot differential in just the first half would tell the whole story, set up by Sundara, a transfer player to St. Charles from the emerging Wheaton Academy program, whom the Falcons had beat 13-9 early in the season.

But the Falcons were not unfamiliar with the North Stars, having played them in a very close opening season tournament match up at the North-South Shootout in Wheaton early in March. Fans and players alike were anticipating a dog fight, with the St. Charles East community's fans and players showing up in force, to support one of the first contests of the newly formed Dukane Conference.

And thus a Wheaton-St. Charles rivalry was born, which is sure to expand over time as the two Wheaton shools (North and South) will likely be in continual contention with the St. Charles schools (East and North) for dominance of the Dukane Conference, which has a long history of competition in lacrosse, dating back to 2000, when Wheaton Warrenville South first started a team and played the St. Charles East program, as there was no North school at the time.

But Sundara went 17-6 against the two Wheaton North challengers, freshman Kaiden Libby #15, who managed to win 4, but lost 11, and Sophomore D-Pole, Hudson Moss #18, who won two against Sundara, losing six, but could check his fast break potential with a long pole.

The North Stars out shot the Falcons 38-20 overall, with 10 of the 20 Falcon shots coming in the fourth quarter, after Libby managed a series of wins against Sundara. But for the Falcons these opportunities were too few and the distance to great to alter the game's conclusion.

Wheaton North won the second half 4-3, but St. Charles North had piled up such a great lead that they could just rest the game in the capable hands of the North Star Defense, who held Falcon Attackmen, #28 Senior Will Clemens and #17 Ben Faraday, scoreless. Junior Attackman, #2 Matt Gemkow (2g,1a) did manage a pair of goals, and Senior Midfielder #23, Tate Moorhouse (3g) had a hat trick. But the D-poles for the North Stars did exactly what they needed to in order to stiffle any hopes Wheaton North might have for a comeback.

In lacrosse, if you can keep the ball on one side of the midfield line, the game usually takes care of itself, which is why the draw is so crucial for a team's success. And thus the Dukane Confernce contest up on the northside of St. Charles was a perfect example of just this dynamic, as Sundara managed to cage the Falcons in a way that commanded respect from the very first salute of the flag, to the final draw.

Goalies:

WN

22 - Nathan Ritscherle - Sr. - 5 saves on 18 shots

29 - Skyler Weil - Sr. - 11 saves on 20 shots

SCN

18 - Dillon Milani - 3 saves on 20 shots

Face Off:

WN

15 - Kaiden Libby - Fr. Midfield FOS - 4 wins on 15 attempts

18 - Hudson Moss - So. Defense - 2 wins on 8 attempts

SCN

15 - Kyle Sundara - So. FOGO/FOS - 17 wins on 23 attempts

WN

2 - Matt Gemkow - Jr. Attack - 2g,1a

23 - Tate Morehouse - Sr. Midfield - 3g

9 - Nic Richardson - Jr. Attack - 1g

Team - 15 ground balls, 16 clears on 23 attempts, 13 turnovers, 8 take aways, 20 shots

SCN

17 - Josh Uhri - Jr. Attack - 5g

7 - Jack Cunningham - Jr. Midfield - 3g,1a

12 - Vincent Balara - Sr. Attack - 3g

15 - Kyle Sundara - So. Midfield/FOS-FOGO - 1g

3 - Nick Schrepferman - So. Midfield - 1g

11 - Sean Lee - Sr. Attack - 1g

Team - 23 ground balls, 10 clears on 12 attempts, 11 turnovers, 3 take aways, 38 shots