OP_032119

50 | March 21, 2019 | the orland Park Prairie sports
OPPrairie.com
LACROSSE
D230 opens second season with turnaround win over Lockport
JEFF VORVA, Sports Editor
It is the second year
of lacrosse being sanctioned
by the Illinois High
School Association.
If the D230/Andrew coop
boys first game of the
second season is any indication,
you can throw out
some of the results from
the first year.
Andrew, which has
players from District 230
schools Andrew, Sandburg
and Stagg, opened
the 2019 campaign on
a huge note with a 13-7
victory over Lockport
on March 13 in Tinley
Park. Last year, the Bolts
dropped a 12-5 decision to
the Porters.
Kevin Normoyle
opened the season with
the Bolts’ first goal and
finished with three goals
and assists.
Aiden McKernan, Calvin
Greenan and Thomas
Cavanaugh each added a
pair of goals.
Coach James Ramazinski
cited Trevor Ward,
Maxwell McNamara,
Cameron Weldon and
Daniel Slater for their defense.
The team continued
its winning ways on Saturday,
March 16, when
it won a wild 9-6 battler
with Kaneland in Tinley
Park.
Andrew hosts an eightteam
tournament on Saturday,
March 23.
D230 player Daniel Slater (right) and Lockport’s Zachary Ottolino fight for position (left photo) and Jordan Cortez
breaks away (right photo) on March 13 in Tinley Park. PHOTOS BY JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA
HOCKEY
Celtics’ surge falls short against defending state champs
BRITTANY KAPA
Freelance Reporter
It took just 7 seconds for
Providence Catholic High
School to turn the momentum
of the Amateur Hockey
Association Illinois
state semifinal game to its
favor, but Loyola Academy
Gold proved why it is
the defending state champions.
The Ramblers and Celtics
battled it out March 11,
at the Edge Ice Arena in
Bensenville, for a chance
to play on the state stage
at the United Center, and
despite Providence evening
the playing field early
in the second period, it
was Loyola who regained
control and closed out the
semifinal match 4-2.
Down 2-0, the Celtics
came out with fire to start
the second period, and after
switching up their lines
evened the score quickly.
Orland Park’s Colin Reis
broke through quickly into
second-period play. Peyton
Botich’s shot dribbled
past Loyola’s goaltender,
Matthew Choate, seven
seconds later, and tied the
game with 15 minutes, 18
seconds left in the period.
“With playing a more
veteran team, with older
kids, we knew we couldn’t
afford to make any mistakes,”
Providence coach
Nick Iaciancio said. “We
made a couple in the first
period that led to those
goals, but we came back
from that, and I’m proud
of that effort.
“We changed things up,
we decided we were going
to pressure them, so we got
a couple of quick ones off
of that. We got into some
penalty trouble after that,
and I think that took some
of our momentum away.”
Penalty trouble hurt a
young Providence team at
the start of the third, and a
veteran Loyola squad did
not waste time turning that
into their advantage.
Providence, with 13
rookies on the team this
season, two freshman
among them, played their
best hockey in the last two
weeks of the season according
to the coach.
“It was going to be a
year where it took some
time to mature, luckily we
matured the last two weeks
of the season,” Iaciancio
said.
Sophomore Joe Mc-
Connell, of Mokena, was
disappointed with the outcome,
but his confidence
in his teammate never wavered
during the game.
“Throughout the whole
game I thought we were
going to win, even when
we came out during that
third period even when we
were down two goals,” he
said.
With so many players
possibly returning next
season, Iaciancio has high
hopes for what next season
will bring.
“I just told the returning
players that we’re going
to expect a lot out of them
now, they showed that they
can do what we asked for
and going forward that’s
going to be their expectation,”
he said.
Loyola’s Eamon O’Brien (left) and Providence’s Graham
Garrett try to edge each other out for puck possession
along the boards. BRITTANY KAPA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA