Lacrosse Player Turns Garbage into Goals

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, even in Lacrosse.

“A lot of (Charlie Stapleton’s) goals are because he is working hard in the crease and picking-up some good garbage goals,” Barrington’s Lacrosse Coach Chris Bluse said.  “He always seems to be putting himself in the right place.”

During April 30's lacrosse game between Barrington and Oak Park (1-6), Stapleton, a junior midfielder for the Broncos, continued that trend by scoring five goals (adding two assists) and helped Barrington to a first half 9-0 lead, which held up for a 10-6 victory over the Huskies.  

After Barrington (6-3) was leading 1-0, Stapleton added to the Huskies deficit by scoring the next two goals that gave them an early 3-0 lead, but more importantly would trigger a scoring barrage between him and teammate Austin Rich before ending the first half.

“Austin is one of our more talented players,” Bluse said of Rich’s four goals and one assist performance against the Huskies.  “When he comes to play, he does really well.” 

Rich, a junior attacker, registered back-to-back goals moments after Stapleton’s goal midway through the second frame.  During the ensuing scoring spree, Stapleton and Rich would alternate goals pushing the Bronco lead to 8-0.  Stapleton would score his fifth goal as the halftime buzzer sounded allowing Barrington to head to halftime with a comfortable 9-0 advantage.

“When we play well, we move the ball quickly and have a powerful offense,” Bluse said of the team’s second quarter scoring.  “This offense can be exciting to watch.”

Barrington would add another goal quickly to give them a 10-0 lead to start the second half.  It appeared as if the Broncos were going to cruise to victory, but then the Huskies offense (that averages a little more than seven goals a contest) showed up.  Thankfully for the Broncos they had built up a big enough lead because Oak Park was able to score six unanswered but still finished the match losing 10-6.

“It shows a lack of mental concentration and focus,” Bluse said of the concerns regarding the Oak Park second half scoring.  “We were fortunate to have such a big lead so I wasn’t too concerned with the outcome at that point but we see what can happen when we lose focus.”  

The Bronco’s (4-2 in conference) next game will be on the road Tuesday, May 3 against MSL W rival Hoffman Estates and begins at 7:30 p.m.