Lax Loss to New Trier Not Enough to Keep Spartans Down

Glenbrook North's boys' lacrosse team faced little resistance in its first five games of 2011. After beating Highland Park and Conant, the Spartans took their talents on the road and defeated three teams from greater Cincinnati to improve to 5-0 on the season; even more impressive, the Spartans were defeating their opponents by an average of eight goals per game. However, as six-time defending state champion New Trier visited William Lutz Stadium for a prime time showdown Wednesday night, the Spartans were dealt a case of their own crazy-eights, falling to the Trevians 12-4 in Northbrook.

"We didn't play as a team tonight," said senior captain Nathan Kelleher. "We stress all the time, acting and playing like a family. We acted like one tonight but we did not play as one. It's disappointing, especially on a stage like this."

New Trier scored nine unanswered goals and held the Spartans scoreless in the first half before GBN's Ryan Maksimovic found the back of the cage at the 7:35 mark of the third quarter. North scored again just 41 seconds later as Ryan Merritt notched his first of two goals on the evening, but the Trevians closed the quarter with two goals of their own, extending their lead to 11-2; NT scored first in the final period before GBN answered with a pair.

Despite the harsh reality check, Spartans' head coach Justin Georgacakis said that he knows his team will respond well.

"We can take a couple of good things out of tonight, but we got knocked back down to earth," said Georgacakis. "It obviously wasn't the result we were looking for but we can take a gut check out of this and come back to practice and learn.

"We had a handful of guys that battled and showed a warrior attitude for us and our goalies played well - Matt Greenfield (nine saves) did everything he could to keep us in the game. We have a lot of character, a lot of passion and we have a lot of strength. Our guys will rebound and we'll get it back together as a team."

The Spartans may have been down after the final horn on Wednesday, but they were never out. Georgacakis' tough-minded family never hung their heads either. They did not sulk, nor did they dwell. Every single Spartan held a look of determination on his face, knowing they must bounce back on Friday when they face rival Deerfield at home.

"It starts tomorrow at practice," Kelleher added. "We'll have a high tempo practice and we'll lead by example."

It was clear on Wednesday that despite the loss, Georgacakis, along with his assistants, Darryl Skale and brothers Mike and Trevor Synek, has instilled a new confidence in Glenbrook North's lacrosse program. It's a confidence that encourages players to push and support one another, a confidence that shows both on and off the field, and a confidence that is unable to be broken by a single loss to mighty New Trier.

"If we get another chance [vs. NT] be ready to be surprised," said Kelleher.

"They may be a great team, but we can play too," Greenfield added. "We will not take this loss to heart and we're going to keep moving. The only way to get better is work harder."