LM Midwest Region Report: April 19, 2011
by Matt Forman | LaxMagazine.com
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Former LM Midwest Region Player of the Week Leo Horine continues to play well for Dublin Jerome (Ohio), but defense has been the Celtics' calling card in beating Western Reserve and Archbishop Moeller. |
Player of the Week
John Horner, Dublin Jerome, Ohio
Coming into the season, Dublin Jerome coach A.J. Auld knew defense
would be his team's strong suit, as the unit returned all of its
starters from last year's team, though Auld probably couldn't have
predicted how tough it would be for opponents to find the back of
the net. Senior close defenseman John Horner, a Towson commit, has
been leading the Celtics' defense, and the unit hasn't allowed an
opposing team to score in double figures yet this season. The
defense has allowed only 17 goals combined in the last five games,
and on Tuesday they didn't allow anyone on Western Reserve Academy
(Ohio) to score more than once.
Midwest Region Top 10
1. New Trier (Ill.) – (5-2) – The Trevians hold onto the top spot in the rankings thanks to two solid wins over Evanston Township (Ill.) and Lyons Township (Ill.).
2. Culver Military Academy (Ind.) – (9-1) – The countdown to April 30, the day Culver faces No. 1 New Trier, is on; the Eagles continued their hot start with a pair of weekend wins.
3. Dublin Jerome (Ohio) – (8-0) –While the defense has been stout, Joe Bano and Leo Horine are pacing the Celtics offensively, scoring five and four goals respectively last week against Western Reserve and Archbishop Moeller (Ohio).
4. Upper Arlington (Ohio) – (7-0) – The Golden Bears squeaked past Mount Lebanon (Pa.), and they’re now riding a 15-game winning streak dating back to last year’s two-goal loss to Western Reserve Academy in early May.
5. Brother Rice (Mich.) – (4-2) – Brother Rice took out its frustration from the loss against New Trier on Birmingham-Seaholm (Mich.) in the form of a 14-1 thrashing, but the Warriors fell 10-5 to Canada’s Hill Academy (Ontario), which isn’t a bad loss considering Culver beat Hill by only one goal.
6. Mason (Ohio) – (5-0) – The Comets just keep playing consistent lacrosse, as they’ve scored 15 goals in each of the last three games and surrendered fewer than seven in each contest this year.
7. Worthington Kilbourne (Ohio) – (7-3) – Kilbourne responded after a pair of losses on the East Coast by winning two intrastate games last week, and the Wolves’ only game of the week comes Wednesday against Dublin Scioto, a team they beat 18-3 in 2010.
8. Rockhurst Jesuit (Mo.) – (13-2) – Three more wins for the Hawklets, who’ve now won six in a row since an overtime loss to St. Michael’s College (Ontario); a significant test looms later this month against Culver.
9. Cincinnati St. Xavier (Ohio) – (7-3) – An 8-5 victory over Western Reserve helps solidify the Bombers’ place in the rankings, and two other wins last week give St. X a three-game win streak.
10. Medina (Ohio) – (5-1) – After spending a week out of the top-10, the Bees buzzed their way back, beating St. Edward (Ohio) and Roosevelt (Kent, Ohio) last week.
Game of the Week
No. 2 Culver Military Academy (Indiana) at St. Charles
(Ill.) – Friday, 7 p.m.
We’re about another 10 days away from some of the
Midwest’s most anticipated matchups of the season, but
there’s an under-the-radar game worth following this week.
St. Charles (7-1) suffered an early-season loss to Louisville
Trinity (9-0), but the Saints have rattled off six straight
W’s since, and they’re gaining momentum toward meeting
Culver under the lights Friday night. Andy Thompson’s squad
is coming off an 18-win campaign in 2010, with two of the
team’s three losses suffered against New Trier. But no one in
the region has been able to control Culver, which will also face
Lyons Township (Ill.) on its swing through the Land of Lincoln.
News and Notes
Last week's sixth-ranked team, Western Reserve Academy (Ohio), fell out of the top 10 for the first time this year. There's no doubt that the Pioneers play a challenging schedule -- they've already played three games against Midwest top-10 teams and a handful against top-flight teams from the East Coast -- but WRA has struggled to get its offense going against high-level competition. ... With lacrosse slowly getting underway in Wisconsin, a team to look out for is Kettle Moraine, which beat defending state runner-up Verona (Wis.) in overtime last week. The Lasers are 4-0 and have a pair of overtime victories.
