Coming off a 6-5 triple overtime victory against Latin on April 19, Lane Varsity Boys Lacrosse had an extra boost of energy heading into an already anticipated rivalry tilt last Friday.

Looking to keep control at the top of the Chicago Public Conference standings, Lane translated that energy into offense, scoring 19 goals in a 19-2 rout of the Taft Eagles (4-6, 3-2 conference).

Despite the 17-point final margin, the game still proved to bring some obstacles for Lane to overcome. 

 “We started out fast, our [starters] were in, we scored some quick goals,” Ryan Southward, a senior defensive player, said. “The defense wasn’t top tier. Some of our players started doing some dumb things on offense, like trying to be a little too show-offy, but then Coach kind of humbled them, we got our subs in.”

Taft currently sits third in the Chicago Public League while Lane is ranked first, so Lane’s players were able to go into the game confident that they would be able to win. 

“There are some city teams that don’t have the lacrosse pipeline yet, and they aren’t as talented, so it’s a good opportunity because we carry a large roster,” Southward said.

And after putting up enough goals to have a substantial lead early in the game, the less-experienced players were given more playing time. 

“It was definitely a team effort, definitely good to see people who don’t have the most goals in the season, don’t get the most chances to get some good reps and good goals,” said junior attack Augie Watts. 

Andrew Katz, a senior attack, led Lane with five goals, followed by Nico Valentino, a sophomore attack, who had three goals in the winning effort. 

After a 9-1 non-conference win over Notre Dame on April 23, Lane (11-2, 6-0 conference) sits atop of the Chicago Public League standings heading into the city playoffs. Lane plays in the second round of the playoffs on May 4.