This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
MIDWEST REGION Nike/US Lacrosse High School Preview SUPER-CHILL COMETS PRESEASON TOP 10 >>


1. LOYOLA (ILL.) Loyola returns its best player, 2013 Midwest


Player of the Year Maggie Nick, a versatile and clutch scorer.


2. MASON (OHIO) Seniors Tori Blakeman, Allie Specht and Lindsey Zeltwanger give Mason the star power needed for a deep postseason run.


3. UPPER ARLINGTON (OHIO) The state champ won its last seven games


by at least five goals and has reached the final in six straight seasons.


4. NEW TRIER (ILL.) After a 1-2-1 trip to the East, the Trevians


lost just two games the rest of the season. Kelsey Murray will be hard to replace.


5. SYCAMORE (OHIO) The Aviators downed Mason and Medina in


the playoffs. Don’t ever count Sycamore out. 6. MEDINA (OHIO)


The Bees beat Okemos (Mich.) and East Grand Rapids to assert itself regionally.


7. EAST GRAND RAPIDS (MICH.) The Pioneers emerged from a very difficult


schedule with a 22-2 record in 2013. 8. BLAKE (MINN.)


Can Blake finally take down New Trier? 9. HINSDALE (ILL.)


Jacquie Edwards and Kate Christian have some picking the Red Devils to surpass New Trier as Loyola’s stiffest in-state foe.


10. MONTINI CATHOLIC (ILL.) Attacker Frankie Kamely hopes to make this team a permanent thorn in the sides of Loyola and New Trier.


With talent in place for title run, Mason (Ohio) needs to stop being so nice By Jonah Rosenblum


I


s there such a thing as being too friendly? Mason coach Paul Limpert fears there is. “This is why it’s taken us so long,” Limpert said. “Our girls are a little bit different than your average really good team. They genuinely seem


to get along together, and sometimes that keeps them from holding each other accountable for top performance.” The close-knit Comets made a bold leap into Ohio’s top tier last year, turning a 9-8 season with four one- goal losses in 2012 into a sparkling 17-1 campaign in 2013. But that one loss came in the regional final to Sycamore, which has eliminated Mason three times in the last four seasons.


The talent is all laid out for a championship run in 2014. All- Americans Tori Blakeman and Allie Specht, ground ball specialist Monica Vermillion and top-notch defender Katie Carr return, as do as additional scoring threats in Lindsey Zeltwanger and Brianna Manns. Limpert recently furnished pictures of current players together at a fourth-grade team dinner.


“It makes us a very close-knit team,” Blakeman said. “We know where each other is


All-American Tori Blakeman leads a deep senior class that hopes to carry Mason to the Ohio state championship.


going to be before we’re actually there.”


A Tori Blakeman Mason (Ohio)


A Kate Christian Hinsdale Central (Ill.)


M Annie Dooley Loyola (Ill.)


M Jacquie Edwards Hinsdale Central (Ill.)


A Frankie Kamely Montini Catholic (Ill.)


A Charlotte McGuire New Trier (Ill.)


A Armonde Moore Upper Arlington (Ohio)


M Maggie Nick Loyola (Ill.)


M Molly Plasket Upper Arlington (Ohio)


M Lydia Sutton Blake (Minn.)


A Publication of US Lacrosse


Blakeman and Specht set an even-keeled tone in the group. “They’re both super chill,” Vermillion said. “Normally, when you have people as good as they are, they’re a lot stricter.” The benefits are real, but the cons might be too. “We don’t necessarily want to hold people accountable because we don’t want to ruin those relationships that we’ve acquired over the years,” Blakeman said. Vermillion said there’s a fine line between respect and rudeness, but the players might have to approach that line to become a champion. “It would benefit our team if we were a little tougher on each other,” Vermillion said. “It’s just hard to do when you’re playing with your best friends.” The Comets will be tested early. They’ll play Illinois powers Loyola, the top team in the Midwest, and New Trier. They’ll also play in-state rivals Medina, Worthington Kilbourne, New Albany, Sycamore and last year’s state champion, Upper Arlington. “They’re going to see what they need to see before they get in the tournament this year,” Limpert said. “I don’t think last year we saw all that we needed to see, so it kind of hurt us.


“This is a heavy senior class with a lot of experience, a lot of talent, and with all that, a lot is expected,” he added. “If everybody stays healthy and everybody keeps working as hard as they are, they’re as good as anybody out there.” LM


March 2014 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 53


>>


©PAUL LIMPERT (TB); ©TD PAULIUS (MN); ©MARY LANGENFELD (LS)


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92