The 7-on-7 St. Charles Boys Lacrosse Team was (foreground) Peter Steele, (front row) Preston Reilly, Thomas Feicco, Dylan Ward, Ian Scales, Sean Brogan and Vince Frantz, and (back row) Steve Lavigne, Eric Boller, Mike Swartz, Andy Forsell, Tyler Chamberlain, C.J. Nemec, Sean Leary and Austin Hammer.

Combining a sharpshooting attack with solid defense and goaltending, the St Charles Boys Lacrosse Club took fourth place in the 26-team Lacrosse America 7-on-7 Fall 2004 Shootout in Winnetka. The team won three of its first four games to advance to the tournament consolation game, where it nearly beat a powerful squad from Libertyville High School.

The 7-on-7 format is a scaled-down version of regulation 10-on-10 play, using a shorter field and a running clock. The format rewards an up-tempo pace and quick, accurate ball movement, and many possessions are a fast-break.

Because of its quickness, St Charles often was able to move the ball well against larger teams. The ball was cleared quickly out of its own end and attackers had good scoring chances before the opponent’s defense was set. St Charles goalie Peter Steele, who made several spectacular saves, triggered many such plays with crisp outlet passes to midfielders streaking down the sideline. Another sharp pass often found the ball on the stick of attackman Vince Frantz, who was nearly unstoppable from the left corner.

The St. Charles team rallied from early deficits in several of its games, led by opportune defense and the all-over-the-field efforts of All-Conference midfielder Mike Swartz. Against 2004 state semifinalist Lyons Township, it came back from three goals down to force the game into overtime, where Lyons won. And against state runner-up Libertyville, the team came back from six down to finish just shy at 7-5. Victories over Neuqua Valley, Lane Tech and St Viator also were hotly contested.

The team, which was coached by St Charles resident Matt Ward, featured returning seniors, juniors and sophomores from last year’s varsity and junior varsity squads, as well as several new underclassmen. The players were: Seniors Eric Boller, Preston Reilly, Peter Steele and Mike Swartz; Juniors Tyler Chamberlain, Vince Frantz, Sean Leary and Ian Scales; Sophomores Thomas Feicco, Andy Forsell, Austin Hammer, Steve Lavigne, C.J. Nemec and Dylan Ward, and Freshman Sean Brogan.