Lacrosse All-Star Game At Huntley High School A Gem

Standout lacrosse players in the NILAX All-Star Game at Huntley High School played a riveting game Tuesday night.

Tied in the final few minutes, the Red Team scored and beat the White Team 6-5.

Eric Percell, an attacker from Crystal Lake South High School, scored the game-winning goal. Percell and John Livingston, from Aurora, both scored two goals for the Red Team.

Joey Martin, of Cary-Grove High School, the Red Team goalie, made two incredible saves with just a half-minute left in the game, preserving the one-goal lead that lasted to the buzzer.

Seth Beu, an attacker from Huntley High School, scored the first goal of the game. A few minutes later Matt Casella, a midfielder for Cary-Grove, tied it up 1-1.

It turned into a two-hour dogfight.

Superlatives For A Finely Played Game:

Cheryl Recchia, a resident of Lake in the Hills and the mother of 17-year-old midfielder Frank Recchia, said it was one of finest-played games she's ever seen. Frank Recchia, who will be a senior at Huntley High School, played midfield for the white team.

“It was awesome,” Cheryl Recchia said. “It was nice and clean, no cheap shots. We are new to lacrosse and we love it. It's a great, fast game. I like it as much as football. It was a great turnout. There were a lot of Huntley supporters.

“The all-star team never practiced before, but they played beautifully together,” she added.

Rich Martin, director of NILAX, which has 24 teams and about 500 players, said he was pleased with the outcome.

“It was an awesome game,” Martin said. “The players were jacked up. It was fast-paced, clean, like what an all-star game should be.”

A.J. Collier, head coach of the Judson University lacrosse team, was at the game, scouting new talent.

“This was a good game,” Collier said. “Good lacrosse is now finally being played in Illinois. This area is becoming a hotbed of talent.”