Hinsdale Central’s breezes past Ignatius

Updated: June 1, 2011 11:08PM

The summer before entering Hinsdale Central, senior Maggie Langhamer watched a Fourth of July parade that included the Red Devils girls lacrosse championship club.

Langhamer’s five goals led Hinsdale Central to an 18-8 win at home over St. Ignatius and back to the finals. The Red Devils were the last team to play for a state title other than Loyola and New Trier.

“It’s cool to go back to where that team was,” said Langhamer, who didn’t play lacrosse before high school. “They were an inspiration.”

For one half, it was a coin flip between the Red Devils and Wolfpack as the teams entered the break tied 8-all. Hinsdale Central struggled to contain St. Ignatius’ Katie Angulo.

But the Red Devils scored 10 unanswered goals in the second half to win for the seventh time in a row and earn their Friday trip to Northwestern, where they will play Loyola in a rematch of the 2007 title game.

“We didn’t play up to our potential,” Langhamer said of the first half. “It was disappointing. We needed to play like Hinsdale. We stepped it up in the second half.”

Langhamer started the run to the title game with the first goal of the second half. Betsy Arnold scored twice in the second half and four times for the game. Kate Christian contributed two goals as the Red Devils played with standout Dylan Voneiff, who sat out after getting two yellow cards in the quarterfinal victory over Montini.

“I am sure they knew Dylan was out, but this is such a team sport,” Langhamer said. “It was a real downer not to have her, but everybody on our team can play this game.”

Hinsdale Central (15-4-1) will get another shot at Loyola. The Ramblers beat the Red Devils 21-9 on May 6, and that was the last time Hinsdale Central lost.

“We’re a better team,” Langhamer said. “The whole year has been a roller-coaster. We’ve had our lows and highs.”

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