Girls Lacrosse: Makayla Thomas, Maddie Wiltrout score two goals in St. Charles loss to Hinsdale Central

ST. CHARLES – The St. Charles co-op girls lacrosse team has seen the benchmark to reach.

Now, it's just a matter of seizing it when the time comes.

"The whole mantra for us this year is: 'This is just a journey; this is just a step'," co-head coach Ronnie Kluener said following the co-op's 12-5 loss on Wednesday to defending state champion Hinsdale Central.

"If we work hard, we hope to see them in the state finals this year," Kluener said.

Kluener is joined by Jordyn McFarlane, a 2013 St Charles North graduate, on the bench as co-head coach.

St. Charles (2-1) quickly found itself in a 7-0 first half hole, before captain Makayla Thomas ripped home one of her two goals in the match. The Red Devils (3-0) built a 10-2 halftime advantage, but were outscored 3-2 in the second half.

Maddie Wiltrout scored two goals and Lexi Kiefer added one to round out the scoring.

"Our program does not shy away from playing the best teams in state," senior defender Morgan Curzon said. "Hinsdale Central. New Trier, Naperville North [are] all great squads who made the state finals last year."

"But, to eventually get there, you must be tested by playing superior squads during the season," Curzon continued. "This is how it works in this sport. You must be battle tested."

The two programs met during the regular season last year, a 16-5 loss for St. Charles. The team then won 12 consecutive games en route to a sectional championship. St. Charles lost only three games all of last year.

Facing Hinsdale Central three games into the young season allows St. Charles to assess strengths and weaknesses in preparation for the ultimate goal, the state tournament.

"Just thinking about how we're going to be in June, if we can be that great [in the second half response] against the team that won state in the beginning of the season, how are we going to be in June?" Wiltrout posed.

Freshman goalie Meghan Steffey had eight saves on the night, helping keep a Red Devils attack that averaged nearly 16 goals per game somewhat at bay.

"I think we definitely realized being the underdog, we really have nothing to lose going into this game," Thomas said.

"It was really just showing them what we're actually made of and giving them a little bit of a run for their money. And, showing them that we aren't just an underdog; we can actually play," Thomas continued.

Red Devils senior Kristiana Strtak scored three goals and Jenna Collignon had two to highlight at least six different scorers. Sophomore goalie Jameson Pecilunas came in the second half in relief and made six saves.

St. Charles has five captains on the team: Jennie Hubbard, Thomas, Wiltrout, Kiefer and Curzon.

It's perhaps a bit unusual to have so many in a leadership role on a roster of 18 players, but their respective personalities help bring a little bit of a different perspective when different situations arise.

"It's what the girls wanted," Kluener said. "It's definitely been good, actually. I think each of them have a different personality; they work together well. I think when you're trying to achieve a big goal, it's nice to have help [and] support. They have each other to bounce things off of."