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ELMHURST – Evan Gaughan and York claimed “The Bucket Trophy” and clinched a share of the West Suburban Conference title by virtue of their 8-7 victory in a thriller over Glenbard West on Thursday in Elmhurst on Thursday.
“They’ve taken the bucket from us the past two years,” said a triumphant Gaughan, after scoring three goals for the Dukes. “So getting it back my senior year and just having that for the guys next year? I’m really happy about that.”
The highly prized traveling trophy is a vintage blue Bacharach style “bucket” helmet that is proudly mounted to a mahogany-stained plank of wood with a silver plaque that reads, “THE BUCKET” in all capital letters and lists its previous owners.
It is awarded to the conference champion and follows that team throughout the next season of play. The Bucket serves as a stand-in for an official conference championship trophy and elicits obvious pride from everyone involved.
“We were very motivated. They had beaten us the last few years in close games. Our boys were very motivated,” said coach Tom Coyne.
The Dukes (8-5, 4-0) got the scoring started in a big way against the Hilltoppers, firing in the first five goals of the night, taking a commanding first-half lead in the process.
“They came out in a zone and we played very well against it,” added Coyne.
York sophomore Josh Reddick scored the first point of the evening. He finished with a pair of goals.
In total, five different Dukes found the back of the net: Gaughan and Reddick combined for five scores, while Adam Crum, Evian Plata, and Cole Bartlett each added one.
“In the first half, we were really possessing the ball, and when we had the ball, we were making good choices,” said Gaughan. “Just pushing it in transition.”
“Then in the second half, you know, they stepped up their game,” added Gaughan.
The Glenbard West (7-5, 1-1) rally was led by Cooper Kinney, as the Hilltopper standout had a hat-trick of his own, as the score tightened up and the intensity picked up.
The Hilltoppers ripped in a goal as time expired in the third quarter to make it an 8-6 game. However, York senior goalie Gavan Chavez stepped up and made a series of clutch saves to thwart the comeback attempt.
“[Chavez] played a very good game,” said Coyne.
At one point, the York goalie snatched a Hilltopper shot from midair before running the length of the field to make a sharp pass leading to a shot attempt that helped put pressure back on the Glenbard West defense late.
In the end, Gaughan and his Dukes were too much for the Hilltoppers to handle, as Glenbard West was only able to add a lone goal in the closing minutes before time expired on their comeback attempt.
“We all came together and focused on the things we needed to be focusing on when it was crunch time,” said Gaughan. “Our coaches were keeping the boys together. It was a great team effort and everyone was playing as hard as we could, and this game meant a ton to us.”
The Dukes will bring their newly claimed trophy with them when they head to Hinsdale Central on May 8th to close conference play.
“We’re excited for that,” said Coyne. “We’re also excited to play probably the two of the three best teams in the state during the last three games of the year.”
They will square off with Loyola, Lake Forest, and Saint Viator to wrap the regular season as the Dukes prepared for Sectionals.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20250501/boys-lacrosse/boys-lacrosse-york-wins-thriller-over-glenbard-west/