Getting double-teamed the moment he had the ball was not a part of Cole Johnston’s lacrosse universe a year ago when his Lake Forest team reached the semifinals of the state tournament.
Fast forward one year. Johnston, a junior who has committed to play at Maryland, has two defenders covering nearly his every move.
Johnston’s ability to turn the extra attention from opposing players into a plus for the Scouts (8-9) was a key to the team’s success this year and will be a major factor when a young, inexperienced team of sophomores and juniors becomes a seasoned varsity squad in 2017.
“He has learned to create for the offense,” coach Marc Thiergart said. “As soon as he got double-teamed, he was able to find the open man. His stats don’t show everything he does on the field.”
Johnston said he thought he might have to deal with double-teaming before the season began but never expected it to happen so fast. He did what was necessary to develop into a playmaker and said it will carry over into next season.
Despite the defensive schemes thrown at him, Johnston scored 35 goals, dished out 14 assists and picked up 61 ground balls. One of his favorite passing targets was Jack Mislinski, a sophomore who led the Scouts with 47 goals.
“He always sees me when I hit a crease as a defender slides (over for a double-team),” Mislinski said. “He allows me to get free with the ball.”
Lake Forest won its first-round playoff game against Warren 9-6 on Tuesday, May 24, before a season-ending 16-12 loss in the second round Thursday, May 26, at fourth-seeded Naperville Central.
Johnston said he took note of the strong senior leadership last season and tried to fill the shoes of his role models this season. He said he intends to amplify his role as a leader next year.
“I want to make everyone around me better,” Johnston said. “It’s really all about chemistry. We didn’t get to know each other enough this year. We’re going to spend time together this summer getting to know each other better on the field. We’ll do the same thing in the fall so we have the chemistry when it counts in the season.”
In addition to organized team activities, Johnston said players will take initiative to get together on their own. Johnston and Mislinski said their teammates will take advantage of the increased opportunities to improve as a team during the offseason. They both recognize the need to start building next season’s camaraderie immediately.
“We remember what the chemistry was like last year,” Mislinski said. “We have to get that back. We know we can.”
Johnston said part of bonding is developing closer relationships off the field as well.
“When I see a teammate in the hall, I’m going to stop and say hi,” Johnston said. “It will really empower all of us by making those connections. If we get good enough team chemistry, it can counterbalance lesser skills.”
Johnston said the goal for next season is simple.
“We’re going to get back to having a winning season,” he said.
Steve Sadin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @sadinsteve
