York Girls Celebrate Hockey, Lacrosse Stardom

By Ross Forman
York had quite an impressive first year in Metro Girls, as the Dukes were ranked No. 1 in the state tournament before being upset in the semifinals, 4-3 by Fenwick.

“It was great to see such unity and pride to wear the York jersey,” said York girls head coach Ryan Walz, whose club comprised 25 players, all of whom attended York. “Many of these girls were on the Fenwick combined team in years past, but they always mentioned how much more special it was to play for York. 

“We had a great team (last season), just ran into a hot (Fenwick) goaltender in our final four game.”

Walz, who lives in Schaumburg, has been coaching for 25 years, including stints at A, AA, AAA and high school.

“We will be solid again,” this upcoming season, Walz said. “I’m excited to see this team battle. We will be losing Ella Skotty, (who) led the league in goals. She was also fourth on the York lacrosse team that went to the state championship. She will be playing hockey for Union College.”

York, though, will return Elle Close, Emma Rychley, Brooke Vogel, Tatiana Kallianis, Alexis Gorski and Julia Matke, among others.

York will have six or seven freshmen and all “looked like solid players,” said Walz, who watched them skate this past spring.

Walz also is York’s girls’ lacrosse coach, a post he’s held for close to 20 years.

“I think it’s very important to be a multi-sport athlete,” Walz said. “I love seeing girls playing multiple sports. They make new friends, experience different competitions and challenges that help them in other sports. Many studies show that multi-sport athletes have less injuries due to not overusing certain muscles and slowing the body to work different muscle groups and hence gaining or fine-tuning basic skills.”

Hockey and lacrosse are a perfect pair, he said.  Hockey players can improve through lacrosse with conditioning, hand-to-eye coordination, stick handling, coordination and more. “Lacrosse and hockey are tough sports; the battle and compete is so similar except the playing surface,” Walz said.

“It was so awesome to see our (York) hockey players play lacrosse this spring season. They love the similarities in that they are both fast-paced games with a good amount of scoring and skill.”

The York lacrosse team featured Ella Skotty (Chicago Mission), Elle Close (Team Illinois) and Sophia Berg (Team Illinois).

“Ella Skotty is one of the best female athletes I have ever coached,” Walz said. “I really wanted her to play for York Lacrosse. She only played three years of York lacrosse but was a huge piece to our state run. She’s a power forward, gifted scorer in hockey, and on the lacrosse field she is super versatile. 

“Elle Close is a super-fast, tough defensive player. Sophia Berg is a natural athlete, fast and competes on every play.”

Walz added: “I’m always encouraging hockey players to try lacrosse and they always seem to love it. Not long ago I convinced a freshman hockey goalie to play as a lacrosse goalie. She was later recruited and played Division I lacrosse. I know there are so many other great hockey players who excel at lacrosse on the best lacrosse teams in the state. Many of these girls start playing as freshmen and due to the super athleticism it takes to be a good hockey player, they can pick up lacrosse easily as well.”