After loss in boys lacrosse state final, Loyola’s Jack Penn and Cal Callahan turned to golf for relief

Two days after suffering a heart-breaking loss to New Trier in the boys lacrosse state final, Cal Callahan and Jack Penn played golf at Valley Lo Club in Glenview.

Neither one of the two senior attackers had forgotten about the 9-8 loss in overtime at Hinsdale Central on May 31 and they needed a distraction. It was a game the top-seeded and two-time defending state champion Ramblers (17-5) were leading by two goals until the Trevians scored twice in the final 43 seconds of regulation to tie it up. New Trier scored the game-winner less than two minutes into overtime.

“It was such a shocker,” said Callahan, who scored the team’s first goal on an assist from Penn. “I mean, the wheels fell off or something. We all thought we had it in the bag.”

Penn said he kept playing the game over and over in his head, especially during the team’s banquet Sunday night at North Shore Country Club in Glenview.

“You think about one play, or how things could have gone differently,” he said. “We had a good chance to win the game, and we somehow let it slip away.”

So Callahan and Penn, who are best friends and Glenview residents, went to the golf course, a sanctuary of sorts for the two. Both are members at North Shore Country Club and spend many summer days playing friendly matches against one another.

“What happened, happened,” Callahan said. “That’s all she wrote. We still needed to get our minds off of lacrosse. It was a way to try and move on.”

After attending Glenview’s Our Lady of Perpetual Help and then Loyola, Callahan and Penn will go their separate ways for college. Callahan plans to play lacrosse at McGill University in Montreal and Penn said he’s going to be a walk-on for the Miami (Ohio) football team. Penn was the starting quarterback for Loyola’s team that finished second in Class 8A in the fall.

“I’m taking this week off to regroup and get my mind set on the rest of the summer,” Penn said. “It’s not all bad. I have a lot of great memories to look back on. I played on some really great teams and with some really great guys.

“Now, it’s about transitioning to the future.”