Dundee-Crown, Crystal Lake S. team up for good cause

While Dundee-Crown and Crystal Lake South competed on the main stage Thursday night in a key Fox Valley Conference Valley Division boys soccer matchup in Carpentersville which CL South won 2-1, the teams' actions on the field were just a footnote compared to the presentation off the field before the game to raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis.

Both soccer programs combined to raise over $2,200 in donations, an idea spearheaded by D-C head coach Rey Vargas and assistant Sebastian Falinski, who also serves as the Chargers' girls head coach. They were inspired by D-C principal Lynn McCarthy, who is retiring after this school year and has suffered from MS for 10 years. When Vargas and Falinski approached CLS coach Brian Allen about the cause, it was a no-brainer since Kelli Allen, the wife of assistant Tony Allen (no relation), was diagnosed with MS within the past year.

"We jumped on board," Brian Allen said. "We're glad they asked us. We came together and did something pretty special, pretty unique."

The money raised came from the sale of orange wristbands and T-shirts, which were sported during warm-ups that read "Kicking It Forward" on the front and "CLS and DC Together vs MS" on the back.

"It's kind of exciting for us because we've never done anything like this and I think the guys have stepped up and taken it to heart," Vargas said. "(Lynn) was diagnosed with MS and she's retiring this year so we wanted to do something nice and kind of a good send off for her. It's really close to our hearts and we wanted to do something nice we can be proud of. We wanted to do something special for her."

Orange footprints were also scattered throughout the two schools, as orange is the designated color to bring about MS awareness.

"High school athletics is here to teach them about life, responsibility and character," Brian Allen said. "The kids have to realize there's a lot more after soccer and high school that's worthy of raising awareness and trying to make it a good cause in the world and do something right."

Rockets bit by injury bug: Burlington Central head coach Mike Gecan isn't one to complain about the injury bug all too often but after what's transpired through the first 14 games of the season, Gecan certainly deserves the right to vent a little.

"We got pretty hit hard last weekend," Gecan said after 4 games in 3 days. "A broken nose, two concussions, an ankle injury and knee injury. That really kind of changed everything pretty quickly that weekend. We need to be healthy. A lot of guys who weren't seeing minutes are seeing minutes and it kind of caught us off guard this past weekend. We just need the younger players who are getting more playing time to start stepping up their game."

And certainly it seems so since those injuries came to significant players in the lineup. Concussed are goalie Ryan Fitzgerald and midfielder Cole Tecza, while defensive-mid Nate McMahon has the ankle issue and it's A.J. Gouriotis with the back issue. On top of that, leading goal scorer senior Stefan Jochum refuses to get his broken nose repaired. But maybe there's some luck involved with Jochum, as his brother Zach, who helped the Rockets reach the Class 2A Final Four in 2010, broke his nose as well.

"The doctor just said he can play on it, he'll have to wait on the surgery," Gecan said of his leading scorer, who scored his 10th goal and added his third assist in a 6-0 win against Richmond-Burton on Tuesday. "His brother did the same his senior year and (Stefan's) doing it as a senior. Hopefully the same good luck happens downstate."

The ripple effect forced Gecan to play into his bench and his lower level programs which helps his team get experience but the Rockets' 8-4-2 record (6-1 Big Northern East) conference certainly doesn't show much youth to it. Sophomore David Murphy is filling in the keeper role quite well for Fitzgerald but Murphy, after playing just a half against North Boone, was literally thrown to the Wolves at Prairie Ridge.

"He goes from North Boone and JV to Maine South, Prairie Ridge and Lake Park," Gecan said. "He held his own, he did a great job and kept us as close in the game as possible."

And while it helps his rotation, with youth comes the twins freshman Jack and Luke Schramme, and they're heavily involved in what BC's doing this season. During Tuesday's win at R-B, Jack tallied 1 goal and 2 assists while Luke had 1 goal and 1 assist. "You pay attention to the next four years because these are two of the best I've ever coached," Gecan said.

The Rockets host BN-East contender Harvard in a key division matchup Saturday. It's Central's homecoming game and kickoff is at noon.

Life without Nestor: Streamwood soccer is molding into something different over at Millennium Field without former standout Nestor Ascencio. For four years Ascencio roamed the turf as more like a player/coach, bringing home the school's first regional soccer title in 2012. But Ascencio was a marked man throughout his career and while unselfish play opened up other avenues for others, his absence opened up other doors as well and an 8-3-2 record so far this season certainly shows that.

"Everyone zoned in on Nestor last year so this year we don't have that one guy that everyone is just - maybe not (Alan Camarena) - but I think overall as a team we're using everyone like we should be." Sabres' coach Matt Polovin said. "And of course Nestor was that player who would find everyone, he had to really work hard and made soccer look easy but I think it really rubbed off on a lot of these players playing with him and seeing how he plays at the highest level like that. And in games like Larkin, Lake Zurich, Wheaton Warrenville South, even the Libertyville game we lost 2-1, we were still the better team it makes a big difference. I think the guys are still feeding off what he gave to the program."

But it also helps that Burlington Central-transfer Camarena has filled the void so to speak. He leads the Sabres with 12 goals and 9 assists on the year and sees a lot of the double and triple teams Ascencio was a magnet for. And according to Polovin, after losing an all-American, Camarena's not so bad.

"He's OK," Polovin said lighthearededly. "(Alan's) great. It's nice to pick up a goal scorer. He's got speed, he finds a way to put the ball in the back of the net. And again it shows when you have three defenders on you, they know that's our go-to-guy but we have two or three other forwards like Blerim Shobini, Donnie Sosa, we have a lot of weapons, but Alan makes those guys a lot better, too."

The Sabres are also benefiting from the five freshmen playing this season - Jair Zuniga, Oscar Chavez, Aldo Lazaro, Alex Herrera and Rafael Gil (4 goals), who have combined to score 8 goals and dish out 6 assists on the season.

"They don't play like they're freshmen, I have it instilled in their head that they need to play like a four-year starter on varsity," Polovin said. "And that's what they're doing and it really makes a difference because they're fitting in with the upperclassmen so to speak and playing at a high level."

Secretaries of defense: Before the season Cary-Grove coach Mark Olson said it was going to be important for the Trojans to play defense since a strong defensive group was returning. So far Olson's been a man of his word. The Trojans are 10-1 and winners of 10-straight because of that defense. After allowing 2 goals to Boylan in its season debut, C-G has allowed 5 since and shut out 6 teams, including Thursday's 3-0 win over Von Steuben.

"To their credit, they've been playing phenomenally," Olson said. "They're very organized. It's great leadership from Brad Sigsworth and (keeper) Ethan Csoka - he's talking the entire time, he's going ahead and helping us guide the guys in front of him get into the right position."

Olson also praised senior Josh Gratz for his efforts in the midfield but defensively speaking, seniors Matt Scott and Kevin Budreck and junior Jesse Ives on the outside have contributed mightily while seniors Pat McKune, who's moved from the midfield to the back row, and Sigsworth, who brings defensive experience from last year as a junior, "have really done a great job so far," according to Olson. "Both of them are incredibly smart, they read the game extremely well, they work very well together, they're supporting one another in the different things. They have a great understanding in what needs to be done and it's a lot of fun watching them work."

Then there's Csoka, who's allowed 6 goals in 11 games."(It's a) combination of not seeing a whole lot of shots, based on how well we defend. But he makes the one or two saves a game he needs to make," said Olson. "Honestly, it's the whole team, it's not just the back four, everybody else has to do their job. We defend as a team and they've been doing a great job."

But even Olson knows it takes a total team effort, from him to his coaching staff, the players and the parents.

"I've been incredibly blessed to have the type of players that I've had, they're great kids, they're hungry, they work hard, they're great teammates, support one another. It's really a blessing," he said. "The environment makes it so much easier to work (with parents, staff - Ray Krystal, Bob Slatter, Andre Watson, Chris Phillips). Our staff's been together I don't know how many years. They've been invaluable. It's a big reason behind what we do."