Boys soccer: Fox Valley postseason appears wide open
If the boys soccer postseason in the Fox Valley area can mirror the parody in the Fox Valley Conference's Valley Division, there could be quite an exciting run into the first week of November.
After McHenry (15-2-2) knocked off Jacobs 2-1 Saturday to prevent the Golden Eagles (15-5) from an outright title, the Valley Division ended in a 5-way tie with the Jacobs, McHenry, defending champion Crystal Lake South (10-8-4), Dundee-Crown (12-4-4) and Huntley (14-5-1) - all with 3-2 records - claiming a share of the title.
And now comes the postseason.
Starting at the Jacobs regional, No. 6 Streamwood (10-6-4), a 2014 Class 3A fourth place finisher, edged No. 7 Larkin 1-0 in Saturday's play-in game on senior forward Donnie Sosa's header. Sosa leads a typical fast-paced squad with 13 goals and 6 assists, and the Sabres are peaking at the right time. They've gone 4-0-2 in their last 6, including a 4-3 win over co-Upstate Eight River champ St. Charles North. Getting back to state has been the goal from the get-go and the Sabres know what's at stake, including what to expect from No. 2 Jacobs in Wednesday's 5 p.m. semifinal.
"The guys who were on the team last year, that got to have that fun going to state ... all those guys are going to be the leaders out there," Sabres coach Matt Polovin said. "We played (Jacobs) last year in their tournament and it seems like they're a completely different team than they were. They'll definitely be a good test, hosting the regional on their home grass, they'll have everything going for them."
Jacobs can play an array of styles, and that has much to do with the explosive Noah Melick, a forward who has led the way with 17 goals and 8 assists and commanded a lot of respect from opposing back lines. His composure and decision making, along with a matured defender in Chris Rigby (3 goals, 8 assists) has Jacobs' preseason goals coming into light.
"We've set high expectations for ourselves and we know that comes with a lot of pressure," Jacobs coach Anthony Cappello said. "And so before each game we talk about coming out and working and burning everything in the game but also enjoying every game we step out there because there is a ton of pressure. You've got to find a way to enjoy it or you're going to let all the pressure and distractors get to you."
The winner faces off against the 7 p.m. winner of No. 3 Dundee-Crown vs. No. 5 Elgin, a rematch of Sept. 21 game that D-C came back from a 2-1 halftime deficit to win 3-2. D-C is looking to avoid the pressure of two previous semifinal exits, as Julian Ajroja (15 goals, 5 assists), Freddy Martinez (9 goals, 14 assists) and Jeremy Jareckj (3 goals, 3 assists) have given the Chargers 12 wins on the season.
But the Maroons may have their own plans. Twice Elgin has finished second in the respective tournaments it has played in, and behind 128-pound junior Jonathan Ramirez's 36 goals and 8 assists, and a 15-7-2 record, Elgin's one-game approach has worked out this season. Omar Gonzalez has 5 goals and 5 assists while Pedro Hernandez is second in scoring with 8 goals and 5 assists.
At the Rockford Guilford regional, No. 2 Huntley is getting hot at the right time. After knocking off CL South 4-1 two weeks ago, the Raiders march in against No. 7 Auburn with a 5-1 mark over their last 6 games, the only loss coming to Dundee-Crown in PKs.
Senior defender Jason Zobott has made his impact in the back well known while Michael Zembrzuski and Travis Walsh have a certain dynamic up front. Regionals are like starting fresh to coach Kris Grabner, but his team had its back against the wall with a sub-500 record last year and rattled off a sectional run.
"We have seen a large majority of the teams in our sectional," Grabner said. "Unfortunately, that does not include any teams from our regional. I expect all four teams left to come out playing hard from the opening whistle. We will have to be disciplined and focused throughout the playoffs to be successful."
At DeKalb, top-seeded CL South battles the Barbs on their home turf Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., a place they know well. South lost in a sectional semifinal to Boylan 1-0 last year, with a crossbar in the final seconds separating them from a possible sectional final appearance. But the repeat FVC Valley champs feature one of the most dynamics forwards in the area in Andrew Grabowski, who has scored 9 goals and 8 assists. Nikolas Getzinger surged for 16 goals and 6 assists to lead CLS, which comes into the postseason 2-3 in its last 5 games.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 4 Cary-Grove (7-8-2) and No. 8 South Elgin meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and that's a rematch of a 4-1 Trojans win on Sept. 22. The Storm has seen Derek Baker go for 15 goals and 5 assists in 14 games while Isaac Perez has registered 6 goals and 5 assists. The Trojans struggled throughout the conference season but you cannot count out Esteban Angeles, Michael Arenberg and Patrick Kingdon. All advancing teams will meet in the Huntley sectional beginning on Oct. 27.
The Class 3A Wheaton Academy sectional begins Oct. 28, but it has a more diverse pairing group with regional hosts Bartlett, Lake Park, Addison Trail and Conant.
At Streamwood's Millennium Field, No. 3 St. Charles North and No. 6 Bartlett (12-7-2) are on a crash course, as North, fresh off its UEC River title, takes on No. 14 Rolling Meadows at 4:30 p.m. whereas the host Hawks, the UEC Valley champs, get No. 12 West Chicago Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The Hawks have proved themselves, as runner-up at the Best of the West tournament and the Bucs Classic but the main concern surrounds health issues this season, including starting center back Josh Merkel, who should return Tuesday after suffering a concussion.
"We have to clean some stuff up in the back," Hawks coach Vince Di Nuzzo said. "Other than that, we're ready. We just have to stay healthy, keep on training hard and step up when the time comes. We don't have an easy road. But we don't fear anyone that we play."
The cast includes TJ Ivkovich, who scored a hat trick in their season finale, whereas the always dangerous AJ Santori can set the table.
St. Charles North (13-4-3) marches into the postseason 7-1-1 in its last 9 games. The North Stars are clicking and their defensive effort has said so. They've posted 5 shutouts in their last 6 games (4-1-1).
No. 5 St. Charles East, which opened the season 1-3-1, never wavered. With an abundance of talent, the Saints proved some doubters wrong, found some cohesion and rallied for a 13-4-2 finish. After losing to St. Charles North 2-1 on September 22, the Saints are 9-0-1. Host Conant has its hands full and should the Saints get to the regional final, Ty Seager and No. 4 Wheaton Academy, which lost to the Saints 3-0 September 26, should be waiting.
No. 17 West Aurora's 2-0 win over No. 16 Oswego East Friday earned the Blackhawks a semifinal tilt against host and top-seed Naperville North. No. 9 Geneva and No. 7 Plainfield Central square off in Tuesday's nightcap at 7 p.m. The Vikes, winless in their last 8 games, feature Matt Waldoch and his 9 goals, an outside mid who is always ready for postseason play while central defender Drew Klaus had 3 goals despite playing in the back.
At Waubonsie Valley, No. 6 Batavia meets No. 11 Marmion Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., with the winner likely to play No. 3 Neuqua Valley in the regional final on Saturday. The Cadets (9-7-3) are led by junior forward Sean Miller, who leads the team with 9 goals and 10 assists. Nick Grant, who posted 12 last year, is up to 9 goals and 4 assists this season. If the Bulldogs are to play for a regional title, they'll have to find a way to past senior defender Joe Duffield, who's aided Marmion's 10 shutouts.
In Class 2A at Hampshire, No. 2 Fenton squares off with No. 6 Kaneland at 5 p.m., and the Knights have come on since a 1-3-1 start behind junior forward Angel Escontrias and senior mid Andres Tovar. The nightcap features a marquee matchup between No. 3 Hampshire (12-7-1) and No. 5 Burlington Central (11-10-1). Last year, the Whip-Purs and Rockets met in the same game as Burlington was a top seed in the Hampshire sectional. The Whips knocked off the Rockets 3-1, and coach John Gosling has that well in mind this year, as his team is the higher seed this time around.
"We know that they remember last year, and we also know that they bring a ton of energy not just because it's the playoffs, but because it's us," Gosling said. "We're very understanding of what they're going to be bring to the game. And I say we just play our game, we've got to play well and we'll be fine."
Hampshire boasts good work ethic and great trust, and there's good vibes around Jose Cruz, a junior center-mid with 8 goals and 8 assists and junior forward Doug Stuehler, who has come on this season with 10 goals and 3 assists. After winning 4-straight at one point, the Rockets have gone 3-3 but do have firepower in Jack Schramme's 16 goals and 4 assists and Cole Tecza's 6 goals, 7 assists.
At the Class 1A Aurora Central Catholic sectional, maybe the most improbable run of any team in the Fox Valley belongs to Elgin Academy, a No. 7 seed that went through defending regional champion Harvest Christian 5-2, then beat host Genoa-Kingston 3-0. That win marked Elgin Academy's first regional title.
Julian Romano leads the way with 18 goals and 10 assists while Drew Wilmington settles in at 11 goals and 10 assists for the Hilltoppers. Karl Rauschenberger also has 10 goals and 2 assists. It certainly has been a traveled road for the Hilltoppers, but that road gets a bit more treacherous with Keith Country Day in the semifinal Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. Hinckley-Big Rock takes on Oregon in the second semifinal.