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Boys soccer: Schoo central to Schaumburg's success

It is the heart of the team.

Creativity flows from it, safety depends on it.

It's the communication hub, the nerve center in the park - the central midfield.

Some coaches prefer to have a pair of midfielders between the defense, and attack in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Others favor a duo in the core of a 4-4-2. But whatever the composition, it can win and lose championships.

And this fall, Schaumburg coach Hamid Mehreioskouei clearly had an advantage at the midfield position - one that helped his Saxons earn the MSL championship in an historic year for the tradition-rich Schaumburg program.

Senior Jason Schoo was a model player for his coach and team at that key midfield spot, and he captains the Daily Herald's Northwest all-area team.

"When it comes to character, Jason is second to none," said Mehreioskouei. "He takes so much pride in his academics, and he's the guy who best exemplifies the best of our program and our school."

Only a few team could boast a better goals-for and goals-against record this past fall, and the Saxons' captain was a major reason why.

Coaches from around the area voted both Schoo and his running mate, Jessie Lopez, as all-staters after the regular season ended.

"The greatest determining factor of a player's worth and value is their ability to make those around them better," said Mehreioskouei. "For Jason, when it comes to character, work rate, leadership skills and his ability to play on both sides of the ball for 80 minutes without taking a second off, he truly was the heart and soul of our team."

Lopez ended up dominating the voting to become a two-time all-state award winner. But just after Drew Brauner of Buffalo Grove in the overall vote came Schoo, which came as a surprise to the three-year varsity veteran.

Not so much to others in the know.

"Jessie was the best as what he does," said Palatine assistant coach Charlie Gries. "Technically, he's an amazing kid who could do so many things with the ball on his foot. Plus he was fun to watch, clearly the best from around here.

"But with all due respect to (Lopez), it was the presence of (Schoo) alongside him and his great ability to win every ball and control the middle that allowed him to get forward and play the way he does."

"Lopez was so talented," said St. Viator coach Mike Taylor. "He did things with the ball you ordinarily do not see high school players do very often. But when I watched Schaumburg play, you could see right away who was the best on both sides of the ball, a player who would absolutely control the middle to give his teammate the freedom to attack, create and get forward and into the final third."

Schoo showed his typical grace when learning of his all-area captaincy.

"Being captain of the all-area team truly means a lot to me," Schoo said. "It's a great honor, and to be recognized for my play by others is a terrific feeling. But to be honest, this award was all made possible by my teammates and the coaching staff. I would never have had the opportunity if it wasn't for them - so it's an award that I share with them."

Schoo pointed to the fact that Mehreioskouei, through the club team many of the the Saxons play for (SCU), has been a key factor in the rise of play throughout the program.

"We have to consider ourselves lucky to be involved in SCU because we have a terrific group of coaches, including (Hamid) who teaches the right way to play the game, while helping us improve our technical, tactical and all-around skills throughout training and our matches," said Schoo. "And for me, it's made me more comfortable with the way I play and approach the game, while having fun - because we play an exciting style of soccer."

Schaumburg dominated the MSL in 2015 because of a wonderfully deep and talented roster led by Schoo, Lopez, Alexis Flores, Niko Davis and keeper, Edgar Avila, who all are on this year's all-area team.

Case in point: The Saxons (19-3-0) outscored their opponents 67-16 overall and 36-7 in its league games, and they did not concede a goal home all season while scoring 25 in seven home contests.

"Playing alongside Jessie made me a better player for sure, and it was his presence in the middle that made Alexis (Flores) and Eddie (Gomez) so dangerous up top as our forwards, while it made my job so much easier at the same time," said Schoo.

While the many talents of Lopez are well-documented, the value of a player like Schoo is less obvious. But he sure made an impression on Brad Abel of Buffalo Grove.

"Schoo just dominated us at the MSL Cup," said the BG coach. "He won everything in the air, all of the 50-50's - and for a big guy he is very good on the ball, and can dribble his way free and get forward to make him that much more dangerous."

"Jason was constantly playing at level only a handful of other players around the area have able to match this season," said Mehreioskouei. "His ability to do nearly everything - win the ball, play through a teammate, strike from distance, tackle, defend, and be dangerous on set-pieces - made him the best all-around player, in my opinion," said Mehreioskouei.

Thsi fall, Schoo bagged 7 goals and had 4 assists while collecting his second straight all-MSL and all-sectional honors.

"I've had a great time playing here at Schaumburg, and there's been a lot of memories that I'll take with me, including our win in the MSL Cup, and most importantly, the friendships gained from being around the guys in the soccer program, and all the great times I've had in training, and playing," said Schoo.

A superb student-athlete, Schoo will begin preparations for another year on the varsity basketball team after starting in the backcourt last winter. His outstanding work in the classroom had led to an overall 3.97 GPA, weighted at 4.79 weighted on a 4.0 scale, and a hopeful stop next fall at either Indiana or Illinois.

"My playing days are likely over, but I'll always remember playing for coach Hamid, and how much fun it was to be a part of the soccer program here," School said.

Images: Daily Herald All-Area girls volleyball and boys soccer team captains

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