Class 1A state boys soccer: St. Edward, Monmouth-Roseville have many similarities

Similarities between St. Edward and Monmouth-Roseville go well beyond this being the first IHSA Class 1A boys soccer state finals for both schools.

The mirror images abound.

Tim Brieger is St. Edward soccer. Since taking the reins for his alma mater's boys team in 1995 and establishing the girls program in 1996, Brieger's tenure has surpassed the 1,000 milestone in games coached, the 250-win plateau with the girls and is well beyond the 200th with the Green Wave boys.

Aaron Sikorski literally started the boys program in 2005 when the Monmouth-Roseville consolidation began. Both gentlemen achieved only four wins in their inaugural seasons.

Sikorski was originally a youth league coach for kids including those now on the varsity. Brieger's current crew began as rug rats in his summer camps.

Both coaches share the emotional experience of having a son (Eric Sikorski and Chase Brieger) among the seniors on the roster.

The Green Wave's 26-1 record represents the single-season school record for victories. At 20-3-3, this year's Titans have tied their hallmark. Their win streak records come from 2017: St. Edward's 21-0 start and Monmouth-Roseville's current 10 consecutive victories.

Close to half of each team's schedule consists of foes from a higher class.

Two of M-R's three losses were courtesy of 3A Rock Island, but the Titans shellacked 3A Pekin (11-3), and were 6-0-1 versus 2A programs. St. Edward blanked 3A Lincoln-Way Central en route to one of the four PepsiCo Showdown bracket titles and is 8-1 against 2A schools.

Both teams combined prolific scoring with defense. The Titans have outscored opponents 106 (another school record) to 32 with goalie Edgar Mora Sanchez boasting nine solo out of 11 shutouts. The Green Wave have swamped foes 128 to 23 and Evan Sajtar has seven solo clean sheets and shared six other shutouts.

"What makes us more dynamic than previous successful teams is our offensive diversity," Sikorski noted. "I've watched these kids since their youth days and they like winning regardless of who scores."

Gilberto Vazquez leads the Titans with 24 goals followed by fellow seniors Kyaw Thang (20) and Grego Massengo (19), with 12 apiece from Chum Ling and Robert Lian - the latter being a junior. Senior Erick Suarez is the setup artist with a single-season school record 23 assists.

When asked if he knew anything about St. Edward, Sikorski didn't hesitate.

"It takes one search to learn 69 goals (for A.J. Franklin), that's pretty special," Sikorski said. "And number eight (Josh Johansen) obviously helps the whole machine run."

So what does Franklin think about being two goals shy of the IHSA state single-season scoring record of 71 goals set by Gordon Tech's Robert Meschback in 1976?

"Years from now it wouldn't kill me as much to come up shy of an individual record like it would to miss a chance to play for a state title," Franklin said. "I'll always remember the guys I played with and what we did together will mean more."

So how can Franklin or Johansen place so little import on adding to their St. Edward single-season and career records for goals and assists, respectively? Because they remember the empty feeling from 2016 when Normal University followed up a one-goal win over Peoria Christian with a 1-0 victory over St. Edward en route to the state championship.

Any guess what two schools are annually road blocks in Monmouth-Roseville's postseason path? Yup, those last two schools mentioned.

Before the M-R vs. St. Edward 7 p.m. semifinal at East Peoria's EastSide Center, the 5 p.m. match is one of contrasts. Alton Marquette's tradition-rich Explorers (15-6-3) were 1A state champion in 2012 and captured regional and sectional plaques years before Chicago Acero/Garcia (16-5-2) came into existence in 2008. The state finals are a quantum leap for the latter Patriots who were 6-12-1 just a year ago.