Light at the end of the tunnel coming earlier than usual for girls soccer

That freight train I see motoring toward the penalty area is the end of the girls soccer season. The IHSA tournament starts next week, and with it will come the sequential end of our teams' seasons.

If it seems as if the season just started, that's just an illusion. The season started earlier than ever this spring. The problem was that winter never let up its grip on Illinois, and matches got canceled in huge numbers.

It's easy to point fingers at the IHSA, and I'm one of the first to do so on a number of issues throughout the year. But this is one where they can't be faulted. The girls soccer season ends May 30-31, a week before baseball and softball as usual. June 7 is the end date for all competitive spring sports action.

There must be ways to shift playing dates in the tournament to allow a slightly longer time in the regular season.

But as coaches have mentioned to me, spring is always going to be a problem of this kind in Illinois. The boys season starts in late August, when heat, not snow, is the worry. By the time the weather begins to turn, the season is nearly over.

There have been some awful playing conditions for the boys finals, notably the year Palatine won the title in a driving rainstorm. But by that time only a handful of matches remain. With the move of the state finals to the artificial surface at North Central College in Naperville, even an epic downpour is not the problem it was back in 1994.

So we're stuck with this, unless all Illinois teams travel to Georgia or Texas to start their seasons.

Making sense of a season that has literally gone pear-shaped -- everything at the end -- is tough. But here are some random thoughts on a season that is so near its end.

A week ago St. Charles East had a typically grueling week get even worse when it had to sandwich in a makeup with Batavia, meaning the Saints played on four straight days. To its credit St. Charles East went 3-0-1 in those matches.

But for a team that is trying to get its players healthy, such a grind was tough to handle.

For the Saints the season has become a literal sprint to the finish. The season started well, then injuries hit. Injured players are returning literally by the day. The question is whether or not there is time to get the team together.

One offense that has emerged is Batavia. When I first caught up with Jim McAlpin this spring, his team was in the midst of one of those frustrating runs where they created and created -- but couldn't find the back of the net.

In a game against West Chicago, the number of shots was heavily in the Bulldogs' favor. Yet West Chicago won because it scored on its only real chances of the contest.

Then Batavia scored 4 goals against Geneva and added a pair of goals in its match with St. Charles East and no one would have guessed the team had ever really struggled.

What stands out from those two matches is how Batavia continued to work to score, even when it wasn't converting. Moving Mary Wandolowski into a deep-lying role has been key. The team does have natural goalscorers and has players in wide roles capable of sending the ball menacingly through the penalty area.

St. Charles North has been magnificent this spring. The team's defensive backbone is sound and the offense has rounded into form. How then to explain Saturday's 4-3 loss to Wheaton Warrenville South?

Well, the match kicked off at 9 a.m., the Tigers are very strong, and sometimes soccer tosses out a scoreline that defies logic. If the North Stars and Tigers were to play 10 times, the score would likely be 1-0 or 2-1 on the vast majority of those occasions, with bruises far outnumbering goals. Saturday was the day the offenses had their time in the sun.

Still, there's no denying the talent the North Stars have. They defeated Neuqua Valley, only lost 1-0 to Waubonsie Valley and advanced to the semifinals of the Pepsi Shootout, where they lost to New Trier.

How will the North Stars fare in the postseason? It's anyone's guess. The IHSA -- yes, it still comes in for criticism -- still sets its brackets geographically. The greatest concentration of talented teams is in the western suburbs. So the two Wheaton schools, Waubonsie Valley, Naperville Central and St. Charles North -- all incredibly strong teams -- compete for one spot in the state finals.

The place to be is Benedictine University at 4:30 p.m. on Memorial Day. That's when the real state championship match could take place.

That leaves teams like Geneva and West Aurora fighting for postseason scraps. The Vikings started well, hit a midseason bump but have played well recently. Waubonsie Valley, Neuqua Valley and Naperville Central are all in their sectional path.

West Aurora suffers similarly. Despite setting a school record for victories, the Blackhawks only rate a No. 10 seed and face Naperville North in the opening round. Should West Aurora win that match, Naperville Central stands next in line.

Such imbalances need to be addressed at some point. Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South are a combined 27-3-1 this year. Should they win their regionals, the Falcons and Tigers meet in a sectional semifinal that could double as a state quarterfinal.

But as the tournament gets ready to start, be sure to get out and support your local teams. It's going to be very cold, and possibly snowy, when your next chance to see girls soccer competition again.