Scouting Class 2A boys state soccer
When: Friday and Saturday
Where: Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium, North Central College in Naperville
Friday's semifinal matchups: Ridgewood (18-6-2) vs. Burlington Central (20-4-3), 11 a.m.; Peoria Notre Dame (24-1) vs. Waterloo (23-1-3), 1 p.m.
How Ridgewood advanced: The Rebels defeated Chicago Senn 6-1, Chicago North Grand 5-2, Chicago Payton 2-1 and Glenbard South 3-1 to reach the Final Four.
How Burlington Central advanced: The Rockets downed IMSA 8-2, Marmion 1-0, Freeport 2-0, Sterling 1-0 and Lakes 4-1 to reach Naperville.
The coaches: Ridgewood coach Robert St. John is in his 11th season with a record of 138-84-14. Burlington Central coach Michael Gecan is in his sixth season with a record of 72-49-13.
The line on Ridgewood: The Rebels have become the first team in any sport to advance to an IHSA Final Four in the 50-year history of the school. They did so by beating Glenbard South, a team they had lost to twice during the regular season, in the Benedictine supersectional. Ridgewood went 1-3-1 in its final 5 regular-season games but got it back to together to make its run to state. The Rebels depend on senior forward Peter Soja to set the tone. Soja has scored 36 goals this season, more than any other player in the state final tournament in either class, but he did not score in the supersectional win. Junior forward Rafal Maslowski (11 goals, 12 assists) scored twice to lead the Rebels in the supersectional. Senior goalkeeper Veli Milanov has 5 shutouts this season. “There's a reason they're in the Final Four and we respect them,” said Burlington Central coach Michael Gecan. “They beat a very good Glenbard South team that they had lost to twice during the season so that says something.”
The line on Burlington Central: The Rockets are also in their first IHSA Final Four and are the school's first boys team to reach a Final Four in any team sport. Three of BC's 4 losses this season came by a single goal and their defense and goaltending in the postseason has been next to unstoppable. The defense is led by senior Zach Jocum, and junior goaltender Riley Jensen has made 62 saves this season, including seven in the supersectional win over Lakes, and helped his team rack up 13 shutouts on the year. The offense has been powered by senior standout Erick Uribe (14 goals) and junior forward Chris Gousios (20 goals), as well as senior forward Kyle Reopelle (9 goals, 7 assists) and senior forward Alejandro Nava (9 goals, 14 assists). The Rockets have thrived on keeping the ball in the opponents' half of the field and constantly putting pressure on the goal.
Gecan says: “It's up to the boys at this point,” said BC coach Gecan. “I don't need to do anything to get them fired up. It's there. It's going to be a very energized environment I think and hopefully we'll have a good game. Everybody's mind and eyes are set on the state title. Our teams have done real well at state the last couple years with volleyball taking second (2008) and softball third (2009) and we'd love to become the first team from our school to bring a state title to Central. I think we're on the map a little now and a tradition is being created. We're going to give it our best and hopefully come out with that state title.”
Field trip: Ridgewood is taking its entire student body to Friday's semifinal as a schoolwide field trip. Burlington Central students have the day off for an institute day and Gecan hopes that means a big crowd of blue and white in Naperville. “We're working hard to get our kids out to the game,” Gecan said. “Our fan support has been tremendous and we hope it continues at state.”
The other half: Peoria Notre Dame comes in as the favorite on paper to win its third state title since 2004. The Irish haven't lost to an Illinois team this season, falling only to Chaminade of St. Louis in the third match of the season. Notre Dame, which took second last year to St. Viator, has 16 shutouts on the season and had allowed just 1 goal in the postseason. The Irish won state titles in 2004 and 2008, beating Waterloo in the Class A quarterfinals in 2004. Senior forward Vince Cicciarelli leads the Irish with 33 goals. Waterloo's only loss this season was to Carbondale, also in the third match of the year. The Bulldogs, who came back to beat Carbondale in the sectional finals, are in their second state final tournament, following the 2004 appearance. Senior forward Lance Kohler (24 goals, 15 assists) leads Waterloo, which has 14 shutouts this season.
The finals: Friday's losers square off for third place at 11 a.m. Saturday, while the winners meet for the state championship at 1 p.m. Saturday.
On the Web: All matches of the Class 2A and 3A tournament will be aired live on the Internet at IHSA.tv, with Mike Karberg and Daily Herald correspondent Rusty Silber providing the play-by-play and commentary.