Boys soccer: Scouting DuPage County

The big question surrounding Wheaton Warrenville South is whether the Tigers can find someone to provide offensive opportunities.

The Tigers (4-8-3) are looking to avenge a tough sixth-place finish in the DuKane, but will have to do so as a relatively young group with Drew Murman and Jason Weisheith (4 goals, 2 assists) as their most noteworthy seniors.

Wheaton North (5-4-4) has a relatively new team in the DuKane, which will be driven by its midfield. "We are ready to unload our weapons and go all in for every game," Falcons coach Rob Stassen said.

St. Charles North, St. Charles East and Geneva were the top teams in the conference a year ago so the challenge for these DuPage schools is whether they can be competitive enough to beat these teams to be in the running for a title.

Lake Park (3-6-6) is celebrating 50 years of boys soccer with a team that's a mix of core returning attacking players, goalkeeper Andrew Swacha and some youth that will serve on its back line. Fourth-year starter Francesco Caira will patrol the midfield while Edgar Villagran and Aidan Killmer are back to lead the defense.

Glenbard North (6-8-2) is like most teams, mixing returning experience with newcomers due to graduation losses. The Panthers do welcome 13 players back including a half dozen starters. This is a feisty, defensive-minded group.

Naperville North (10-2-1) is shooting for its sixth DuPage Valley title in as many years and stopping the Huskies is going to be a chore with the combination of Alex Barger and Cam Radeke at forward and Tyson Amoo-Mensah in control in the midfield.

Naperville Central (5-3-4) only yielded six goals last spring and Mateo Lopez and Evan King return to lead a strong back line. Still, coach Troy Adams said the strength of the team is the midfield so the Redhawks should be tough. Seniors Benjamin Tietjen, John Kim, Josh Weigel and Sean O'Reilly also return.

Junior midfielder Gean Riberio had a breakout spring for Waubonsie Valley, which is what the Warriors hope to see more of from a young team with a tough schedule. Seniors Zach Stanley, Kadin Feese, Joseph Haddad and Callum Keller return.

Outworking teams will be a necessity for Metea Valley (4-7), which will boast many new faces since Joe Fitzgerald, Oscar Mejia and Colin Bastianoni only return to the starting lineup. Juniors Eric Mena and Adrian Gonzalez are two new players to watch up top.

Neuqua Valley (3-4) has its leading scorer Jack Georgi back in the mix among 13 returning players. Coach Arnoldo Gonzalez said he hopes the "the upperclassmen will be able to blend with the new young players and produce success." The Wildcats biggest strength is in the midfield.

Jon Stapleton's 20th season at Downers Grove South (6-5) features 14 players he had in the spring. All-conference selections Jerry Smazil (4 goals, 5 assists) and Josh Venouziou (6 goals, 3 assists), goalkeeper Zach Johnson and a mix of players back in the attack and midfield should have the team on the right path in the West Suburban Gold.

There's some excitement at Willowbrook after the Warriors took many lumps in the spring. Goalkeeper Riley Johnson is among a small group of returnees that includes Alex Kuban, Ricardo Acosta, Liron Ebema and Yoel Villafuerte.

Addison Trail (6-5-1) placed third in the conference last spring.

While it has 11 players back, including Owen Lesley, Bradley Szydlowski and Ryan Wilson, Downers Grove North (8-2-1) is rebuilding a bit after losing 14 seniors. New juniors will be key.

With a group eager to get into the attack, Hinsdale Central (6-5) is hopeful Jack Finley (6 goals, 1 assists) has a huge fall. The Red Devils have 11 returning players and an incoming goalkeeper in Thatcher Petersen.

Other teams in the West Suburban Silver of note include York (7-3-1), which lost 8 players from its spring team, and Glenbard West (6-7).

Jim Winslow has six starters back for a St. Francis (9-1) team that's biggest challenge in the Metro Suburban will be finding goals after graduating most of its production from spring. Look for sophomores to play a key role in filling spots. Goalkeeper Simon Hartle, midfielder/forward Guy DeFeo and midfielder Brendan Yarusso will lead the Spartans.

The key to Timothy Christian success will come down to scoring with consistency The Trojans (8-4-2) have 12 players back, including 6 starters, so they're ready to compete in the MSC before high hopes for a deep postseason run. Christian Cruz (17 assists) and Ethan Lemkuil (6 goals) are among a potent attack.

Wheaton Academy, the MSC champs, has 17 players back prompting coach Cody Snouffer to say "in many ways, this feels like the second leg of one long 2021 season." Goalkeeper Declan Finnegan (10 shutouts), Robert Platt (7 goals, 3 assists) and Haetham Nasr (9 goals, 10 assists) are among a long list of strong players.

The reigning Upstate Eight champs, West Chicago (8-2-4), are technical on the ball with a great sense of awareness where each other are on the field. The group remains confident after its spring and the 2019 state title. Diego Martinez (10 assists), Rafael Posada, Aldo Alfaro and fourth-year player, Tristan Alfardo, will lead the Wildcats.

Glenbard East (8-1-2) lost a lot to graduation, including Gavin Wooldridge (Dubuque) so the Rams will have a lot of rebuilding to do to get back to where they were just four months ago.

Glenbard South welcomes back a nice mix of players who sat out in the spring as well as 9 that played, including Derek Pregel, Tres Moore, Aryan Sandoval and goalkeeper Matt Drinane.

Paul Kohorn is in his 17th and final season coaching the boys at Lisle (7-1). The Lions have 12 players back, led by Gian Mora-Lovera (3 assists), Oscar Garcia (3 goals) and Charlie Shoemaker (3 goals, 2 assists). Kohorn's group has talent but also has some rebuilding to do having lost 12 seniors.

Benet coach Sean Wesley said the Redwings will need major contributions from Nico Picha and TJ McVey on its attack and from Dan Pepping and Nick Roe on its back line in order to continue its great success as a state elite team.

All-conference selections Carlos Arenas and Anthony Serrano return for an IC Catholic Prep (6-7) team that expects to be strong again defensively while turning to guys like Jason Hall and Julian Salgado to finish.