Boys soccer notes: Rivalry matches take center stage in Palatine, Grayslake

It was a week when boys soccer fans were treated to two crosstown rivalry matches, beginning with the long-running Kinsella Cup contest featuring Fremd and Palatine.

The Celtic Soccer Club, founded by Jimmy Kinsella in 1968, has over 1,500 players of all ages, many of which attend the match. Young players participate in the World Cup walk-out.

“The game is a celebration of soccer in Palatine,” Palatine coach Aaron Morris said after his club beat the Vikings 2-1 last week at Chic Anderson Stadium. “There are so many young players here to watch a higher level of soccer, with the hope of one day they can play for either team in this great celebration.”

“This is a great night for all of the players, and the Palatine community,” Pirates junior Evan Kasparaitis said. “To me, the tradition of a game that goes back to 1968 is amazing, and I still remember being a part of it when I was a young player with (Celtic), and now playing here in high school.

“It's special moment, and great motivation to go out to play your best soccer before a huge crowd.”

Kasparaitis and his teammates have worked their way back into the MSL West title chase, just behind Hersey and Conant following a 2-2 draw with Hersey, and four straight victories leading up the draw.

“We won back-to-back games recently playing a man down, and the extra effort it took to do so really gave us a lot of confidence and momentum going forward,” Kasparaitis said.

Grayslake rivalry also heats up: Not to be forgotten last week was the Grayslake Central-Grayslake North match, which the past couple years went a long way in deciding the Northern Lake County Conference champion.

After winning the title the last two seasons, Central (6-6-0, 5-1-0) found itself chasing Round Lake, Wauconda, and rival North. But Central dashed North’s hopes with a 2-1 victory last week.

Rolling Meadows moves closer to MSL East title: Rolling Meadows took a giant step toward claiming its first division title since 1999 after an impressive 2-0 victory over Prospect last week to move ahead of Barrington in the Mid-Suburban League East with two regular-season games to go.

Juniors Tommy Jackman and Konrad Tomczyk gave the Mustangs (11-2-2, 6-1-1) a two-goal advantage at the break. Then they, along with teammates Noah Dwyer, Dash Lockley, Brian Rico and others, kept up a relentless first-half attack before turning things over to center-back Patryk Bochonko to ensure victory.

“We feel like we have a lot to prove this season, but it's still one game at a time for us,” Jackman said.

Maine West celebrates: Maine West beat Maine East last week to clinch its first CSL North title since 2012. Coach Eliades Hernandez and the Warriors, now 11-2-2 overall, finished 4-0-1 in league play.

Leading goal scorer Bryan Garcia (12 goals), Jesus Chavez, Matthew Kiros and Alex Dziura led the attack in a 4-2 win over Maine East.

Juniors David Jankowicz and Jack Velarde have shared goalkeeper responsibilities this season. The Warriors recently earned the No. 1 seed at the West Chicago sectional.

Warren, Lake Zurich ready for NSC showdown: Warren (11-0-2, 4-0-2) faces Lake Zurich (12-2-1, 4-1-1) Tuesday at Mel Eide Field for the North Suburban Conference crown.

The Blue Devils’ attack is led by Logan Ahonen, Quinn Lockwood, Charlie Ogren and Luis Sandoval. Lake Zurich relies on Matthew Bergfeld, Blake Laudeman, and Trevor Smith.

During the regular season Warren tied Libertyville and Stevenson while the Bears fell to Stevenson and tied Zion-Benton.