Boys soccer notes: IC Catholic, Geneva, Marmion among No. 1 sectional seeds to watch in postseason
The IHSA announced its postseason seeding last week and five DuPage County and Fox Valley schools earned top sectional seeds, including IC Catholic Prep in Class 1A, Crystal Lake South, Geneva and Marmion in Class 2A and St. Charles East in Class 3A.
Westmont is a No. 2 seed in 1A, Fenton, Timothy Christian and Wheaton Academy earned No. 2 seeds in 2A and Benet, Glenbard West and Huntley were awarded No. 2 seeds in 3A.
Other top seeds among area schools include No. 3 seeds Lisle and Aurora Central Catholic and No. 4 St. Francis in 1A; Batavia, Hinsdale South and Streamwood as No. 4 seeds in 2A; and Naperville Central and St. Charles North as No. 3 seeds, Addison Trail and South Elgin as No. 4 seeds and Elgin, Glenbard East and Naperville North as No. 5 seeds in 3A.
Redwings soarin’
Whether its playing arguably the top team in the state or facing the worst weather that Mother Nature has to offer, Benet is proving that it can hang with anyone in any situation this fall.
The Redwings (7-1-2) battled undefeated St. Laurence (16-0-2) on Sept. 29 to a 2-2 tie and then hung through awful conditions to beat Brother Rice on Friday, 1-0.
“The St. Laurence game was all about attitude and effort,” Benet coach Matt Klosterman said.
“Our second half against them really showed who our kids are. The Brother Rice game was completely different than any game this year. The field was very wet. There were some parts of the field where the ball would get stuck in puddles. But to outshoot a good team like that 21-5 made me really proud of how hard the boys worked.”
Senior Jack Wesley’s return to health and the lineup this fall has been enormous for the Redwings.
“Even though Jack has scored a lot of goals for us this year, our results have been an incredible team effort this year,” Klosterman said. “I’ve been especially proud of that effort and intensity from the whole group.”
Wesley is one of many seniors who have stepped up.
“Individually, aside from Jack Wesley we have several other seniors who have been consistently outstanding,” Klosterman said. “Julian Mira, John VanWiggeren and Alex Snyder along with sophomore Hudson Lutfiyya in our back line have been immense all season. Julian is a captain at center back. John wins a ton of balls that start attacks for us. In our attack, Evan Doy and Declan Christ have been really instrumental for us. Jack has scored some free kicks or second-chance balls from attacks that those two have set up.”
Revengeful Saints
When St. Charles East hosted Lake Park last Tuesday the Saints didn’t need anyone to remind them about their 4-0 loss in Roselle a year ago.
With nine of its 11 starters from last year’s game back in the lineup for the rematch, the Saints jumped on the Lancers this time, leading 4-0 at half and tacking on another goal midway through the second half during a 5-0 victory. Last year the Saints found themselves looking up at a 3-0 deficit after just 17 minutes.
Defender Jack Fitzgerald and midfielder Colin Harrington missed last year’s game after suffering season-ending injuries but both were in the lineup on Tuesday and Harrington had an assist, finding Colten Pariso for the team’s second goal.
Pariso scored twice while Dylan Carey, Brendan Szerlong and Huxley Kapoor also scored.
“That’s all we were talking about is this is our revenge game because it doesn’t feel good losing 4-0,” Carey said. “And that was probably the most embarrassing game of last season. We went into that game with a chance to win conference, and then we ended up going home with the worst loss of our season. So it feels good to come back and give them that same treatment.”
Now the Saints are rolling towards the postseason as one of the top seeds in their class.
A triumphant return
Lisle landed one of the biggest acquisitions of the season this fall when senior midfielder Gabe Grant returned to the team after a two-year hiatus.
Grant had a pair of goals and six assists as a freshman on a 13-3 squad that relied heavily on the output of Aldo Mora (27 goals that season in 2023).
From Soccer FC Club to his return to the high school team at Lisle, Grant has been a blessing for the Lions’ attack as he has netted 21 goals and eight assists, having scored in all 11 games for the 6-4-1 Lions.
“Gabe is clearly the best player in our conference and should be seen as an all-state player,” Lisle coach Jamie Clemmons said. “Gabe plays with an intensity that is unmatched this season. Gabe represents Lisle with class and is always supportive of his teammates.”
Storm slows Aurora Central
Winners of three of its last four, Aurora Central Catholic was looking forward to a huge challenge against undefeated Indian Creek (12-0-1) on Friday but the game was postponed until Oct. 15 due to heavy rains.
The Chargers have outscored opponents 38-7 in their wins yet been outscored 33-6 in their losses. They have won three straight conference games.
“Togetherness, perseverance and resilience,” Chargers coach Nazareth Jean-Marie said. “Having everybody back after numerous injuries at the start of the season, the togetherness the boys have for each other, playing with their hearts on their sleeve, and just enjoying their game. Now everything is coming to fruition because they never gave up and keep fighting in each game.”