St. Francis adjusting on the run

When St. Francis began its season, first-year coach Kristin Keigley said it would take the Spartans some time to adjust to a new flat-back four defensive alignment as well as to a new coach.

The team has had to battle this fall, enduring an 0-7 stretch from Sept. 14 to Sept. 25. But they are starting to come around. Recently, they've handily beaten St. Edward and Aurora Central Catholic, clipped Guerin Prep, tied Freeport, which finished fourth in the state in Class 2A last year, and dropped a couple of close ones to Elgin and a very tough Marian Catholic team which resulted in Marian coach Kristian Rockall proclaiming, “They're one of the best oppositions we've seen this season, and they nearly beat us.

Keigley has also learned for herself about patience and adjustments as her hardwork paid off last Sunday when she ran the Chicago Marathon for the first time. Keigley did most of her coaching while sitting on the bench in a 1-1 draw with Freeport on Columbus Day after completing the 26.2-mile marathon in 5:11.08.

“In the beginning of the season we were trying to figure out the defense I've implemented and now they're comfortable with it, Keigley said. “Our record doesn't really show what these boys have done and what will happen in the future for them.

Better late than never: There were massive expectations for Benet this season with seven returning starters, including Sean Mogan, and the addition of midfielder Ben Kucera and goalie Kyle DalSanto. But the Redwings have struggled to play consistently. The loss of defender Ryan Reilly has proven to be huge, but Reilly recently returned and his impact was felt immediately in a 3-1 victory over Downers Grove South.#8220;We're moving in the right direction, without a doubt, Benet coach Sean Wesley said. #8220;There's an urgency now that we did not have before. We played well for the first couple of games and expected teams to kind of roll over for us and that doesn't happen, not in this area.Reilly still isn't at 100 percent, but the Redwings have been in dire need of his field leadership.#8220;We couldn't need him more, Wesley said. #8220;Ryan Reilly is that lynchpin that connects it all, that keeps everybody organized, everybody respects, and everbody listens to. When we don't have him, although the kids can play soccer, we're just not organized.A tough schedule, with contests against Downers Grove North, Neuqua Valley, Naperville North and Naperville Central, may have prepared Benet for the remainder of the season, but it didn't convert into many wins. But now, heading into Tuesday's match against Wheaton Academy, the Redwings had won four straight.#8220;I think it was tough at the beginning of the season playing with a target on their back, being ranked and everybody knowing we had a good program, Wesley said. #8220;We expected to go into some games and just get a result, and that doesn't happen.Men at work: Some might look at Glenbard South's 14-1-1 record through Oct. 11 and believe the Raiders haven't been challenged very often this season in preparation for a lengthy postseason run in the Class 2A playoffs. Wrong. Playing in a new conference this fall, the Raiders went into overtime five times, winning on every occasion except for a double-overtime defeat at Fenton. #8220;I think that something Glenbard South has struggled with in the past is playing under pressure, Glenbard South coach Melissa Pero said. #8220;This new conference has prepared us because there are no ties we've had to go into overtime five times and have been able to play hard and win in overtime.The No. 2-seeded Raiders will open postseason play next Tuesday against No. 15 seed C. Military Academy-Bronzeville, and hopefully have most of their roster healthy. They've unfortunately been down as many as six regulars this fall, and are hoping Damien Sampson and Matt Traynor can return by next week.#8220;Even when guys have been out they've realized that we've still been in games, Pero said. #8220;That's when they realized that we are still a good team, and that's helped with confidence and with all the different guys who came in and filled in for us.One example of such depth occurred on Sept. 24 when Jeff Gensler came off the bench late and scored the winning goal in double overtime to beat Riverside-Brookfield, 2-1.#8220;He came off the bench in the last three minutes of overtime and then scored the winning goal, so guys are making big plays even when they're not on the field for long, Pero said. #8220;We stress that every play is valuable. We're a team that's built on the theory that we're family and everyone plays a role in success.With the fantastic winning percentage in the regular season, along with the mental and physical tests of playing plenty of thrilling overtime matches, Pero believes the sky's the limit the rest of the way for the Raiders.#8220;They've proven to be a tough group of kids, she said. #8220;There are high hopes for us if we continue to play as hard as we can.States of mind: You could argue that Neuqua Valley has as diverse a schedule this season as anyone in the state. The Wildcats have played teams from four states this fall. In addition to their share of opponents from Illinois, they've traveled to Missouri for a pair of matches, faced a national power in Jesuit (California) and most recently were upended 4-0 last Saturday by Marquette University High School in Milwaukee, Wis.#8220;It's nice to measure yourself against teams that are highly regarded nationally, Wildcats coach Tony Kees said. #8220;Plus you get to see a different style and there's camaraderie. When we played Jesuit we had a meal together and bonded and exchanged experiences. It was a lot of fun.Although the Wildcats have won six of eight, they aren't having the most fun right now due to catching the injury bug. Leading scorer Jacob Brindle and defender Pat Kaindl aren't healthy, and Nicko Makropoulos missed last weekend.#8220;It's kind of like we never found the rhythm after a long break with three games canceled and now the injury thing, Kees said. #8220;It's been difficult to get any kind of rhythm.Still, the Wildcats have posted an 11-3-2 record through Oct. 11 and earned the No. 1 seed in the Neuqua Valley regional. A great deal of the success has come via the play of Patrick Doody, who also isn't fully healthy but is playing great soccer regardless.#8220;He's been asked to play in several different positions and he's been terrific, Kees said. #8220;He's become a better soccer player and not just an athlete, and has developed some of the nuances of the game. It's been a fun evolution to see.Back-to-back: Many believe the No. 13 to be unlucky, but Timothy Christian hopes optimistically signals the start toward another state championship. The Trojans, who won the Class 1A state title last year, finished their regular season on Monday with a victory over Ridgewood. During the preseason, Timothy Christian traveled to Wisconsin for a team retreat where one of goals established was to win 13 games. The goal was one of many set that weekend. While all of them haven't been attained, the next one in line is to continue to win and ultimately win their second straight championship#8220;We've fallen short of a few of our goals but we're happy with where we're at right now, Timothy Christian coach Rudi Gesch said. #8220;I've been happy with the level of play we've had for these last five games or so.Nate Slager finally returned to action for the Trojans after getting injured in the third game of the season. Slager, along with a handful of other starters, have missed significant minutes this fall, but last Saturday the team was as close to full strength as it has been all season.#8220;It's great to have them back, even when they're not 100 percent, Gesch said. #8220;You never know how a season is going to unfold and now we're just going try to perform to the best of our abilities and that biggest goal again is still on our mind. But we're in one game at a time mode now but excited.