Hope springs eternal as postseason set to get under way

Class A sectional host Hampshire has done its homework heading into the boys soccer postseason, and hopes to see the recent hard work pay off as the Whip-Purs open against the winner of the Oregon-Genoa-Kingston match this coming Tuesday at 5 p.m.

The Whip-Purs concluded the regular season 13-6-2 overall, most recently dropping three games at the Jacobs Invitational where they were challenged by some of the area's toughest opponents in Larkin, Dundee-Crown and Geneva.

Should Hampshire face Oregon (No. 10 seed), the Whips will have the comfort of a 5-0 victory against them Hawks earlier this season, while Genoa-Kinston remains an unknown.

Junior Makinde continues to lead the team offensively, and remains among the area goal scoring leaders with 23 goals and 5 assists. Shay Hauck has also added double-digit offense in both the goals scored (10) and assists (10) categories.

The Hampshire sectional will open today at 7 p.m. when No. 12 seed Elgin Academy takes on Rockford Christian (No. 5 seed) at Rockford Christian. Saturday morning, both the Stillman Valley (No. 9) vs. Rockford Christian Life (No. 8) matchup and the (No. 10) Oregon-Genoa-Kingston (No. 7) contest will play at 11 a.m. followed by St. Edward (No. 11 seed) challenging Westminster Christian at Westminster Christian School at noon.

The Warriors (9-9-3) have shown that they can play with anybody. In the sectional alone, Westminster has already beaten three of the teams that it could potentially face (Elgin Academy, St. Edward and Rockford Christian Life) in the postseason, and they tied host Hampshire 2-2 earlier this year.

With 18 goals, Tyler Beachler will lead the Warrior's counter attack to opponents' scoring efforts.

Class AA postseason: With Streamwood hosting both a regional and a sectional, area spectators will be privy to a barrage of Upstate Eight Conference clashes in the postseason.

Larkin earned the No. 3 seed and will face South Elgin (No. 15) in the Streamwood regional opener this Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. The Royals (12-5-4) will be working with momentum having recently defeated one of the UEC's finest in St. Charles North via a 2-1 conclusion.

"South Elgin played us tough the first time around, and I think that they have only improved throughout the season," said Larkin coach Ken Hall of his team's first opponent. "It's going to be a tough game."

With a junior-heavy roster, Larkin will look for leadership from veterans David Rodriguez, Steven Drew, Edgar Mondragon and Edgar Cisneros but expect contributions from the entire roster.

"The sectional is wide open," said Hall. "I think we have as good a chance as anybody.

"It's Tony's (Kees) last year at Conant so I think they want to do something special for him, and Maine East is another tough team."

South Elgin (4-10) showed just how much it has improved in a recent match with Lake Park where the Storm came from behind to record the program's first Upstate Eight Conference win defeating the Lancers 4-2.

Regional host Streamwood (10-12-1) will follow that game taking on Maine East (No. 6) at 6:30 p.m.

"Streamwood has been playing well the past several weeks," said Hall. In fact, the Sabres recently beat the Royals 1-0 on October 4.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see the No. 7 and No. 8 teams in this sectional playing for the title," Hall added. "It is solid top to bottom."

Elgin (9-8-1) and Burlington Central will also play in the Streamwood sectional. Elgin will face the No. 12 seeded Hoffman Estates at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, while Burlington Central (11-6-2) will compete in the Conant regional opening with Chicago Taft (No. 17) at noon Saturday.

The Maroons (seeded No. 5) have played some extremely tough opponents to close the regular season including Bartlett, Neuqua Valley and Lake Park which will undoubtedly benefit them in the post-season.

Burlington Central (No. 16) has won 8 of its last 11 matches, and 5 of the 6 losses they endured this year have been one-goal decisions.

At Lake Zurich sectional: With the exception of Huntley, all of the area's Fox Valley teams will be competing in the Lake Zurich sectional.

Jacobs (7-14) and Prairie Ridge (11-9-1) will kick off the Jacobs regional at 4 p.m. tonight. The two faced off back in August and the end result was in favor of Jacobs via a 4-2 ending.

Since that meeting, Prairie Ridge, which opened the season 0-8 has gone on to finish the year 11-9-1 winning not only the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division title but also 10 of its last 12 contests. The Wolves had not earned a conference title since 1999.

On Wednesday, Cary-Grove (No. 7) and Crystal Lake South (No. 10) will face off at 7 p.m. following the 4:30 p.m. St. Viator match.

The two teams had a heated meeting on October 4 which split the regular season series at 1-1 after Crystal Lake South (13-8-1) beat the Trojans (14-5) in overtime.

"It will be a fun match because we have established a bit of a rivalry," said South coach Brian Allen. "I think that we are very evenly matched which should make for a well balanced, well fought match."

The winner will play again on Saturday, October 20 at 7 p.m.

"Top to bottom, this sectional is loaded," said Allen. "I like where we are at going in. Our defense is going to keep us in every game."

The Gator defense has been led all season by Chris Ruzbasan and Chris Connelly with key contributions from Nick Jones.

"These guys have anchored us," said Allen. "Nothing we've given up has been on them."

Offensively, South will look for goal leaders Jordan Innis (14 goals, 5 assists) and Kevin Novak (8 goals, 2 assists) to put them on top.

"Our last five games have been like playoff games which I think will benefit us in the post-season," Allen added.

Cary-Grove dropped three of its five losses this year in the final three contests, but did face strong opposition in the end.

"We have a resilient bunch," said C-G coach Mark Olson. "They come ready to play.

"We are pretty evenly matched with South so we just have to make sure to limit mistakes."

Regardless of the outcome, Olson intends for his squad to walk away a better team.

"This is a very tough sectional," said Olson. "It doesn't matter what you get seeded because you have to beat everyone to advance. The postseason is a great opportunity to see where you're at as a team and how you stack up."

Also competing in the Lake Zurich sectional is Dundee-Crown, which will open against Palatine at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. The Chargers (9-8-2) will be led by power forward Christian Meza (20 goals) along with veteran teammates Eddie Bernal, Ryan Merkel, Kyle Vickstrom and goalkeeper Mike Zozokos.

At Rockford Boylan sectional: Huntley will contend on the other side of the Streamwood sectional facing No. 6 seed DeKalb at 3:30 p.m. this Wednesday.

The Red Raiders (10-9) came close to sharing Fox Valley Conference Fox Division title honors, but a late loss landed them in a tie for second place.

Head coach Kris Grabner is very confident that his team can win the opener, and shows more than enough potential to advance well beyond that.

Note that Huntley does roster the leading scorer in the area in Nico Carbonara, who scored goal No. 25 this past Tuesday helping the Red Raiders to a 2-0 win over Grayslake Central.

At Wheaton Academy sectional: Bartlett (9-10-1) will be the lone area representative competing in the Wheaton Academy sectional.

With the No. 12 seed, the Hawks will open postseason action against Geneva (No. 5) this Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in as they host the Bartlett regional.

Having concluded the regular season with tough matches against East Aurora, Wheaton Warrenville South and Neuqua Valley, Bartlett hopes to be prepared going into the post.

Seniors Doug Digiovanni and Joey Macchione have been the offensive catalysts for Bartlett and will look for continued success joined by Garret Dini, Greg Wermes and Joe McCullough.