Boys soccer: Just like old times, almost, for Warren

It had been seven years since Warren's boys soccer team last played in a sectional final.

So a little snow and cold - OK, a lot of cold - and even a site change didn't matter to the Blue Devils, even after their 4-1 loss to Fremd on Friday night. The Class 3A Libertyville sectional final was contested at Glenbrook South in Glenview because snow blanketed Libertyville's turf and made it unplayable.

Warren, which won the Class 3A state championship in 2012, finished 16-4-4.

"Ultimately, this is where we would like to be. We want to be in meaningful games in October and November," Warren coach Jason Ahonen said. "It was nice to be back here. Hopefully, in years to come, we will have another opportunity like this. This group of seniors persevered."

It proved to be a season full of highlights for the Blue Devils.

"That's what high school sports are all about - the memories," Ahonen said. "The players had many this year. When we're successful, we're also doing well in the classroom, and this pool of players that we have with the juniors and seniors have done well in the classroom. We had the same in the years of 2010 to 2012. This group falls in the same mode."

The season included coming from behind against in the sectional semifinal to beat Buffalo Grove.

"The best thing was that they bought into each other," Ahonen said. "They knew that they couldn't do it by themselves. I truly believe that this group bought into that concept and it showed."

The heart and soul and the effort the Blue Devils gave is something senior Nolan Ehlers will never forget.

"It's not just the game. It's playing with these guys," Ehlers said. "These guys are my brothers. I would do anything for them, no matter what. Coming out here, playing for a sectional championship for Warren for the first time since 2012, being an underdog ... we gave all the effort we could for 80 minutes. It shows a lot about this team."