Scouting boys soccer in the Northwest suburbs
The 'new' boys soccer season begins this week, and there's plenty of questions to be answered.
How many of the top players have decided not to return?
What will the form of the clubs be after having just seven days outdoors after a long winter of COVID hibernation away from the sport ... and much more.
Here's a look at the Northwest suburbs' boys soccer teams in advance of the opening week of play:
MSL East: Buffalo Grove (12-8-2 in 2019) was hit hard by graduation, losing all of its back line and more. "We'll look to be the best we can be, and grow through the shortened season with a lot of inexperienced players," said BG coach Darren Llewellyn, who welcomes back one of the best in the area in Brian Perez, who bagged 13 goals a year ago.
Elk Grove (8-9-2) will have a solid core of players back who have been together for awhile, plus a new coach in charge in Darren LaRocque, who is looking to the shortened season as a springboard to a strong 2021 fall campaign.
Time will tell if Hersey (10-7-2) will lift the MSL East trophy however, on paper, coach Mike Rusniak's club appears to have what it takes. "We fell a little short last year, but we have key players back which we hope will be the difference against Buffalo Grove and Wheeling," said Rusniak. All-state MF Ronan Wilcox headlines a solid bunch back.
Thanks to one of the top keepers in the state last year, Szymon Mocarski (Lake Forest College), Prospect (8-8-4) was always in each and every contest. "Our returning players have improved tremendously, and I am excited to see how much energy they will bring with them to the team," said Knights coach Mike Andrews.
Lack of scoring, and inexperience would doom Rolling Meadows (5-10-5) a year ago, but led by all-area, all-sectional defender Ryan Stubitsch things are looking brighter for the Mustangs. "We have a solid senior class back with us, plus a group of younger players with a great high work ethic," said Mustangs Brett Olson.
Wheeling (10-6-3) fell short in the MSL Soccer Bowl to Fremd, and while losing several key players from their division title club, the Wildcats should be in the thick of things. "I am not sure what to expect, but we do have some quality players coming back, including Luis Aviles (all-area forward), who will be dangerous," said Wildcats coach Kevin Lennon.
Mid-Suburban West: Although nine graduated, just two were seniors, leaving Barrington (16-5-1) coach Scott Steib both quality and experience in his first eleven. "We have a very good senior class back with us, perhaps one of our better classes in our program over the last 5-10 years," said Steib, who will have one of the top back line units around.
Jason Franco is cautiously optimistic at Conant (6-12-2). "We have a solid group of seniors that won the MSL title as freshmen, so if we can mix in some of the younger guys, and get things sorted out defensively, I can see us competing near the top of the conference," said Franco.
Fremd (15-2-4) was the master class of the MSL last time out after easily claiming its eighth league crown in program history, and advancing to a Class 3A supersectional. That club featured an airtight back line, all of whom have since graduated. "We lost eight starters, so we'll be young, but a very competitive team," said Vikings coach Steve Keller.
Coach Sean Armstrong will lean on the all-sectional midfield duo of Manny Amezcua and Kaden Eberman to help his club from Hoffman Estates (4-15-3) take a big step forward this season.
"With a strong number of key players returning, expectations are we will continue to grow and as a team and program," said Armstrong.
Thanks to some new blood, coach Willie Filian hopes his Palatine (5-10-2) team will get back near the top of the table this season. "It's been awhile since we've had players come back from club to play in high school, so with a nice group of juniors and sophomores, we've been pleasantly surprised in the early going," said Filian, now in his 30th year.
Schaumburg (9-10-1) head coach Eric Sorby will have to find a way to replace his four-year and two-time all-area midfielder Jared Schoo. While that may be difficult, Sorby feels the pieces are in place. "We have a young group which are motivated, and eager to improve, so I know they will compete until the final whistle," said Sorby.
Central Suburban League: Maine East (9-7-4) enjoyed a giant leap forward last season by finishing second overall in the CSL North following a winless record in its division a year earlier. "This group is young, but hungry, so if we can stay healthy, we'll be able to compete in every game," said Blue Demons coach Jeff Bishop.
Led by the all-area duo of: Giuliano Corazzina and Sam McGinnis, Maine South (13-7-1) enjoyed an impressive postseason. Corazzina and McGinnis are gone, as are two other all-CSL players, but coach Dan States welcomes back four all-CSL players.
"With a nice group of young players along with two experienced keepers, we feel we'll be a dangerous opponent to the rest of the league," said States.
Maine West (6-10-4) and the rest of the CSL North will once again be chasing Highland Park this spring, which looks to earn a third consecutive division title.
"We lost several players, so we'll be inexperienced - but hoping to build a chemistry quickly enough in order for us to compete," admitted Maine West coach Alan Matan,
Around the area: "(Class (2A state champion Benet returns nearly everyone, and St. Patrick has a lot very good players back as well, but our goal is to always finish in the top two of the conference when it's all over," said Mike Taylor, head coach for the 30th year at Saint Viator. All-Area keeper Matthew Marchiori gives the Lions (10-10-0) a chance each time out.
After a 2019 season of development, yet still finishing with a respectable record, Leyden (12-11-0) coach Mark Valintis will have a quality side to challenge state power Morton. "We have tons of experience, with six returning three-year players, and another five here for their second season with us," said Valintis. "We have depth, and the experience of playing several very good teams last season."
Christian Liberty Academy (14-5-0) won the Northeastern Athletic Conference last season and despite losing seven players from that club, coach Jed Bennett likes his chances. "We have an interesting mix of veterans and young players, with most of our seniors and freshmen playing soccer away from school but to see our seniors able to play in their final year of high school is the most important thing right now," says Bennett.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Leo Akashi (Fremd, So, F-MF), Manny Amezcua (Hoffman Estates, Sr, MF), Niko Argyros (Barrington, Sr, MF), Ramy Atia (Maine East, Sr, GK), Nick Austin (Fremd, Sr, F-MF), Luis Aviles (Wheeling, Sr, F), Jesus Benitez (Elk Grove, Sr, D), Patryk Bujak (Hersey, Sr, F), Aaron Bustamante (Palatine, Sr, MF-F), Jo Cidulka (Barrington, Sr, D), Ryan Christians (Schaumburg, Sr, D), John Cronnolly (Maine South, Sr, MF), Reece Delahanty (Hersey, Sr, GK), Kaden Eberman (Hoffman Estates, Sr, MF), JD Elleson (Christian Liberty Academy, Sr, D), Alexis Escobar (Buffalo Grove, Sr, MF-F), Angel Escobedo (Wheeling, Sr, MF), Matt Espinoza (Leyden, Sr, MF), Christian Evans (Saint Viator, Jr, MF), Declan Flanagan (Prospect, Sr, MF), Edwin Fuentes (Rolling Meadows, Sr, MF), Matt Geisel (Palatine, Sr, MF), Conrad Glotz (Saint Viator, Sr, MF), Jose Gutierrez (Maine East, Jr, D), Junior Hernandez (Barrington, Sr, F), Daniel Hesselbein (Barrington, Sr, GK), Michael Horak (Barrington, Sr, MF), Nate Horn (Barrington, Sr, D), Sebastian Howarth (Saint Viator, Sr, D), Adrian Huerta-Dominguez (Hoffman Estates, Sr, GK), Stefan Iricanin (Maine South, Jr, MF), Kyle Johnston (Fremd, Sr, F-MF), Gavin Kafkakis (Prospect, Sr, D-F), Gabe Labay (Conant, Sr, MF), David Lavender (Saint Viator, Sr, MF), Aidan Lew (Barrington, Sr, MF), Eryk Limanowski (Prospect, Sr, MF), Brendan Lodi (Barrington, Sr, MF), Pablo Mancha (Leyden, Jr, MF-F), Matthew Marchiori (Saint Viator, Sr, GK), Omar Marin (Palatine, Sr, F), Connor McGreer (Schaumburg, Jr, D), Sebastian Mikina (Elk Grove, Sr, MF), Simon Niku (Schaumburg, Sr, F), Sebi Onis (Maine East, Sr, D), Wiktor Pajak (Palatine, Sr, D-MF), Nikolay Pavlov (Rolling Meadows, Sr, D), Brian Perez (Buffalo Grove, Sr, MF-F), Ryan Reyes (Christian Liberty Academy, Sr, MF), Jonny Rivas (Elk Grove, Sr, F), Elio Santana (Wheeling, Sr, GK), Ryan Sapiente (Fremd, Jr, MF), Eli Schoffstall (Fremd, Jr, F-MF), Matt Skorupa (Maine South, Sr, D), Beck Smolak (Fremd, Jr, D), Thomas Steger (Hersey, Sr, D), Dominik Strzepka (Conant, Sr, GK), Brett Stubitsch (Rolling Meadows, Sr, D), Leo Tule (Wheeling, Sr, D), Alan Vazquez (Leyden, Sr, F), Dylan Veigel (Christian Liberty Academy, Sr, MF-D), Jackson Wamback (Maine South, Sr, MF), Ronan Wilcox (Hersey, Sr, MF), Krystian Wojtylo (Maine West, Sr, D-F), Kacper Woroszylo (Maine West, Sr, MF), Pablo Zarata (Rolling Meadows, Sr, GK).