Boys soccer: Stacked Plainfield North sectional promises to be a fright
Since all but the 1A supersectionals are scheduled for Halloween during the IHSA postseason, here's a look at what lies a head — I mean, ahead, before that fateful fun holiday arrives on Oct. 31.
The scariest regional semifinals
There probably isn't a better double digit seed in the state than No. 12 Metea Valley which is a scary matchup for No. 6 Marmion in Class 3A on Oct. 17. The Cadets beat the Mustangs, 2-1, on Sept. 23, but will need to beat them again just to get to a regional final.
No. 10 seed West Chicago is hosting a sectional this year which provides the Wildcats with even more motivation to work towards being a surprise team in October. Also in Class 3A, the Wildcats will have quite a chore, opening up against No. 6 Addison Trail with a potential matchup with No. 4 Geneva, which is hosting a regional, in the championship game.
The first two battles between No. 4 Sycamore and No. 5 Kaneland this fall have resulted in a split between the longtime rivals. The Knights took the first meeting in early September, but needed PKs to do so after the teams were tied 1-1.
More recently, the Spartans blanked the Knights, 2-0, on Sept. 25. The teams will make the trek next Wednesday to Rochelle for a 4 p.m. kick.
Downers Grove North procured the DG Cup after beating Downers Grove South, 2-1, thanks to Quinn O'Reilly's second-half goal on Sept. 28. It was the first time the Trojans took ownership of the traveling trophy, a tradition that started just three years ago despite the teams battling for much longer than that.
While the Cup won't be on the line when they meet in a Lyons regional semifinal in Western Springs on Oct,. 17 at 7 p.m., their respective seasons will be.
“We can compete with anyone at points in games, even if it's just like snippets,” Trojans coach Holden Peckenpaugh said. “We do a good job of not letting records, rankings or MaxPreps scores get in the way of what we're trying to do.”
Frightening finals
There are some potential doozies looming in the regional finals that will unfortunately send some good teams home for the winter while undoubtedly providing an entertaining atmosphere to avoid the Grim Reaper.
Let's begin by looking at a couple of good ones in Class 2A.
Wheaton Academy is hopeful that home cooking will help provide the recipe for success against Timothy Christian in the state's latest regional title, on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. The teams just faced each other on Sept. 23 with the Warriors prevailing 2-1.
St. Francis is going to have to get by Nazareth in a regional semifinal if it hopes for a chance against Benet in a regional final. It's been awhile since the Spartans and Redwings clashed and safe to say that the Redwings don't forget either.
Benet took care of St. Francis, 4-0, in a regional semifinal in 2019. The Redwings then proceeded to blank their next six opponents, running through the state postseason without yielding a single goal for an unprecedented run of 7 consecutive shutouts through the entirety of the playoffs.
Huntley needs to beat Rockford Jefferson and Dundee-Crown has to defeat McHenry, but if the better seeds prevail then the Red Raiders and Chargers will play for the second time this month in a regional final at Huntley at 5 p.m. on Oct. 20. Huntley beat Dundee-Crown, 4-1, on Oct. 5 behind goals from Kyle Paler, Aidan Herrera, Max Connell and Anthony Aweve while Jack Breunig had a pair of assists.
The spookiest sectional
Congratulations in advance to whomever finds a way to win the Plainfield North sectional.
Leading the way is top-seeded Naperville North which hasn't lost since its opener against West Chicago on Aug. 22. The Huskies are shooting for their 12th state appearance and fifth state title. Juniors Noah Radeke (18 goals, 15 assists) and Jaxon Stokes (23 goals, 5 assists) will look to lead the Huskies to Hoffman Estates.
Right behind the Huskies is No. 2 West Aurora (17-3) which defeated Plainfield East, 1-0, on Tuesday night to secure the Southwest Prairie Conference title.
“According to MaxPreps, 10 of the top 49 Class 3A teams are in the Plainfield North sectional,” Blackhawks coach Joe Sustersic said. “No other sectional has more than seven. For the rest of the sectionals the average is five-and-a-half per sectional. On any given day, a lower seed can beat a higher seed.”
No. 3 seed Bolingbrook has a win against No. 4 Romeoville and a tie against a Benet team that is among the favorite to win in Class 2A.
The Spartans are coming off a state runner-up finish and looking for a chance to compete for a title once again.
No. 5 Naperville Central may not be the same team it was a year ago when it won the state title, but the Redhawks have the talent and experience to put together another deep run.
Finally, there's the sixth-seeded Cadets whose only losses have come against Naperville North and Brother Rice. Plus, this is a squad that narrowly missed going to state last year in 2A, losing a 1-0, double OT heartbreaker in the supersectional to a Peoria Notre Dame squad that is now a defending champion.
Additionally, there's a 12-win Plainfield East squad, a 13-win Oswego team as well as a 9-win Oswego East team that recently battled Naperville North to a scoreless tie as part of the deeply talented field.
For those holding out hope that there will be a third match between Naperville North and Naperville Central, it could happen, but not until the Plainfield North sectional championship game on Oct. 28 at 10 a.m.
Cups before playoffs
In addition to Downers Grove North winning the traveling trophy during its conference crossover clash with Downers Grove South, South Elgin defeated Bartlett to take home the Thunderhawk Cup while Marmion survived a lengthy battle to claim the Aurora Cup. The Cadets beat East Aurora, Metea Valley and West Aurora after tying Waubonsie Valley.