CHICAGO – When you get to the state playoffs, big time players make big time plays in big time moments.
Enter Crystal Lake Central’s Jason Penza.
The sophomore got things going right out of the gate for the Tigers in their Class 6A first-round playoff game with Amundsen, bringing back the opening kickoff 95 yards en route to helping his squad take down the host and fifth-seeded Vikings 55-28 Saturday afternoon at Winnemac Stadium in Chicago.
Crystal Lake Central’s Brent Blitek (26) gets tackled by an Amundsen defender Saturday, Oct. 30, at Winnemac Stadium in Chicago. Photos by Michael Wojtychiw
From there, it was all Tigers (7-3) as they scored on each of their seven possessions of the first half.
“It set the tone and the rest of the game,” Crystal Lake Central quarterback Colton Madura said. “We really wanted to capitalize on every opportunity we had.
CHICAGO — It was a case of deja vu for Notre Dame.
In 2019, the last season the IHSA held a state playoff series in boys soccer, the Dons made school history by winning the Speer Sectional.
Fast forward two years and the Dons (23-1-2) were back at the same spot, hoping to make it two in a row at Speer’s stadium. But in their way stood Fenwick, who made its first appearance in a sectional final since 2016.
Well the Friars, and a crazy, steady rain that had been falling all day.
What the crowd got was a fantastic one-goal game that was won on a shot from Notre Dame senior Trevor Johnson with a minute, 24 seconds remaining on a ball that even he didn’t think would cross the line.
“I wanted to put it on goal, but it didn’t look like it had a chance to go in,” Johnson said after Notre Dame’s 4-3 win. “Once it started to curl, you could see it was going to look in and luckily snuck past the keeper.
CHICAGO — Putting the ball into the back of the net has been a tricky part of the game for Fenwick this season. The Friars came into the postseason having let up five more goals than they’d scored and had been shutout in three of the team’s last four games of the regular season.
That trend, however, seems to have reversed itself in the state playoffs. In the squad’s first two playoff games, it outscored opponents 12-1.
Fenwick’s Ryan Bero (10) battles Fenton’s Christian Bailon for the ball. Photo by Michael Wojtychiw
“These one-off games are challenging and if you can get the lead, calm your nerves down, that’s a really good first step,” Fenwick manager Craig Blazer said. “We were starting to focus on doing that, and it calmed us down.
“We’ve played a little more in the attacking half and not had defenders that have to make all the plays in the back. But anytime you score a goal, it gives you a boost. It just took us a while to get everyone on the same page and now that we are, we’ve got some good momentum.”
The third-seeded Friars continued to put the ball in the net in their Class AA Speer Sectional semifinal against second-seeded Fenton.
The Friars finished enough for a 2-1 win that earned the sectional final against top-seeded Notre Dame.
CHICAGO – The first day of competition marked a number of firsts for Loyola. Manager Justin Dunn, who took over the reins as leader of the Ramblers program, was making his head coaching debut, and the team was looking to establish a new core after key varsity players like Tommy Zipprich, Michael Sullivan, Dylan Gripman and Oscar Blazer graduated to the college game.
There might be new faces, but the same Loyola stepped out onto the field in the season opener against Young at the Michelle Obama Athletic Complex.
The Ramblers did just what they did in their abbreviated spring season — walk away with a win, this time defeating the host Dolphins 2-0.
Loyola’s John Phillips looks for a teammate upfield. Photos by Michael Wojtychiw
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind the past couple weeks,” Dunn said. “Having to deal with everything in a running a program, especially as a 24 year-old that’s also a teacher at a different school, it’s tough.
“But I knew a lot of the guys returning and that’s been really helpful, especially the senior leaders who have been helpful in creating the environment and the rhetoric that we want to have. We knew the guys from last year were leaving, but we’re really confident in who we have. It’s all about building that chemistry, team environment.
NORTHFIELD – The Northside College Showcase is routinely one of the best in-season tournaments in the boys season. With half the teams ranked from no. 3 to no. 9 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, the tournament offers a good early test for all eight teams as they search for their identities.
Two of the ranked squads, no. 6 Loyola and no. 9 New Trier met in a neighborhood rivalry match Tuesday in Northfield. Both teams were 1-0-0 in the tournament after the opening day of competition Saturday: the Trevians defeated Grayslake Central; the Ramblers defeated no. 7 Libertyville.
Junior midfielder/forward Evan Kanellos made sure that only New Trier remained undefeated in the pool after the Tuesday night game.
New Trier keeper Aidan Crawford gets ready to send the ball downfield against Loyola. Photos by Michael Wojtychiw
Kanellos, the lone sophomore on the 2021’s spring season team, assisted on the Trevians’ first goal and scored the game-winner off of a free kick seven minutes into the second half en route to the praise of his mates and Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.
“That (free kick) is something he’s been working on in training,” New Trier manager Matt Ravenscraft said. “Early on in the season, we want the ball on frame and force the goalie have to make a play. We actually haven’t been really dangerous off our set pieces in the first two games, so it’s something we’ve worked on and executed well tonight.”
“That (first goal) was huge for us,” Kanellos said. “It got the crowd going, gave us momentum.
“We gave up some momentum (after their goal) but knew we could get it back.”
Michael Wojtychiw 