GLENVIEW — To be successful in the state playoffs, it takes grit, dedication, emotion, a little bit of luck and some good scouting.
Glenbrook South used it all in its matchup with their fourth-seeded host in the title game of the Loyola Regional at the Ramblers’ Munz Campus on Friday night, Oct. 22.
The Titans, seeded sixth in the New Trier Sectional, advanced after taking the penalty kick round 4-1, but not before a lot of emotions and excitement flowed.
CHICAGO — To say that Fenwick and Saint Ignatius have quite the rivalry might be an understatement. Since the 2016 season, the teams have either tied or been involved in one-goal affairs and records can be thrown out the window when the two meet.
Coming into Tuesday’s Chicago Catholic League Blue Division matchup at Fornelli Field, the recent stretch of both teams’ play wasn’t bound to play a role in the match’s result — another classic seemed to be on deck on the Wolfpack’s Senior Night Sept. 28.
Continue readingNILES — The 2021 calendar year has been quite a successful one for the Notre Dame boys soccer program.
After setting a school record with six conference wins during the spring 2021 COVID-influenced season, the fall version of the squad, which returned 21 of 24 players, had already hit that mark with three conference games remaining entering Saturday’s contest with Marist.
The fall season has gone even better for the Dons (16-1-1), who already have set a new school record for regular-season wins and earned the program’s first top seed, in the Speer Sectional, for the upcoming state playoffs.
The Dons, ranked 22nd in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, can add one more first as they set a new school record with their seventh East Suburban Catholic Conference win, a 2-1 decision over Marist that improved their East Suburban Catholic Conference record to 7-0-0.
Continue readingOAK PARK — There’s a reason Lyons and Oak Park and River Forest are the number nine and 10 teams, respectively, in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
The precision with which they play, the skill, the cohesiveness between the players on the pitch, the tenacity that all those in the stadium can see are just some of the things that set the two squads apart from others not only in the western suburbs but the Chicagoland area and state.
Before the West Suburban Conference Silver Division showdown on Tuesday, Oct. 5, night, Huskies manager Jason Fried told his squad that the game would probably come down to one goal.
Fried ended up being right. His squad scored the only goal to give the Huskies (12-2-0, 4-1) the shutout win over Lyons. It was the fifth-consecutive win for Oak Park and River Forest.
Continue readingBy Michael Wojtychiw
RIVER FOREST — It’s been a rough two weeks for Addison Trail.
Two of the last three games in the past week have been against York and Morton, the fourth- and second-ranked teams in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. Unfortunately, for the Blazers, they were outscored 9-0 in those two games. So the squad’s nonconference game against Fenwick on Thursday, Oct. 7, afternoon was one where it hoped to get back in the win column.
The visitors did just that, walking away with a 2-0 win at Dominican University’s Priory Campus.
“We did a pretty good job of attacking,” Addison Trail manager Ryan Dini said. ” This is our 10th win of the season. We’ve had ups and downs, but I thought we played really well today as a group. We take that as a positive going into the last week before playoffs.”
Continue readingBy Michael Wojtychiw
GLENVIEW – The Loyola senior class of 2021 has been vital for the Ramblers program. It’s helped lay the foundation for the team’s success in 2019, this season and for campaigns to come.
Three seniors — Tommy Zipprich, Oscar Blazer and Michael Sullivan — have been key parts of the program since their freshman seasons and reasons for the program’s rise.
On Thursday, April 15, St. Ignatius walked into a hornets’ nest.
Continue readingBy Michael Wojtychiw
WINNETKA – North Shore Country Day came into its first matchup with Latin on a roll. After dropping its season opener to Lake Forest Academy, the Raiders won eight-consecutive games, including five Independent School League contests, and outscored their opponents 46-3.
North Shore Country Day put up a crooked number on the scoreboard against the Romans, but a different result would follow.
Continue readingBy Michael Wojtychiw
PARK RIDGE – Maine South needed this one.
After dropping games to Glenbrook South and Evanston and tying Niles West last week to start Central Suburban League South Division play, the Hawks needed to get back in the win column. They started the year 5-0-1 in nonconference action.
But to do that, they’d have to go through Chicagoland Soccer’s top-ranked team, New Trier, which was coming off its first loss of the year Monday night, a 1-0 decision to third-ranked Warren.
Continue readingNILES —— There are few rivalries in Illinois that rival the one between St. Patrick and Notre Dame. As the two largest all-boys Catholic high schools — and two of only three — on the North Side of the city or northern suburbs, the competition between the schools is keen.
Add to that, the duo often competes for future students from the same feeder schools.
Continue readingBy Michael Wojtychiw
RIVER FOREST – It’d been 10 days since Fenwick played someone not dressed in Friars gear.
After playing their first game on the year on March 13, Fenwick had its next game, a Chicago Catholic League Blue Division matchup with Mount Carmel, canceled due to COVID-19 complications within the Caravan program.
So, the team knew right away that its conference opener March 23rd against rival St. Ignatius would be a tougher game than normal. It’d have to shake off some rust and contend with pouring rain of the first half.
Continue reading
Michael Wojtychiw 