Tag Archives: Fenwick High School

Johnson’s Notre Dame ‘prayer’ answered, Dons oust Fenwick

Posted on by
Reply

By Michael Wojtychiw

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.

“It’s the last minute. It was a prayer.”

Continue reading →

Seniors power Fenwick past Fenton

Posted on by
Reply

By Michael Wojtychiw

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.

Continue reading →

Miedema stands out in Loyola’s win vs. Fenwick

Posted on by
Reply

GLENVIEW — With the playoffs starting next week, the hope for all area soccer coaches is that the lessons they’ve been preaching all season finally come to fruition as the second-season starts.

Whether that be players executing what their coaches have been talking about all season, inserting new wrinkles or teams finally gelling as one, seeing everything start to come together is a gratifying moment for all involved.

Fenwick’s Ryan Bero (right) tries to keep the ball from Loyola’s Oskar Duenkel. Photos by Michael Wojtychiw

Loyola and manager Justin Dunn experienced that in the Ramblers regular-season finale against Fenwick on Thursday, a 4-0 win over their Chicago Catholic League Blue Division rivals.

Continue reading →

In search of goal, Fenwick, St. Ignatius find none

Posted on by
Reply

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.

St. Ignatius’ Jack Regan looks to keep the ball away from Fenwick’s Will Jancewicz Sept. 28 in Chicago. Photos by Michael Wojtychiw

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 reading →

Addison Trail gets back on track with shutout of Fenwick

Posted on by
Reply

By Michael Wojtychiw

RIVER FOREST — It’s been a rough two weeks for Addison Trail.

Addison Trail’s Uriel Bibiano brings the ball up the field against Fenwick. Photos by Michael Wojtychiw

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 reading →

Loyola shuts down Fenwick

Posted on by
Reply
Fenwick’s Caroline Henige (8) outraces Loyola’s Anna Carretta for the ball May 11 in Glenview. Photos by Michael Wojtychiw

By Michael Wojtychiw

GLENVIEW — Coming into May 11th’s matchup at Loyola’s Munz campus, the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference’s Red Division had two remaining unbeatens in conference play: Loyola and Fenwick.

Neither team had also given up a goal in conference play: the Ramblers streak of clean-sheets extended to six straight; the Friars four. Each team needed that to change to take control of the conference.

The Ramblers executed that plan to perfection and earned a hard-fought 2-0 win over visiting Fenwick. The victory improved Loyola to 4-0-0 in the division; Fenwick’s  dropped to 4-1-0.

Continue reading →

Fresh Fenwick finds win over St. Ignatius

Posted on by
Reply

By 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 →

New Trier GWP Going to State

Posted on by
Reply

New Trier had its highest finish in the history of its program last year when the Trevians finished second in the state. The girls have wanted a chance to get back and win the big game. Continue reading →

Fenwick Whallops Taft

Posted on by
Reply

Fenwick steals the show against Taft

Sparked by some pressure defense and easy transition baskets, Fenwick breezed to a comfortable 82-28 win over Taft on Saturday in its second game of the Niles North Thanksgiving Tournament. Continue reading →