ELMHURST, Ill.- When down 23-7 in the fourth quarter and having been shut out in both the second and third quarters, it’d be easy for some people to have doubt in their team.
Not Hinsdale Central coach Brian Griffin.
“Never any doubt, especially with these guys,” he said.
His squad rewarded him for his faith, rallying for 20 points in the fourth quarter to take down previously unbeaten York 27-23 in Elmhurst.
Hinsdale Central’s Thomas Skokna runs with the ball against York Friday, Oct. 8, in Elmhurst.
The win pulls the Red Devils into the conference lead, as they now carry a 6-1 overall and 4-o West Suburban Silver record. The win drops York to 6-1, 4-1.
“That is one hell of a football team that we beat. They had shut everybody out, and their defense is incredible,” Griffin said. “We kept telling our kids to keep believing in each other, next guy up. We had kids coming in and out of the game, it’s not just one kid.
“That’s how a conference championship type of game should be.”
The Dukes’ calling card this season has been their stout defense, one that hadn’t given up more than 10 points in a game and had outscored their opponents 201-34 through six games.
Hinsdale Central quarterback Billy Cernugel outraces a York defender. Photos by Michael Wojtychiw
It was evident why as after Hinsdale Central’s Nicholas Fahy scored on the game’s first possession, the Dukes held the visitors scoreless for the game’s next 35 minutes.
“Our defense has played great all year and I think they woke up after that,” York coach Mike Fitzgerald said. “I was proud, our guys bounced back. They (Hinsdale Central) kind of took the momentum early but then our guys surged back and we controlled the tempo of the game until the fourth quarter when we slowly let it slip away.”
LOCKPORT, Ill. – The 2021 fall season hasn’t been one that’s been familiar to many followers of the Lincoln-Way East football program.
For the first time since the 2016 season, the Griffins had suffered two losses in the regular season and had a tough matchup going into their week eight game against Lockport, which was undefeated on the season and had already clinched at least a share of the Southwest Suburban Blue Conference title for the first time since 2004, which also happened to be the last time the Porters defeated the Griffins as well.
Lincoln-Way East’s Trey Johnson (4) breaks the tackle of two Lockport defenders Friday, Oct. 15, in Lockport. Photos by Michael Wojtychiw
Lincoln-Way East on the other hand was looking to win or share its fifth consecutive conference title and seventh in the past eight years.
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.
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.
Glenbrook South’s Jimmy Aglikin outraces Loyola’s Joey Vehovsky in a regional final game at the Mund Campus Oct. 20. Photo by Michael WojtychiwContinue reading →
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.
Triad’s Brynn Presley (22) races past St. Viator’s Zophie Perez (19) and Emilie Doersching (3). Photos by Michael Wojtychiw
By Michael Wojtychiw
PALATINE – Triad came into Friday’s second Class AA semifinal at Fremd with gaudy stats.
The Knights: boasted a 105-3 scoring margin; won 22 straight after tying Granite City in the season opener; hadn’t allowed a goal in the past 13 games; and made its third trip to state in the past five years in search of its second title in that stretch.
Evanston’s Adriana Merriam and New Trier’s Annie Paden battle for the ball in the midfield. Photos by Michael Wojtychiw
By Michael Wojtychiw
NORTHFIELD – “See you guys at practice tomorrow.”
Those are the words that New Trier manager Jim Burnside told his squad after his postgame meeting with his players in the shed under their stadium following a 2-0 win over rival Evanston in the Maine South Sectional championship.
This sectional title is the seventh consecutive for the Trevians. It’s a streak that stretches back to the 2014 season, which marked the first of three-consecutive state title runs for the program.
“It was really great to say that,” Burnside said. “That’s what we tell them. We count down how many teams will be practicing, and we know only eight (Class) 3A teams will be practicing. It’s a great feeling.
“I really liked our grit today. I thought we possessed when we needed too, I thought we actually got a little better. The kids listened and adjusted as the game went on, and as this team does they grinded it out. That’s what they do.”
Friday night also marked another milestone for Illinois overall. Earlier in the day, the IHSA announced that with the state moving into Phase 5 of its COVID pandemic plan, crowd limits would no longer be in effect.
That meant that for the first time in the 2020-21 school year, stadiums were able to be at full capacity. And what better way is there to win a sectional title on your home field than in front of a raucous crowd for the first time all season?
“It was crazy to see so many fans out here tonight,” New Trier’s Morgan Fagan said. “The baseball team came in at some point (after a sectional title win over Oak Park and River Forest) and not having to wear a mask was nice. It felt normal. It was great.
“It was great having so many people out here supporting you, playing for your school. Everyone was so hyped for the win.”
“The environment was superb,” Burnside said. “Not having masks on the field was superb. I’m so happy for these kids that there’s a little bit of a normal season for these girls. They work so hard. They push themselves to be ready for this.
“They worked their tails off. We lifted a lot of weights in masks, six feet from each other, and they never once complained.”
“It’s a good feeling just to come out here and battle,” New Trier’s Mia Sedgwick said. “You realize what it’s all about, why you play. You come out and play against a good team. All the fans just make it better.”
The Trevians (20-1-4), the top seed in the sectional, and the Wildkits (16-3-3), the second seed, last faced each other May 19 when Evanston rallied late for a 2-2 tie.
That game is also the last time New Trier, its defense and keeper Wynne Hague allowed a goal.
Following that game, the Trevians were able to use what they learned in preparation for the third meeting with their CSL South rivals.
“We knew about their formation and those outside mids that were a problem for us last time. Our forwards kept pushing up, and there was no one tracking back on them,” Fagan said. “We knew that we had to cover on the weak side and cover on those. We also knew we had to match their level of intensity and aggressiveness.”
“We knew that we were going to be physical,” Sedgwick said. “Knowing that they were going to come in and come in physical and hard, especially if we go up 1-0, 2-0, we know that in that last 15, 20 minutes that they’re coming in hard. Knowing who they are, what their mentality is, really helped us know what to expect.”
“The one glaring difference is we didn’t allow any silly fouls in front of the net, because we know that they’re dangerous,” Burnside said. “Their number 14 (Nahla Dominguez) is dangerous on restarts, and we needed to make sure we didn’t give up any silly restarts.”
After much of the first half was played in the midfield with each team getting deep into the other team’s just a couple times, Fagan, the Boston University-bound midfielder/forward scored her 11th goal of the year when she took a beautiful cross from Alex Wirth and headed it past Evanston keeper Caitlin Fitzpatrick with 11 minutes remaining in the first half.
For Fagan, who is playing in her first and only season of high school soccer after playing two years with her club team and the missed season last spring, the playoffs have been something she never could have imagined.
“I honestly had no expectations coming into this, I’ve never had a playoff season,” she said. “It’s more intense than I thought. We played these teams in conference, but these are nothing like conference games at all. It’s so much more intense than I ever thought.”
Evanston’s best chance in the first half came when Nahla Dominguez took aim at Hague with a free kick from the same location she converted a game-tying kick during the May 19 contest.
Unfortunately for her and the Wildkits, the ball went just high and left the Trevians in the lead.
Evanston forced Hague to make five saves on the night, three of which came off the foot of sophomore midfielder Adriana Merriam.
Merriam, Dominguez and Breaylin Viamille will return next season for Evanston. With a squad that had only five seniors on its roster, the Wildkits were able to put pressure on the Trevians defense but to no avail.
New Trier’s Kate Dobsch put the match away with just under eight minutes remaining when she tapped in a free kick from fellow senior Jenna Birdsell. Like Fagan, Dobsch is playing in her first state playoffs after playing on her club team. The Wake Forest-bound player moved up from the defense to more of a midfielder position midway through the year.
With the win, the Trevians advance to the Glenbrook North Supersectional, where they’ll face Libertyville. The Wildcats are the lone team to defeat the Trevians with a 1-0 result May 1. Since that day, the Trevians have given up only three goals — May 17 in a 2-1 win versus Glenbrook North; and the 2-2 tie against Evanston, which were the most goals the Trevians allowed in a game this season.
That team from May 1 is different than the one that Libertyville will face on Tuesday in Northbrook.
“We’re already thinking about it,” Fagan said after the game. “We’re looking forward to practice and how it’s redemption time and we know Tuesday we want to come out and crush them. This is who we really are, and we’re here to beat you.”
“I still don’t think we’ve put together our best yet, but today was a great effort,” Burnside said. “We’ve grown into a very good soccer team, and we need to do what we do well. We need to possess; we need to attack the goal; and we need to be organized on defense.
“We need to be us. We need to be the best version of New Trier soccer. If we do that, whether things go our way or not, we’re going to have a shot at [a win].
New Trier’s Caroline Finnigan looks for a teammate downfield.
Evanston’s Breayln Viamille makes a move toward the goal.
New Trier GK: Wynne Hague D: Jenna Birdsell D: Anna Marshall D: Mia Sedgwick D: Ava Shah MF: Kate Dobsch MF: Caroline Finnigan MF: Annie Paden F: Alex Wirth F: Charlotte Dellin F: Morgan Fagan
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Morgan Fagan, sr., F/MF, New Trier
Scoring summary
First half New Trier – Morgan Fagan (Alex Wirth), 29th minute
Second half New Trier – Kate Dobsch (Jenna Birdsell), 72nd minute
North Shore Country Day’s Eun Hae Lillig outraces a Parker defender in Winnetka. Photos by Michael Wojtychiw
By Michael Wojtychiw
WINNETKA — The most recent years of North Shore Country Day girls soccer top the program’s history. There is no doubt back-to-back state runnerup finishes in 2018 and 2019, the best for either soccer program at the school, have put the Raiders on the girls soccer map in Illinois.
A good number of the core players of those teams graduated in 2020, but luckily for the Raiders (5-1-1, 4-1-0) a handful of seniors with multiple years of varsity experience returned for the 2021 season: Zinzi Steele, Jane Scullion, Natalie Duquette and Eun Hae Lillig.
Michael Wojtychiw 