"Sectional of Death" ready to end seasons
Naperville C. seeks to enter
record books with 4th-straight win
By Matt Le Cren
Naperville Central will gun for its fourth-consecutive sectional championship when it begins its playoffs run Tuesday (Oct. 21).
If that sounds impressive, it is.
The Redhawks would be the first team from DuPage County to accomplish that feat and the 16th in state history. Only four other large public schools from the Chicago area – New Trier, St. Charles (before the opening of St. Charles North), Sandburg and Libertyville – have won four sectionals in a row.
Naperville Central’s ultimate goal is winning its first state championship, something the Redhawks have come agonizingly close to in recent years. The Redhawks finished second in the state in 2011 and 2012 and third last year.
The regular season has seen the Redhawks in fine form. They are 11-1-6 and earned the No. 1 seed at the Class 3A Bolingbrook Sectional, which has been called the deepest and toughest in the state.
“A lot of them have been through it before, and they kind of have a feel that it’s definitely something that’s obtainable,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “That’s part of the postseason is understanding that this could happen, that it’s not a miracle that we could advance.”
Indeed, the Redhawks are as hungry as they are talented. Jordi Heeneman, who leads the team with 16 goals, needs three goals to pass Chris Prince into second place on the school’s career scoring list. Fellow senior Jordi McCormack, meanwhile, has 14 assists, four short of the single-season school mark.
“All of us want it extremely bad, so starting our first game we’re not going to take one game off,” Naperville Central senior forward Jordi Heeneman said. “We’re going to play as hard as we can throughout regionals and sectionals, and take it game-by-game.”
The Redhawks are wise to do so because the sectional is loaded with 12 teams that have winning records, seven of whom are ranked among the top 15 in the Chicago area in one media poll.
They include No. 2 seed Batavia (16-2-3), No. 3 Benet (13-3-2) and No. 4 Naperville North (12-4-3), all of which are complete squads.
“We’re the deepest sectional,” Adams said. “You dump any of our top eight seeds into the Sandburg [Sectional] and you’re probably talking about a 1 or 2 seed.”
The regular season produced a slew of upsets in the western suburbs and no Class 3A team remains unbeaten. Most coaches expect this sectional to produce more surprises.
“This is my fifth year coaching and [for the first time] I can say realistically there’s probably 30 teams in the state that could win the state title,” Adams said.
“Every time you turn around you see a team that was going well suddenly hits a road block and gets a loss and one you didn’t think they would get. I think it’s a year that somebody’s going to get on a roll, someone that catches some lucky breaks.”
Naperville Central, Naperville North, No. 9 seed Metea Valley and No. 11 Geneva host regionals.
Naperville Central Regional
Naperville Central opens with the winner of Friday’s play-in game between No. 16 Oswego and No. 17 East Aurora. The Redhawks then would face either No. 8 Waubonsie Valley or No. 10 West Aurora in the regional final.
Waubonsie Valley (9-5-3) is the area’s most mercurial team, with several impressive victories coupled with some poor losses. The Warriors have beaten Benet Academy, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and Metea Valley and tied St. Charles East, the top seed in the Bartlett Sectional.
But they have also lost to Oswego East and West Aurora (10-8-1), making Tuesday’s meeting with the Blackhawks one of the most intriguing regional semifinals.
Waubonsie Valley senior co-captain Jon Braun, who scored the game-winners last week in wins over Neuqua Valley and Metea Valley, thinks the Warriors are peaking at the right time with three-straight games for the first time this fall.
“We have two really tough games right off the bat,” Braun said. “West Aurora we already lost to at home and then if we do advance then we play Central. So two tough games but, if we play well like we know we can then I feel like we can go pretty far.”
Metea Valley Regional
Batavia is seeking its first sectional title since 1993 and won the Upstate Eight Conference River Division title behind the leadership of star senior midfielder Ian Larson. The Bulldogs figure to coast past either Plainfield Central or Plainfield East in the first round before a likely title game tilt with Neuqua Valley.
That would be a rematch of Wednesday’s Upstate Eight Conference championship game, which Neuqua Valley won 3-1 behind a hat trick from Ryan Ross; the result snapped Batavia’s 15-game unbeaten streak.
But Neuqua Valley (13-7) first must get past Metea Valley. The Wildcats beat the Mustangs 2-0 on Aug. 28 but winning a playoff game on an opponent’s home field is never an easy task.
“It’s a tough sectional,” Neuqua Valley coach Skip Begley said. “I’m sure there’s nobody who’s like, ‘Oh, this is a great draw for us.’ It’s a very tough group.
“I think only one team’s got a legitimate shot because that’s all that’s getting out, but anyone could win it. Waubonsie has proven it. They beat the 3 and the 4 and us.”
Begley’s squad started the season 1-4 but then won 11 of their next 12 games before Waubonsie Valley snapped their eight-game winning streak last week. The Wildcats have a dynamic striker in Bowling Green recruit Ross, whose next goal will be the 50th of his career.
Metea Valley (9-10-2) won five straight after the loss to Neuqua Valley but has since struggled to score goals. Jake Celinski’s five goals lead the Mustangs, who have been shut out eight times and scored only 24 goals.
“I’ve been really proud of the boys and the brand that we play, but it’s a results-oriented business and when results don’t go your way you get a bit frustrated,” Metea Valley coach Josh Robinson said. “We’re playing a good brand of soccer, but at the same time we’ve got to get the ball in the net and that’s been our biggest struggle this year. We’re hoping that as playoffs come we’ll start finding that mentality.”
If Metea Valley does, those regular season struggles will so be forgotten.
“It’s going to be fun,” Robinson said. “[There’s] going to be upsets. Now you’ve got the Plainfields that are having success and to have West Aurora be a 10 seed is ridiculous. They’re a solid team.”
Naperville North Regional
Neither No. 5 seed Plainfield South (13-3-1) nor No. 6 Plainfield North (15-2-1) have ever won a regional title but are enjoying their finest seasons. In any other sectional, the Cougars and Tigers would be favored to win a regional.
Plainfield South, which beat Metea Valley and lost only 1-0 to Naperville Central, didn’t get much of a reward for its high seed. The Cougars face No. 12 Bolingbrook (15-4-3) in a matchup of potential Cinderellas. The Raiders are after their first regional championship since 1992.
But the host Huskies are the clear favorite. The DuPage Valley champions gave Naperville Central its only loss and beat highly regarded Batavia.
“We’re pretty confident,” senior co-captain Brandon Hipp said. “We just have to clean up a couple things, and we’re pretty comfortable going into these playoffs.”
It was Hipp’s move from center fullback to forward which gave the Huskies the kind of offensive firepower needed for a deep playoff run. A tall, physical back line led by Hipp, Wesley Wong and Matty Sylvester had scored four of the team’s first six goals and played outstanding defense in front of goalie Christian Robert.
Since moving up top, Hipp has scored 11 goals in eight games and has a team-leading 12 overall. The Huskies have won five-straight games and are 8-0-2 in their last 10. Half of that streak came after the seeding meeting, so North could be a sleeper pick.
“I actually think that works in our favor because they always expect the hard team,” Hipp said. “Coming in as the fourth seed, [people] are not looking at us as much as they are the other teams.”
Of course, that works both ways because North doesn’t have any easy first round game, either. No. 13 Marmion is 12-10 after recovering from a 1-5 start and Naperville North coach Jim Konrad knows better than to take any game for granted.
“It will be tough,” Konrad said. “Marmion has had a very good year and if we’re fortunate enough to beat them we’ve got Bolingbrook or Plainfield South, both of who have had exceptional years and are well-coached. It’s going to be fun.”
Geneva Regional
Benet Academy appears to have the easiest path to a regional championship, at least on paper.
The Redwings, who won Class A state championships in 2000 and 2001, haven’t won a large class sectional since 2006 but believe this is their best chance to do so.
Junior Konrad Bayer has emerged as a top goalie in his first year as a full-time starter behind an unheralded yet stalwart back line, and the Redwings have arguably the most talented player in the field in senior striker Kyle Kenagy, who has diced defenses to the tune of 19 goals after a breakout 26-goal season last year.
“I feel good. Kyle Kenagy up top is a difference-maker,” said Benet Academy coach Sean Wesley. “Not too many people have that. Everybody is well organized in the back and is well-coached and plays hard. But very few teams have that power up top and that kind of speed. Then when you surround him with the people we have, it’s exciting.”
The Redwings open against either No. 14 Oswego East or No. 19 Yorkville, then would face Plainfield North (17-2-1) or Geneva (6-4-6) in the final.
While the exuberant Wesley likes his team’s chances, he knows better than to make predictions.
“I think it’s the best sectional in the state by far,” Wesley said. “I think it’s crazy that a team like Bolingbrook with [15] wins and two ties is a 12 seed.
“I think every game is going to be a showdown. Depending on the weather and the conditions and the team that scores first, I think every team probably feels like they can make a run and at the same time I think every coach knows it could be over early.”
The sectional winner will advance to the Nov. 4 Lewis University Supersectional and play the winner of the Lyons Sectional, where the top four seeds are Morton, Hinsdale Central, Lyons and Downers Grove South.
Morton (19-1-2) and Lyons (18-5) are currently ranked first and second in the Chicago area.
Naperville C. seeks to enter
record books with 4th-straight win
By Matt Le Cren
Naperville Central will gun for its fourth-consecutive sectional championship when it begins its playoffs run Tuesday (Oct. 21).
If that sounds impressive, it is.
The Redhawks would be the first team from DuPage County to accomplish that feat and the 16th in state history. Only four other large public schools from the Chicago area – New Trier, St. Charles (before the opening of St. Charles North), Sandburg and Libertyville – have won four sectionals in a row.
Naperville Central’s ultimate goal is winning its first state championship, something the Redhawks have come agonizingly close to in recent years. The Redhawks finished second in the state in 2011 and 2012 and third last year.
The regular season has seen the Redhawks in fine form. They are 11-1-6 and earned the No. 1 seed at the Class 3A Bolingbrook Sectional, which has been called the deepest and toughest in the state.
“A lot of them have been through it before, and they kind of have a feel that it’s definitely something that’s obtainable,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “That’s part of the postseason is understanding that this could happen, that it’s not a miracle that we could advance.”
Indeed, the Redhawks are as hungry as they are talented. Jordi Heeneman, who leads the team with 16 goals, needs three goals to pass Chris Prince into second place on the school’s career scoring list. Fellow senior Jordi McCormack, meanwhile, has 14 assists, four short of the single-season school mark.
“All of us want it extremely bad, so starting our first game we’re not going to take one game off,” Naperville Central senior forward Jordi Heeneman said. “We’re going to play as hard as we can throughout regionals and sectionals, and take it game-by-game.”
The Redhawks are wise to do so because the sectional is loaded with 12 teams that have winning records, seven of whom are ranked among the top 15 in the Chicago area in one media poll.
They include No. 2 seed Batavia (16-2-3), No. 3 Benet (13-3-2) and No. 4 Naperville North (12-4-3), all of which are complete squads.
“We’re the deepest sectional,” Adams said. “You dump any of our top eight seeds into the Sandburg [Sectional] and you’re probably talking about a 1 or 2 seed.”
The regular season produced a slew of upsets in the western suburbs and no Class 3A team remains unbeaten. Most coaches expect this sectional to produce more surprises.
“This is my fifth year coaching and [for the first time] I can say realistically there’s probably 30 teams in the state that could win the state title,” Adams said.
“Every time you turn around you see a team that was going well suddenly hits a road block and gets a loss and one you didn’t think they would get. I think it’s a year that somebody’s going to get on a roll, someone that catches some lucky breaks.”
Naperville Central, Naperville North, No. 9 seed Metea Valley and No. 11 Geneva host regionals.
Naperville Central Regional
Naperville Central opens with the winner of Friday’s play-in game between No. 16 Oswego and No. 17 East Aurora. The Redhawks then would face either No. 8 Waubonsie Valley or No. 10 West Aurora in the regional final.
Waubonsie Valley (9-5-3) is the area’s most mercurial team, with several impressive victories coupled with some poor losses. The Warriors have beaten Benet Academy, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and Metea Valley and tied St. Charles East, the top seed in the Bartlett Sectional.
But they have also lost to Oswego East and West Aurora (10-8-1), making Tuesday’s meeting with the Blackhawks one of the most intriguing regional semifinals.
Waubonsie Valley senior co-captain Jon Braun, who scored the game-winners last week in wins over Neuqua Valley and Metea Valley, thinks the Warriors are peaking at the right time with three-straight games for the first time this fall.
“We have two really tough games right off the bat,” Braun said. “West Aurora we already lost to at home and then if we do advance then we play Central. So two tough games but, if we play well like we know we can then I feel like we can go pretty far.”
Metea Valley Regional
Batavia is seeking its first sectional title since 1993 and won the Upstate Eight Conference River Division title behind the leadership of star senior midfielder Ian Larson. The Bulldogs figure to coast past either Plainfield Central or Plainfield East in the first round before a likely title game tilt with Neuqua Valley.
That would be a rematch of Wednesday’s Upstate Eight Conference championship game, which Neuqua Valley won 3-1 behind a hat trick from Ryan Ross; the result snapped Batavia’s 15-game unbeaten streak.
But Neuqua Valley (13-7) first must get past Metea Valley. The Wildcats beat the Mustangs 2-0 on Aug. 28 but winning a playoff game on an opponent’s home field is never an easy task.
“It’s a tough sectional,” Neuqua Valley coach Skip Begley said. “I’m sure there’s nobody who’s like, ‘Oh, this is a great draw for us.’ It’s a very tough group.
“I think only one team’s got a legitimate shot because that’s all that’s getting out, but anyone could win it. Waubonsie has proven it. They beat the 3 and the 4 and us.”
Begley’s squad started the season 1-4 but then won 11 of their next 12 games before Waubonsie Valley snapped their eight-game winning streak last week. The Wildcats have a dynamic striker in Bowling Green recruit Ross, whose next goal will be the 50th of his career.
Metea Valley (9-10-2) won five straight after the loss to Neuqua Valley but has since struggled to score goals. Jake Celinski’s five goals lead the Mustangs, who have been shut out eight times and scored only 24 goals.
“I’ve been really proud of the boys and the brand that we play, but it’s a results-oriented business and when results don’t go your way you get a bit frustrated,” Metea Valley coach Josh Robinson said. “We’re playing a good brand of soccer, but at the same time we’ve got to get the ball in the net and that’s been our biggest struggle this year. We’re hoping that as playoffs come we’ll start finding that mentality.”
If Metea Valley does, those regular season struggles will so be forgotten.
“It’s going to be fun,” Robinson said. “[There’s] going to be upsets. Now you’ve got the Plainfields that are having success and to have West Aurora be a 10 seed is ridiculous. They’re a solid team.”
Naperville North Regional
Neither No. 5 seed Plainfield South (13-3-1) nor No. 6 Plainfield North (15-2-1) have ever won a regional title but are enjoying their finest seasons. In any other sectional, the Cougars and Tigers would be favored to win a regional.
Plainfield South, which beat Metea Valley and lost only 1-0 to Naperville Central, didn’t get much of a reward for its high seed. The Cougars face No. 12 Bolingbrook (15-4-3) in a matchup of potential Cinderellas. The Raiders are after their first regional championship since 1992.
But the host Huskies are the clear favorite. The DuPage Valley champions gave Naperville Central its only loss and beat highly regarded Batavia.
“We’re pretty confident,” senior co-captain Brandon Hipp said. “We just have to clean up a couple things, and we’re pretty comfortable going into these playoffs.”
It was Hipp’s move from center fullback to forward which gave the Huskies the kind of offensive firepower needed for a deep playoff run. A tall, physical back line led by Hipp, Wesley Wong and Matty Sylvester had scored four of the team’s first six goals and played outstanding defense in front of goalie Christian Robert.
Since moving up top, Hipp has scored 11 goals in eight games and has a team-leading 12 overall. The Huskies have won five-straight games and are 8-0-2 in their last 10. Half of that streak came after the seeding meeting, so North could be a sleeper pick.
“I actually think that works in our favor because they always expect the hard team,” Hipp said. “Coming in as the fourth seed, [people] are not looking at us as much as they are the other teams.”
Of course, that works both ways because North doesn’t have any easy first round game, either. No. 13 Marmion is 12-10 after recovering from a 1-5 start and Naperville North coach Jim Konrad knows better than to take any game for granted.
“It will be tough,” Konrad said. “Marmion has had a very good year and if we’re fortunate enough to beat them we’ve got Bolingbrook or Plainfield South, both of who have had exceptional years and are well-coached. It’s going to be fun.”
Geneva Regional
Benet Academy appears to have the easiest path to a regional championship, at least on paper.
The Redwings, who won Class A state championships in 2000 and 2001, haven’t won a large class sectional since 2006 but believe this is their best chance to do so.
Junior Konrad Bayer has emerged as a top goalie in his first year as a full-time starter behind an unheralded yet stalwart back line, and the Redwings have arguably the most talented player in the field in senior striker Kyle Kenagy, who has diced defenses to the tune of 19 goals after a breakout 26-goal season last year.
“I feel good. Kyle Kenagy up top is a difference-maker,” said Benet Academy coach Sean Wesley. “Not too many people have that. Everybody is well organized in the back and is well-coached and plays hard. But very few teams have that power up top and that kind of speed. Then when you surround him with the people we have, it’s exciting.”
The Redwings open against either No. 14 Oswego East or No. 19 Yorkville, then would face Plainfield North (17-2-1) or Geneva (6-4-6) in the final.
While the exuberant Wesley likes his team’s chances, he knows better than to make predictions.
“I think it’s the best sectional in the state by far,” Wesley said. “I think it’s crazy that a team like Bolingbrook with [15] wins and two ties is a 12 seed.
“I think every game is going to be a showdown. Depending on the weather and the conditions and the team that scores first, I think every team probably feels like they can make a run and at the same time I think every coach knows it could be over early.”
The sectional winner will advance to the Nov. 4 Lewis University Supersectional and play the winner of the Lyons Sectional, where the top four seeds are Morton, Hinsdale Central, Lyons and Downers Grove South.
Morton (19-1-2) and Lyons (18-5) are currently ranked first and second in the Chicago area.