Lock-down defense leads
Naperville Central to 3A title
Redhawks make history several ways with championship win
By Curt Herron
HOFFMAN ESTATES – A shutout in the state championship match has been a common occurrence during the 50-year history in the IHSA boys tournaments. Forty six of the 89 title bouts have ended with a clean-sheet.
Even seeing a champion with shutouts in both the state final and their semifinal match isn't all that uncommon -- 24 squads have accomplished that feat.
However, something unusual happened when Naperville Central pulled off its shutout double – a 1-0 win over Romeoville in the Class 3A championship match Saturday and a 5-0 over Stevenson on Friday in the semifinal, both at Hoffman Estates High School. The Redhawks achieved another impressive first besides the program’s initial title.
Coach Troy Adams' club became the first champion in tournament history to give their Final Four foes their only losses of their seasons.
This comes with a twist. Naperville Central not only gave Romeoville (28-2-1) its last loss of the campaign in the final but handed the Spartans their first and only other defeat in a 4-0 nonconference decision Oct. 13.
Saturday's championship match was quite different than the first match. The two sides were scoreless through 47 minutes until Redhawks senior captain Josh Weigel connected for the lone goal in the next minute.
The fifth time at the finals proved the charm for the 26-3-1 Redhawks. The program lost Class 3A finals to Warren (2-1 in two overtimes in 2012) and Morton (1-0 in one overtime in 2011) on Adams’ watch. He also led the program to a third place finish in 2013. In the Redhawks initial state visit in 1988, coach John Paskvalich's team lost 3-0 in the championship match to Buffalo Grove.
Romeoville made history by advancing a team to a state championship match for the first time in the school’s 60-year history. Prior to this week, the Spartans had only had one team that advanced to the state semifinals, one team that won a state trophy and another team that placed in the top four.
The Spartans averaged 4.47 goals per match heading into the championship match and scored at a 3.83 goals per match clip leading up to the final.
But after scoring more than one goal in all but four of their matches, they were shut out for the second time – both by the Redhawks.
The Southwest Prairie Conference champion, led by league MVP and senior Joseph Duarte (42 goals), was limited to total of six shots (two on goal) by a Redhawks defense that featured junior captains Patrick Berryman and Patrick Bohan, junior Michael Cavalleri and seniors Carter Bilik and Owen Stephens with junior Carter Adams playing a defensive role in the midfield. Starting goalie senior Austin Waite didn't have to make a save in the first 37 minutes. Junior keeper Dylan Scott needed two to complete the shutout, the team’s 14th.
"I think when we're locked in, we're really hard to get by defensively," Berryman said. "We did that in the semifinal. We were locked in there for the full 80. and we stayed disciplined. That's why we were able to keep the shutout.
“We did the same thing today (Saturday) and got the shutout again against a really good attacking team. I think we all work super well together. I want to give special props to Michael and Carter (Bilik), because they started the year at different positions. They adapted, Carter at the left back and Michael at the center and they've just done fabulously there.
“Patrick and I have been playing together since JV in our freshman year, and Owen is the super sub and brings the passion when he gets in and is there when we need him. All together we work super well together and stay disciplined and communicate.
"I think it's really hard any time to beat a team twice, especially a team like Romeoville. We knew that they wanted revenge. They were going to adapt how they played the first time. And they were super motivated to win since they had never been here or won a state trophy. But our program had never won a state title before today, and we wanted to be the first."
Bohan agreed with his fellow backliner.
"We knew they were a great team, and they have some guys who are really good at attacking," he said of the Spartans. " … We knew that we needed to track their runners and stay disciplined the entire game. So, a couple of key factors were that we just needed to communicate with each other and follow our guys.
"We knew that they had some really good guys that would be able to dribble through us. We needed to move our feet and cover for each other and communicate, and that's exactly what we did. We worked absolutely fabulously together. There were five of us, too, so we could sub in and out when we needed breaks. We knew that we needed to have communication, and that's what we did today."
The DuPage Valley Conference champions rung up the most victories of any regular-season.
The defense turned it up a notch with 10 shutouts during the final 16 matches, which included five in the seven-game playoff run. Over the course of the run, they shut out Romeoville twice and also blanked Chicagoland Soccer Top 25-ranked St. Charles East and previously ranked Maine South and Sandburg.
The Redhawks played in their fourth state title match and first since the three-year run through 2013. In the semi, Naperville Central handed Stevenson its first shutout defeat of the season. It also was the Patriots only defeat after entering the finals weekend at 21-0-3.
The five-goal victory in the semifinals set a new large school and Class 3A record for the biggest victory in a semifinal round match. It is tied for second place for biggest win for all divisions behind only a Notre Dame (Peoria) 6-0 win over Freeport in Class AA in 2009.
Stevenson, which beat defending 2021 champion York 2-1 in the third place match, produced the program’s best finish in its second state appearance and first since 2012. The Patriots only managed five shots on goal in the semifinal and seven overall. Scott made each save. The Redhawks grabbed a 2-0 halftime lead in the semifinal and added three more tallies after the break to head into the rematch with Romeoville on a high note.
Naperville Central knew what it was getting in the final.
"They're all-around just a great team -- great offensively and great on the ball," Bilik said. "The first game we played them, we came out and locked them down. But we knew that we were going to see a different team than what we saw before.
“They played differently and played better, but we were able to lock that down, as well.
"It's just props to the entire backline and everything that we do. … We're able to shut down these teams because of the hard work we've put in. I just love every single player on this team. With every single player, I have a certain connection, and I love being able to have that with them."
Romeoville came off an emotional 4-3 double-overtime win over York in the semifinals and was trying to cap the school's biggest athletic achievement with a state title.
"We had to be dialed in from the beginning with a team like this," Cavalleri said. "We knew that they had a great offense and also knew that the first time. Coming into this game, we had to be dialed in. This was probably the best we played defensively all season.
"In the first game, I don't think that they were as ready as we were. We came here today more ready. This is the game that everyone wants to play in. It's just organization -- quality communication is a key. It's just super hard to break us down.
“So even though a team wants revenge, it makes it really hard, especially in a game that's really big like this one. We're all really good players, but it's just the hard work and getting after it. It's just the passion and the connection that we have with each other. We really just have great chemistry. Even though we have different age groups, we work together so well on and off the field. It just feels so good."
With just seven seniors on the squad, the future looks extremely bright for the Redhawks. While they'll certainly miss forwards Nathan Kwon and Joey LoDuca, midfielder Sean O'Reilly, Bilik, Stephens, Waite and Weigel, three of the starters on the quality defense will be back along with Scott and the Adams brothers, junior Carter and freshman Chase.
"I think that both of these teams were very deserving to play in this match today and both were very deserving to be state champs," Stephens said. "Luckily we have very talented players all around. Josh had a beautiful ball. I thought that all four of the guys, both the Patricks, Michael and Carter, they were amazing today. They played their best games of the season and played their hearts out. I couldn't be more proud of them.
"We went in with the mentality from last season when we took a tough loss with (Naperville) North in the sectional finals. Our slogan this year was, 'The job's not finished.' I think that we can maybe say that the job is finished now. It feels amazing. I'm so happy for our coach, because it's his first state title. We couldn't be more happy for him. He's pushed us all year long and made sure that our mentality was always right going into games. All credit to him and to the team, because the boys played their hearts out today. I like their passion for the game, just the family and the relationship that we've built with each other."
After seeing disappointment early in his career with two teams falling in overtime in the finals and another falling to the eventual state champs in the semifinal, the Redhawks' 12-year head coach, who owns a 173-63-24 record, was pleased that all of the pieces of the puzzle finally came together for his program this season.
And having a defense that he could count on to put the clamps on the opposition as the season progressed certainly boosted his hopes that this would turn out not only to be an excellent season, but one that could result in a state championship.
"With both Patricks being captains and having them in the back, their leadership and their ability to communicate and really be able to make sure that everything is covered is huge," Troy Adams said. "They deserve a ton of credit for everything that happened defensively. Michael and Owen and Carter, they all did an outstanding job, as well. That back five, and throw Carter Adams in there as the sixth kind of sitting in front of them, they really did a great job being organized and getting after it. They didn't miss many tackles, and they were defensively sound. It was a huge piece of it."
Not many coaches have two top-line goalies. Adams was pleased to have Waite and Scott in the net. Scott owned an 0.42 GAA in 26 appearances heading into state finals play, and Waite stood at 0.52 GAA in 25 games prior to last weekend.
"As a coach, being able to have two goalkeepers who are varsity starting caliber is unbelievable," Troy Adams said. "They both did an outstanding job all year. Austin worked incredibly hard the last week and a half and did everything he could to get out there and help the team. I think of all the players on the field, Dylan had the hardest mental role of the last couple of games. He wasn't sure every day whether or not Austin was going to play. 'When am I going to go in?'"
Class 3A newest coaching champion ranks third behind Bill Salentine (boys water polo) and Mike Adams (boys swimming) for most trophies won by a Redhawks coach in any sport with four. He also is one of five individuals who led a team to a state title in a boys sport while also winning multiple trophies, joining Joe Bunge (football), Bill Seiple (baseball), Adams and Salentine in that exclusive club. Naperville Central won its 19th state title and now has 11 sports with championships and 12 coaches who've won titles.
Adams emphasized the necessary ingredients for his team to take the title.
"Communication, discipline and patience," he said. "As I told them at halftime, that was as well as I've seen a defense play in quite a while. We were always being organized and had people on the ball and everyone else covered, so Romeoville didn't really have a lot of options going forward.
“We talked about how we were okay with them going back, just don't let them go forward. You never know, but we did have a lot of faith that our players would close the game out and make sure that we were doing what we needed to do to get a win. It still hasn't sunk in yet but, yes, it's an incredible feeling to have."
The Redhawks first state championship team includes juniors Elliott Krause, Benjamin Saylan, Clay Scherf, Blake Stevens, Jonathan Stoner and Jackson Tritt and freshman Eli Jarrell. Assistant coaches include Michael Ortiz, Caila Klimczak, Jay Konrad, Steve Ondrus, Jeremy Whitt, Mike Plante and Ed Watson, who retired in the spring after leading the school's girls program to second place finishes in 1994 and 1995 and is one of nine IHSA coaches with 400 or more victories in girls soccer.
Naperville Central to 3A title
Redhawks make history several ways with championship win
By Curt Herron
HOFFMAN ESTATES – A shutout in the state championship match has been a common occurrence during the 50-year history in the IHSA boys tournaments. Forty six of the 89 title bouts have ended with a clean-sheet.
Even seeing a champion with shutouts in both the state final and their semifinal match isn't all that uncommon -- 24 squads have accomplished that feat.
However, something unusual happened when Naperville Central pulled off its shutout double – a 1-0 win over Romeoville in the Class 3A championship match Saturday and a 5-0 over Stevenson on Friday in the semifinal, both at Hoffman Estates High School. The Redhawks achieved another impressive first besides the program’s initial title.
Coach Troy Adams' club became the first champion in tournament history to give their Final Four foes their only losses of their seasons.
This comes with a twist. Naperville Central not only gave Romeoville (28-2-1) its last loss of the campaign in the final but handed the Spartans their first and only other defeat in a 4-0 nonconference decision Oct. 13.
Saturday's championship match was quite different than the first match. The two sides were scoreless through 47 minutes until Redhawks senior captain Josh Weigel connected for the lone goal in the next minute.
The fifth time at the finals proved the charm for the 26-3-1 Redhawks. The program lost Class 3A finals to Warren (2-1 in two overtimes in 2012) and Morton (1-0 in one overtime in 2011) on Adams’ watch. He also led the program to a third place finish in 2013. In the Redhawks initial state visit in 1988, coach John Paskvalich's team lost 3-0 in the championship match to Buffalo Grove.
Romeoville made history by advancing a team to a state championship match for the first time in the school’s 60-year history. Prior to this week, the Spartans had only had one team that advanced to the state semifinals, one team that won a state trophy and another team that placed in the top four.
The Spartans averaged 4.47 goals per match heading into the championship match and scored at a 3.83 goals per match clip leading up to the final.
But after scoring more than one goal in all but four of their matches, they were shut out for the second time – both by the Redhawks.
The Southwest Prairie Conference champion, led by league MVP and senior Joseph Duarte (42 goals), was limited to total of six shots (two on goal) by a Redhawks defense that featured junior captains Patrick Berryman and Patrick Bohan, junior Michael Cavalleri and seniors Carter Bilik and Owen Stephens with junior Carter Adams playing a defensive role in the midfield. Starting goalie senior Austin Waite didn't have to make a save in the first 37 minutes. Junior keeper Dylan Scott needed two to complete the shutout, the team’s 14th.
"I think when we're locked in, we're really hard to get by defensively," Berryman said. "We did that in the semifinal. We were locked in there for the full 80. and we stayed disciplined. That's why we were able to keep the shutout.
“We did the same thing today (Saturday) and got the shutout again against a really good attacking team. I think we all work super well together. I want to give special props to Michael and Carter (Bilik), because they started the year at different positions. They adapted, Carter at the left back and Michael at the center and they've just done fabulously there.
“Patrick and I have been playing together since JV in our freshman year, and Owen is the super sub and brings the passion when he gets in and is there when we need him. All together we work super well together and stay disciplined and communicate.
"I think it's really hard any time to beat a team twice, especially a team like Romeoville. We knew that they wanted revenge. They were going to adapt how they played the first time. And they were super motivated to win since they had never been here or won a state trophy. But our program had never won a state title before today, and we wanted to be the first."
Bohan agreed with his fellow backliner.
"We knew they were a great team, and they have some guys who are really good at attacking," he said of the Spartans. " … We knew that we needed to track their runners and stay disciplined the entire game. So, a couple of key factors were that we just needed to communicate with each other and follow our guys.
"We knew that they had some really good guys that would be able to dribble through us. We needed to move our feet and cover for each other and communicate, and that's exactly what we did. We worked absolutely fabulously together. There were five of us, too, so we could sub in and out when we needed breaks. We knew that we needed to have communication, and that's what we did today."
The DuPage Valley Conference champions rung up the most victories of any regular-season.
The defense turned it up a notch with 10 shutouts during the final 16 matches, which included five in the seven-game playoff run. Over the course of the run, they shut out Romeoville twice and also blanked Chicagoland Soccer Top 25-ranked St. Charles East and previously ranked Maine South and Sandburg.
The Redhawks played in their fourth state title match and first since the three-year run through 2013. In the semi, Naperville Central handed Stevenson its first shutout defeat of the season. It also was the Patriots only defeat after entering the finals weekend at 21-0-3.
The five-goal victory in the semifinals set a new large school and Class 3A record for the biggest victory in a semifinal round match. It is tied for second place for biggest win for all divisions behind only a Notre Dame (Peoria) 6-0 win over Freeport in Class AA in 2009.
Stevenson, which beat defending 2021 champion York 2-1 in the third place match, produced the program’s best finish in its second state appearance and first since 2012. The Patriots only managed five shots on goal in the semifinal and seven overall. Scott made each save. The Redhawks grabbed a 2-0 halftime lead in the semifinal and added three more tallies after the break to head into the rematch with Romeoville on a high note.
Naperville Central knew what it was getting in the final.
"They're all-around just a great team -- great offensively and great on the ball," Bilik said. "The first game we played them, we came out and locked them down. But we knew that we were going to see a different team than what we saw before.
“They played differently and played better, but we were able to lock that down, as well.
"It's just props to the entire backline and everything that we do. … We're able to shut down these teams because of the hard work we've put in. I just love every single player on this team. With every single player, I have a certain connection, and I love being able to have that with them."
Romeoville came off an emotional 4-3 double-overtime win over York in the semifinals and was trying to cap the school's biggest athletic achievement with a state title.
"We had to be dialed in from the beginning with a team like this," Cavalleri said. "We knew that they had a great offense and also knew that the first time. Coming into this game, we had to be dialed in. This was probably the best we played defensively all season.
"In the first game, I don't think that they were as ready as we were. We came here today more ready. This is the game that everyone wants to play in. It's just organization -- quality communication is a key. It's just super hard to break us down.
“So even though a team wants revenge, it makes it really hard, especially in a game that's really big like this one. We're all really good players, but it's just the hard work and getting after it. It's just the passion and the connection that we have with each other. We really just have great chemistry. Even though we have different age groups, we work together so well on and off the field. It just feels so good."
With just seven seniors on the squad, the future looks extremely bright for the Redhawks. While they'll certainly miss forwards Nathan Kwon and Joey LoDuca, midfielder Sean O'Reilly, Bilik, Stephens, Waite and Weigel, three of the starters on the quality defense will be back along with Scott and the Adams brothers, junior Carter and freshman Chase.
"I think that both of these teams were very deserving to play in this match today and both were very deserving to be state champs," Stephens said. "Luckily we have very talented players all around. Josh had a beautiful ball. I thought that all four of the guys, both the Patricks, Michael and Carter, they were amazing today. They played their best games of the season and played their hearts out. I couldn't be more proud of them.
"We went in with the mentality from last season when we took a tough loss with (Naperville) North in the sectional finals. Our slogan this year was, 'The job's not finished.' I think that we can maybe say that the job is finished now. It feels amazing. I'm so happy for our coach, because it's his first state title. We couldn't be more happy for him. He's pushed us all year long and made sure that our mentality was always right going into games. All credit to him and to the team, because the boys played their hearts out today. I like their passion for the game, just the family and the relationship that we've built with each other."
After seeing disappointment early in his career with two teams falling in overtime in the finals and another falling to the eventual state champs in the semifinal, the Redhawks' 12-year head coach, who owns a 173-63-24 record, was pleased that all of the pieces of the puzzle finally came together for his program this season.
And having a defense that he could count on to put the clamps on the opposition as the season progressed certainly boosted his hopes that this would turn out not only to be an excellent season, but one that could result in a state championship.
"With both Patricks being captains and having them in the back, their leadership and their ability to communicate and really be able to make sure that everything is covered is huge," Troy Adams said. "They deserve a ton of credit for everything that happened defensively. Michael and Owen and Carter, they all did an outstanding job, as well. That back five, and throw Carter Adams in there as the sixth kind of sitting in front of them, they really did a great job being organized and getting after it. They didn't miss many tackles, and they were defensively sound. It was a huge piece of it."
Not many coaches have two top-line goalies. Adams was pleased to have Waite and Scott in the net. Scott owned an 0.42 GAA in 26 appearances heading into state finals play, and Waite stood at 0.52 GAA in 25 games prior to last weekend.
"As a coach, being able to have two goalkeepers who are varsity starting caliber is unbelievable," Troy Adams said. "They both did an outstanding job all year. Austin worked incredibly hard the last week and a half and did everything he could to get out there and help the team. I think of all the players on the field, Dylan had the hardest mental role of the last couple of games. He wasn't sure every day whether or not Austin was going to play. 'When am I going to go in?'"
Class 3A newest coaching champion ranks third behind Bill Salentine (boys water polo) and Mike Adams (boys swimming) for most trophies won by a Redhawks coach in any sport with four. He also is one of five individuals who led a team to a state title in a boys sport while also winning multiple trophies, joining Joe Bunge (football), Bill Seiple (baseball), Adams and Salentine in that exclusive club. Naperville Central won its 19th state title and now has 11 sports with championships and 12 coaches who've won titles.
Adams emphasized the necessary ingredients for his team to take the title.
"Communication, discipline and patience," he said. "As I told them at halftime, that was as well as I've seen a defense play in quite a while. We were always being organized and had people on the ball and everyone else covered, so Romeoville didn't really have a lot of options going forward.
“We talked about how we were okay with them going back, just don't let them go forward. You never know, but we did have a lot of faith that our players would close the game out and make sure that we were doing what we needed to do to get a win. It still hasn't sunk in yet but, yes, it's an incredible feeling to have."
The Redhawks first state championship team includes juniors Elliott Krause, Benjamin Saylan, Clay Scherf, Blake Stevens, Jonathan Stoner and Jackson Tritt and freshman Eli Jarrell. Assistant coaches include Michael Ortiz, Caila Klimczak, Jay Konrad, Steve Ondrus, Jeremy Whitt, Mike Plante and Ed Watson, who retired in the spring after leading the school's girls program to second place finishes in 1994 and 1995 and is one of nine IHSA coaches with 400 or more victories in girls soccer.