1 writer has no doubt who
would have won Class 3A title
By Nick Frazier
St. Charles East didn’t get a chance to experience a storybook season on the field, but one Saints parent made sure the team got the next best thing.
Like many parents of senior athletes, Clint Hull was looking forward to seeing his daughter, Christina, compete for the Fighting Saints in her final season. The COVID-19 pandemic ended that opportunity before the games started and left St. Charles East wondering what could have been.
Hull, chief judge of the 16th Judicial Circuit of Illinois, is a passionate prep sports fan. He played soccer at St. Charles East, as did his sister and his son. When the Saints’ season-opener versus Fremd was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, Hull decided to write a fictional game recap to pass the time.
He had done something similar in the fall, when the St. Charles East boys program celebrated its 40th anniversary. Hull wrote up game reports of different Saints’ teams throughout the decades playing each other.
“That’s what gave me the idea,” Hull said. “The first game got cancelled; I’ll do something similar. It just rolled on from there.”
The result was 32 chapters of “The Dream Season,” Hull’s collection of fictitious game recaps for St. Charles East. With no real games to play, the write-ups brought a smile to the faces of the Saints players, parents and coaches.
“I was really looking forward to [Christina’s] senior year and knew everybody on the team and knew how everyone was hurting,” Hull said. “I thought it might be a good diversion.”
Born and raised in St. Charles, Hull didn’t shy away from any bias. in his write-ups, the Saints finished with a team-best 30 wins and a state title. For all 32 games, Hull used information from opposing head coaches and old prep articles to make his reports as realistic as possible. Head coach Vince DiNuzzo posted the stories on the Saints’ Google Classroom site for the girls to read.
St. Charles East was ranked third in Chicagoland Soccer’s First 50 preseason poll. Their triumphs included wins over: no. 4 Naperville North; no. 5 St. Charles North; no. 6 Waubonsie Valley; no. 9 Fremd; no. 43 Geneva; and no. 47 Burlington Central.
St. Charles East’s lone loss throughout “The Dream Season” came against no. 2 New Trier in the Naperville North Invitational in May. The team also played to a draw against DuKane Conference foe and 3nd-ranked Batavia.
The author’s final game report pitted the Saints in a rematch against unbeaten New Trier in the Class 3A state championship game at North Central College.
In Hull’s championship recap, Elle McCaslin scored a header 57 seconds into the match. The Trevians’ Emma Weaver, Chicagoland Soccer’s 2019 Player of the Year, notched a goal with 28 minutes remaining to tie things up. Then with four minutes to go, Saints senior Alondra Carranza scored from 20 yards to earn a 2-1 St. Charles East victory and the program’s ninth state title.
In Hull’s fictional season, St. Charles East scored 147 goals, led by the senior McCaslin. The 2019 Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association Player of the Year scored 34 goals to go with 18 assists. Junior Hannah Miller totaled 62 points, while senior Jamie McDermott tallied 16 goals for the Saints. Hull noted that every player on the team besides the goalies scored at least once.
As a finishing touch, Hull added some flair to the final game coverage by reaching out to Wayne Randazzo, a play-by-play radio announcer for the New York Mets. Randazzo is a St. Charles East graduate who was named Distinguished Alumni last year.
For the championship game between St. Charles East and New Trier, Randazzo recorded a 12-minute “broadcast” of the highlights from the match. He even did it the same week his second child was born.
“I called [Randazzo], and he was all over it,” Hull said. “I thought it might be a fun way to end the whole thing, he couldn’t have been any greater. I thought it just sounded awesome, it was so much fun.”
Randazzo said he’s gotten a few requests during the pandemic to offer his talents, and he was more than happy to put something together for his alma mater.
“It’s a little different having to make something up that you’ve never seen before, and soccer is not a sport I’ve done much of,” Randazzo added. “It’s a time where we’re having to use our creativity and do some different things. I was happy to hear from Clint and put this together for the team.”
There’s no way to make up for the loss of an entire season, but “The Dream Season” helped lessen the heartbreak for the St. Charles East program. That’s especially true for the Saints’ seven seniors, which include Christina Hull, McCaslin, Carranza, McDermott, Margaret Harper, Alex Lopez and Kaitlin Gahagan.
Though Hull enjoyed getting to visualize the season and write about it - he may even try to turn his work into a book one day - he says the Saints players and parents are the main reason he put together a storybook year for St. Charles East.
“I think the parents, the coaches, the players, everyone was looking forward to this year,” Hull said. “I’ve watched the girls play for a long time, and I’ve watched prep soccer for a long time. I thought that they had a real shot at having a fantastic season. This was something I thought may bring a smile to some people’s faces, and it was worth it.”
Click here to read Clint Hull's championship game story!
Click here to hear Wayne Randazzo's call of the game!
would have won Class 3A title
By Nick Frazier
St. Charles East didn’t get a chance to experience a storybook season on the field, but one Saints parent made sure the team got the next best thing.
Like many parents of senior athletes, Clint Hull was looking forward to seeing his daughter, Christina, compete for the Fighting Saints in her final season. The COVID-19 pandemic ended that opportunity before the games started and left St. Charles East wondering what could have been.
Hull, chief judge of the 16th Judicial Circuit of Illinois, is a passionate prep sports fan. He played soccer at St. Charles East, as did his sister and his son. When the Saints’ season-opener versus Fremd was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, Hull decided to write a fictional game recap to pass the time.
He had done something similar in the fall, when the St. Charles East boys program celebrated its 40th anniversary. Hull wrote up game reports of different Saints’ teams throughout the decades playing each other.
“That’s what gave me the idea,” Hull said. “The first game got cancelled; I’ll do something similar. It just rolled on from there.”
The result was 32 chapters of “The Dream Season,” Hull’s collection of fictitious game recaps for St. Charles East. With no real games to play, the write-ups brought a smile to the faces of the Saints players, parents and coaches.
“I was really looking forward to [Christina’s] senior year and knew everybody on the team and knew how everyone was hurting,” Hull said. “I thought it might be a good diversion.”
Born and raised in St. Charles, Hull didn’t shy away from any bias. in his write-ups, the Saints finished with a team-best 30 wins and a state title. For all 32 games, Hull used information from opposing head coaches and old prep articles to make his reports as realistic as possible. Head coach Vince DiNuzzo posted the stories on the Saints’ Google Classroom site for the girls to read.
St. Charles East was ranked third in Chicagoland Soccer’s First 50 preseason poll. Their triumphs included wins over: no. 4 Naperville North; no. 5 St. Charles North; no. 6 Waubonsie Valley; no. 9 Fremd; no. 43 Geneva; and no. 47 Burlington Central.
St. Charles East’s lone loss throughout “The Dream Season” came against no. 2 New Trier in the Naperville North Invitational in May. The team also played to a draw against DuKane Conference foe and 3nd-ranked Batavia.
The author’s final game report pitted the Saints in a rematch against unbeaten New Trier in the Class 3A state championship game at North Central College.
In Hull’s championship recap, Elle McCaslin scored a header 57 seconds into the match. The Trevians’ Emma Weaver, Chicagoland Soccer’s 2019 Player of the Year, notched a goal with 28 minutes remaining to tie things up. Then with four minutes to go, Saints senior Alondra Carranza scored from 20 yards to earn a 2-1 St. Charles East victory and the program’s ninth state title.
In Hull’s fictional season, St. Charles East scored 147 goals, led by the senior McCaslin. The 2019 Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association Player of the Year scored 34 goals to go with 18 assists. Junior Hannah Miller totaled 62 points, while senior Jamie McDermott tallied 16 goals for the Saints. Hull noted that every player on the team besides the goalies scored at least once.
As a finishing touch, Hull added some flair to the final game coverage by reaching out to Wayne Randazzo, a play-by-play radio announcer for the New York Mets. Randazzo is a St. Charles East graduate who was named Distinguished Alumni last year.
For the championship game between St. Charles East and New Trier, Randazzo recorded a 12-minute “broadcast” of the highlights from the match. He even did it the same week his second child was born.
“I called [Randazzo], and he was all over it,” Hull said. “I thought it might be a fun way to end the whole thing, he couldn’t have been any greater. I thought it just sounded awesome, it was so much fun.”
Randazzo said he’s gotten a few requests during the pandemic to offer his talents, and he was more than happy to put something together for his alma mater.
“It’s a little different having to make something up that you’ve never seen before, and soccer is not a sport I’ve done much of,” Randazzo added. “It’s a time where we’re having to use our creativity and do some different things. I was happy to hear from Clint and put this together for the team.”
There’s no way to make up for the loss of an entire season, but “The Dream Season” helped lessen the heartbreak for the St. Charles East program. That’s especially true for the Saints’ seven seniors, which include Christina Hull, McCaslin, Carranza, McDermott, Margaret Harper, Alex Lopez and Kaitlin Gahagan.
Though Hull enjoyed getting to visualize the season and write about it - he may even try to turn his work into a book one day - he says the Saints players and parents are the main reason he put together a storybook year for St. Charles East.
“I think the parents, the coaches, the players, everyone was looking forward to this year,” Hull said. “I’ve watched the girls play for a long time, and I’ve watched prep soccer for a long time. I thought that they had a real shot at having a fantastic season. This was something I thought may bring a smile to some people’s faces, and it was worth it.”
Click here to read Clint Hull's championship game story!
Click here to hear Wayne Randazzo's call of the game!