Banuelos, Dangles lead
St. Rita transformation
Senior captains have been vital to Mustangs’ success
By Steve Millar
As captains the past two seasons and four-year varsity starters, St. Rita senior midfielders Jaime Banuelos and Ryan Dangles have seen the Mustangs program make huge strides.
St. Rita has gone from a four-win team in 2016 to post nine wins in 2017. So far this season the Mustangs are a 15-win squad with a conference championship to their credit.
“It’s incredible to see how we’ve built up as a team and as a program,” Dangles said. “It’s really special to see everything coming together.”
The Mustangs ended the regular season with a 15-5-1 record, including a 5-0-1 league mark that was good enough to share the Chicago Catholic League Green Division championship with DePaul. The teams tied 1-1 in St. Rita's second game of the season Aug. 22.
It’s the program’s first conference title since 2007.
The Mustangs can tie the school record for wins in a season with a victory in their playoff opener, a Class AA Oak Forest Regional semifinal against Bogan set for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“Winning that conference title is like a huge pat on the back for us,” Dangles said. “All the hard work over the past four years is really paying off.
“The extra sprints, extra drills in practice, that’s all really showing in our play on the field.”
Banuelos said the makeup of the Mustangs’ current roster is completely different from the types of teams St. Rita fielded when his high school career began.
“When me and Ryan both came in as freshmen, we didn’t have soccer players,” he said. “We had athletes. We had basketball, baseball, football players who just decided they wanted to try soccer.
“Now, we’ve brought in soccer players. We have more talent, more style, more skill. We’re playing soccer now.”
St. Rita co-head coach Tim McCarthy said Banuelos and Dangles have believed in the future of St. Rita soccer from the beginning.
“We’re led by these two incredible seniors who have brought us this far,” McCarthy said. “These two guys, there were no doubts in their minds from the time they walked in as freshmen that they were going to win a conference title.”
McCarthy said both players have been leaders their whole careers, even as freshmen.
“They never had fear to stand up to a senior and put them in place when they needed to,” he said. “There were never times the seniors looked at them and doubted them, because they were that good.”
Banuelos is proud to have served as captain for so many St. Rita games.
“Me and Dangles both feel like we earned this role,” he said. “We always try to push the team, get everyone up and ready to play the way we want to play.”
For Dangles, true leadership is reflected when things aren’t going well.
“In the darkest times, in the lull of a game, that’s when you have to find a spark and find a way to get guys going,” he said. “You have to get them fired up to play their game. Even on an off day, you have to make the most of it.”
Dangles and Banuelos have both played soccer since they were very young.
“I started playing in a park district league when I was 4 or 5 years old, and I haven’t stopped playing since,” Dangles said. “I love the adrenaline rush that I get playing soccer.
“The game is always on the line. No matter what the score is, it can turn around in an instant. That’s not always true in other sports. That adrenaline rush has kept me playing soccer all these years.”
The sport has had an especially huge impact on Baneulos’ life. It helped him adjust to major changes as he grew up.
Banuelos moved to Mexico when he was 7 years old, living there for five years before returning to Chicago at age 12.
“I started playing in Mexico with my cousins, playing on dirt fields,” he said. “I honestly used to be really bad, but I was determined to improve. It brought meaning to my life.
“I’ve always understood why it’s called 'The Beautiful Game.' I’ve loved watching it, playing it, and it’s brought me friends for life.”
Banuelos said playing the sport helped him become re-accustomed to life in the United States when his family moved back.
“When I came back, I wasn’t really good at speaking English,” he said. “I understood the language, but I had a thick accent and had trouble speaking it.
“I had a lot of soccer friends who were Hispanic and knew both languages. They’d only speak English with me, and that helped me improve my speaking so much.”
Since arriving at St. Rita, Banuelos and Dangles have had a constant presence on the field, according to McCarthy.
“You never don’t see Ryan Dangles yelling, communicating with his teammates,” McCarthy said. “You never look over and see Jaime not running for the ball. Those guys are always going hard.”
They hope to do it a bit longer, with the goal to lead the Mustangs on a deep playoff run.
“We’re excited,” Banuelos said. “We have one championship, and now we expect to get another. We want to go get that regional title, and then go from there.”
St. Rita transformation
Senior captains have been vital to Mustangs’ success
By Steve Millar
As captains the past two seasons and four-year varsity starters, St. Rita senior midfielders Jaime Banuelos and Ryan Dangles have seen the Mustangs program make huge strides.
St. Rita has gone from a four-win team in 2016 to post nine wins in 2017. So far this season the Mustangs are a 15-win squad with a conference championship to their credit.
“It’s incredible to see how we’ve built up as a team and as a program,” Dangles said. “It’s really special to see everything coming together.”
The Mustangs ended the regular season with a 15-5-1 record, including a 5-0-1 league mark that was good enough to share the Chicago Catholic League Green Division championship with DePaul. The teams tied 1-1 in St. Rita's second game of the season Aug. 22.
It’s the program’s first conference title since 2007.
The Mustangs can tie the school record for wins in a season with a victory in their playoff opener, a Class AA Oak Forest Regional semifinal against Bogan set for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“Winning that conference title is like a huge pat on the back for us,” Dangles said. “All the hard work over the past four years is really paying off.
“The extra sprints, extra drills in practice, that’s all really showing in our play on the field.”
Banuelos said the makeup of the Mustangs’ current roster is completely different from the types of teams St. Rita fielded when his high school career began.
“When me and Ryan both came in as freshmen, we didn’t have soccer players,” he said. “We had athletes. We had basketball, baseball, football players who just decided they wanted to try soccer.
“Now, we’ve brought in soccer players. We have more talent, more style, more skill. We’re playing soccer now.”
St. Rita co-head coach Tim McCarthy said Banuelos and Dangles have believed in the future of St. Rita soccer from the beginning.
“We’re led by these two incredible seniors who have brought us this far,” McCarthy said. “These two guys, there were no doubts in their minds from the time they walked in as freshmen that they were going to win a conference title.”
McCarthy said both players have been leaders their whole careers, even as freshmen.
“They never had fear to stand up to a senior and put them in place when they needed to,” he said. “There were never times the seniors looked at them and doubted them, because they were that good.”
Banuelos is proud to have served as captain for so many St. Rita games.
“Me and Dangles both feel like we earned this role,” he said. “We always try to push the team, get everyone up and ready to play the way we want to play.”
For Dangles, true leadership is reflected when things aren’t going well.
“In the darkest times, in the lull of a game, that’s when you have to find a spark and find a way to get guys going,” he said. “You have to get them fired up to play their game. Even on an off day, you have to make the most of it.”
Dangles and Banuelos have both played soccer since they were very young.
“I started playing in a park district league when I was 4 or 5 years old, and I haven’t stopped playing since,” Dangles said. “I love the adrenaline rush that I get playing soccer.
“The game is always on the line. No matter what the score is, it can turn around in an instant. That’s not always true in other sports. That adrenaline rush has kept me playing soccer all these years.”
The sport has had an especially huge impact on Baneulos’ life. It helped him adjust to major changes as he grew up.
Banuelos moved to Mexico when he was 7 years old, living there for five years before returning to Chicago at age 12.
“I started playing in Mexico with my cousins, playing on dirt fields,” he said. “I honestly used to be really bad, but I was determined to improve. It brought meaning to my life.
“I’ve always understood why it’s called 'The Beautiful Game.' I’ve loved watching it, playing it, and it’s brought me friends for life.”
Banuelos said playing the sport helped him become re-accustomed to life in the United States when his family moved back.
“When I came back, I wasn’t really good at speaking English,” he said. “I understood the language, but I had a thick accent and had trouble speaking it.
“I had a lot of soccer friends who were Hispanic and knew both languages. They’d only speak English with me, and that helped me improve my speaking so much.”
Since arriving at St. Rita, Banuelos and Dangles have had a constant presence on the field, according to McCarthy.
“You never don’t see Ryan Dangles yelling, communicating with his teammates,” McCarthy said. “You never look over and see Jaime not running for the ball. Those guys are always going hard.”
They hope to do it a bit longer, with the goal to lead the Mustangs on a deep playoff run.
“We’re excited,” Banuelos said. “We have one championship, and now we expect to get another. We want to go get that regional title, and then go from there.”