St. Francis keeps focus
in win at Aurora Central
Spartans avoid pitfall in game after huge win vs. Wheaton A.
By Chris R. Walker
AURORA -- Aurora Central celebrated the work of its nine seniors during Thursday’s Metro Suburban Conference cross-over game against St. Francis.
The visitors held their own two-fold celebration. They continued to relish their first victory over Wheaton Academy in more than a decade Tuesday, and they avoided a letdown with a 3-0 win over the Chargers.
The Spartans, who beat Wheaton Academy for the first time since 2011 on Tuesday night, finally were able to overwhelm their hosts after constant offensive pressure. St. Francis scored three times in the second half for a 3-0 victory.
Junior Nick Madden, freshman John Coco and senior Mason Karch, who returned from an injury, scored for the Warriors.
“At the beginning of the year we really struggled with even getting opportunities, and now, especially in this game, you can see how many opportunities we’re getting, which is encouraging for us,” Madden said. “Even though we’re not putting them all in goal, we’ve just got to keep doing the same thing.
“Just like that, we got three goals in the second half. As long as we don’t panic and keep the defense going strong, the opportunities will come.”
Aurora Central goalkeeper Justin Cebulski was a busy fella for the Chargers and among the large senior class that was honored. When he wasn’t overly busy knocking away shot attempts and communicating with his teammates, he was enjoying the moments, recognizing that his playing days are numbered.
“When we first came out, we wanted to have fun, especially because it was our Senior Night,” he said. “When we were in our huddle one of our captains (Michael O’Brien) said we’ve got to have fun with this. Let’s go for the win, but have fun with it and the entire game was a blast.
“I could hear those guys on the other (side), and they were laughing and smiling and having a great time as well.”
As the youngest of four kids, Cebulski is used to looking up his to older siblings. Now he’s one of the kids his younger teammates look up to. The large senior group at Aurora Central is truly its heart and soul. The competitive squad has had its share of missteps this season just like many teams.
“We’ve always looked up to the seniors. Last year we had four seniors, and this year we have nine which is a huge difference,” he said. “A lot of us play basketball together and played for the school so we’ve known each other. With this being our last season, it’s just motivating the team and everyone is behind us.
“If someone is doing something wrong, we’ll get on them a little bit. We want to help them, and they understand that as well. Practices have been so much fun. We’ve had our ups and downs, but it’s been a group that bonds with everybody, including freshmen.”
One of those freshmen, Matthew VanDeman, excitedly left a postgame celebration for the seniors that included food, fun and fellowship to play goalkeeper in the second half of the JV game, which was played after the varsity game.
Senior William LeFevre yelled “Michael!” at the top of his lungs to capture his attention and offer his support to one of two Class of 2026 members who started for the Chargers.
“It’s been a lot of fun playing with these guys,” Cebulski said. “Compared to last year, we’re keeping that score right there against teams, and we’ve been right there for every game.”
Playing sports has been a great diversion for Cebulski, who had to cope with the shooting of his father John Cebulski, who was among the police officers who were injured during a mass shooting at the Henry Pratt Company in Aurora in Feb., 2019.
The keeper plans to go to Waubonsee Community College next fall to study criminal justice and follow in the footsteps of his father, who suffered a broken femur in the incident.
“He doesn’t run and move as well as he used too, but he’s playing softball again,” Cebulski said.
The Chargers (6-10-0) are having fun playing the beautiful game this season and enjoying each other's company while playing the beautiful game.
Cebulski played extremely well to keep the game close. St. Francis didn’t begin to pull away until freshman John Coco gave the Spartans some breathing room with his second goal of the season with 11:06 remaining to make it 2-0.
“I hit it with the inside of my right and curved it into the left,” Coco said of his short, lofted shot that proved to be placed perfectly. “We had good opportunities like that today, but I feel we could’ve converted more of them, and it would’ve been less close.”
Sophomore Nicolas Tsiljar sent a shot barely 10 seconds into the second half toward the goal, but Cebulski was stationed perfectly to deny it.
Cooper Winslow one-hopped a lined shot a few minutes later to challenge Cebulski again. Then Tsiljar followed with another excellent try a few minutes later but was just wide left.
The Spartans continued to apply pressure, earning a handful of corner kicks for Winslow, but they didn’t break through until Ben Fasana’s shot resulted in another corner kick with 29:57 remaining. Madden, who earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor, was able to get his head on Winslow’s kick.
“Cooper sent the cross to the back post and fortunately I was running back there and it was right to my head,” Madden said. “I was able to put it away.”
The Chargers had arguably their best chance to tie the game just two minutes later when O’Brien drove hard toward the goal, but was denied by junior defender Aaron Cook who had to make a play after St. Francis goalkeeper Simon Hartle had extended himself outside of the goal.
Aurora Central senior defender Edrick Contreras was able to use his 6-foot, 195-pound body to deny St. Francis junior Patrick Spahn from joining in on the scoring fun with just under 15 minutes remaining. He kept the game at 2-0 after blocking Spahn’s shot attempt after Cebulski had lingered outside the goal before retreating and smothering the rebound.
While big-time defensive stops kept the Chargers in the game, more creativity on offense in recent weeks has the Spartans excited for what’s in store for them once they reach the postseason.
“This was like a trap game for us,” Fasana said. “We just focused on passing the ball around and moving around. That’s what we found out we could do against Wheaton Academy. So we took it into this game and got the win out of it.”
Suddenly with a plethora of chances in front of them, the Spartans kept firing.
“We found out that we were making crosses and once we started to get shots on goal that’s when we got greedy and ambitious,” Fansana said. “That’s how we got our goal off the cross and that’s where we clicked.”
The Spartans take a long break until they finish the regular-season with a trip to Downers Grove North for another nonconference game Oct. 8. The its on to the Class AA playoffs.
They’re certainly getting hot at the right time with a 4-1-1 record in their last six games, and confidence is high after the Wheaton Academy win.
Consider the fact that Coco wasn’t even in kindergarten yet when Mitch McShane scored with two minutes remaining in regulation to give the Spartans a wild 4-3 victory over Wheaton Academy on their home field for a Class AA regional title. Heck, there were only five of The Fast and The Furious movies out by that time.
Tuesday’s victory by St. Francis over Wheaton Academy was just the third time that it has happened since 2005.
“That was our biggest game of our season, our first win in 11 years against them so we were very hyped to beat them,” Fasana said. “It was one of those games when you haven’t beaten them in a while and there’s that motivating factor. We knew we had a chance. We always have a chance.”
The healthier the Spartans become the better their chances are for a strong appearance in the postseason.
The return of Karch, who scored an unassisted goal with 11.3 seconds left against Aurora Central, proves it.
“He dislocated his shoulder on Senior Night so that was good to see him get back, especially to see that goal which was definitely good for him and good for the team,” Madden said.
Something also should be said about the kind of schedule the Spartans play, which included games on a natural surface similar to Aurora Central’s early in the season in Lake Park’s Hillner Classic.
“We played a lot of big 3A schools at the start of the season in the Lake Park tourney,” Madden said. “That showed us we can compete and what we can do better. I think seeing those good teams helped us put it together.”
On Sept. 8, the Spartans battled Timothy to a scoreless draw but ultimately lost in a shootout. They lost their next game to Riverside-Brookfield to drop to 1-5-1, but they didn’t lose hope. Now their efforts are being rewarded.
“Timothy was the first time where we felt like we were really hitting out stride,” Madden said. “It was kind of like this game except we couldn’t put any away. Now it feels good to finish those.”
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK: Simon Hartle
D: Aaron Cook
D: Ben Fasana
D: Justin Klein
MF: Luc Swiatek
MF: Patrick Spahn
MF: J.R. Diaz
MF: Mason Karch
MF: John Coco
F: Cooper Winslow
F: Nick Madden
Aurora Central
GK: Justin Cebulski
D: Nathan Diedrich
D: Connor Dineen
D: William LeFevre
D: Fabian Salinia
MF: Edrick Contreras
MF: Adam Hartford
MF: Elijah Hartford
MF: Daniel Perez
F: Michael O’Brien
F: Matthew VanDeman
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Nick Madden, jr., F, St. Francis
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
SF: Nick Madden (Cooper Winslow), 50:03
SF: John Coco (Luc Swiatek), 68:54
SF: Mason Karch (unassisted), 79:49
in win at Aurora Central
Spartans avoid pitfall in game after huge win vs. Wheaton A.
By Chris R. Walker
AURORA -- Aurora Central celebrated the work of its nine seniors during Thursday’s Metro Suburban Conference cross-over game against St. Francis.
The visitors held their own two-fold celebration. They continued to relish their first victory over Wheaton Academy in more than a decade Tuesday, and they avoided a letdown with a 3-0 win over the Chargers.
The Spartans, who beat Wheaton Academy for the first time since 2011 on Tuesday night, finally were able to overwhelm their hosts after constant offensive pressure. St. Francis scored three times in the second half for a 3-0 victory.
Junior Nick Madden, freshman John Coco and senior Mason Karch, who returned from an injury, scored for the Warriors.
“At the beginning of the year we really struggled with even getting opportunities, and now, especially in this game, you can see how many opportunities we’re getting, which is encouraging for us,” Madden said. “Even though we’re not putting them all in goal, we’ve just got to keep doing the same thing.
“Just like that, we got three goals in the second half. As long as we don’t panic and keep the defense going strong, the opportunities will come.”
Aurora Central goalkeeper Justin Cebulski was a busy fella for the Chargers and among the large senior class that was honored. When he wasn’t overly busy knocking away shot attempts and communicating with his teammates, he was enjoying the moments, recognizing that his playing days are numbered.
“When we first came out, we wanted to have fun, especially because it was our Senior Night,” he said. “When we were in our huddle one of our captains (Michael O’Brien) said we’ve got to have fun with this. Let’s go for the win, but have fun with it and the entire game was a blast.
“I could hear those guys on the other (side), and they were laughing and smiling and having a great time as well.”
As the youngest of four kids, Cebulski is used to looking up his to older siblings. Now he’s one of the kids his younger teammates look up to. The large senior group at Aurora Central is truly its heart and soul. The competitive squad has had its share of missteps this season just like many teams.
“We’ve always looked up to the seniors. Last year we had four seniors, and this year we have nine which is a huge difference,” he said. “A lot of us play basketball together and played for the school so we’ve known each other. With this being our last season, it’s just motivating the team and everyone is behind us.
“If someone is doing something wrong, we’ll get on them a little bit. We want to help them, and they understand that as well. Practices have been so much fun. We’ve had our ups and downs, but it’s been a group that bonds with everybody, including freshmen.”
One of those freshmen, Matthew VanDeman, excitedly left a postgame celebration for the seniors that included food, fun and fellowship to play goalkeeper in the second half of the JV game, which was played after the varsity game.
Senior William LeFevre yelled “Michael!” at the top of his lungs to capture his attention and offer his support to one of two Class of 2026 members who started for the Chargers.
“It’s been a lot of fun playing with these guys,” Cebulski said. “Compared to last year, we’re keeping that score right there against teams, and we’ve been right there for every game.”
Playing sports has been a great diversion for Cebulski, who had to cope with the shooting of his father John Cebulski, who was among the police officers who were injured during a mass shooting at the Henry Pratt Company in Aurora in Feb., 2019.
The keeper plans to go to Waubonsee Community College next fall to study criminal justice and follow in the footsteps of his father, who suffered a broken femur in the incident.
“He doesn’t run and move as well as he used too, but he’s playing softball again,” Cebulski said.
The Chargers (6-10-0) are having fun playing the beautiful game this season and enjoying each other's company while playing the beautiful game.
Cebulski played extremely well to keep the game close. St. Francis didn’t begin to pull away until freshman John Coco gave the Spartans some breathing room with his second goal of the season with 11:06 remaining to make it 2-0.
“I hit it with the inside of my right and curved it into the left,” Coco said of his short, lofted shot that proved to be placed perfectly. “We had good opportunities like that today, but I feel we could’ve converted more of them, and it would’ve been less close.”
Sophomore Nicolas Tsiljar sent a shot barely 10 seconds into the second half toward the goal, but Cebulski was stationed perfectly to deny it.
Cooper Winslow one-hopped a lined shot a few minutes later to challenge Cebulski again. Then Tsiljar followed with another excellent try a few minutes later but was just wide left.
The Spartans continued to apply pressure, earning a handful of corner kicks for Winslow, but they didn’t break through until Ben Fasana’s shot resulted in another corner kick with 29:57 remaining. Madden, who earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor, was able to get his head on Winslow’s kick.
“Cooper sent the cross to the back post and fortunately I was running back there and it was right to my head,” Madden said. “I was able to put it away.”
The Chargers had arguably their best chance to tie the game just two minutes later when O’Brien drove hard toward the goal, but was denied by junior defender Aaron Cook who had to make a play after St. Francis goalkeeper Simon Hartle had extended himself outside of the goal.
Aurora Central senior defender Edrick Contreras was able to use his 6-foot, 195-pound body to deny St. Francis junior Patrick Spahn from joining in on the scoring fun with just under 15 minutes remaining. He kept the game at 2-0 after blocking Spahn’s shot attempt after Cebulski had lingered outside the goal before retreating and smothering the rebound.
While big-time defensive stops kept the Chargers in the game, more creativity on offense in recent weeks has the Spartans excited for what’s in store for them once they reach the postseason.
“This was like a trap game for us,” Fasana said. “We just focused on passing the ball around and moving around. That’s what we found out we could do against Wheaton Academy. So we took it into this game and got the win out of it.”
Suddenly with a plethora of chances in front of them, the Spartans kept firing.
“We found out that we were making crosses and once we started to get shots on goal that’s when we got greedy and ambitious,” Fansana said. “That’s how we got our goal off the cross and that’s where we clicked.”
The Spartans take a long break until they finish the regular-season with a trip to Downers Grove North for another nonconference game Oct. 8. The its on to the Class AA playoffs.
They’re certainly getting hot at the right time with a 4-1-1 record in their last six games, and confidence is high after the Wheaton Academy win.
Consider the fact that Coco wasn’t even in kindergarten yet when Mitch McShane scored with two minutes remaining in regulation to give the Spartans a wild 4-3 victory over Wheaton Academy on their home field for a Class AA regional title. Heck, there were only five of The Fast and The Furious movies out by that time.
Tuesday’s victory by St. Francis over Wheaton Academy was just the third time that it has happened since 2005.
“That was our biggest game of our season, our first win in 11 years against them so we were very hyped to beat them,” Fasana said. “It was one of those games when you haven’t beaten them in a while and there’s that motivating factor. We knew we had a chance. We always have a chance.”
The healthier the Spartans become the better their chances are for a strong appearance in the postseason.
The return of Karch, who scored an unassisted goal with 11.3 seconds left against Aurora Central, proves it.
“He dislocated his shoulder on Senior Night so that was good to see him get back, especially to see that goal which was definitely good for him and good for the team,” Madden said.
Something also should be said about the kind of schedule the Spartans play, which included games on a natural surface similar to Aurora Central’s early in the season in Lake Park’s Hillner Classic.
“We played a lot of big 3A schools at the start of the season in the Lake Park tourney,” Madden said. “That showed us we can compete and what we can do better. I think seeing those good teams helped us put it together.”
On Sept. 8, the Spartans battled Timothy to a scoreless draw but ultimately lost in a shootout. They lost their next game to Riverside-Brookfield to drop to 1-5-1, but they didn’t lose hope. Now their efforts are being rewarded.
“Timothy was the first time where we felt like we were really hitting out stride,” Madden said. “It was kind of like this game except we couldn’t put any away. Now it feels good to finish those.”
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK: Simon Hartle
D: Aaron Cook
D: Ben Fasana
D: Justin Klein
MF: Luc Swiatek
MF: Patrick Spahn
MF: J.R. Diaz
MF: Mason Karch
MF: John Coco
F: Cooper Winslow
F: Nick Madden
Aurora Central
GK: Justin Cebulski
D: Nathan Diedrich
D: Connor Dineen
D: William LeFevre
D: Fabian Salinia
MF: Edrick Contreras
MF: Adam Hartford
MF: Elijah Hartford
MF: Daniel Perez
F: Michael O’Brien
F: Matthew VanDeman
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Nick Madden, jr., F, St. Francis
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
SF: Nick Madden (Cooper Winslow), 50:03
SF: John Coco (Luc Swiatek), 68:54
SF: Mason Karch (unassisted), 79:49