St. Patrick's record-breaking season ends
Shamrocks fall 2-1 to Liberyville at Barrington Supersectional
By Hunter Tickel
BARRINGTON -- All stories have a conclusion, but for the St. Patrick soccer program, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Shamrocks' season of firsts came to a close on Tuesday in Barrington with a 2-1 loss to Libertyville in a Class 3A supersectional.
“I think we are just getting started with the program,” said junior midfielder Angel Adame, who had the game-tying goal. “Every time we have a big loss, we always tend to come back stronger and more hungry.”
Following a fourth place finish in Class AA last year, St. Patrick was moved up to the top class responded with a run to the supersectional level.
“We are a school of 650 boys,” coach Kyle McClure said. “Now we are in a position, because of the IHSA, where if we don’t attract soccer players to the school, we are competing against Evanston, which has 4,000 kids. New Trier has 4,000 kids. How are we possibly going to compete with those schools if we don’t go out and try to attract soccer players to the school? Obviously, at a private school every student is recruited.”
The competition was stronger this year with the jump. St. Patrick’s players responded to it.
“We accomplished a lot,” junior midfielder Jonathan ‘Pollo’ Rodriguez said. “This was our first year in 3A. No one expected us to come all the way to this supersectional. I think we did really good. We will come back stronger next year.
“It’s very competitive. It was a lot more difficult to play in than Class AA. The games are a lot faster, the guys are stronger. All these teams are very good and very strong.”
The Shamrocks battled Libertyville, which is ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The Wildcats have now advanced to four state finals in the past nine years. They won it all in 2015 and finished second last season.
St. Ptrick fell behind 1-0 in the eight minute when senior defender Mason Williams flicked his header to classmate Evan Rasmussen. The forward, who was wide-open, had time to collect the ball and blast it into the roof of the net.
Then, 14-minutes later, St. Patrick leveled the score when Adame’s first effort was blocked at the top of the box but fell perfectly to him to hit a one-time half-volley.
Five minutes later, the Wildcats went up for good when sophomore forward Jack Brennan pounced on a bouncing ball at the back post for a goal. It was assisted by junior midfielder Mickey Reilly.
St. Patrick finished the season 24-4-0 and recorded a school mark for wins. The campaign included the program’s first East Suburban Catholic Conference crown with a 9-0-0 league mark.
The Shamrocks didn’t get a chance at two more nonconference wins at the end of the season because of rainouts, according to McClure.
In the team’s first Class 3A playoffs in nearly a decade, the team exceeded even their coach's expectations.
“It’s hard to put things in perspective, immediately, kind of the same thing as last year (a fourth place finish at state),” McClure said. “We set lofty goals this year, we thought. Win our school’s first conference championship, this was the 36th year of our soccer program. Our second big goal, was to win our school’s first 3A regional championship.”
The Shamrocks won their first regional title in Class 3A when they topped Loyola 5-4 in Wilmette. The run continued when they beat Evanston in overtime on the road in the Wildkits sectional final on Saturday.
The 2018 overachievement came on the heels of last year’s goal to win a sectional in Class AA. Instead the team advanced to the finals.
During the regular season, St. Pat’s won the River Region Rumble tournament in Kentucky, and finished as the runnerup to Glenbrook South after a 3-2 loss in the final of the Wolter/Titan Invitational.
“I think our biggest accomplishment was winning the tournament (in Kentucky),” Rodriguez said. “I thought winning that, not only that, winning sectionals and making it all the way to supersectionals was a big accomplishment.”
McClure said the team was invited to the Kentucky tourney because of its sportsmanship, it didn't receive a red card last year.
The core of key returning players for next year includes: sophomore forward Joshua Torres, Rodriguez, junior midfielder Aaron Moreno-Lopez and junior defender and captain Adam Przytula.
“I’m actually very, very excited for next year,” Rodriguez said. “Our whole team was mostly juniors. I’m excited for Joshua (Torres), I’m expecting him to score more than just 22 goals, (which is) what he scored this year.”
St. Patrick returns 10-of-its-11 starters for next year. Senior midfielder Herber Carrera is the lone graduating starter.
Libertyville advances to the state semifinals for a second-straight season and will face Collinsville at 7 p.m. on Friday at Hoffman Estates.
Starting lineups
St. Patrick (24-4-0)
G Jorge Cebrero
D Adam Przytula
D Collin Kroeger
D Juan Leon
M Aaron Moreno-Lopez
M Angel Adame
M Sebastian Estrada
M Herbert Carrera
M Sebastian Modrzejewski
F Luis Saucedo
F Joshua Torres
Libertyville (21-0-0)
G Zach El Ghatit
D Patrick Graham
D Brendan Quigley
D Mason Williams
D Nick Guarino
M Mickey Reilly
M Jack VanDixhorn
M Tanner Kelly
M Grant Herbek
F Evan Rasmussen
F Gabriel Kosciuch
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Angel Adame, junior, midfielder, St. Patrick
Scoring Summary
First half
Libertyville: 8’ Evan Rasmussen, Senior, Forward (Williams)
St. Patrick: 22’ Angel Adame, Junior, Midfielder (unassisted)
Libertyville: 27’ Jack Brennan, Sophomore, Forward (Reilly)
Second half
No scoring
Shamrocks fall 2-1 to Liberyville at Barrington Supersectional
By Hunter Tickel
BARRINGTON -- All stories have a conclusion, but for the St. Patrick soccer program, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Shamrocks' season of firsts came to a close on Tuesday in Barrington with a 2-1 loss to Libertyville in a Class 3A supersectional.
“I think we are just getting started with the program,” said junior midfielder Angel Adame, who had the game-tying goal. “Every time we have a big loss, we always tend to come back stronger and more hungry.”
Following a fourth place finish in Class AA last year, St. Patrick was moved up to the top class responded with a run to the supersectional level.
“We are a school of 650 boys,” coach Kyle McClure said. “Now we are in a position, because of the IHSA, where if we don’t attract soccer players to the school, we are competing against Evanston, which has 4,000 kids. New Trier has 4,000 kids. How are we possibly going to compete with those schools if we don’t go out and try to attract soccer players to the school? Obviously, at a private school every student is recruited.”
The competition was stronger this year with the jump. St. Patrick’s players responded to it.
“We accomplished a lot,” junior midfielder Jonathan ‘Pollo’ Rodriguez said. “This was our first year in 3A. No one expected us to come all the way to this supersectional. I think we did really good. We will come back stronger next year.
“It’s very competitive. It was a lot more difficult to play in than Class AA. The games are a lot faster, the guys are stronger. All these teams are very good and very strong.”
The Shamrocks battled Libertyville, which is ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The Wildcats have now advanced to four state finals in the past nine years. They won it all in 2015 and finished second last season.
St. Ptrick fell behind 1-0 in the eight minute when senior defender Mason Williams flicked his header to classmate Evan Rasmussen. The forward, who was wide-open, had time to collect the ball and blast it into the roof of the net.
Then, 14-minutes later, St. Patrick leveled the score when Adame’s first effort was blocked at the top of the box but fell perfectly to him to hit a one-time half-volley.
Five minutes later, the Wildcats went up for good when sophomore forward Jack Brennan pounced on a bouncing ball at the back post for a goal. It was assisted by junior midfielder Mickey Reilly.
St. Patrick finished the season 24-4-0 and recorded a school mark for wins. The campaign included the program’s first East Suburban Catholic Conference crown with a 9-0-0 league mark.
The Shamrocks didn’t get a chance at two more nonconference wins at the end of the season because of rainouts, according to McClure.
In the team’s first Class 3A playoffs in nearly a decade, the team exceeded even their coach's expectations.
“It’s hard to put things in perspective, immediately, kind of the same thing as last year (a fourth place finish at state),” McClure said. “We set lofty goals this year, we thought. Win our school’s first conference championship, this was the 36th year of our soccer program. Our second big goal, was to win our school’s first 3A regional championship.”
The Shamrocks won their first regional title in Class 3A when they topped Loyola 5-4 in Wilmette. The run continued when they beat Evanston in overtime on the road in the Wildkits sectional final on Saturday.
The 2018 overachievement came on the heels of last year’s goal to win a sectional in Class AA. Instead the team advanced to the finals.
During the regular season, St. Pat’s won the River Region Rumble tournament in Kentucky, and finished as the runnerup to Glenbrook South after a 3-2 loss in the final of the Wolter/Titan Invitational.
“I think our biggest accomplishment was winning the tournament (in Kentucky),” Rodriguez said. “I thought winning that, not only that, winning sectionals and making it all the way to supersectionals was a big accomplishment.”
McClure said the team was invited to the Kentucky tourney because of its sportsmanship, it didn't receive a red card last year.
The core of key returning players for next year includes: sophomore forward Joshua Torres, Rodriguez, junior midfielder Aaron Moreno-Lopez and junior defender and captain Adam Przytula.
“I’m actually very, very excited for next year,” Rodriguez said. “Our whole team was mostly juniors. I’m excited for Joshua (Torres), I’m expecting him to score more than just 22 goals, (which is) what he scored this year.”
St. Patrick returns 10-of-its-11 starters for next year. Senior midfielder Herber Carrera is the lone graduating starter.
Libertyville advances to the state semifinals for a second-straight season and will face Collinsville at 7 p.m. on Friday at Hoffman Estates.
Starting lineups
St. Patrick (24-4-0)
G Jorge Cebrero
D Adam Przytula
D Collin Kroeger
D Juan Leon
M Aaron Moreno-Lopez
M Angel Adame
M Sebastian Estrada
M Herbert Carrera
M Sebastian Modrzejewski
F Luis Saucedo
F Joshua Torres
Libertyville (21-0-0)
G Zach El Ghatit
D Patrick Graham
D Brendan Quigley
D Mason Williams
D Nick Guarino
M Mickey Reilly
M Jack VanDixhorn
M Tanner Kelly
M Grant Herbek
F Evan Rasmussen
F Gabriel Kosciuch
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Angel Adame, junior, midfielder, St. Patrick
Scoring Summary
First half
Libertyville: 8’ Evan Rasmussen, Senior, Forward (Williams)
St. Patrick: 22’ Angel Adame, Junior, Midfielder (unassisted)
Libertyville: 27’ Jack Brennan, Sophomore, Forward (Reilly)
Second half
No scoring