Notebook: Morton, Trinity point to playoffs
By Ken Keenan
A confident Morton crew has plenty of momentum on its side heading into the 2019 IHSA state tournament. The Mustangs (15-5-0 overall) enter postseason play with an 11-game winning streak, including a late run of victories to secure the team's first outright West Suburban Conference Gold Division championship.
Morton, which finished 6-0-0 in league play this season, shared the conference crown with Downers Grove South in 2018.
"Obviously, the girls are excited about being the first team to accomplish winning it outright," said Mustangs head coach Jim Bageanis. "Being a conference champion is something that teams notice -- and also other girls in the program at the lower levels, wanting to keep up that tradition each year. That's what I feel kept the girls focused on that goal this year, and many of them were part of last year's (shared) conference championship."
Next up for Morton is a date with Glenbard West (8-9-2) in the Class 3A Lyons Regional semifinals at 6 p.m. May 15. The field also includes Kennedy, Hubbard and the host Lions, with the title match set for 10 a.m. May 18. The winner advances to the Glenbard East Sectional, which begins May 21.
"It will be a tough run," Bageanis said. "But with all the quality in our sectional, it's always tough. We'll have a tough game against a very good Glenbard West team, and then likely no. 1 seed LT (Lyons) in the regional championship."
The Mustangs are led on offense by sophomore forward Adriana Moreno, the team's leading scorer with 16 goals and 12 assists. Moreno potted two goals and and added an assist in Morton's 4-0 win over Trinity in the regular-season finale Thursday.
Junior forward Melanie Carranza (10 goals, 7 assists) and junior midfielder Medelin Loza (6 goals, 4 assists) are key contributors on the attack as well.
Defensively, Morton is backstopped by junior goalkeeper Dayanna Gonzalez, who held a 0.69 goals-against average in 16 games prior to earning the shutout in the win over Trinity. Team-wise, the Mustangs allowed only five goals during the 11-game winning streak (with six shutouts), while tallying 39 of their own.
"Our team is a gritty, competitive team," Bageanis said. "We try to keep the pressure on our opponents -- and we also have the ability to score. We just try to compete each game, and we don't want to have any regrets at the end of a game as far as our effort is concerned."
Meanwhile, Trinity (7-15-0) will seek to snap a six-game losing skid when it takes on the host Pride in the semifinals of the Class 2A Speer Regional at 6:30 p.m. May 14. The regional's other semifinal match pits Pritzker against Clemente.
The title tilt at Speer will be held at 6 p.m. May 17, with the winner moving up to the Wheaton Academy Sectional.
"Our biggest goal this year is to win a regional championship," said Blazers head coach Kyle McClure. "We're confident we can beat Speer, and then probably Pritzker would be next. I give us a 50/50 chance to win only the fourth regional championship in school history."
Though wins have been hard to come by for Trinity this year, McClure is pleased that the program has progressed from three victories in 2017 to five last year and seven in 2019.
"We have shown improvement," McClure said. "We have a young team, only two seniors (midfielder/defender Christina Martinez and defender Tabitha Mucci), so we expect to be a lot better next next year with our core players returning."
Heading the list of returnees are junior midfielder Natalia Guerra and freshman mid Bridget Whiteside.
"They're both very strong players," McClure said. "They probably accounted for 80 percent of our goals this season."
Once the 2019 campaign comes to an end, McClure wants as many Blazers as possible to take part in summer camp activities and other training outside of the high school program.
"We're trying to change the culture a bit, and we're seeing some pretty strong interest," he said. "When you play competitive soccer, it's not always fun. But when you put the work in and then see the results, it is fun."
McClure continued: "Everyone talks about wins and losses. In the end, it's about getting better. We're better than last year already, and we can take the next step next year. We're pretty good with physicality and aggressiveness, and our defense has improved immensely. The thing to improve is fitness, conditioning and speed.
"Playing on varsity, you have a responsibility to your teammates, so you have to work hard to improve. That's what Trinity soccer is about now."
By Ken Keenan
A confident Morton crew has plenty of momentum on its side heading into the 2019 IHSA state tournament. The Mustangs (15-5-0 overall) enter postseason play with an 11-game winning streak, including a late run of victories to secure the team's first outright West Suburban Conference Gold Division championship.
Morton, which finished 6-0-0 in league play this season, shared the conference crown with Downers Grove South in 2018.
"Obviously, the girls are excited about being the first team to accomplish winning it outright," said Mustangs head coach Jim Bageanis. "Being a conference champion is something that teams notice -- and also other girls in the program at the lower levels, wanting to keep up that tradition each year. That's what I feel kept the girls focused on that goal this year, and many of them were part of last year's (shared) conference championship."
Next up for Morton is a date with Glenbard West (8-9-2) in the Class 3A Lyons Regional semifinals at 6 p.m. May 15. The field also includes Kennedy, Hubbard and the host Lions, with the title match set for 10 a.m. May 18. The winner advances to the Glenbard East Sectional, which begins May 21.
"It will be a tough run," Bageanis said. "But with all the quality in our sectional, it's always tough. We'll have a tough game against a very good Glenbard West team, and then likely no. 1 seed LT (Lyons) in the regional championship."
The Mustangs are led on offense by sophomore forward Adriana Moreno, the team's leading scorer with 16 goals and 12 assists. Moreno potted two goals and and added an assist in Morton's 4-0 win over Trinity in the regular-season finale Thursday.
Junior forward Melanie Carranza (10 goals, 7 assists) and junior midfielder Medelin Loza (6 goals, 4 assists) are key contributors on the attack as well.
Defensively, Morton is backstopped by junior goalkeeper Dayanna Gonzalez, who held a 0.69 goals-against average in 16 games prior to earning the shutout in the win over Trinity. Team-wise, the Mustangs allowed only five goals during the 11-game winning streak (with six shutouts), while tallying 39 of their own.
"Our team is a gritty, competitive team," Bageanis said. "We try to keep the pressure on our opponents -- and we also have the ability to score. We just try to compete each game, and we don't want to have any regrets at the end of a game as far as our effort is concerned."
Meanwhile, Trinity (7-15-0) will seek to snap a six-game losing skid when it takes on the host Pride in the semifinals of the Class 2A Speer Regional at 6:30 p.m. May 14. The regional's other semifinal match pits Pritzker against Clemente.
The title tilt at Speer will be held at 6 p.m. May 17, with the winner moving up to the Wheaton Academy Sectional.
"Our biggest goal this year is to win a regional championship," said Blazers head coach Kyle McClure. "We're confident we can beat Speer, and then probably Pritzker would be next. I give us a 50/50 chance to win only the fourth regional championship in school history."
Though wins have been hard to come by for Trinity this year, McClure is pleased that the program has progressed from three victories in 2017 to five last year and seven in 2019.
"We have shown improvement," McClure said. "We have a young team, only two seniors (midfielder/defender Christina Martinez and defender Tabitha Mucci), so we expect to be a lot better next next year with our core players returning."
Heading the list of returnees are junior midfielder Natalia Guerra and freshman mid Bridget Whiteside.
"They're both very strong players," McClure said. "They probably accounted for 80 percent of our goals this season."
Once the 2019 campaign comes to an end, McClure wants as many Blazers as possible to take part in summer camp activities and other training outside of the high school program.
"We're trying to change the culture a bit, and we're seeing some pretty strong interest," he said. "When you play competitive soccer, it's not always fun. But when you put the work in and then see the results, it is fun."
McClure continued: "Everyone talks about wins and losses. In the end, it's about getting better. We're better than last year already, and we can take the next step next year. We're pretty good with physicality and aggressiveness, and our defense has improved immensely. The thing to improve is fitness, conditioning and speed.
"Playing on varsity, you have a responsibility to your teammates, so you have to work hard to improve. That's what Trinity soccer is about now."