Seniors hold onto hope for 1 final
hurrah after IHSA cancels state series
By Steve Millar
Barrington was the preseason no. 1 team in Chicagoland Soccer’s First 50 and was ranked as the top team in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer.
So even though the odds of the Fillies getting a chance to validate those rankings seemed to dwindle over the last weeks, it was still a tough pill to swallow when the IHSA made it official Tuesday and announced all spring state series will be canceled.
“We knew it was coming, but I feel really bad,” Barrington coach Ryan Stengren said.
“We have 10 seniors on the team. They are upset, of course.
“There are two of them that played in state championship games three years in a row, and the rest of them have played in two in a row. They were all positioning themselves and working really hard to get back there this year, and they won’t ever get chance. Now we’re going to play that game of ‘What could have been?’
“On the bright side, we started the season no. 1 and I guess we’ll end it no. 1.”
Click here to see Chicagoland Soccer's First 50 poll!
Stengren is hopeful his players will be able to look back on all they have accomplished over the last few years.
“I told our girls there are going to be a lot of girls who never get to experience what they did,” he said. “Our seniors, two of them played in three state championship games and the rest of them played in two. They got to experience winning one, so they have a lot of great memories.”
The Fillies remain hopeful that the final chapter for the Class of 2020 has not yet been written. The IHSA left open the possibility of games being played into the summer, if it becomes safe to do so.
“We’re trying to think of something to do for our seniors,” Stengren said. “It’s really hard, though. Regardless of what we do, it won’t be playing for a state championship. But we’re going to explore our possibilities. First, it has to be safe for everyone.”
The possibilities for summer play being thrown out by area coaches include everything from an intrasquad scrimmage to a conference tournament.
Warren coach Ryan McCabe said North Suburban Conference coaches have discussed the possibility of a conference tournament.
“It’s a tough day for sure, but the IHSA left a little window open for summer activities to gain some closure, which is important,” McCabe said. “We’re trying to do something, possibly within our conference. Once it’s deemed safe and healthy, we’re going to try to put something together for our kids.”
Getting another opportunity to play would very meaningful for the Warren players, especially the seniors, according to upcoming graduate and captain Olivia Wolf.
“It’s definitely been hard knowing the one thing you love, you can’t do,” Wolf said. “We’re working our way through it, though.
“We all knew in the back of our minds that it was possible that we wouldn’t have state playoffs or conference games, but what’s kept us going is knowing there’s a chance there will be at least one day in the summer where we can get together and play with each other once more as a team. We’re still hoping for that.”
McCabe believes it is important that his players get that chance, if at all possible.
“The girls are handling this better than I ever could have expected,” he said. “They’re getting together virtually every day to do workouts or a Tik Tok video or Zoom yoga.
That’s pretty cool to see because that’s all coming from the girls. I’m not asking them do it, but they just want to see each other every day.
“I think it’d be really great if we are able to give them some opportunity to play together in some capacity. Our younger kids want to have a chance to show what the seniors mean to them, and our seniors are really missing out on the final episodes and steps of their careers. I think any gesture, anything we can do is going to be well-received.”
A conference tournament has also been discussed in the DuKane Conference, though the announcement of the closure of schools for the remainder of the year stymied those talks at least briefly.
“That was something we’ve been talking about, and then I think once it was announced that we weren’t coming back in the building, they kind of shelved the idea,” Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari said. “But now that the state has said there’s the possibility of opening up games and extending the year, not worrying about if they play club or anything like that. Maybe that puts the conference tournament back on the table. We’ll have to see.”
Callipari said it was difficult to pass on the news to his team Tuesday.
“Some of my captains said it took what was kind of a surreal situation and created a real situation,” he said. “Just hearing the words come out of my mouth that the inevitable outcome happened, it took them a little bit of time to digest that and get over it.
“Now, they’re back on again and we’re going to continue to move forward. We still talk every day, we work out together virtually three times a week. We’ll continue to do all that, and we’ll see what our options are going forward.”
Going forward, coaches and teams will remain in flux to some extent as they see what will be possible in another month or two.
“It’s going to be a lot of the waiting game still, but we’re still hoping that we’ll be able to do something for our girls,” Lake Forest coach Ty Stuckslager said. “We have 12 seniors and you just want them to go out with some positivity from this year.”
That is what Wolf wants more than anything.
“I can’t even begin to speak how important it would be for us to play,” Wolf said. “I went through my whole first half of senior year looking forward to playing soccer. I watched the football team and all the other sports, thinking that it was going to be my time soon.
“Getting that taken away has been really tough, so getting an opportunity to play one last time would be something I would cherish forever.”
hurrah after IHSA cancels state series
By Steve Millar
Barrington was the preseason no. 1 team in Chicagoland Soccer’s First 50 and was ranked as the top team in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer.
So even though the odds of the Fillies getting a chance to validate those rankings seemed to dwindle over the last weeks, it was still a tough pill to swallow when the IHSA made it official Tuesday and announced all spring state series will be canceled.
“We knew it was coming, but I feel really bad,” Barrington coach Ryan Stengren said.
“We have 10 seniors on the team. They are upset, of course.
“There are two of them that played in state championship games three years in a row, and the rest of them have played in two in a row. They were all positioning themselves and working really hard to get back there this year, and they won’t ever get chance. Now we’re going to play that game of ‘What could have been?’
“On the bright side, we started the season no. 1 and I guess we’ll end it no. 1.”
Click here to see Chicagoland Soccer's First 50 poll!
Stengren is hopeful his players will be able to look back on all they have accomplished over the last few years.
“I told our girls there are going to be a lot of girls who never get to experience what they did,” he said. “Our seniors, two of them played in three state championship games and the rest of them played in two. They got to experience winning one, so they have a lot of great memories.”
The Fillies remain hopeful that the final chapter for the Class of 2020 has not yet been written. The IHSA left open the possibility of games being played into the summer, if it becomes safe to do so.
“We’re trying to think of something to do for our seniors,” Stengren said. “It’s really hard, though. Regardless of what we do, it won’t be playing for a state championship. But we’re going to explore our possibilities. First, it has to be safe for everyone.”
The possibilities for summer play being thrown out by area coaches include everything from an intrasquad scrimmage to a conference tournament.
Warren coach Ryan McCabe said North Suburban Conference coaches have discussed the possibility of a conference tournament.
“It’s a tough day for sure, but the IHSA left a little window open for summer activities to gain some closure, which is important,” McCabe said. “We’re trying to do something, possibly within our conference. Once it’s deemed safe and healthy, we’re going to try to put something together for our kids.”
Getting another opportunity to play would very meaningful for the Warren players, especially the seniors, according to upcoming graduate and captain Olivia Wolf.
“It’s definitely been hard knowing the one thing you love, you can’t do,” Wolf said. “We’re working our way through it, though.
“We all knew in the back of our minds that it was possible that we wouldn’t have state playoffs or conference games, but what’s kept us going is knowing there’s a chance there will be at least one day in the summer where we can get together and play with each other once more as a team. We’re still hoping for that.”
McCabe believes it is important that his players get that chance, if at all possible.
“The girls are handling this better than I ever could have expected,” he said. “They’re getting together virtually every day to do workouts or a Tik Tok video or Zoom yoga.
That’s pretty cool to see because that’s all coming from the girls. I’m not asking them do it, but they just want to see each other every day.
“I think it’d be really great if we are able to give them some opportunity to play together in some capacity. Our younger kids want to have a chance to show what the seniors mean to them, and our seniors are really missing out on the final episodes and steps of their careers. I think any gesture, anything we can do is going to be well-received.”
A conference tournament has also been discussed in the DuKane Conference, though the announcement of the closure of schools for the remainder of the year stymied those talks at least briefly.
“That was something we’ve been talking about, and then I think once it was announced that we weren’t coming back in the building, they kind of shelved the idea,” Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari said. “But now that the state has said there’s the possibility of opening up games and extending the year, not worrying about if they play club or anything like that. Maybe that puts the conference tournament back on the table. We’ll have to see.”
Callipari said it was difficult to pass on the news to his team Tuesday.
“Some of my captains said it took what was kind of a surreal situation and created a real situation,” he said. “Just hearing the words come out of my mouth that the inevitable outcome happened, it took them a little bit of time to digest that and get over it.
“Now, they’re back on again and we’re going to continue to move forward. We still talk every day, we work out together virtually three times a week. We’ll continue to do all that, and we’ll see what our options are going forward.”
Going forward, coaches and teams will remain in flux to some extent as they see what will be possible in another month or two.
“It’s going to be a lot of the waiting game still, but we’re still hoping that we’ll be able to do something for our girls,” Lake Forest coach Ty Stuckslager said. “We have 12 seniors and you just want them to go out with some positivity from this year.”
That is what Wolf wants more than anything.
“I can’t even begin to speak how important it would be for us to play,” Wolf said. “I went through my whole first half of senior year looking forward to playing soccer. I watched the football team and all the other sports, thinking that it was going to be my time soon.
“Getting that taken away has been really tough, so getting an opportunity to play one last time would be something I would cherish forever.”