Chicagoland Soccer Top 25
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Eric Willson stood on the sideline at the Illinois Institute of Technology on Sunday in the late afternoon. He just shook his head.
“If you give no. 10 (Morton’s Baltazar Duran) that kind of space, he makes you pay,” the St. Charles North coach said.
So it was. St. Charles North gave the top-ranked Mustangs everything they had in the championship of the Aquafina bracket of the PepsiCo Showdown. It was a classic game, and a compelling one to watch. The tournament format features four separate bracket winners. The Aquafina group was the strongest pool of the lot.
Morton posted its second-consecutive comeback victory, beating a similar Downers Grove South team 2-1 in overtime Tuesday.
St. Charles North showed, in Willson’s words, “We can play with anybody.” So they did. Morton retains the top spot in this week’s poll. St. Charles North makes a significant jump. Next, the North Stars confront rival, and higher ranked, St. Charles East on Tuesday.
Likewise, Downers Grove South made a significant push up the rankings after the Morton game, a rematch of a 2015 Class 3A sectional final that Morton won in a shootout after the game ended in a scoreless draw.
The shuffling continues apace, but the best teams are likely to solidify their hold, as we move closer to the end of the regular season and the start of the state tournament. Libertyville has won six in a row. Fenwick has won nine in a row. Oak Lawn, unbeaten and untied, has opened the year 14-0.
Part of adjudicating the numbers is making sense of the competition. Teams are starting to get healthy and are ready to make a big push. Most of the primary tournaments have already played out, but plenty of intrigue and compelling storylines remain.
One final note of interest to those outside of the Chicago area. A new team rises to the top of the Illinois Top 10. Springfield has dethroned Glenwood from the top spot after beating the Titans last week
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Eric Willson stood on the sideline at the Illinois Institute of Technology on Sunday in the late afternoon. He just shook his head.
“If you give no. 10 (Morton’s Baltazar Duran) that kind of space, he makes you pay,” the St. Charles North coach said.
So it was. St. Charles North gave the top-ranked Mustangs everything they had in the championship of the Aquafina bracket of the PepsiCo Showdown. It was a classic game, and a compelling one to watch. The tournament format features four separate bracket winners. The Aquafina group was the strongest pool of the lot.
Morton posted its second-consecutive comeback victory, beating a similar Downers Grove South team 2-1 in overtime Tuesday.
St. Charles North showed, in Willson’s words, “We can play with anybody.” So they did. Morton retains the top spot in this week’s poll. St. Charles North makes a significant jump. Next, the North Stars confront rival, and higher ranked, St. Charles East on Tuesday.
Likewise, Downers Grove South made a significant push up the rankings after the Morton game, a rematch of a 2015 Class 3A sectional final that Morton won in a shootout after the game ended in a scoreless draw.
The shuffling continues apace, but the best teams are likely to solidify their hold, as we move closer to the end of the regular season and the start of the state tournament. Libertyville has won six in a row. Fenwick has won nine in a row. Oak Lawn, unbeaten and untied, has opened the year 14-0.
Part of adjudicating the numbers is making sense of the competition. Teams are starting to get healthy and are ready to make a big push. Most of the primary tournaments have already played out, but plenty of intrigue and compelling storylines remain.
One final note of interest to those outside of the Chicago area. A new team rises to the top of the Illinois Top 10. Springfield has dethroned Glenwood from the top spot after beating the Titans last week
Look out for: Benet, Waukegan, Mundelein, Round Lake, Conant, New Trier, Leyden, Neuqua Valley, Hinsdale Central, Bloom, Elgin, Argo, Huntley, Bulls Prep, Oswego East.