Records don't matter when Lane,
Young renew Premier Division rivalry
By Patrick Z. McGavin
All games are shaped by numbers. Numbers sometimes deceive or other times mean less in relationship to a greater symbolic importance.
The clash between Lane and Young at 6 p.m. Monday at Lane marks the latest showdown between two of the top city programs. This season’s numbers tell one story. The truth is something else entirely. These two historically strong programs have a combined two victories in the first month of the season.
"This is the slowest start we've ever had," said Lane coach Andrew Ricks, in his 12th season.
Working in many new players, the Indians (1-5-3) are in a new place. The defending city champions are striving to build on their recent string of success. This is a program that just two years ago became the first Chicago Public League program to ever win the PepsiCo Showdown.
"Every loss we have played we have played within one goal, except for Oak Park, who beat us 2-0," Ricks said.
Young (1-8-2) is also experiencing difficult times after graduating star player Jaime Alonso. Records only tell a partial story. In the city, these two programs are the standard bearers.
"We're back and forth in the Premier league battling for that city title," Young coach Ian McCarthy said. "Our boys always get up for the game.
"All the players know each other and that becomes another part of the rivalry, especially through social media. It should be a fun game."
The two teams are similar in that they look outside the city to play top suburban programs. Young played Lyons to a 1-0 game at the start of the year, indicative of the team's ability to be competitive if not achieve outright success. The same with the Indians, who have been highly competitive.
With both teams, this is more of a transitional year as each looks to find itself and put a strong run in the Premier league and the city tournament. The elite status of that tournament in many ways supercedes that of the state tournament.
In the niche sports, Lane and Young are central powers of the city.
"In lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, you name it, we have some of the same kind of students. We see each other quite a bit. In soccer, with the girls last spring, all three levels met in the championship," McCarthy said.
Lane has several experienced players from its city title team. The most important offensive player is forward Owen Finn, who scored the game-winning goal against Kelly to give the Indians the city crown.
Ricks also praised the play of senior defender Cesar Garza, who been the team's most consistent player.
The intensity is a given when the two confront each other. It manifests itself in the serious though professionally mutual friendship of the two coaches. Ricks likes to point out he has never lost to Young.
"We've tied a couple of times, but they have never beaten us," he said.
The winner gets a jump start as the crucial part of the conference schedule plays out. When the game kicks off, nobody is going to care about records. Victory is everything here.
"They've had the better run recently, and obviously we look to equalize that this year," McCarthy said.
Young renew Premier Division rivalry
By Patrick Z. McGavin
All games are shaped by numbers. Numbers sometimes deceive or other times mean less in relationship to a greater symbolic importance.
The clash between Lane and Young at 6 p.m. Monday at Lane marks the latest showdown between two of the top city programs. This season’s numbers tell one story. The truth is something else entirely. These two historically strong programs have a combined two victories in the first month of the season.
"This is the slowest start we've ever had," said Lane coach Andrew Ricks, in his 12th season.
Working in many new players, the Indians (1-5-3) are in a new place. The defending city champions are striving to build on their recent string of success. This is a program that just two years ago became the first Chicago Public League program to ever win the PepsiCo Showdown.
"Every loss we have played we have played within one goal, except for Oak Park, who beat us 2-0," Ricks said.
Young (1-8-2) is also experiencing difficult times after graduating star player Jaime Alonso. Records only tell a partial story. In the city, these two programs are the standard bearers.
"We're back and forth in the Premier league battling for that city title," Young coach Ian McCarthy said. "Our boys always get up for the game.
"All the players know each other and that becomes another part of the rivalry, especially through social media. It should be a fun game."
The two teams are similar in that they look outside the city to play top suburban programs. Young played Lyons to a 1-0 game at the start of the year, indicative of the team's ability to be competitive if not achieve outright success. The same with the Indians, who have been highly competitive.
With both teams, this is more of a transitional year as each looks to find itself and put a strong run in the Premier league and the city tournament. The elite status of that tournament in many ways supercedes that of the state tournament.
In the niche sports, Lane and Young are central powers of the city.
"In lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, you name it, we have some of the same kind of students. We see each other quite a bit. In soccer, with the girls last spring, all three levels met in the championship," McCarthy said.
Lane has several experienced players from its city title team. The most important offensive player is forward Owen Finn, who scored the game-winning goal against Kelly to give the Indians the city crown.
Ricks also praised the play of senior defender Cesar Garza, who been the team's most consistent player.
The intensity is a given when the two confront each other. It manifests itself in the serious though professionally mutual friendship of the two coaches. Ricks likes to point out he has never lost to Young.
"We've tied a couple of times, but they have never beaten us," he said.
The winner gets a jump start as the crucial part of the conference schedule plays out. When the game kicks off, nobody is going to care about records. Victory is everything here.
"They've had the better run recently, and obviously we look to equalize that this year," McCarthy said.