Lake Park, Wheaton Warrenville South
seek strong finishes
By Chris R. Walker
With great resources like Chicagoland Soccer and social media, it’s pretty easy to keep an eye out for how high school teams are faring. It also provides an opportunity for teams to gauge where they’re at based on some of the teams they’ve already played.
Now that October has arrived, thoughts begin to turn toward the playoffs. For some teams, it’s finishing the regular-season strong with the hopes of going into the postseason with momentum and ideally good health. For others, there may be a final game or two to decide the conference title.
In the DuKane Conference, the top honor is likely to go to St. Charles East. The ninth-ranked Saints remain undefeated in league play and can wrap up the title tonight when they travel to Wheaton North. However, the Falcons could make things interesting with an upset win.
Also in Wheaton on Tuesday night, Lake Park (7-6-3, 2-2-1) visits Wheaton Warrenville South (5-6-3, 2-2-1).
Both are tough squads that can’t be overlooked.
“The team feels great heading into the final weeks of the season,” said Lake Park senior goalkeeper Andrew Swacha. “We know that we can compete with the best in the state tying York (2-2 on Sept. 3) and keeping a close game against Elgin (a 2-1 loss to the top-ranked team on Sept. 24).”
Wheaton Warrenville South has also played York, which is ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The Tigers fell to the Dukes 2-0 Saturday.
“We were in a slump for a while, but we have played really well recently,” Tigers senior forward Marco Gonzalez said of the recent 3-1-1 run. “It’s been super tough with injuries, especially to the older kids. I have been out for a month and the younger players have really stepped up to fill my role and the roles of others who are injured.”
Gonzalez acknowledged he hasn’t paid much attention to the Lancers but expects them to be a formidable opponent.
“They seem like a great team, and I know a few of their players,” he said. “I expect them to play through the middle though. I know that if we play and fight hard we can compete with anybody.”
That’s one of the things that makes the DuKane Conference such a good league. Every night, regardless of who is on the schedule, is going to be a battle.
Lake Park was reminded of that in a 4-2 home loss to Wheaton North on Saturday.
“The team is good (but we) had a hard time Saturday because we had some big pieces missing,” said Lancers senior midfielder Shane Donnelly. “But I think we’re ready to go for Tuesday. It’s a bounce-back game for us after Saturday, and I think we’re putting our best team forward. We’re looking to get out and bring the energy early (Tuesday).”
Remaining positive is a key for the Lancers.
“What works well when we are winning is staying positive,” Swacha said. “I’m really proud of how this team has bonded over the season. We just have to work on staying positive no matter the result, myself included.”
For Wheaton Warrenville South, quickly switching their point of attack and breaking down opponents has resulted in a plethora of chances. They’ll look to do more of that at Red Grange Field on Tuesday night.
“A key for us to continue to play well is to keep on moving the ball side to side until we find a gap in the opponent’s defense,” Gonzalez said.
The teams tied twice in the mini-spring season in 2021. The Tigers took last fall’s game 3-2.
seek strong finishes
By Chris R. Walker
With great resources like Chicagoland Soccer and social media, it’s pretty easy to keep an eye out for how high school teams are faring. It also provides an opportunity for teams to gauge where they’re at based on some of the teams they’ve already played.
Now that October has arrived, thoughts begin to turn toward the playoffs. For some teams, it’s finishing the regular-season strong with the hopes of going into the postseason with momentum and ideally good health. For others, there may be a final game or two to decide the conference title.
In the DuKane Conference, the top honor is likely to go to St. Charles East. The ninth-ranked Saints remain undefeated in league play and can wrap up the title tonight when they travel to Wheaton North. However, the Falcons could make things interesting with an upset win.
Also in Wheaton on Tuesday night, Lake Park (7-6-3, 2-2-1) visits Wheaton Warrenville South (5-6-3, 2-2-1).
Both are tough squads that can’t be overlooked.
“The team feels great heading into the final weeks of the season,” said Lake Park senior goalkeeper Andrew Swacha. “We know that we can compete with the best in the state tying York (2-2 on Sept. 3) and keeping a close game against Elgin (a 2-1 loss to the top-ranked team on Sept. 24).”
Wheaton Warrenville South has also played York, which is ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The Tigers fell to the Dukes 2-0 Saturday.
“We were in a slump for a while, but we have played really well recently,” Tigers senior forward Marco Gonzalez said of the recent 3-1-1 run. “It’s been super tough with injuries, especially to the older kids. I have been out for a month and the younger players have really stepped up to fill my role and the roles of others who are injured.”
Gonzalez acknowledged he hasn’t paid much attention to the Lancers but expects them to be a formidable opponent.
“They seem like a great team, and I know a few of their players,” he said. “I expect them to play through the middle though. I know that if we play and fight hard we can compete with anybody.”
That’s one of the things that makes the DuKane Conference such a good league. Every night, regardless of who is on the schedule, is going to be a battle.
Lake Park was reminded of that in a 4-2 home loss to Wheaton North on Saturday.
“The team is good (but we) had a hard time Saturday because we had some big pieces missing,” said Lancers senior midfielder Shane Donnelly. “But I think we’re ready to go for Tuesday. It’s a bounce-back game for us after Saturday, and I think we’re putting our best team forward. We’re looking to get out and bring the energy early (Tuesday).”
Remaining positive is a key for the Lancers.
“What works well when we are winning is staying positive,” Swacha said. “I’m really proud of how this team has bonded over the season. We just have to work on staying positive no matter the result, myself included.”
For Wheaton Warrenville South, quickly switching their point of attack and breaking down opponents has resulted in a plethora of chances. They’ll look to do more of that at Red Grange Field on Tuesday night.
“A key for us to continue to play well is to keep on moving the ball side to side until we find a gap in the opponent’s defense,” Gonzalez said.
The teams tied twice in the mini-spring season in 2021. The Tigers took last fall’s game 3-2.