East, North vie in huge St. Charles rematch
No. 1-seeded North Stars look to even ledger in regional final
By Dave Owen
The 2 p.m. Saturday St. Charles North regional final will be anything but a typical early postseason showdown.
The host North Stars (12-2-4) enter as the no. 1 seed in the Conant sectional, and rolling along with a three-game winning streak that includes a 5-0 regional semifinal win over Willowbrook.
But between recent events and a crosstown rivalry tradition, things could get very interesting over the weekend.
No. 7 seed and crosstown rival St. Charles East (8-9-4) enters with a four-match winning streak -- and that streak doesn’t include the Saints’ surprising 3-0 win at St. Charles North on Sept. 26.
“We know that they will be very eager to play us again,” SCE coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “We’ve seen how effective they (North) can be in the final third if you give them opportunities. We are approaching this as a completely different game.
“Nothing that happened in the past matters when you get to the postseason tournament. You win or you go home. We hope to play 80 minutes of our best soccer on Saturday.”
North coach Eric Willson is also downplaying any revenge factor.
“Composure and execution of our game plan are keys to the game,” he said. “St. Charles East is doing a really nice job on both sides of the ball right now. They are strong in all areas on the field and will be difficult to break down.”
DiNuzzo is in his first year as Saints’ head coach, but knows the formula for postseason success. In his first season at Bartlett in 2015, he guided the Hawks to a fourth place finish in Class 3A.
And if his initiation to St. Charles crosstown soccer Sept. 26 was interesting, Saturday figures to raise the bar.
“Anytime any of our teams play North, it’s a big deal,” DiNuzzo said, “but adding the fact that one of our seasons will be over after Saturday adds that much more intensity to the game.
“We always want to play our best when we play them. But at the end of the day it is another opponent that you must beat to get to the ultimate goal.”
On the North side, the shot at a regional trophy is also the lone focus.
“Regional final will be reason enough for a high level of intensity,” Willson said. “The fact that we share the same city and have already played once this season will also play into the game.
“But at the end of the day, it's the win-or-go-home atmosphere that will have this game's intensity way up.”
The North Stars won the PepsiCo Showdown earlier in the season, and their latest success at Willowbrook was a show of depth. Peter Willis, Bernard Elegbede, Jake Persenico, Gabe D’Amico and Noah Linn all scored goals in the victory, as St. Charles North broke open a 1-0 halftime lead. Willowbrook had entered on a season-high four-game winning streak.
“It may sound cliche, but our best soccer comes when we share the ball and defend as a team,” Willson said. “When we play well together, good things happen for us.”
Good things have happened in all but two matches, producing a no. 1 seed that could be a challenge to beat twice in a month.
“They (North) have a good team as they have proven throughout the regular season and first round of the playoffs,” DiNuzzo added, “but we’re going to worry about ourselves and playing the best St Charles East soccer that we can play.”
Once owners of a 3-8-4 record this season, the Saints have found their footing at a perfect time. Truitt Battin scored the winning goal in the first overtime of Tuesday’s 2-1 double overtime win over Benet. George Maridis had a goal and an assist in the win.
“The key to our team's success has been our ability to not only play together within the system, but the ability to get healthy at the right time,” DiNuzzo said. “We have recently gotten George Maridis and Colin Coine back from injury. Both players play the 9 and 10 (forwards) for us, so getting two players of their caliber back make our attack a lot more unpredictable and much more dangerous.
“Our backline has been different in a good way over the past month,” DiNuzzo added. “They do not take plays off -- they are focused and eager. They have changed the way they distribute the ball and the way they contest for 50/50 challenges.”
Both teams won regional titles last fall. North seeks the eighth regional win in program history, and East (originally the lone St. Charles campus) its 18th regional crown and fourth since 2012.
The winner faces either fourth-seed Glenbard West or 12th-seeded Wheaton North in a 4:30 p.m. Tuesday sectional semifinal match at Conant.
No. 1-seeded North Stars look to even ledger in regional final
By Dave Owen
The 2 p.m. Saturday St. Charles North regional final will be anything but a typical early postseason showdown.
The host North Stars (12-2-4) enter as the no. 1 seed in the Conant sectional, and rolling along with a three-game winning streak that includes a 5-0 regional semifinal win over Willowbrook.
But between recent events and a crosstown rivalry tradition, things could get very interesting over the weekend.
No. 7 seed and crosstown rival St. Charles East (8-9-4) enters with a four-match winning streak -- and that streak doesn’t include the Saints’ surprising 3-0 win at St. Charles North on Sept. 26.
“We know that they will be very eager to play us again,” SCE coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “We’ve seen how effective they (North) can be in the final third if you give them opportunities. We are approaching this as a completely different game.
“Nothing that happened in the past matters when you get to the postseason tournament. You win or you go home. We hope to play 80 minutes of our best soccer on Saturday.”
North coach Eric Willson is also downplaying any revenge factor.
“Composure and execution of our game plan are keys to the game,” he said. “St. Charles East is doing a really nice job on both sides of the ball right now. They are strong in all areas on the field and will be difficult to break down.”
DiNuzzo is in his first year as Saints’ head coach, but knows the formula for postseason success. In his first season at Bartlett in 2015, he guided the Hawks to a fourth place finish in Class 3A.
And if his initiation to St. Charles crosstown soccer Sept. 26 was interesting, Saturday figures to raise the bar.
“Anytime any of our teams play North, it’s a big deal,” DiNuzzo said, “but adding the fact that one of our seasons will be over after Saturday adds that much more intensity to the game.
“We always want to play our best when we play them. But at the end of the day it is another opponent that you must beat to get to the ultimate goal.”
On the North side, the shot at a regional trophy is also the lone focus.
“Regional final will be reason enough for a high level of intensity,” Willson said. “The fact that we share the same city and have already played once this season will also play into the game.
“But at the end of the day, it's the win-or-go-home atmosphere that will have this game's intensity way up.”
The North Stars won the PepsiCo Showdown earlier in the season, and their latest success at Willowbrook was a show of depth. Peter Willis, Bernard Elegbede, Jake Persenico, Gabe D’Amico and Noah Linn all scored goals in the victory, as St. Charles North broke open a 1-0 halftime lead. Willowbrook had entered on a season-high four-game winning streak.
“It may sound cliche, but our best soccer comes when we share the ball and defend as a team,” Willson said. “When we play well together, good things happen for us.”
Good things have happened in all but two matches, producing a no. 1 seed that could be a challenge to beat twice in a month.
“They (North) have a good team as they have proven throughout the regular season and first round of the playoffs,” DiNuzzo added, “but we’re going to worry about ourselves and playing the best St Charles East soccer that we can play.”
Once owners of a 3-8-4 record this season, the Saints have found their footing at a perfect time. Truitt Battin scored the winning goal in the first overtime of Tuesday’s 2-1 double overtime win over Benet. George Maridis had a goal and an assist in the win.
“The key to our team's success has been our ability to not only play together within the system, but the ability to get healthy at the right time,” DiNuzzo said. “We have recently gotten George Maridis and Colin Coine back from injury. Both players play the 9 and 10 (forwards) for us, so getting two players of their caliber back make our attack a lot more unpredictable and much more dangerous.
“Our backline has been different in a good way over the past month,” DiNuzzo added. “They do not take plays off -- they are focused and eager. They have changed the way they distribute the ball and the way they contest for 50/50 challenges.”
Both teams won regional titles last fall. North seeks the eighth regional win in program history, and East (originally the lone St. Charles campus) its 18th regional crown and fourth since 2012.
The winner faces either fourth-seed Glenbard West or 12th-seeded Wheaton North in a 4:30 p.m. Tuesday sectional semifinal match at Conant.