SC North tourney is 'junior' in name only
Powerhouse junior varsity event concludes Saturday
By Steve Nemeth
Don’t let the name fool you.
There is nothing “junior” about the quality of play, intensity, skill, desire to win, or the bumps and bruises along the way when it comes to Saturday’s final day of competition in the seventh annual St. Charles North Junior Varsity Invitational.
In case anyone doesn’t recognize the competing schools based on their historic success in IHSA boys soccer, just know that the eight squads sport a combined record of 78-31-25 heading into the conclusion of group play Saturday morning.
The top teams from the pair of four-team groups advance to 12:30 p.m. semifinal matches featuring a group winner versus the opposite group runnerup. The 2 p.m. championship will be the third game of the day for the two finalists.
At 9 a.m., Naperville North (12-1-4) aims to win a third Group A contest in what has proven to be a unique rivalry within the event. St. Charles East (8-2-6) need beat its rival for the top spot. A draw would force the Fighting Saints to rely on some help to guarantee reaching the semifinals. In earlier pool games St. Charles East tied Burlington Central (8-7-2) 0-0 and won 2-0 over Huntley (7-7-3).
For the last three years, the championship has been decided between Naperville North and St. Charles East. The Huskies won via a shootout in 2016, the Saints had shootout success in 2015 and won in regulation in 2014.
The Group B standings feature a 10:30 a.m. showdown between powerhouse Lyons (15-0-2) and the host North Stars (14-1-3). The Lions blanked Schaumburg (0-11-3) 3-0 and Lane (14-2-2) 2-0 for a group-best six points. St. Charles North has four points from a 0-0 draw with Lane and 6-0 victory over the Saxons.
While all games Saturday take place on the St. Charles North Stadium turf or the soccer field behind the bleachers, the previous weekend had games played at St. Charles North and St. Charles East.
“While the attention is always focused understandably on varsity play, we believe at Lyons there’s no shortage of talent on any of our teams, be it JV or frosh-soph,” Lyons JV coach Jose Fregoso said. “And I know the feeling exists in the other programs.”
“You’re talking about a number of communities who value success in soccer, so it really becomes about the name on the front of the jersey,” St. Charles North JV boss Anne Poulin, a legendary name in St. Charles, noted. “Just like the varsity level, we often have a number of players who also compete for clubs, so they may know or even compete with players from another school. That increases the pride both individually and as a team.”
The runnerup spot in both groups is not locked up. In Group A, Burlington Central is hoping for a St. Charles East loss by a large margin to Naperville North. If that is combined with the Rockets scoring heavily in a win versus Huntley, Burlington Central could advance.
For Group B, that’s the same thinking for Lane. The Indians want to add a multi-goal win over Schaumburg to that kind of loss for St. Charles North. However, the showdowns are the pivotal match-ups.
In compiling its unbeaten record through 17 matches, Lyons owns 11 shutout victories while outscoring its opposition 55-8. Leyden had the most success scoring three, but still lost by a goal. St. Charles East and Morton managed 1-1 draws.
“We know both St. Charles schools are very good, and we faced (Naperville) North last year and tied 1-1 in rain. So we expect every match to be a challenge,” coach Fregoso said. “We try to be a possession team, so midfielders Lucas Huneryager and Anthony Staiano are vital to controlling the tempo. They have the ability to hold opponent attacks and feed our forwards.
“Up-top, Teddy Atseff is our most dangerous threat because he’s good with both feet, and I can play him anywhere,” Fregoso added. “Cooper Bearman leads a trio of goalies while an injury early in the year forced me to move Ian Flueck to the middle on defense. He became a starter and hasn’t come out since. He makes the right decisions and provides solid leadership.”
While a few of the teams have additional games, the host North Stars conclude their season with their tourney.
“We’ve been preparing for this tourney all year. We respect every opponent and as tough a task as Lyons is, we don’t believe it’s out of our grasp,” Poulin said. “Our center back Nate Fiedler hasn’t come off the field once. He and goalie Niko Ragano combine with Nick Sommer, Xander Jao and Jake Nickel to give us a rock solid defense.”
“Thomas Weber is a consistent producer offensively with five goals and six assists, but we’ve got five guys with over six goals.”
Both Jonathan Mincieli and Matt Polovin have 11 goals while Faizan Mohiuddin owns 10 to go with seven assists. Adam Bear is also in the mix with seven goals.
“We may rely on 11 to 14 guys, but we can go much deeper,” Poulin said. “Our balance is a result of a lot of selfless play. They’re creative players to start, so if they have an opportunity they’ll take it, but if they see someone in a better position, they’ll make the pass. They’ve galvanized as unit.”
The other North -- as in the Huskies of Naperville -- also boasts strength up and down its lineup. The team's only loss came against Morton.
“It may sound cliché, but our success has really been a team effort,” Naperville North coach Ryan Kuehne said. “Last year we got 14 goals from one guy. This year we’ve got five players who regularly are in on the scoring.
“There are three junior captains who are the backbone on the field. Cameron Ferus at center back, George Polski in the middle, and Michael Gallego up-front lead by example and get everyone to chip in,” Kuehne said. “While we’re creative up-top, we’re very solid with a backline that includes Merrick Flynn, Vince Li, Evan Thompson and Braden Dunlap with freshman goalie Pablo Jara.”
St. Charles East coach Wes Akers notes that unlike most of the other squads, the Saints’ lineup is sophomore heavy and has no seniors. As a result, East typically gets better as the season unfolds.
“Ryne Champine is a captain as a freshman because he’s so reliable and essentially runs our defense. The progress made by Ryan Gerkin and Tyler Filbert is special; the two work together really well,’ Akers said. “Renato Avendano has been our goal leader (10). One thing we know from our past participation in this event, we need to possess the ball well and play quick. Our speed and ball skills are a way to counter the size some of the opponents have.”
Powerhouse junior varsity event concludes Saturday
By Steve Nemeth
Don’t let the name fool you.
There is nothing “junior” about the quality of play, intensity, skill, desire to win, or the bumps and bruises along the way when it comes to Saturday’s final day of competition in the seventh annual St. Charles North Junior Varsity Invitational.
In case anyone doesn’t recognize the competing schools based on their historic success in IHSA boys soccer, just know that the eight squads sport a combined record of 78-31-25 heading into the conclusion of group play Saturday morning.
The top teams from the pair of four-team groups advance to 12:30 p.m. semifinal matches featuring a group winner versus the opposite group runnerup. The 2 p.m. championship will be the third game of the day for the two finalists.
At 9 a.m., Naperville North (12-1-4) aims to win a third Group A contest in what has proven to be a unique rivalry within the event. St. Charles East (8-2-6) need beat its rival for the top spot. A draw would force the Fighting Saints to rely on some help to guarantee reaching the semifinals. In earlier pool games St. Charles East tied Burlington Central (8-7-2) 0-0 and won 2-0 over Huntley (7-7-3).
For the last three years, the championship has been decided between Naperville North and St. Charles East. The Huskies won via a shootout in 2016, the Saints had shootout success in 2015 and won in regulation in 2014.
The Group B standings feature a 10:30 a.m. showdown between powerhouse Lyons (15-0-2) and the host North Stars (14-1-3). The Lions blanked Schaumburg (0-11-3) 3-0 and Lane (14-2-2) 2-0 for a group-best six points. St. Charles North has four points from a 0-0 draw with Lane and 6-0 victory over the Saxons.
While all games Saturday take place on the St. Charles North Stadium turf or the soccer field behind the bleachers, the previous weekend had games played at St. Charles North and St. Charles East.
“While the attention is always focused understandably on varsity play, we believe at Lyons there’s no shortage of talent on any of our teams, be it JV or frosh-soph,” Lyons JV coach Jose Fregoso said. “And I know the feeling exists in the other programs.”
“You’re talking about a number of communities who value success in soccer, so it really becomes about the name on the front of the jersey,” St. Charles North JV boss Anne Poulin, a legendary name in St. Charles, noted. “Just like the varsity level, we often have a number of players who also compete for clubs, so they may know or even compete with players from another school. That increases the pride both individually and as a team.”
The runnerup spot in both groups is not locked up. In Group A, Burlington Central is hoping for a St. Charles East loss by a large margin to Naperville North. If that is combined with the Rockets scoring heavily in a win versus Huntley, Burlington Central could advance.
For Group B, that’s the same thinking for Lane. The Indians want to add a multi-goal win over Schaumburg to that kind of loss for St. Charles North. However, the showdowns are the pivotal match-ups.
In compiling its unbeaten record through 17 matches, Lyons owns 11 shutout victories while outscoring its opposition 55-8. Leyden had the most success scoring three, but still lost by a goal. St. Charles East and Morton managed 1-1 draws.
“We know both St. Charles schools are very good, and we faced (Naperville) North last year and tied 1-1 in rain. So we expect every match to be a challenge,” coach Fregoso said. “We try to be a possession team, so midfielders Lucas Huneryager and Anthony Staiano are vital to controlling the tempo. They have the ability to hold opponent attacks and feed our forwards.
“Up-top, Teddy Atseff is our most dangerous threat because he’s good with both feet, and I can play him anywhere,” Fregoso added. “Cooper Bearman leads a trio of goalies while an injury early in the year forced me to move Ian Flueck to the middle on defense. He became a starter and hasn’t come out since. He makes the right decisions and provides solid leadership.”
While a few of the teams have additional games, the host North Stars conclude their season with their tourney.
“We’ve been preparing for this tourney all year. We respect every opponent and as tough a task as Lyons is, we don’t believe it’s out of our grasp,” Poulin said. “Our center back Nate Fiedler hasn’t come off the field once. He and goalie Niko Ragano combine with Nick Sommer, Xander Jao and Jake Nickel to give us a rock solid defense.”
“Thomas Weber is a consistent producer offensively with five goals and six assists, but we’ve got five guys with over six goals.”
Both Jonathan Mincieli and Matt Polovin have 11 goals while Faizan Mohiuddin owns 10 to go with seven assists. Adam Bear is also in the mix with seven goals.
“We may rely on 11 to 14 guys, but we can go much deeper,” Poulin said. “Our balance is a result of a lot of selfless play. They’re creative players to start, so if they have an opportunity they’ll take it, but if they see someone in a better position, they’ll make the pass. They’ve galvanized as unit.”
The other North -- as in the Huskies of Naperville -- also boasts strength up and down its lineup. The team's only loss came against Morton.
“It may sound cliché, but our success has really been a team effort,” Naperville North coach Ryan Kuehne said. “Last year we got 14 goals from one guy. This year we’ve got five players who regularly are in on the scoring.
“There are three junior captains who are the backbone on the field. Cameron Ferus at center back, George Polski in the middle, and Michael Gallego up-front lead by example and get everyone to chip in,” Kuehne said. “While we’re creative up-top, we’re very solid with a backline that includes Merrick Flynn, Vince Li, Evan Thompson and Braden Dunlap with freshman goalie Pablo Jara.”
St. Charles East coach Wes Akers notes that unlike most of the other squads, the Saints’ lineup is sophomore heavy and has no seniors. As a result, East typically gets better as the season unfolds.
“Ryne Champine is a captain as a freshman because he’s so reliable and essentially runs our defense. The progress made by Ryan Gerkin and Tyler Filbert is special; the two work together really well,’ Akers said. “Renato Avendano has been our goal leader (10). One thing we know from our past participation in this event, we need to possess the ball well and play quick. Our speed and ball skills are a way to counter the size some of the opponents have.”