Oak Park and River Forest, York clash
in big-time league-opener
By Curt Herron
You know that a conference is strong when it has one team that wins the IHSA Class 3A championship and another that loses on a late goal in the supersectional to the eventual state runnerup. In addition, neither won their league after finishing with 4-2-x records.
That's just what happened a year ago in the West Suburban Conference Silver Division when Hinsdale Central went 5-1-x to win the league title while eventual state champion York, Elite Eight finisher Oak Park and River Forest and Lyons matched records. Due to tiebreakers, the official finish was: the Huskies in second; Lyons in third; and York in fourth.
The conference race will be another dogfight this season based on play during the first two weeks of the 2022 season. According to the updated Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rankings, four of the teams in the Silver Division rank among the top 14 squads in the area. Gold Division member Morton is ranked third.
Lyons leapt from sixth to first after beating previously fourth-ranked New Trier 2-1 for the title of the Northside College Showcase to improve to 4-0-2 on the season. Coach Paul Labbato's Lions, who also open Silver Division play Tuesday at Downers Grove North, have played to draws against Sandburg and Round Lake and beaten new no. 4 Naperville North 2-0.
Coach Jason Fried's Huskies remained with the second rank and are one of three unbeaten and untied teams in the poll with a 5-0-0 record after claiming a 2-1 home cross-town victory over Fenwick on Friday to cap a two-win week.
York is 4-0-1. The Dukes saw their two-season 12-match winning streak halted on Saturday when they needed a score in the final minute to tie Lake Park 2-2 in the title match of the Lancers' Hillner Classic. Coach Jordan Stopka's Dukes, who reached the top spot in their first state finals appearance a year ago, fell from third to seventh in the latest rankings.
Hinsdale Central is also off to a 4-0-1 start and made the biggest leap of any team in the poll when it went from being an honorable mention selection to the now 14th-ranked team. Coach Mike Wiggins' Red Devils beat Downers Grove South and Brother Rice last week and have won four in a row since opening with a 1-1 draw against Oswego East.
The West Suburban Conference has one other highly-ranked team this week. Morton (4-1-0) moved up from seventh to third place. Coach Jim Bageanis' Mustangs defeated Young and Argo last week and have won four in a row since losing 3-1 to no. 8 Naperville Central in their opener.
A year ago, the Huskies and Dukes opened conference play in Elmhurst. Oak Park and River Forest got a goal in the 15th minute from Chicacgoland Soccer all-stater Easton Bogard to capture a 1-0 victory. That was one of three times that York was unable to score a goal during its special 23-2-0 season. The others were a 3-0 setback to Lyons, and the shootout win in the Addison Trail Sectional over St. Charles East.
At last year's matchup, only one team was ranked in the top 25, and that was York which was seventh. Oak Park and River Forest was an honorable mention selection at the time but moved up in the rankings and eventually finished with a 19-4-3 record and came up one win shy of making its third state finals appearance and first since 1995.
York and Oak Park and River Forest kick off Silver Division play again this season on Tuesday when the sides meet at historic Oak Park Stadium at 6:15 p.m.
The Huskies outscored three Indiana sides 10-0 in the Great Midwest Classic in Indianapolis to kick off the season. Then they claimed a 4-1 victory over Riverside-Brookfield and the Friars win in their two nonconference matches last week. Coach Jason Fried is looking forward to see how his team matches up against the defending Class 3A champions.
"At the beginning of the season we are just trying to improve a little each day and progress with each game," he said. "It has been a good start but also we have found many areas that we need to keep improving on.
"York will definitely be a tough game. They have a great team, and we look forward to the challenge. This has become a great conference rivalry and a really fun match. It allows both teams to see where they are at in a playoff environment and just allows both teams to keep improving."
The Huskies have one of the top juniors in the state in forward Bogard. He was one of only three sophomores named to the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association All-State Team last season. The others were Geneva's Hayden Vostal and Collinsville's Adam Reiniger.
Bogard, who was an all-sectional selection as a freshman, finished with 29 goals and 68 points last season. That ranked fourth in goals and points among sophomores state-wide and sixth in points for Class 3A.
Also returning from last year's sectional championship squad are five seniors: defender Tukura Hess; midfielders Isaac Cummings and Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey: and forwards Colin Hayes and Hodari Motley. Midfielder Charlie Maguire joins Bogard as returning juniors.
Oak Park and River Forest follows up on its match with York by competing in the BodyArmor event in Schaumburg Saturday and Sunday. The Huskies get back to conference play at Hinsdale Central on Sept. 13.
York returns eight players from its Class 3A championship team. Seven are seniors: forwards Jose Herrera and Kevin O'Connor; midfielders Joe Hernandez, Ryder Kohl and Frank Rofrano; and defenders Drew Ebner and Cameron Oder. The returning junior is midfielder Gustavo Herrera.
All but Ebner played in at least 15 matches prior to the state finals. Kohl, Hernandez and the Herreras all earned starts in the semifinals and title match.
Jose Herrera earned Chicagoland Soccer All-State recognition a year ago after finishing with 24 goals and 59 points. He ranked 18th among juniors in goals and points in Illinois and had the 11th-best points total among Class 3A players.
After winning 2-1 over St. Patrick in their opener this season, the Dukes outscored their first three Hillner Classic opponents, Wheaton North, Hoffman Estates and St. Francis, by a 20-2 margin.
But it took a header by junior Alexander Menolascina with 34 seconds left in Saturday's match against Lake Park for the Dukes to assure a 2-2 draw and thus capture their third-straight title in the tournament while ending host Lancers’ championship hopes.
With York meeting up with no. 13 St. Charles East on Saturday and no. 22 Elgin on Sept. 12 after its league opener, the hope is that Dukes will respond to their close call with better performances against ranked opponents.
in big-time league-opener
By Curt Herron
You know that a conference is strong when it has one team that wins the IHSA Class 3A championship and another that loses on a late goal in the supersectional to the eventual state runnerup. In addition, neither won their league after finishing with 4-2-x records.
That's just what happened a year ago in the West Suburban Conference Silver Division when Hinsdale Central went 5-1-x to win the league title while eventual state champion York, Elite Eight finisher Oak Park and River Forest and Lyons matched records. Due to tiebreakers, the official finish was: the Huskies in second; Lyons in third; and York in fourth.
The conference race will be another dogfight this season based on play during the first two weeks of the 2022 season. According to the updated Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rankings, four of the teams in the Silver Division rank among the top 14 squads in the area. Gold Division member Morton is ranked third.
Lyons leapt from sixth to first after beating previously fourth-ranked New Trier 2-1 for the title of the Northside College Showcase to improve to 4-0-2 on the season. Coach Paul Labbato's Lions, who also open Silver Division play Tuesday at Downers Grove North, have played to draws against Sandburg and Round Lake and beaten new no. 4 Naperville North 2-0.
Coach Jason Fried's Huskies remained with the second rank and are one of three unbeaten and untied teams in the poll with a 5-0-0 record after claiming a 2-1 home cross-town victory over Fenwick on Friday to cap a two-win week.
York is 4-0-1. The Dukes saw their two-season 12-match winning streak halted on Saturday when they needed a score in the final minute to tie Lake Park 2-2 in the title match of the Lancers' Hillner Classic. Coach Jordan Stopka's Dukes, who reached the top spot in their first state finals appearance a year ago, fell from third to seventh in the latest rankings.
Hinsdale Central is also off to a 4-0-1 start and made the biggest leap of any team in the poll when it went from being an honorable mention selection to the now 14th-ranked team. Coach Mike Wiggins' Red Devils beat Downers Grove South and Brother Rice last week and have won four in a row since opening with a 1-1 draw against Oswego East.
The West Suburban Conference has one other highly-ranked team this week. Morton (4-1-0) moved up from seventh to third place. Coach Jim Bageanis' Mustangs defeated Young and Argo last week and have won four in a row since losing 3-1 to no. 8 Naperville Central in their opener.
A year ago, the Huskies and Dukes opened conference play in Elmhurst. Oak Park and River Forest got a goal in the 15th minute from Chicacgoland Soccer all-stater Easton Bogard to capture a 1-0 victory. That was one of three times that York was unable to score a goal during its special 23-2-0 season. The others were a 3-0 setback to Lyons, and the shootout win in the Addison Trail Sectional over St. Charles East.
At last year's matchup, only one team was ranked in the top 25, and that was York which was seventh. Oak Park and River Forest was an honorable mention selection at the time but moved up in the rankings and eventually finished with a 19-4-3 record and came up one win shy of making its third state finals appearance and first since 1995.
York and Oak Park and River Forest kick off Silver Division play again this season on Tuesday when the sides meet at historic Oak Park Stadium at 6:15 p.m.
The Huskies outscored three Indiana sides 10-0 in the Great Midwest Classic in Indianapolis to kick off the season. Then they claimed a 4-1 victory over Riverside-Brookfield and the Friars win in their two nonconference matches last week. Coach Jason Fried is looking forward to see how his team matches up against the defending Class 3A champions.
"At the beginning of the season we are just trying to improve a little each day and progress with each game," he said. "It has been a good start but also we have found many areas that we need to keep improving on.
"York will definitely be a tough game. They have a great team, and we look forward to the challenge. This has become a great conference rivalry and a really fun match. It allows both teams to see where they are at in a playoff environment and just allows both teams to keep improving."
The Huskies have one of the top juniors in the state in forward Bogard. He was one of only three sophomores named to the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association All-State Team last season. The others were Geneva's Hayden Vostal and Collinsville's Adam Reiniger.
Bogard, who was an all-sectional selection as a freshman, finished with 29 goals and 68 points last season. That ranked fourth in goals and points among sophomores state-wide and sixth in points for Class 3A.
Also returning from last year's sectional championship squad are five seniors: defender Tukura Hess; midfielders Isaac Cummings and Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey: and forwards Colin Hayes and Hodari Motley. Midfielder Charlie Maguire joins Bogard as returning juniors.
Oak Park and River Forest follows up on its match with York by competing in the BodyArmor event in Schaumburg Saturday and Sunday. The Huskies get back to conference play at Hinsdale Central on Sept. 13.
York returns eight players from its Class 3A championship team. Seven are seniors: forwards Jose Herrera and Kevin O'Connor; midfielders Joe Hernandez, Ryder Kohl and Frank Rofrano; and defenders Drew Ebner and Cameron Oder. The returning junior is midfielder Gustavo Herrera.
All but Ebner played in at least 15 matches prior to the state finals. Kohl, Hernandez and the Herreras all earned starts in the semifinals and title match.
Jose Herrera earned Chicagoland Soccer All-State recognition a year ago after finishing with 24 goals and 59 points. He ranked 18th among juniors in goals and points in Illinois and had the 11th-best points total among Class 3A players.
After winning 2-1 over St. Patrick in their opener this season, the Dukes outscored their first three Hillner Classic opponents, Wheaton North, Hoffman Estates and St. Francis, by a 20-2 margin.
But it took a header by junior Alexander Menolascina with 34 seconds left in Saturday's match against Lake Park for the Dukes to assure a 2-2 draw and thus capture their third-straight title in the tournament while ending host Lancers’ championship hopes.
With York meeting up with no. 13 St. Charles East on Saturday and no. 22 Elgin on Sept. 12 after its league opener, the hope is that Dukes will respond to their close call with better performances against ranked opponents.