Season recap: DuKane Conference
By Chris Walker
The inaugural DuKane Conference boys soccer season was overloaded with exciting moments.
Lake Park and Wheaton North tied for the conference championship and the entire league battled them and each other in competitive games.
The new group of eight truly was tough from top to bottom. Guy Callipari, of Wheaton Warrenville South, was the dean of conference mentors amongst a very strong group of young coaches.
It was an exciting debut for the new conference and hinted it could become one of the great ones in the state. Based on one season, you could argue that might have already happened.
In the postseason, Batavia, Lake Park and St. Charles East won regional titles, and St. Charles North lost in the final on its crosstown rival's pitch.
Lake Park represented the conference at state. The Lancers lost 1-0 to eventual three-time champion Naperville North in the semifinals and brought home their second fourth place trophy in six years.
Here’s a look back at the debut season of the DuKane Conference.
Lake Park
Record: 5-1-1 (DKC co-champion); 21-5-3 (overall)
Playoff result: Lost 2-2 (5-4 on PKs) to Collinsville in Class 3A third place game
Preseason Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: Honorable mention
Final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 regular season rank: 19
Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 rank: 8
Even the great and undefeated state champion Naperville North Huskies probably went through a point this season where they struggled for a couple of games, although it never showed up in the loss column. Well, maybe they didn’t.
They were the exception to the circumstance that high school coaches understand as part of a long season. That includes Lake Park’s head guy Sean Crosby.
Crosby watched his Lancers go through such a rough patch at the end of September and beginning of October.
“We had a phenomenal start to our season and played a lot of games in a short amount of time,” he said. “I think we played 12 or 13 games in three or four weeks, and it was just too much on us.
"Then you get your first loss of the season, to St. Charles North, a conference loss. There was so much success going into it, but also a lot of games and a short amount of rest.”
Some of that also had to do with extremely talented opponents, including a 1-1 tie against eventual supersectional foe Streamwood and then the most lopsided loss of the season, a 5-0 drubbing to a very good Elgin squad on Sept. 27.
“I think the lull was us figuring out what was needed to take us from being a good team to a great team, and we needed that experience,” Crosby said. “I think most high school teams in any sport experience that, and it either elevates your game or drops your game for the second half (of the season).
“And we had a lot of confrontation among the team and things that had to get off our chest as players and coaches and as a full team to challenge ourselves. Do we want to finish as conference champs? Great. Do we want to finish the regular season with the (school) wins record? Great. We had higher goals, and I think we needed to push ourselves like that to get to where we are.”
The Lancers bounced back and edged Geneva, 2-1, to start October before tying Wheaton North in a scoreless game that was pivotal in deciding the outcome of conference. Lake Park then faced a tough Dundee-Crown squad, and turned a 2-1 loss into a positive.
“I love the way our team responded,” Crosby said. “We gave our heavy-minute guys a rest against Dundee-Crown, and our second team almost went out and beat them. But getting that rest was needed, and it was gut-check time. We were able to get refocused and what we did these last three weeks was phenomenal.
“I think that wouldn’t have worked if we didn’t have those challenges, and come together as a team and hold each other accountable, and want to be more and demand more of ourselves.”
The Lancers then closed the season with big conference victories over St. Charles East and Wheaton Warrenville South before going on a playoff run that matched the best in school history. It took them all the way to the state finals where they battled Naperville North in the state semifinals before losing 1-0 in double overtime.
“I really couldn't ask for much more from the guys than they gave,” Crosby said. “We fought the defending champs (who would win their third-straight title the next night) for 100 minutes, challenged ourselves to elevate our game to meet their game, and that's what we did. I'm not thrilled the outcome was decided in the fashion that it was, but that's not to take anything away from North and the way in which Jim (Konrad’s) guys played. They're a tremendous team.”
It was an amazing season for the Lancers, but they may not have pulled off the playoff run if not for being able to catch their breath, close the season strong and head into the regional with some momentum.
“Being a captain here, with all our practices and hard work, I’m very proud of our team,” senior Matteo Costa said. “I couldn’t ask for nothing more. I think we really proved as a team we could take on anybody in the state. We proved that throughout the playoffs.”
Franco Presta, Jesus Juarez, Max Ellenbecker, Tom Zakic and Costa all earned all-conference honors.
Wheaton North
Record: 5-1-1 (DKC co-champion); 10-9-2
Playoff result: Lost 4-3 in 2 OT to Glenbard West in Schaumburg regional semifinal
Preseason Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: Honorable mention
Final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 regular season rank: Honorable mention
Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 rank: Unranked
The Falcons will go down in history as co-champions in the first season of the DuKane Conference. Their lone league loss came against St. Charles East and ended a four-game winning streak. It was the team’s longest of the season and included DKC victories over Glenbard North, Wheaton Warrenville South and Geneva, and a solid nonconference result against Downers Grove North.
Wheaton North didn’t get the postseason it hoped for -- the Falcons were upset by Glenbard West 4-3 in a wild double overtime game.
It just goes to show how difficult it is to win a regional title and that what happens in the regular season really means nothing when it comes to the postseason. Consider that last fall the Falcons finished the regular season 5-12-3 but got back-to-back victories in the state tournament to win their first regional since 2013. That run came to an end with a 2-0, double-overtime loss to new conference foe St. Charles North. The North Stars finished fourth in the state last year.
“Winning conference was great, and that’s something no one can ever take away from us,” senior defender Sunday Moo said. “To be able to tie Lake Park for the conference title and to play them a close game was great, and if we would’ve lost we would’ve flipped.”
At the same time, seeing Lake Park go all the way to state while the Falcons couldn’t even soar to a regional title was difficult to accept, especially since Moo and his mates felt they could’ve gone much, much further.
“It’s been in my head that it could’ve been us playing Naperville North (at state like Lake Park did),” Moo said. “I think it was in all of our heads, but it happens.”
Besides the blip in the postseason, the Falcons will look back on the season favorably. They got a taste of what the team could accomplish after the 2017 postseason and that success likely played a big part in what they did in the regular season this fall.
“A lot of us have been together since sophomore year or even freshman year, and we were able to successfully translate that to success,” senior Nathan Heyen said. “We know how to play together, and we knew how the new conference would be, having lost to St. Charles North in the (2017) playoffs. Other than Naperville North, I feel like all the teams we played against, we were as good as the other teams.”
All of Wheaton North’s conference games were decided by two goals or less so they had to battle to finish 5-1-1.
“Regardless of who we played it was always a close,” Heyen said. “When we played Wheaton Warrenville South and Batavia, they didn’t have as good of seasons, but those games were tough.”
Just two years ago Heyen was just a sophomore and the Falcons were struggling big time. They went 2-15-2 and lost all eight of their DuPage Valley Conference games where they were outscored 21-6.
“It’s been quite a transition from just a couple years ago,” Heyen said. “I think with how well we did this season there will be a lot of confidence in the guys who are back next season. We really fed well off of each other’s energy to do well and that helped us keep our confidence.”
A lot of those “each other’s” are seniors. The Falcons will bid farewell to 11, and they were key contributors who were sad with how the season ended, but happy with the ride they enjoyed in their final year.
“It’s kind of my personal anecdote but my mom says these guys are the nicest group of people,” Heyen said. “We had team dinners and did other stuff outside of practice. We all get along so well. It’s been fun.”
St. Charles East
Record: 4-3-0 (third); 13-8-0
Playoff result: Lost 2-2 (6-5 PKs) to Lake Park in Addison Trail Sectional championship
Preseason Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: 25
Final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 regular season rank: Honorable mention
Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 rank: 34
The Saints did a lot of things the right way and were rewarded with some big victories.
That included dominating the Tri-Cities. The Saints beat rivals Batavia and Geneva once apiece and took it one step further against their biggest rival, St. Charles North, not only defeating them in the regular season, but also ending the North Stars season in the regional final.
“I thought this year as a whole we really came together and played as a unit at the end of the year,” junior midfielder Brendan Adams said. “We lost to South Elgin at the start which wasn’t good, but once we got to the DuKane Conference I think we were more competitive than our record shows. Losing to Glenbard North and Wheaton Warrenville South was tough. We felt we were the better team, but they got us.”
Some of that had to do with getting used to new opponents in a new conference.
“The teams were a lot stronger,” Adams said. “They was a wide variety of talent, which was nice to see as well. There was a lot more depth and better, more quality games.”
Adams acknowledged that the Saints expected to be successful this year, tracing the start of the season to well before the IHSA's official date in August.
“We already had a lot of team chemistry coming in,” he said. “A lot of the guys are good friends and everyone else all interconnected over the summer. As the season got started we learned to move the ball better as a unit and were able to figure out what worked best for the team.”
As the season progressed so did the Saints attack. While they didn’t boast a handful of guys with video game-like offensive numbers, collectively they were fun to watch. Even when they didn’t finish, they constantly applied pressure. They scored three or more goals in 11 of their games and were only shut out twice all season.
The Saints were one of three teams in the DuKane Conference to win a regional title. That definitely says a lot about the quality of players and teams in this new conference.
In fact, it took a DuKane team to knock out the Saints -- they fell to Lake Park on PKs in the Addison Trail Sectional championship game after having lost 5-3 to them in the regular season on Oct. 9.
“It was a hard-fought game,” senior Truitt Battin said. “We came out a little weak, but we came back strong, so it was just in God’s hands when it came to penalties. We did our best, and it was a great season.”
That’s how crushing this game can be. The Saints were so close to winning and sending the Lancers home, and the opposite happened. The Lancers then won two more times and found themselves in Hoffman Estates in the state semifinals.
“Our team is really good, a great group of guys,” Battin said. “I think we had a chance of winning state. It just didn’t work out.”
Adams, Battin, freshman Sebastian Carranza and Adams were named all-conference.
St. Charles North
Record: 3-3-1 (fourth); overall 12-6-1
Playoff result: Lost 2-0 to St. Charles East in St. Charles East Regional championship
Preseason Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: 10
Final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 regular season rank: Honorable mention
Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 rank: 46
It was unlikely the North Stars were going to live up to what they accomplished in 2017. They were first-time bracket champions in the PepsiCo and made their first trip to state, taking fourth in Class 3A.
Besides those outstanding accomplishments, they also developed relationships with each other that were going to be hard to beat.
Said coach Eric Willson at state last year, “I think we've had a lot of teams who've had a decent amount of chemistry, but I'm not sure we've had a group that's been this kind of 'All in it for each other' kind of deal. And I think this hopefully teaches some of the younger guys how important that is and how far that can take you."
The North Stars were upended by St. Charles East in a regional final, but they still enjoyed some nice success in the new conference and won 12 games.
There was major adversity to overcome as well for the North Stars after seven players were dismissed from the team in October.
“We responded well to that,” senior Joey Sommer said. “We were there for each other. We all helped out. We did a good job with that. It was a great season. I think they’re going to do really well next season. I look forward to seeing it.”
The North Stars refocused their effort as they headed to the state tournament.
“I thought we really came together as a team by the end of the season,” Sommer said. “At the beginning we weren’t as strong but by the end we had that bond between players, and I thought we played a lot better.”
That included the regional title loss to St. Charles East, which Sommer felt the North Stars played better in than they did in the regular season loss to them.
“We just needed to finish a couple chances,” he said. “But I was still happy with our season. I thought it was a fun year. We did pretty well, even after coming off of last year. It was a good senior year.”
As for the new conference, Sommer said the transition was pretty seamless, especially with known foes in the Tri-Cities remaining together.
“I think all the games in the conference were pretty close, between a goal or two,” he said. “The competition was good among all the other teams, a lot of fun.”
Sommer and Matt Beaulieu represented the North Stars as all-conference selections this season.
Batavia
Record: 2-3-2 (fifth); 4-12-3
Playoff result: Lost 3-0 to Naperville North in Geneva sectional semifinal
Preseason Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: Unranked
Final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 regular season rank: Unranked
Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 rank: Unranked
Coaches are known for talking about having a fresh record once the playoffs begin, despite playing a full regular season.
It’s hard to argue with that thought, although a team’s record in the regular season plays a huge part in the seed they get and the likelihood that they’re going to go on a successful playoff run.
Batavia played like a new team when it entered its own regional with just three wins on the season and without even a two-game winning streak since it won three-straight games (Oswego East, Larkin, Lemont) from Sept. 23 - Oct. 2 in 2017.
The Bulldogs proceeded to beat 14-win Oswego East, a program they have still have never lost to, before sneaking past Lockport in the regional title.
Their run came to a 3-0 end against Naperville North, the now Class 3A three-time defending state champions, in a Geneva Sectional semifinal.
“Nobody expected anything out of us in the postseason,” Bulldogs coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “They had a nice finish. This was a good run.
“Our conference had three regional title winners – any other conference have that?”
Like other coaches in the conference, Gianfrancesco bought in quickly to the new conference’s parity.
“I enjoyed the teams and coaches in the new conference,” he said. “There were competitive games from top to bottom every given time, and I was happy to see Lake Park make the Final Four. They represented our conference well.”
The strong finish was especially rewarding for Batavia’s 16 seniors, many of whom played in a limited capacity a season ago. They had to step up and make big-time contributions this fall.
“Most of us have known each other since elementary school so having 16 seniors just made it amazing,” senior Jacob Mefford said. “I think us winning the regional felt like our state. We showed we weren’t just a team you could walk over.”
Other seniors concurred.
“I think we had that feeling that if we peaked at the right time we could win a regional which would be like state,” Adler Palos said. “I think it was good for us to refocus and put all our energy into doing that.”
Having their season end to the eventual state champions while also playing the fourth place team (Lake Park) during the regular season allowed the Bulldogs to battle with two of the best teams in the state. That opportunity was a highlight.
“I think schools probably looked at us as just a 16th-seed that couldn’t do anything, so it’s kind of cool that we played two teams that made it to the Final Four and we only lost 3-0 to North,” Palos said. “We didn’t get completely smashed by them which was cool and to know that we could play against them.”
Few teams ever are able to enjoy a bout of success like the Bulldogs did after struggling all season long.
“For many of us seniors we had been working for 10 or more years playing to get this,” Palos said. “Hopefully the culture we left for the juniors allows them to build the same chemistry we had. That was a big part of why we were able to be successful at the end.”
The Bulldogs never had a problem getting it done in the classroom.
“I think we had 16 out of 20 players who were on the Honor Roll,” Palos said. “To be that focused on school and to be able to go out to practice and adapt so quickly after many of the guys weren’t on varsity last year says a lot.”
Wheaton Warrenville South
Record: 2-4-1 (sixth); 5-10-2
Playoff result: Lost 1-0 to Elk Grove in Elk Grove Regional quarterfinal
Preseason Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: Honorable mention
Final Chicagoland Soccer Regular Season rank: Unranked
Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 rank: Unranked
The Tigers found themselves in a battle this fall.
A highlight week where they shut out league foes Glenbard North and St. Charles East was followed by one where they were blanked 4-0 by St. Charles North and 5-0 by Lake Park.
"The effort has always been there this year with this team,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said. “We've had some ups and downs, which is to be expected when underclassmen are playing with the varsity for the first time. The progress has been slow, but there's been plenty. We've seen this team improve in so many ways.”
Senior goalkeeper Joe Adamek recalls an absolute rough beginning to the season, beginning with a 7-1 season-opening loss loss to Oswego on Aug. 27.
“That was a tough start, and we looked like we didn’t know what we needed to do,” he said. “But as the season progressed we got better and better.”
It seemed like the Tigers had something working once October rolled around. They upset St. Charles East, 2-0 but ended the regular season with two-straight losses and didn’t recover to go on a post-season run.
“When we beat St. Charles East we were really clicking,” Callipari said. “But then Declin (Ermer) got his wisdom teeth out so that helped take us out of our rhythm. We didn’t end as good as we wanted to, but it was a good stepping stone for the program to get back toward a winning tradition.”
As far as being a part of a new conference, Adamek said the Tigers felt at home with it and that their opponents were strong.
“We thought it was very competitive and similar to the DVC in that way that it didn’t get any easier,” he said. “The difference was that there wasn’t Naperville North ... and almost everyone was at the same level. Anyone could beat anyone on any given night was our feeling.”
Sumani Husseini and Ermer were named to the all-conference team for the Tigers.
"We made progress all throughout the year," Callipari said. "So the hope is that will carry over to next fall when we get back together with players who had an opportunity to play and learn how to carry themselves as men in our program from a terrific group of seniors.”
Geneva
Record: 1-3-3 (seventh); 4-12-3
Playoff result: Lost 3-2 to Plainfield East in Bolingbrook Regional quarterfinal
Preseason Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: Unranked
Final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 regular season rank: Unranked
Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 rank: Unranked
Geneva had just its second 10-or-more win season last fall but proved unable to find similar success this season.
“I think it was a rebuilding year after losing everyone last year,” senior midfielder Jack Belloli said. “We started this season with some strong opponents with Naperville North and Wheaton Academy. Those tough tests really helped us later in the season. We were close a lot. It might have been different (at the start of the season) ... that was just a matter of inexperience hurting us.”
Records usually aren’t great when a team rebuilds and faces a stiff schedule. Geneva’s final tally really didn’t represent how solid of a team they were.
“Being removed for a bit, this was a growing season so it was good to get guys experience at the varsity level,” Viking coach Jason Bhatta said. “Our strength of schedule was pretty tough, facing the state champs (Naperville North) and having the strong conference with Lake Park and the St. Charles (schools). Everyone is good so it was a good growing year to get ready to play at this level.”
The Vikings didn’t get their first conference win until their final conference game, when they beat Glenbard North, 3-2, on Oct. 9. Still, despite just having one win, they battled, tying Batavia, St. Charles North and Wheaton Warrenville South and losing a close 2-1 game to Lake Park.
“The high school soccer game is very unpredictable,” Belloli said. “I think it’s not always the better team or the one with better players that wins each game. We got some results here and there. There were some where we wondered why we didn’t get them, but that’s high school soccer.”
Belloli, one of nine seniors that the Vikings will lose, was the only Geneva player to be named to the inaugural DuKane all-conference team.
“You always fill in spots and have guys make that jump,” Bhatta said. “We have a good base coming back. Only a few starters are graduating this year so it’s not as big of a restructuring for next year. The boys responded well this year playing against some really good teams.”
The Vikings, like the rest of the teams in the DuKane Conference, seem to fit in nicely.
“It was tough from top to bottom,” Bhatta said. “And then we had a tough nonconference schedule being in the Naperville (Best of the West) tournament. Even though we didn’t have as many wins, we competed. We were tied with Lake Park for awhile so for our boys to see a team we challenged in conference go to state helps them out.”
Expect more of the same next year in conference.
“All these teams historically are tough even during down years,” Bhatta said. “It’s pretty tight from top to bottom so I’m excited to see where we’re at next year.”
Glenbard North
Record: 1-5-1 (eighth); 5-10-4
Playoff result: Lost 3-0 to St. Charles North in St. Charles East regional semifinal
Preseason Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: Unranked
Final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: Unranked
Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 rank: Unranked
Escaping the DuPage Valley Conference didn’t get the Panthers out of the basement in the new DuKane Conference, but they did earn pick up a victory and a tie in conference action. The Panthers upset St. Charles East in a game that affected the conference title race.
“We started off good, but we weren’t scoring a lot of goals and that caught up with us once we starting seeing some teams that were more dynamic in their attack,” Panthers coach Spero Mandakas said. “Then we had to score two or three goals to win, and we weren’t built for that.”
The Panthers started strong going 4-1-1 in their first six games, but then went 1-9-3 the rest of the way.
“We ran into a buzzsaw,” Mandakas said. “We started off conference by beating St. Charles East and then we nearly beat Batavia while playing a man down and kind of dominated the game. We were up 2-0 against Geneva and lost 3-2, and we outshot Wheaton Warrenville South but struggled to put the game away.”
Expectations weren’t high for the Panthers with limited experience on the roster and a new coach, but they performed well and there’s a lot of promise looking ahead.
“We only had four or five guys with varsity experience coming in so we had a pretty big group of inexperienced guys kind of working into a new system,” Mandakas said. “There were a lot of sort of developmental things we had to do tactically with the system which set us back a little.”
Now going through end-of-season exit meetings with the players, Mandakas is hopeful for next year.
“We’re going to start in January with speed and strength programs,” he said. “We only had seven of our varsity guys (participate) last summer so hopefully we’ll get a lot more. With 15 juniors we will have a more experienced and senior-heavy group next year.”
By Chris Walker
The inaugural DuKane Conference boys soccer season was overloaded with exciting moments.
Lake Park and Wheaton North tied for the conference championship and the entire league battled them and each other in competitive games.
The new group of eight truly was tough from top to bottom. Guy Callipari, of Wheaton Warrenville South, was the dean of conference mentors amongst a very strong group of young coaches.
It was an exciting debut for the new conference and hinted it could become one of the great ones in the state. Based on one season, you could argue that might have already happened.
In the postseason, Batavia, Lake Park and St. Charles East won regional titles, and St. Charles North lost in the final on its crosstown rival's pitch.
Lake Park represented the conference at state. The Lancers lost 1-0 to eventual three-time champion Naperville North in the semifinals and brought home their second fourth place trophy in six years.
Here’s a look back at the debut season of the DuKane Conference.
Lake Park
Record: 5-1-1 (DKC co-champion); 21-5-3 (overall)
Playoff result: Lost 2-2 (5-4 on PKs) to Collinsville in Class 3A third place game
Preseason Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: Honorable mention
Final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 regular season rank: 19
Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 rank: 8
Even the great and undefeated state champion Naperville North Huskies probably went through a point this season where they struggled for a couple of games, although it never showed up in the loss column. Well, maybe they didn’t.
They were the exception to the circumstance that high school coaches understand as part of a long season. That includes Lake Park’s head guy Sean Crosby.
Crosby watched his Lancers go through such a rough patch at the end of September and beginning of October.
“We had a phenomenal start to our season and played a lot of games in a short amount of time,” he said. “I think we played 12 or 13 games in three or four weeks, and it was just too much on us.
"Then you get your first loss of the season, to St. Charles North, a conference loss. There was so much success going into it, but also a lot of games and a short amount of rest.”
Some of that also had to do with extremely talented opponents, including a 1-1 tie against eventual supersectional foe Streamwood and then the most lopsided loss of the season, a 5-0 drubbing to a very good Elgin squad on Sept. 27.
“I think the lull was us figuring out what was needed to take us from being a good team to a great team, and we needed that experience,” Crosby said. “I think most high school teams in any sport experience that, and it either elevates your game or drops your game for the second half (of the season).
“And we had a lot of confrontation among the team and things that had to get off our chest as players and coaches and as a full team to challenge ourselves. Do we want to finish as conference champs? Great. Do we want to finish the regular season with the (school) wins record? Great. We had higher goals, and I think we needed to push ourselves like that to get to where we are.”
The Lancers bounced back and edged Geneva, 2-1, to start October before tying Wheaton North in a scoreless game that was pivotal in deciding the outcome of conference. Lake Park then faced a tough Dundee-Crown squad, and turned a 2-1 loss into a positive.
“I love the way our team responded,” Crosby said. “We gave our heavy-minute guys a rest against Dundee-Crown, and our second team almost went out and beat them. But getting that rest was needed, and it was gut-check time. We were able to get refocused and what we did these last three weeks was phenomenal.
“I think that wouldn’t have worked if we didn’t have those challenges, and come together as a team and hold each other accountable, and want to be more and demand more of ourselves.”
The Lancers then closed the season with big conference victories over St. Charles East and Wheaton Warrenville South before going on a playoff run that matched the best in school history. It took them all the way to the state finals where they battled Naperville North in the state semifinals before losing 1-0 in double overtime.
“I really couldn't ask for much more from the guys than they gave,” Crosby said. “We fought the defending champs (who would win their third-straight title the next night) for 100 minutes, challenged ourselves to elevate our game to meet their game, and that's what we did. I'm not thrilled the outcome was decided in the fashion that it was, but that's not to take anything away from North and the way in which Jim (Konrad’s) guys played. They're a tremendous team.”
It was an amazing season for the Lancers, but they may not have pulled off the playoff run if not for being able to catch their breath, close the season strong and head into the regional with some momentum.
“Being a captain here, with all our practices and hard work, I’m very proud of our team,” senior Matteo Costa said. “I couldn’t ask for nothing more. I think we really proved as a team we could take on anybody in the state. We proved that throughout the playoffs.”
Franco Presta, Jesus Juarez, Max Ellenbecker, Tom Zakic and Costa all earned all-conference honors.
Wheaton North
Record: 5-1-1 (DKC co-champion); 10-9-2
Playoff result: Lost 4-3 in 2 OT to Glenbard West in Schaumburg regional semifinal
Preseason Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: Honorable mention
Final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 regular season rank: Honorable mention
Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 rank: Unranked
The Falcons will go down in history as co-champions in the first season of the DuKane Conference. Their lone league loss came against St. Charles East and ended a four-game winning streak. It was the team’s longest of the season and included DKC victories over Glenbard North, Wheaton Warrenville South and Geneva, and a solid nonconference result against Downers Grove North.
Wheaton North didn’t get the postseason it hoped for -- the Falcons were upset by Glenbard West 4-3 in a wild double overtime game.
It just goes to show how difficult it is to win a regional title and that what happens in the regular season really means nothing when it comes to the postseason. Consider that last fall the Falcons finished the regular season 5-12-3 but got back-to-back victories in the state tournament to win their first regional since 2013. That run came to an end with a 2-0, double-overtime loss to new conference foe St. Charles North. The North Stars finished fourth in the state last year.
“Winning conference was great, and that’s something no one can ever take away from us,” senior defender Sunday Moo said. “To be able to tie Lake Park for the conference title and to play them a close game was great, and if we would’ve lost we would’ve flipped.”
At the same time, seeing Lake Park go all the way to state while the Falcons couldn’t even soar to a regional title was difficult to accept, especially since Moo and his mates felt they could’ve gone much, much further.
“It’s been in my head that it could’ve been us playing Naperville North (at state like Lake Park did),” Moo said. “I think it was in all of our heads, but it happens.”
Besides the blip in the postseason, the Falcons will look back on the season favorably. They got a taste of what the team could accomplish after the 2017 postseason and that success likely played a big part in what they did in the regular season this fall.
“A lot of us have been together since sophomore year or even freshman year, and we were able to successfully translate that to success,” senior Nathan Heyen said. “We know how to play together, and we knew how the new conference would be, having lost to St. Charles North in the (2017) playoffs. Other than Naperville North, I feel like all the teams we played against, we were as good as the other teams.”
All of Wheaton North’s conference games were decided by two goals or less so they had to battle to finish 5-1-1.
“Regardless of who we played it was always a close,” Heyen said. “When we played Wheaton Warrenville South and Batavia, they didn’t have as good of seasons, but those games were tough.”
Just two years ago Heyen was just a sophomore and the Falcons were struggling big time. They went 2-15-2 and lost all eight of their DuPage Valley Conference games where they were outscored 21-6.
“It’s been quite a transition from just a couple years ago,” Heyen said. “I think with how well we did this season there will be a lot of confidence in the guys who are back next season. We really fed well off of each other’s energy to do well and that helped us keep our confidence.”
A lot of those “each other’s” are seniors. The Falcons will bid farewell to 11, and they were key contributors who were sad with how the season ended, but happy with the ride they enjoyed in their final year.
“It’s kind of my personal anecdote but my mom says these guys are the nicest group of people,” Heyen said. “We had team dinners and did other stuff outside of practice. We all get along so well. It’s been fun.”
St. Charles East
Record: 4-3-0 (third); 13-8-0
Playoff result: Lost 2-2 (6-5 PKs) to Lake Park in Addison Trail Sectional championship
Preseason Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: 25
Final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 regular season rank: Honorable mention
Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 rank: 34
The Saints did a lot of things the right way and were rewarded with some big victories.
That included dominating the Tri-Cities. The Saints beat rivals Batavia and Geneva once apiece and took it one step further against their biggest rival, St. Charles North, not only defeating them in the regular season, but also ending the North Stars season in the regional final.
“I thought this year as a whole we really came together and played as a unit at the end of the year,” junior midfielder Brendan Adams said. “We lost to South Elgin at the start which wasn’t good, but once we got to the DuKane Conference I think we were more competitive than our record shows. Losing to Glenbard North and Wheaton Warrenville South was tough. We felt we were the better team, but they got us.”
Some of that had to do with getting used to new opponents in a new conference.
“The teams were a lot stronger,” Adams said. “They was a wide variety of talent, which was nice to see as well. There was a lot more depth and better, more quality games.”
Adams acknowledged that the Saints expected to be successful this year, tracing the start of the season to well before the IHSA's official date in August.
“We already had a lot of team chemistry coming in,” he said. “A lot of the guys are good friends and everyone else all interconnected over the summer. As the season got started we learned to move the ball better as a unit and were able to figure out what worked best for the team.”
As the season progressed so did the Saints attack. While they didn’t boast a handful of guys with video game-like offensive numbers, collectively they were fun to watch. Even when they didn’t finish, they constantly applied pressure. They scored three or more goals in 11 of their games and were only shut out twice all season.
The Saints were one of three teams in the DuKane Conference to win a regional title. That definitely says a lot about the quality of players and teams in this new conference.
In fact, it took a DuKane team to knock out the Saints -- they fell to Lake Park on PKs in the Addison Trail Sectional championship game after having lost 5-3 to them in the regular season on Oct. 9.
“It was a hard-fought game,” senior Truitt Battin said. “We came out a little weak, but we came back strong, so it was just in God’s hands when it came to penalties. We did our best, and it was a great season.”
That’s how crushing this game can be. The Saints were so close to winning and sending the Lancers home, and the opposite happened. The Lancers then won two more times and found themselves in Hoffman Estates in the state semifinals.
“Our team is really good, a great group of guys,” Battin said. “I think we had a chance of winning state. It just didn’t work out.”
Adams, Battin, freshman Sebastian Carranza and Adams were named all-conference.
St. Charles North
Record: 3-3-1 (fourth); overall 12-6-1
Playoff result: Lost 2-0 to St. Charles East in St. Charles East Regional championship
Preseason Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: 10
Final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 regular season rank: Honorable mention
Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 rank: 46
It was unlikely the North Stars were going to live up to what they accomplished in 2017. They were first-time bracket champions in the PepsiCo and made their first trip to state, taking fourth in Class 3A.
Besides those outstanding accomplishments, they also developed relationships with each other that were going to be hard to beat.
Said coach Eric Willson at state last year, “I think we've had a lot of teams who've had a decent amount of chemistry, but I'm not sure we've had a group that's been this kind of 'All in it for each other' kind of deal. And I think this hopefully teaches some of the younger guys how important that is and how far that can take you."
The North Stars were upended by St. Charles East in a regional final, but they still enjoyed some nice success in the new conference and won 12 games.
There was major adversity to overcome as well for the North Stars after seven players were dismissed from the team in October.
“We responded well to that,” senior Joey Sommer said. “We were there for each other. We all helped out. We did a good job with that. It was a great season. I think they’re going to do really well next season. I look forward to seeing it.”
The North Stars refocused their effort as they headed to the state tournament.
“I thought we really came together as a team by the end of the season,” Sommer said. “At the beginning we weren’t as strong but by the end we had that bond between players, and I thought we played a lot better.”
That included the regional title loss to St. Charles East, which Sommer felt the North Stars played better in than they did in the regular season loss to them.
“We just needed to finish a couple chances,” he said. “But I was still happy with our season. I thought it was a fun year. We did pretty well, even after coming off of last year. It was a good senior year.”
As for the new conference, Sommer said the transition was pretty seamless, especially with known foes in the Tri-Cities remaining together.
“I think all the games in the conference were pretty close, between a goal or two,” he said. “The competition was good among all the other teams, a lot of fun.”
Sommer and Matt Beaulieu represented the North Stars as all-conference selections this season.
Batavia
Record: 2-3-2 (fifth); 4-12-3
Playoff result: Lost 3-0 to Naperville North in Geneva sectional semifinal
Preseason Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: Unranked
Final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 regular season rank: Unranked
Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 rank: Unranked
Coaches are known for talking about having a fresh record once the playoffs begin, despite playing a full regular season.
It’s hard to argue with that thought, although a team’s record in the regular season plays a huge part in the seed they get and the likelihood that they’re going to go on a successful playoff run.
Batavia played like a new team when it entered its own regional with just three wins on the season and without even a two-game winning streak since it won three-straight games (Oswego East, Larkin, Lemont) from Sept. 23 - Oct. 2 in 2017.
The Bulldogs proceeded to beat 14-win Oswego East, a program they have still have never lost to, before sneaking past Lockport in the regional title.
Their run came to a 3-0 end against Naperville North, the now Class 3A three-time defending state champions, in a Geneva Sectional semifinal.
“Nobody expected anything out of us in the postseason,” Bulldogs coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “They had a nice finish. This was a good run.
“Our conference had three regional title winners – any other conference have that?”
Like other coaches in the conference, Gianfrancesco bought in quickly to the new conference’s parity.
“I enjoyed the teams and coaches in the new conference,” he said. “There were competitive games from top to bottom every given time, and I was happy to see Lake Park make the Final Four. They represented our conference well.”
The strong finish was especially rewarding for Batavia’s 16 seniors, many of whom played in a limited capacity a season ago. They had to step up and make big-time contributions this fall.
“Most of us have known each other since elementary school so having 16 seniors just made it amazing,” senior Jacob Mefford said. “I think us winning the regional felt like our state. We showed we weren’t just a team you could walk over.”
Other seniors concurred.
“I think we had that feeling that if we peaked at the right time we could win a regional which would be like state,” Adler Palos said. “I think it was good for us to refocus and put all our energy into doing that.”
Having their season end to the eventual state champions while also playing the fourth place team (Lake Park) during the regular season allowed the Bulldogs to battle with two of the best teams in the state. That opportunity was a highlight.
“I think schools probably looked at us as just a 16th-seed that couldn’t do anything, so it’s kind of cool that we played two teams that made it to the Final Four and we only lost 3-0 to North,” Palos said. “We didn’t get completely smashed by them which was cool and to know that we could play against them.”
Few teams ever are able to enjoy a bout of success like the Bulldogs did after struggling all season long.
“For many of us seniors we had been working for 10 or more years playing to get this,” Palos said. “Hopefully the culture we left for the juniors allows them to build the same chemistry we had. That was a big part of why we were able to be successful at the end.”
The Bulldogs never had a problem getting it done in the classroom.
“I think we had 16 out of 20 players who were on the Honor Roll,” Palos said. “To be that focused on school and to be able to go out to practice and adapt so quickly after many of the guys weren’t on varsity last year says a lot.”
Wheaton Warrenville South
Record: 2-4-1 (sixth); 5-10-2
Playoff result: Lost 1-0 to Elk Grove in Elk Grove Regional quarterfinal
Preseason Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: Honorable mention
Final Chicagoland Soccer Regular Season rank: Unranked
Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 rank: Unranked
The Tigers found themselves in a battle this fall.
A highlight week where they shut out league foes Glenbard North and St. Charles East was followed by one where they were blanked 4-0 by St. Charles North and 5-0 by Lake Park.
"The effort has always been there this year with this team,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said. “We've had some ups and downs, which is to be expected when underclassmen are playing with the varsity for the first time. The progress has been slow, but there's been plenty. We've seen this team improve in so many ways.”
Senior goalkeeper Joe Adamek recalls an absolute rough beginning to the season, beginning with a 7-1 season-opening loss loss to Oswego on Aug. 27.
“That was a tough start, and we looked like we didn’t know what we needed to do,” he said. “But as the season progressed we got better and better.”
It seemed like the Tigers had something working once October rolled around. They upset St. Charles East, 2-0 but ended the regular season with two-straight losses and didn’t recover to go on a post-season run.
“When we beat St. Charles East we were really clicking,” Callipari said. “But then Declin (Ermer) got his wisdom teeth out so that helped take us out of our rhythm. We didn’t end as good as we wanted to, but it was a good stepping stone for the program to get back toward a winning tradition.”
As far as being a part of a new conference, Adamek said the Tigers felt at home with it and that their opponents were strong.
“We thought it was very competitive and similar to the DVC in that way that it didn’t get any easier,” he said. “The difference was that there wasn’t Naperville North ... and almost everyone was at the same level. Anyone could beat anyone on any given night was our feeling.”
Sumani Husseini and Ermer were named to the all-conference team for the Tigers.
"We made progress all throughout the year," Callipari said. "So the hope is that will carry over to next fall when we get back together with players who had an opportunity to play and learn how to carry themselves as men in our program from a terrific group of seniors.”
Geneva
Record: 1-3-3 (seventh); 4-12-3
Playoff result: Lost 3-2 to Plainfield East in Bolingbrook Regional quarterfinal
Preseason Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: Unranked
Final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 regular season rank: Unranked
Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 rank: Unranked
Geneva had just its second 10-or-more win season last fall but proved unable to find similar success this season.
“I think it was a rebuilding year after losing everyone last year,” senior midfielder Jack Belloli said. “We started this season with some strong opponents with Naperville North and Wheaton Academy. Those tough tests really helped us later in the season. We were close a lot. It might have been different (at the start of the season) ... that was just a matter of inexperience hurting us.”
Records usually aren’t great when a team rebuilds and faces a stiff schedule. Geneva’s final tally really didn’t represent how solid of a team they were.
“Being removed for a bit, this was a growing season so it was good to get guys experience at the varsity level,” Viking coach Jason Bhatta said. “Our strength of schedule was pretty tough, facing the state champs (Naperville North) and having the strong conference with Lake Park and the St. Charles (schools). Everyone is good so it was a good growing year to get ready to play at this level.”
The Vikings didn’t get their first conference win until their final conference game, when they beat Glenbard North, 3-2, on Oct. 9. Still, despite just having one win, they battled, tying Batavia, St. Charles North and Wheaton Warrenville South and losing a close 2-1 game to Lake Park.
“The high school soccer game is very unpredictable,” Belloli said. “I think it’s not always the better team or the one with better players that wins each game. We got some results here and there. There were some where we wondered why we didn’t get them, but that’s high school soccer.”
Belloli, one of nine seniors that the Vikings will lose, was the only Geneva player to be named to the inaugural DuKane all-conference team.
“You always fill in spots and have guys make that jump,” Bhatta said. “We have a good base coming back. Only a few starters are graduating this year so it’s not as big of a restructuring for next year. The boys responded well this year playing against some really good teams.”
The Vikings, like the rest of the teams in the DuKane Conference, seem to fit in nicely.
“It was tough from top to bottom,” Bhatta said. “And then we had a tough nonconference schedule being in the Naperville (Best of the West) tournament. Even though we didn’t have as many wins, we competed. We were tied with Lake Park for awhile so for our boys to see a team we challenged in conference go to state helps them out.”
Expect more of the same next year in conference.
“All these teams historically are tough even during down years,” Bhatta said. “It’s pretty tight from top to bottom so I’m excited to see where we’re at next year.”
Glenbard North
Record: 1-5-1 (eighth); 5-10-4
Playoff result: Lost 3-0 to St. Charles North in St. Charles East regional semifinal
Preseason Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: Unranked
Final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 rank: Unranked
Chicagoland Soccer Final 50 rank: Unranked
Escaping the DuPage Valley Conference didn’t get the Panthers out of the basement in the new DuKane Conference, but they did earn pick up a victory and a tie in conference action. The Panthers upset St. Charles East in a game that affected the conference title race.
“We started off good, but we weren’t scoring a lot of goals and that caught up with us once we starting seeing some teams that were more dynamic in their attack,” Panthers coach Spero Mandakas said. “Then we had to score two or three goals to win, and we weren’t built for that.”
The Panthers started strong going 4-1-1 in their first six games, but then went 1-9-3 the rest of the way.
“We ran into a buzzsaw,” Mandakas said. “We started off conference by beating St. Charles East and then we nearly beat Batavia while playing a man down and kind of dominated the game. We were up 2-0 against Geneva and lost 3-2, and we outshot Wheaton Warrenville South but struggled to put the game away.”
Expectations weren’t high for the Panthers with limited experience on the roster and a new coach, but they performed well and there’s a lot of promise looking ahead.
“We only had four or five guys with varsity experience coming in so we had a pretty big group of inexperienced guys kind of working into a new system,” Mandakas said. “There were a lot of sort of developmental things we had to do tactically with the system which set us back a little.”
Now going through end-of-season exit meetings with the players, Mandakas is hopeful for next year.
“We’re going to start in January with speed and strength programs,” he said. “We only had seven of our varsity guys (participate) last summer so hopefully we’ll get a lot more. With 15 juniors we will have a more experienced and senior-heavy group next year.”