Bradley-Bourbonnais downs
Conant for 3rd place finish
Boilermakers capture 1st state trophy with 2-0 win
By Mike Garofola
HOFFMAN ESTATES -- Some think it's the soccer match nobody wants to be a part of -- the third place game.
But just a few minutes into this 3A third place contest late on Saturday afternoon, it was clear both Bradley-Bourbonnais and Conant had come to play for more than the big trophy which awaited them afterwards.
Thanks to goals on either side of the half, Bradley-Bourbonnais (25-1-0) won a gutsy 2-0 victory over the Cougars, whose thrilling knockout campaign came to an end for good after its back-to-back losses in the home park of their conference rivals Hoffman Estates.
"It was a good run," began Conant manager, Jason Franco, whose lads secured the school's third state trophy and first since 1999 when a Tony Kees-led side finished fourth.
"It's all good at this point, despite ending the season with this loss."
"The guys were struggling a little bit after our tough loss (4-2) the night before to Barrington. But they arrived at school this morning (upbeat) - excited about a free breakfast, and (then) went out and fought hard, just as I expected, to give a very good side a real battle for 80 minutes."
The coach, alongside seniors, Kevin Sindewald and Nico Scimeca, all agreed the dramatic turnaround of events against Barrington could have done in plenty of clubs, but not this one, according to the four-year veteran, and two-time all-sectional midfielder, Sindewald, who wore the captain's armband with a great deal of pride for Franco and his staff.
"Things changed so quick for us against Barrington. We went up 2-0 in that first half, and everything had the same confident feeling that we had all throughout the playoffs, but that first goal just moments after the half really seemed to 'break' us, and soon we were chasing a great Barrington team," opined Sindewald.
"But I wasn't worried about how we would come out today. All of us knew there could be only two teams in the state that could finish with a win, and that was our goal from the moment we arrived here."
The same could be said for Bradley-Bourbonnais and its fine manager Rohan Robinson, who already knew his lads belonged in this 3A Final Four, even if many from north of Interstate 80 did not.
"We didn't have to prove anything this weekend, we had done it all year long; (but) we also knew our opponents here might not be as sure as us. I feel like we showed we belonged last night in our semifinal with Naperville North," said Robinson, who appears to have the talent and firepower coming back to almost insure another trip here next fall.
One whom Robinson will look to one year from now will be junior, Anthony Markanich, who, keen to increase his astounding goal tally on the season, did just that at 10 minutes. He redirected a superb long-range free-kick from Efrain Davila past a diving Piotr Pyz, the Cougars keeper.
Davila made a name for himself over these two days with his sublime touch, creative and crafty play in the middle of the park and his wonderful ability to strike one long-range free-kick after another. His serves gave both Naperville North and Conant more than their fair share of nervous moments.
With his two helpers in two matches, Davila, a junior, finished with a dazzling 40 assists in the season. Anthony Markanich, and his brother Nicholas, both who played with the Fire Academy last fall, totaled nearly 80 goals between them, with Nicholas leading the way with 44.
"When those two came back from club, it helped put the finishing touches on our roster, which was already strong and experienced, and ready to make a good run at things this season. When you add a couple of players who can attack and score like those two can, it made us that much more dangerous," said a proud Robinson.
The Cougars (16-9-0) bounced back after conceding the early Anthony Markanich strike and begin to get themselves back into the match during the last quarter hour of play -- but only after holding their collective breathe when Nicholas Markanich junior grazed the bar twice.
Conant's Sindewald sent Nuh Ozbag free down the left side, and his cross to the back post nearly found Sota Ono. Then just before the break, the Cougars created consecutive corners from Jason Fillingim, only to have both parried out of the area by the Boilermakers defense.
The halftime interval did not break the rhythm of the Cougars (16-9-0). They weathered a brief offensive storm by their opponents before firing back with a rampant attack for the next half hour that produced several quality chances that the Boilermakers were able to keep out of the back of their net.
Fillingim, who enjoyed a terrific tournament over the two days, whipped a lovely free-kick effort to the back post when Mateusz Pasula nearly caught up to. Later, Ono initiated a Cougars counter, which ended with Scimeca going over the bar with his 30-yard effort.
In the 63rd minute, when Fillingim, Brandon Chlopek and Pasula surged dangerously close to shooting distance, a sharp tackle and clearing effort from Jacob Rodriguez saved the day for the Boilermakers.
"It feels great to come away from here with the third place trophy and for the few seniors on this team (to) leave a legacy. We all hope next year's team can follow in our footsteps with another trip here, and maybe a state title," said Rodriguez, who had a firm grip on the precious state trophy all throughout the post-game interview sessions.
Jason Fritz would added further gloss to the Bradley-Bourbonnais scoreline when his 25-yard blast was redirected off a defender and past Pyz on the way into the area to close out the scoring in the 76th minute.
"I remember (saying) before the playoffs that I felt like we had a good run in us, but I also knew we would have to go through some quality sides in order to do so," began Franco, who just finished up his ninth season in charge of the Conant boys' side.
"I wasn't sure if it would happen after our effort against Willowbrook in our regional opener, but it all came together in that regional final with Wheaton Academy. And ever since, our recipe for success has been followed up one game after another. And to still be playing at this time of the year is something I know all of us will remember for a long time."
Scimeca added: "It will be forever with me.
"These last three weeks have been amazing. To get (here) in the senior year for so many of us is unbelievable. And even this loss today won't make me forget how great this season, and the state playoffs have been."
Starting lineups
Bradley-Bourbonnais
GK: Jacob Meents
D- Jack Kramer
D- Tarek Bos-Shadi
D- Brandon Way
D- Nolan Wade
M- Justin Fritz
M- Efrain Davilo
M- Anthony Markanich
M- Neel Holkar
M- Jacob Rodriguez
F- Nicholas Markanich
Conant
GK- Piotr Pyz
D- Jason Fillingim
D- Tommy Biernat
D- Evan Smith
D- Michael Rizzo
M- Sota Ono
M- Kevin Sindewald
M- Brendan Chlopek
M- Nico Scimeca
F- Nuh Ozbag
F- Harris Dibek
Man of the Match: Anthony Markanich, MF, Bradley-Bourbonnais
Officials: Tom Schaeffer (center), Tony Martinez (assistant), John Bouc (assistant), Jimmy Stout (fourth).
Conant for 3rd place finish
Boilermakers capture 1st state trophy with 2-0 win
By Mike Garofola
HOFFMAN ESTATES -- Some think it's the soccer match nobody wants to be a part of -- the third place game.
But just a few minutes into this 3A third place contest late on Saturday afternoon, it was clear both Bradley-Bourbonnais and Conant had come to play for more than the big trophy which awaited them afterwards.
Thanks to goals on either side of the half, Bradley-Bourbonnais (25-1-0) won a gutsy 2-0 victory over the Cougars, whose thrilling knockout campaign came to an end for good after its back-to-back losses in the home park of their conference rivals Hoffman Estates.
"It was a good run," began Conant manager, Jason Franco, whose lads secured the school's third state trophy and first since 1999 when a Tony Kees-led side finished fourth.
"It's all good at this point, despite ending the season with this loss."
"The guys were struggling a little bit after our tough loss (4-2) the night before to Barrington. But they arrived at school this morning (upbeat) - excited about a free breakfast, and (then) went out and fought hard, just as I expected, to give a very good side a real battle for 80 minutes."
The coach, alongside seniors, Kevin Sindewald and Nico Scimeca, all agreed the dramatic turnaround of events against Barrington could have done in plenty of clubs, but not this one, according to the four-year veteran, and two-time all-sectional midfielder, Sindewald, who wore the captain's armband with a great deal of pride for Franco and his staff.
"Things changed so quick for us against Barrington. We went up 2-0 in that first half, and everything had the same confident feeling that we had all throughout the playoffs, but that first goal just moments after the half really seemed to 'break' us, and soon we were chasing a great Barrington team," opined Sindewald.
"But I wasn't worried about how we would come out today. All of us knew there could be only two teams in the state that could finish with a win, and that was our goal from the moment we arrived here."
The same could be said for Bradley-Bourbonnais and its fine manager Rohan Robinson, who already knew his lads belonged in this 3A Final Four, even if many from north of Interstate 80 did not.
"We didn't have to prove anything this weekend, we had done it all year long; (but) we also knew our opponents here might not be as sure as us. I feel like we showed we belonged last night in our semifinal with Naperville North," said Robinson, who appears to have the talent and firepower coming back to almost insure another trip here next fall.
One whom Robinson will look to one year from now will be junior, Anthony Markanich, who, keen to increase his astounding goal tally on the season, did just that at 10 minutes. He redirected a superb long-range free-kick from Efrain Davila past a diving Piotr Pyz, the Cougars keeper.
Davila made a name for himself over these two days with his sublime touch, creative and crafty play in the middle of the park and his wonderful ability to strike one long-range free-kick after another. His serves gave both Naperville North and Conant more than their fair share of nervous moments.
With his two helpers in two matches, Davila, a junior, finished with a dazzling 40 assists in the season. Anthony Markanich, and his brother Nicholas, both who played with the Fire Academy last fall, totaled nearly 80 goals between them, with Nicholas leading the way with 44.
"When those two came back from club, it helped put the finishing touches on our roster, which was already strong and experienced, and ready to make a good run at things this season. When you add a couple of players who can attack and score like those two can, it made us that much more dangerous," said a proud Robinson.
The Cougars (16-9-0) bounced back after conceding the early Anthony Markanich strike and begin to get themselves back into the match during the last quarter hour of play -- but only after holding their collective breathe when Nicholas Markanich junior grazed the bar twice.
Conant's Sindewald sent Nuh Ozbag free down the left side, and his cross to the back post nearly found Sota Ono. Then just before the break, the Cougars created consecutive corners from Jason Fillingim, only to have both parried out of the area by the Boilermakers defense.
The halftime interval did not break the rhythm of the Cougars (16-9-0). They weathered a brief offensive storm by their opponents before firing back with a rampant attack for the next half hour that produced several quality chances that the Boilermakers were able to keep out of the back of their net.
Fillingim, who enjoyed a terrific tournament over the two days, whipped a lovely free-kick effort to the back post when Mateusz Pasula nearly caught up to. Later, Ono initiated a Cougars counter, which ended with Scimeca going over the bar with his 30-yard effort.
In the 63rd minute, when Fillingim, Brandon Chlopek and Pasula surged dangerously close to shooting distance, a sharp tackle and clearing effort from Jacob Rodriguez saved the day for the Boilermakers.
"It feels great to come away from here with the third place trophy and for the few seniors on this team (to) leave a legacy. We all hope next year's team can follow in our footsteps with another trip here, and maybe a state title," said Rodriguez, who had a firm grip on the precious state trophy all throughout the post-game interview sessions.
Jason Fritz would added further gloss to the Bradley-Bourbonnais scoreline when his 25-yard blast was redirected off a defender and past Pyz on the way into the area to close out the scoring in the 76th minute.
"I remember (saying) before the playoffs that I felt like we had a good run in us, but I also knew we would have to go through some quality sides in order to do so," began Franco, who just finished up his ninth season in charge of the Conant boys' side.
"I wasn't sure if it would happen after our effort against Willowbrook in our regional opener, but it all came together in that regional final with Wheaton Academy. And ever since, our recipe for success has been followed up one game after another. And to still be playing at this time of the year is something I know all of us will remember for a long time."
Scimeca added: "It will be forever with me.
"These last three weeks have been amazing. To get (here) in the senior year for so many of us is unbelievable. And even this loss today won't make me forget how great this season, and the state playoffs have been."
Starting lineups
Bradley-Bourbonnais
GK: Jacob Meents
D- Jack Kramer
D- Tarek Bos-Shadi
D- Brandon Way
D- Nolan Wade
M- Justin Fritz
M- Efrain Davilo
M- Anthony Markanich
M- Neel Holkar
M- Jacob Rodriguez
F- Nicholas Markanich
Conant
GK- Piotr Pyz
D- Jason Fillingim
D- Tommy Biernat
D- Evan Smith
D- Michael Rizzo
M- Sota Ono
M- Kevin Sindewald
M- Brendan Chlopek
M- Nico Scimeca
F- Nuh Ozbag
F- Harris Dibek
Man of the Match: Anthony Markanich, MF, Bradley-Bourbonnais
Officials: Tom Schaeffer (center), Tony Martinez (assistant), John Bouc (assistant), Jimmy Stout (fourth).
