Chicagoland Soccer Top 25
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Asked to explain a 44-point swing over a two-week span against rival Neuqua Valley in basketball, Waubonsie Valley boys coach Jason Mead said:
“It’s been a strange season.”
And it will be no different in high school soccer.
Given the fluidity of our current times, little was expected to go according to form in this compressed, upside-down boys soccer season.
Leyden coach Mark Valintis predicted: “You’re going to see a lot of crazy scores this year.”
Basketball has officially ended with the last of the Chicago schools completing their seasons this weekend. Football started Friday night and runs for the next five weeks.
Now soccer enters the third week of the season, normally a time when teams start to separate and create a specific hierarchy.
With some programs opting out of the season, others in quarantine or not able to play or practice due to health and safety protocols, and others making the choice to start slowly, there is a significant discrepancy in games played so far.
Some schools have been able to play five or six games. Some, like St. Patrick or Fenwick, have played just one.
Rather than decry the uncertainty, the overwhelming response from players has been to celebrate the existence of a season that seemed very much in doubt the first week of January.
The human desire to make sense of things is natural. In this pandemic times, that can be somewhat futile. And it will be no different in high school soccer.
Here is the new poll. Take a screenshot; not everything is going to stay the same.
Games through Saturday
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Asked to explain a 44-point swing over a two-week span against rival Neuqua Valley in basketball, Waubonsie Valley boys coach Jason Mead said:
“It’s been a strange season.”
And it will be no different in high school soccer.
Given the fluidity of our current times, little was expected to go according to form in this compressed, upside-down boys soccer season.
Leyden coach Mark Valintis predicted: “You’re going to see a lot of crazy scores this year.”
Basketball has officially ended with the last of the Chicago schools completing their seasons this weekend. Football started Friday night and runs for the next five weeks.
Now soccer enters the third week of the season, normally a time when teams start to separate and create a specific hierarchy.
With some programs opting out of the season, others in quarantine or not able to play or practice due to health and safety protocols, and others making the choice to start slowly, there is a significant discrepancy in games played so far.
Some schools have been able to play five or six games. Some, like St. Patrick or Fenwick, have played just one.
Rather than decry the uncertainty, the overwhelming response from players has been to celebrate the existence of a season that seemed very much in doubt the first week of January.
The human desire to make sense of things is natural. In this pandemic times, that can be somewhat futile. And it will be no different in high school soccer.
Here is the new poll. Take a screenshot; not everything is going to stay the same.
Games through Saturday
| Rk | LW | Team | W | L | T | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Lyons | 3 | 0 | 0 | Tim Slusarczyk is inventive in space |
| 2 | 7 | New Trier | 6 | 0 | 0 | Will Franzen springs explosive attack |
| 3 | 9 | Warren | 3 | 0 | 0 | Noe Martinez is a skilled midfielder |
| 4 | 10 | Loyola | 3 | 0 | 0 | Oscar Blazer is gifted two-way talent |
| 5 | 3 | Morton | 1 | 1 | 1 | Jesus Perez back from basketball |
| 6 | 4 | Benet | 4 | 1 | 0 | Anthony Klotz key piece of solid back |
| 7 | 12 | Streamwood | 2 | 0 | 1 | Harvey Partida has 3 shutouts |
| 8 | 23 | St. Charles N | 5 | 1 | 0 | Sam Strade is crucial part of dominant middle |
| 9 | 6 | St. Charles E | 4 | 1 | 1 | Newcomer Gaetano D’Argento solidifies the midfield |
| 10 | 20 | Geneva | 3 | 1 | 2 | Ryan Leake is gifted offensive talent |
| 11 | 1 | Naperville North | 4 | 2 | 0 | Keegan Flaherty is dynamic talent |
| 12 | 14 | Hersey | 4 | 0 | 0 | Nathan Solarsky is a physical defender |
| 13 | 13 | Maine South | 4 | 0 | 0 | Jackson Wambach is talented midfielder |
| 14 | NR | York | 2 | 0 | 1 | Connor Bare is set piece specialist |
| 15 | 5 | St. Patrick | 1 | 0 | 0 | UIC recruit Josh Torres not playing pandemic season |
| 16 | 8 | West Chicago | 2 | 1 | 1 | St. Charles N ends unbeaten streak |
| 17 | HM | Wheaton A | 3 | 1 | 1 | Evan Eckert is precocious defender |
| 18 | 18 | Naperville C | 2 | 1 | 3 | Johnny Kim a very skilled midfielder |
| 19 | 19 | W Aurora | 6 | 0 | 0 | Joe Sustersic earns 300th career win |
| 20 | 17 | Fenwick | 1 | 0 | 0 | Anders Lutheringhausen settles the back |
| 21 | 21 | Oswego | 2 | 0 | 0 | Dominant win over Plainfield N |
| 22 | 15 | Barrington | 3 | 1 | 0 | Tight loss against Hersey |
| 23 | HM | St. Ignatius | 2 | 0 | 0 | Jaden Rice makes electrifying impression |
| 24 | HM | Leyden | 2 | 1 | 0 | Pablo Mancho is a major talent |
| 25 | HM | Fremd | 3 | 2 | 0 | Ryan Sapiente leads strong 3-0 week |
Look out for: South Elgin, Wheaton North, Jacobs, Wheaton Warrenville South, Lake Park, St. Laurence, Sandburg, Stevenson, Round Lake, Solorio, Latin, Glenbard North, Grayslake Central, Timothy, Crystal Lake South.
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