:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/LHGFDULDNNR633A2S3XTSJGDCY.jpg)
Fox Valley Conference
Fox Division
Crystal Lake Central
Coach: Nathan Smith (1st season)
Last year: 9-11-1 overall, 3-3 FVC Fox, eliminated in 2A regional semifinal
Top returners: Nick Cubelic sr., Kyle Klusendorf sr., Peter Niedfeldt sr.
Key newcomers: Michael Perrotin so.
Worth noting: First-year head coach Nathan Smith said there's a "revolution" going on with the Central program and he's been "blown away" by the way the players have responded to the new coaching staff. "They seem very eager to set the story straight because they really do believe that they're quality players who haven't particularly had the best management or guidance to bring out their best traits in the past. I'm tremendously excited. I've coached at many different levels and I've yet to come across a team that is more determined to prove people wrong and to succeed than the one I have right now."
Hampshire
Coach: John Gosling (8th season)
Last year: 9-14-2 overall, 3-3 FVC Fox, eliminated in 2A regional final
Top returners: Tyler Koppie sr., Douglas Stuehler sr., Nico Barrientos sr., Jose Cruz jr., Tyler Fairwood jr., Colin Gent sr., Michael Boutin sr., Charlie Piazza jr.
Key newcomers: Braden Frenette jr.
Worth noting: The Whip-Purs have been improving each of the last few years, Gosling said. They return 11 players from last year (including multiple players with three years of varsity experience under their belts) and "We think this year we are probably deeper in all areas of the field, which is a good strength," Gosling said. ... "We're looking more positively on this season than I have in a few years."
Prairie Ridge
Coach: Daniel Riskind (1st season)
Last year: 7-9-1 overall, 4-2 FVC Fox, eliminated in 2A regional semifinal
Top returners: Austin Marconi sr., Zach Reitz sr.
Worth noting: Daniel Riskind takes over the Wolves after JC Brown stepped down in the offseason. The Wolves finished below .500 overall last season but finished second in conference, just one game back of Grayslake Central. Prairie Ridge brings back two senior all conference selections in forward Austin Marconi and defender Zach Reitz.
Woodstock
Coach: Mike Golda (6th season)
Last year: 3-20-0 overall, 0-6 FVC Fox, eliminated in 2A regional semifinal
Top returners: Julio Arias sr., Johan Esquivel sr., Ben Woodson jr., Jared Warmbier jr., Will Maiment jr., Matt Shook jr., Josue Carreno so.
Key newcomers: Brian Rico fr.
Worth noting: "They've really worked hard in the offseason and they seem really hungry," Golda said. "We performed well last year in the playoffs and I think that momentum kind of carried over." Some improved depth and a year more of experience for the team leaders should help the Blue Streaks be more competitive from the start of the year.
Woodstock North
Coach: Lauren Farley (3rd season)
Last year: 6-16-1 overall, 3-3 FVC Fox, eliminated in 2A regional semifinal
Top returners: Ricky Rodriguez sr., Ian Andersen sr., Johnathan Glazer sr., Kacper Scheibe sr., Edder Tapia jr., Mauricio Villanueva jr., Michael McCarthy sr.
Worth noting: Farley said she's hoping her players can build off of the late-season momentum that got the Thunder to .500 in the conference and start with that same intensity. The team's core is experienced and close. Farley said she can see offseason work and years of being together paying off. The current group of seniors are the ones who were freshmen when she started as a JV coach their freshman year. "We've been together as a group for so many years that we know each other, I know how they work, they know how I work, so it's a good system," Farley said.
Valley Division
Cary-Grove
Coach: Mark Olson (10th season)
Last year: 16-3-0 overall, 4-1 FVC Valley, eliminated in 3A regional final
Top returners: Michael Arenberg sr., Esteban Angeles sr., Luis Lemus sr., Scott Wilde sr., John O'Brien sr., Xavier Nevoraski, Max Green sr., Brett Schuerg sr., Nate Weber sr.
Key newcomers: Chris Klarwitter sr., Eliot Kmiec sr., Kyle Knar sr., Trent Onopa sr., Patrick Kingdon jr., Tomas Kvapil jr., Riley Conroy so., Oscar Silis so., Sergio Lemus so., Teddy Price so.
Worth noting: The Trojans bring back four starters and a number of rotation players from a team last year that lost its only conference game to the division champions. Still, they are young elsewhere and working on becoming cohesive, head coach Mark Olson said. "One of our strengths has always been that we've had good chemistry, that we played together," Olson said. "So that will be important to them to step up and replicate that."
Crystal Lake South
Coach: Brian Allen (9th season)
Last season: 17-5-1 overall, 5-0 FVC Valley, eliminated in 3A sectional semifinal
Top returners: Jake Canfield sr., Kennan Grissom sr., Zach Schmidt sr., Jeff Kirshenbaum sr., Mike Woeste sr., Skyler Pentico sr., Zach Bimbi sr., Andrew Grabowski jr., Nikolas Getzinger so.
Key newcomers: Ryan Coughlin fr., Nick Langdon fr., Brad Grabowski fr., Jack Wruck fr., Carlos Merida sr., Ben Kassel jr.
Worth noting: The returning FVC Valley champions have some spots to fill in, but have nine seniors on the roster and bring back five guys with three years of varsity experience. "We're not going to replace some of those players individually ... But if we can do it collectively then I think we should be right in the mix with things at the end of the conference season," Allen said. The Gators can rely on a returning back line plus leading scorer Andrew Grabowski.
Dundee-Crown
Coach: Rey Vargas (11th season)
Last year: 12-9-1 overall, 2-3 FVC Valley, eliminated in 3A regional semifinal
Top returners: Freddy Martinez sr., Carlos Sanchez sr., Andrew Janikowski sr.
Key newcomers: Victor Diaz so., Josh Becker sr., Julian Ajroja so.
Worth noting: Chargers head coach Rey Vargas said he expects to have a good balance of experience and newcomers. He has a core of seniors but there were at least four spots in the starting lineup open to fierce competition during preseason training. The Chargers game plan is to start with a solid team defense and then build up through all-conference striker Freddy Martinez who is the focal point of the attack.
Huntley
Coach: Kris Grabner (13th season)
Last year: 10-13-6 overall, 0-5 FVC Valley, eliminated in 3A sectional semifinal
Top returners: Michael Zambrzuski sr. midfielder, Kyle Carberry, Sr. Defender; Alessandro Vergara, Sr. Forward
Key newcomer: Jason Zobott, Sr. Defender
Worth noting: Despite going winless in conference play last season, the Red Raiders finished strong to win a regional. Huntley lost just two seniors to graduation, but they were the first in program history to win two regionals in their careers. This year's group, led by returning all conference and honorable mention all area selection Michae Zambrzuski, will try to build on that legacy.
Jacobs
Coach: Anthony Cappello (6th season)
Last year: 5-16-1 overall, 2-3 FVC Valley, eliminated in 3A regional quarterfinal
Top returners: Daniel Kim sr., Chris Rigby sr., Konrad Wosilewski sr., Noah Melick so.
Key newcomers: Dan Buirge so., Patrick Murphy jr.
Worth noting: With eight seniors coming back and some exciting young talent, Cappello thinks his roster is well balanced this season. The Golden Eagles could get up and down the field quickly with the athletes they have. Depth on the roster has created good competition within the squad, Cappello said
McHenry
Coach: Tony Caruso (18th season)
Last year: 10-8-4 overall, 2-3 FVC Valley, eliminated in 3A regional semifinal
Top returners: Luis Beltran sr., James Mulhall jr., Justin Rutherford jr., Jay King jr., Alex Lee jr.
Key newcomers: Marcus Koffler sr., Cooper Baldocchi sr.
Worth noting: The Warriors will once again hang their hat on a compact, disciplined defense which can keep them in every game of the tough FVC Valley. They return eight starters, including senior defender Luis Beltran, a first team all area pick last year, and junior goalkeeper Jay King, an honorable mention all area selection. Offensively, Caruso doesn't expect to have one individual who scores 10-15 goals but hopes to get multiple guys to chip in five or six and get them at the right times. "Usually defense is our strength," Caruso said. "We don't score a lot of goals, we just need to make sure we score some timely goals."
Big Northern Conference East Division
Harvard
Coach: Victor Gonzalez (1st season)
Last year: 22-6-0 overall, 14-0-0 BNC East, fourth place in 1A state
Top returners: Alfredo Pichardo jr., Diego Hernandez sr., Pedro Guzman sr., Ismael Albarran jr., Mauricio Mercado jr., Humberto Hernandez sr., Oscar Ramirez sr.
Worth noting: After going 22-6 last season, sweeping through conference play undefeated, and finishing fourth at their first trip to state, the Hornets have to replace their coach and some senior leaders but are still loaded with talent. New head coach Victor Gonzalez played under David Abel and wants to keep things running as similarly as possible. Gonzalez said the game plan will be to possess the ball and give time to their creative players who can unlock things for those around them. The Hornets have won three regional titles in the last four years.
Johnsburg
Coach: Rob Eastland (11th season)
Last year: 10-9-1 overall, 6-3-1 BNC East, eliminated in 2A regional final
Top returners: Nicholas Whiting sr., Russell Anderson sr., Michael Rackow sr., Michael Shelton sr.
Key newcomers: Will Conroy so., Dean Wiersum so.
Worth noting: The Skyhawks begin the season with a tough tournament stretch of five games in five days against strong competition. Eastland said they might come out of it 1-4, but he thinks it will be "the best thing that sets us up for the rest of the season" because it will get his players up to a high level of competition immediately and provide an early measuring stick. The Skyhawks finished third in the BNC East last year and Eastland thinks his team will compete to be right there again or pushing higher this year. Conroy and Wiersum got tastes of varsity competition last year but as sophomores, Eastland said, they will be asked to step up as reliable contributors.
Marengo
Coach: Jim McKinnon (7th season)
Last year: 4-14-1 overall, 3-6-1 BNC East, eliminated in 2A regional quarterfinal
Top returners: Jese Ramirez sr., Tristan Vance jr., Anthony Diaz jr., Nicholas Ohlinger sr.
Key newcomers: Richie Macias fr., Max Keller jr., Ryan Vega-Perez jr., Dylan Trainor jr., Nathan Saporta sr.
Worth noting: More than half of Marengo's starting lineup a year ago was made up of underclassmen. With another year of experience, coach Jim McKinnon is excited about his team's prospects this year, calling it "one of the better groups I've had." Senior captain Jesse Ramirez enters his fourth year as a varsity starter and McKinnon calls Ramirez's experience "very important." Returning senior goalkeeper Nicholas Ohlinger will anchor the Indians.
Richmond-Burton
Coach: Casey DeCaluwe (5th season)
Last year: 5-14-0 overall, 4-6-0 BNC East, eliminated in 2A regional quarterfinal
Top returners: Ty Omark sr., Gavin Brown sr., Michael Wojcik jr., Patrick Gasiencia jr., Brennen Freiberger so.
Key newcomers: Reed Marshall so.
Worth noting: The Rockets only have six players back with significant varsity experience, making coach Casey DeCaluwe's team relatively young. In preseason, though, DeCaluwe said he's been happy with the way the newer guys are working and adapting to the experience of varsity soccer. Last season, the Rockets finished fourth in the BNC East and DeCaluwe said they always expect to challenge for the top half of the division or better.
East Suburban Catholic Conference
Marian Central Catholic
Coach: Jim Colvin (3rd season)
Last year: 15-4-1 overall, 6-2-1 ESC, eliminated in 2A sectional final
Top returners: Bryan Hart sr., Jake Higgins sr.
Worth noting: The Hurricanes last season finished third in the East Suburban Catholic Conference and won a 2A regional for the second consecutive season. Marian Central ended up being eliminated in the sectional final by ESC conference champs St. Viator. Two of last year's four all-conference players return as seniors this year for Jim Colvin's team: goalkeeper Jake Higgins anchoring the Hurricanes and Bryan Hart in the midfield. Hart was also an honorable mention all area pick last season