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The start of the high school boys soccer season initiates the drive toward state finals in late October (Class 1A) and early November (Classes 2A and 3A). Here’s the outlook for IC Catholic, Timothy Christian and other area teams this season.
Glenbard East Rams
Coach: Josh Adler
Conference: Upstate Eight Valley
Top players
Name Year Position
Ian Moran jr. MF
Nick O’Brien jr. MF
Brandon Pineda sr. D
Outlook: Adler hopes to see his team improve with each game, and it appears that is already happening. The Rams topped Schaumburg 1-0 Aug. 29 for their first win of the year, moving their record to 1-2-1. If East continues to put in the work, the wins should continue to come.
“We have a great work ethic and desire to get better on a daily basis,” Adler said. “They have a good soccer foundation and skills to be competitive.”
Returning UEV all-conference defender Pineda will help provide a solid foundation in the back, while Moran and O’Brien will help spearhead the attack.
IC Catholic Knights
Coach: Javier Andrade
Conference: Metro Suburban Blue
Top players
Name Year Position
Alex Cabrera sr. D
Alex Muerer sr. F
William Russ so. MF
Thomas Sloan so. MF
Zen Tverdokhlib sr. GK
Outlook: The third year of the program has Andrade looking to build on a three-win season from 2016. Things are already looking up as a 4-2 win against Chicago Christian in the Windy City Classic tournament avenged a 4-2 loss last year and was IC Catholic’s first win of this season.
“The seniors have been with me three years, and I told them three years ago I planned to grow the team and have a lot more wins this year,” Andrade said.
Instead of adding concepts this season, Andrade is taking a less cluttered approach.
“The main thing is playing simpler – touch the ball and play the ball,” Andrade said. “Two touches and the ball should go away from you.”
Seniors Cabrera, Muerer and Tverdokhlib will form the foundation, but a slew of sophomores, including Russ, Sloan, David Perez, Liam Reilly, and Michael Wu and freshman Jacob Laspisa should contribute as the Knights keep an eye toward the future.
“There are 33 players on varsity and JV, and I am very, very happy with their play,” Andrade said. “The JV team has improved a lot. I’m happy with how the kids are developing.”
Timothy Christian Trojans
Coach: Stephen Fernandes
Conference: Metro Suburban Red
Top players
Name Year Position
Jimmy Allen sr. F
Michael Martens sr. F/MF
Isaiah Whitaker jr. D/MF
Outlook: The Trojans should have little trouble putting the ball in the net this season.
Allen, an all-sectional and conference MVP selection last season who already is Timothy’s all-time leading scorer, is back after scoring 31 goals and dishing 10 assists last year. Martens’ speed and on-ball ability will help the Trojans’ attack through the midfield, and Whitaker can play just about any position on the field. That trio, all three of whom are co-captains, will help Timothy play a possession game.
“We can possess and move the ball around the field to create some very dangerous attacking plays,” Fernandes said. “Our goal will be to do this more and more consistently as the season continues. Another strength is finishing. We have some players that really have a knack for scoring goals.”
Playing with consistency against a challenging schedule will be a key, but the Trojans should be well-tested by the time the postseason rolls around.
“We intentionally made our schedule a little more tough this season,” Fernandes said. “We want to see more teams that play at a high level in order to prepare ourselves for the Class 2A state tournament.”
York Dukes
Coach: Lukasz Majewski
Conference: West Suburban Silver
Top players
Name Year Position
Joe Chornij sr. D
Paolo Favuzzi so. MF
Jakub Knurek sr. MF
Sam Kritikos sr. GK
Joe Meade so. MF
RJ Meade sr. MF
Jack Musial so. MF
Joe Reinhofer sr. F
Christian Waldschmidt sr. MF
Outlook: A handful of experienced seniors, including 2016 Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association all-sectional selection Reinhofer, have York thinking big this season. Chornij, a team captain along with Reinhofer and Kritikos, and RJ Meade are third-year varsity. Kritikos is in his second year on varsity.
“It’s nice to have players in your system you have had for a while,” Majewski said. “The leadership they provide and the understanding they have of what it takes to be on varsity and play at this level is very important.”
The senior presence is even more crucial considering five sophomores – Joe Meade, Favuzzi, Musial, forward Parker Gawne and midfielder Ethan Oder – that will form the foundation of the future are up on varsity and York is trying some new things stylistically.
“In the past we were very old-school with a stopper and sweeper to kind of prevent through-balls and getting beat on a counter,” Majewski said. “We’re still trying to figure out some stuff. We want to play with more possession and more through the middle of the field.”