Barbs survive exhausting week
When the season began, this may have looked like a really easy week for DeKalb. A chance to catch their breath certainly made sense for the Barbs considering the conclusion of seven matches over an eight-day period.
And it’s certainly understandable that coach Brent McIntosh was relieved to se his squad come through it with a 5-0-2 record plus the knowledge the defense gave up a mere two goals in that stretch.
The run began on 9-11 with a 2-0 win at Freeport followed by shutout victories over Hinckley-Big Rock (1-0 / 9-13), Kaneland (4-0 / 9-14) and Yorkville (4-0 / 9-16) prior to taking part in the Prairie Ridge Invitational where DHS battled Mundelein (2-2 / 9-17) and McHenry (0-0 / 9-18) to draws before beating the hosts (2-0 / 9-18). In that last contest, league scoring leader Joe Ferguson (21pts.) picked up his ninth goal of the year while NIB12E No. 2 scorer Sammy Lake (16 pts.) had his fifth and sixth assists of the season.
“I’m very pleased with our weekend. We allowed only two goals to a very good Mundelein team and came away with no losses and two shutouts,” McIntosh noted. “In addition to having gone 5-0-2 over that stretch, only one of those was a home contest.”
However, life doesn’t necessarily get easier since the Barbs now start a string of eight consecutive Northern Illinois Big 12 East Division matches hosting what maybe the league’s most surprising and hottest team in Rochelle. The Hubs bring a six-match win streak into Wednesday’s 4:30 pm match at DeKalb.
Kaneland hoping to stay on an upswing
So far the 2010 campaign has been a roller-coaster ride for Kaneland with ups and downs en route to a 4-4-0 overall record and 1-1-0 NIB12E tally.
After opening the year with a pair of wins, the Knights suffered three straight setbacks before a non-conference triumph preceded a home loss and road win to start league play. KHS bounced back from a narrow 1-0 defeat courtesy of DeKalb to record a 3-0 road win at Morris.
In the latter contest, Alex Gil set up Anders Winquist-Bailey for a first-half goal and then capped the scoring with an unassisted free kick. The sophomore quint-captain is third in conference points with 12 (4g/4a) while teammates Winquist-Bailey (2g/2a) and Derek White (3g) are among the many league players with six points.
This week’s slate starts with a Tuesday home date against Rochelle followed by a Thursday visit to Yorkville. Kaneland boasts a 5-1 win over YHS from earlier in the season as part of the Burlington Central Tournament.
Morris aiming for health and momentum
Coach Nathan Cotes has been forced to adjust his line-up due to injuries and with the hope of finding the key to some better finishing.
Following a 2-1 loss at Rochelle, the Redskins outshot Kaneland in terms of shots on frame, but still came up on the empty end of a 3-0 contest to sport a 2-6-0 overall mark and 0-2-0 loop standard.
“We had a couple breakdowns and we’re trying different line-ups because of all the injuries,” Cotes said. “I’m confident we can still get better and have a good run and carry it into the playoffs.”
Morris has NIB12E matches at Yorkville on Tuesday and at home versus Sycamore on Thursday before a Saturday morning non-conference home match with Minooka. Diego Luna stands sixth in loop scoring with 8 points (3g/2a) while teammate Chava Villanueva (3g) is another member of the six-point pack.
Hubba-hubba Hubs
The purple-clad Rochelle boys soccer squad is suddenly red hot. Last week’s first-ever victory over Sycamore is the latest in a school record six-match win streak.
In addition to scoring two or three goals in each of those contests, the Hubs’ defense has managed to do its part with every single victory being a one-goal nail-biter. As head coach Kevin Lamb continues to regain his strength and win his medical battle, assistants Hector Garcia and Carol Winterton have overseen the turnaround from an 0-3-1 start to the season.
Rochelle travels to Kaneland on Tuesday and DeKalb on Wednesday hoping to add to the first column in the 6-3-1 season ledger and 2-0-0 NIB12E record.
The Hubs have four of the league’s top 14 points producers led by No. 4 Ramon Lopez (10 pts. - 4g/2a). Justin Kammes (9 pts. – 3g/3a) is tied for fifth while Emmanuel (2g/2a) and Cristian Garcia (3g) are among a pack of players boasting 6 points.
Spartans need to regain magic touch
Considering its recent run of post-season success, Sycamore continues to struggle to find its rhythm and the result is a less than satisfying 4-6-2 overall record and 1-1-0 NIB12E mark.
Coach Dave Lichamer’s club is coming off a fairly hectic week which began with a 1-0 conference road win at Yorkville before a 2-1 home loss to league foe Rochelle. The weekend was spent at the Rockton-Hononegah Tourney where Crystal Lake South posted a 3-0 triumph over the Spartans before Rockford Christian claimed a 1-0 win based on a 3-1 edge in a penalty kick shootout.
But that’s when Sycamore got back on track with a 3-0 shutout of Elgin St. Edward and it’s that success that Lichamer hopes provides the momentum for the week ahead which starts Tuesday with a home date against long-time neighbor and rival DeKalb. Then comes a Thursday trip to Kaneland.
Tyler Wallace is tied for sixth on the league point list with his team best four goals for 8 points while Adam Westerby has a trio of strikes to put him in the six-point pack.
Yorkville aiming for consistency, stronger finishing
Coach Michael Jacobs hopes his Foxes are getting closer to playing at a consistently high level for 80 minutes after seeing his squad go 1-2 over three consecutive days of action last week.
After a narrow 1-0 loss to Sycamore in the NIB12E opener, Yorkville enjoyed a 3-1 non-conference triumph over Plano before coming up shot in a 2-0 visit to DeKalb. In beating the Reapers, Artan Emini stepped up big with a goal 23:22 into the contest thanks to a David Rodriguez assist and then added what proved to be the matchwinner just 5:34 into the second half via Salvador Villagrana’s assist. Yorkville picked up an insurance goal with 26:12 left to be played when Chandler Cathey netted the ball after a scramble that ensued off a YHS corner kick.
Although the Foxes yielded two first-half goals to DeKalb, Jacobs believed his squad held its own for the final 40 minutes.
This week finds Yorkville hosting Morris on Tuesday and then sandwiching a non-conference trek to Coal City on Wednesday between another league home contest with Kaneland on Thursday. Junior quad-captain Javier Cervantes is part of the pack boasting six points on the NIB12E scoring chart.
Northern Illinois Big 12 East Division Standings (prior to 9-21 matches)
DeKalb 2-0-0 6-1-2
Rochelle 2-0-0 6-3-1
Kaneland 1-1-0 4-4-0
Sycamore 1-1-0 4-6-2
Morris 0-2-0 2-6-0
Yorkville 0-2-0 2-7-0
Northern Illinois Big 12 East Division Scoring Leaders
Player (School) - Goals - Assists - Points
1 – Joe Ferguson (DeKalb) 9 3 21
2 – Sammy Lake (DeKalb) 5 6 16
3 – Alex Gil (Kaneland) 4 4 12
4 – Ramon Lopez (Rochelle) 4 2 10
5 - Justin Kammes (Rochelle) 3 3 9
6 – Tyler Wallace (Sycamore) 4 0 8
Diego Luna (Morris) 3 2 8
8 – Anthony Varga (DeKalb) 1 4 6
Derek White (Kaneland) 3 0 6
Anders Winquist-Bailey (Kaneland) 2 2 6
Chava Villanueva (Morris) 3 0 6
Cristian Garcia (Rochelle) 3 0 6
Emmanuel Garcia (Rochelle) 2 2 6
Adam Westerby (Sycamore) 3 0 6
Javier Cervantes (Yorkville) 3 0 6
Current Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference East Scores
# - denotes divisional game
Monday / Aug. 23
Plainfield Central 2, at Yorkville 0
Tuesday / Aug. 24
Kaneland 4, at Marengo 0
Hononegah 1 at DeKalb, 1
Morris 0, at Coal City 0
Hinckley-Big Rock 6, at Rochelle 0
Freeport 1, at Sycamore 1
Thursday / Aug. 26
Yorkville 1, at Plainfield South 7
Morris 2, at Joliet Catholic 2
Friday / Aug. 27
Rochelle 2, vs. Woodstock 2 / in Auburn Knights Invitational
Rochelle 0, vs. Rock Island 3 / in Auburn Knights Invitational
Sycamore 0, vs. Rockford Guilford 1 in Auburn Knights Invitational
Sycamore 3, vs. Sterling 1 in Auburn Knights Invitational
Saturday / Aug. 28
Yorkville 1, vs. Burlington Central 4 / in Burlington Central Tourney
DeKalb 3, Wheaton St. Francis 0 / in Burlington Central Tourney
Rochelle 0, vs. Harlem 4 / in Auburn Knights Invitational
Sycamore 1, vs. Rockford Christian 1 in Auburn Knights Invitational
Monday / Aug. 30
Morris 2, at Tinley Park 1
Dixon 1, at Rochelle 2
Tuesday / Aug. 31
Kaneland 5, vs. Yorkville 1 / in Burlington Central Tourney
Sycamore 2, at Dixon 0
Thursday / Sept. 2
Kaneland 0, vs. Burlington Central 3 in Burlington Central Tourney
DeKalb 1, vs. South Elgin 4 / in Burlington Central Tourney
Rochelle 3, at Sterling 2
Saturday / Sept. 4
DeKalb 3, vs. Kaneland 1 in Burlington Central Tourney
Yorkville 1, vs. Wheaton St. Francis 6 in Burlington Central Tourney
Tuesday / Sept. 7
Yorkville 3, at IMSA 1
Boylan 0, at DeKalb 0
Princeton 3, at Morris 1
Belvidere 2, at Rochelle 3
Harlem 3, at Sycamore 1
Wednesday / Sept. 8
Kaneland 0, at Hinckley-Big Rock 1
Belvidere North 1 at Rochelle 2
Thursday / Sept. 9
IMSA 2 at Kaneland 3
Sycamore 2 at Aurora Marmion 4
Saturday / Sept. 11
DeKalb 2 at Freeport 0
Plainfield South 4 at Morris 0
Monday / Sept. 13
DeKalb 1 at Hinckley-Big Rock 0
Wilmington 1 at Morris 5
Tuesday / Sept. 14
DeKalb 1, at Kaneland 0 - #
Sycamore 1, at Yorkville 0 - #
Morris 1, at Rochelle 2 - #
Wednesday / Sept. 15
Plano 1, at Yorkville 3
Thursday / Sept. 16
Kaneland 3, at Morris 0 - #
Yorkville 0, at DeKalb 2 - #
Rochelle 2, at Sycamore 1 - #
Friday / Sept. 17
DeKalb 2, vs. Mundelein 2 / in Prairie Ridge Invitational
Sycamore 0, vs. Crystal Lake South 3 / in Rockton-Hononegah Tournament
Saturday / Sept. 18
DeKalb 0, vs. McHenry 0 / in Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge Invitational
DeKalb 2, vs. Prairie Ridge 0 / in Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge Invitational
Sycamore 0, vs. Rockford Christian 1 (1-3 PK Shootuout) / in Hononegah Tournament
Sycamore 3, vs. Elgin St. Edward 0 / in Hononegah Tournament
Tuesday / Sept. 21
Rochelle at Kaneland, 4:30 pm - #
Morris at Yorkville, 4:30 pm - #
DeKalb at Sycamore, 4:30 pm - #
Wednesday / Sept. 22
Yorkville at Coal City, 4:30 pm
Rochelle at DeKalb, 4:30 pm - #
Sycamore at Morris, 4:30 pm - #
Thursday / Sept. 23
Kaneland at Yorkville, 4:30 pm - #
Saturday / Sept. 25
Minooka at Morris, 10 am
Monday / Sept. 27
DeKalb at Sycamore, 4:30 pm - #
-Steve Nemeth
