Francis Parker hopes for title wave

Harrison Freund, the leading scorer for Francis Parker, battles Marcus Nichols (9) of Morgan Park Academy for control of the ball. Freund has scored 16 goals for the Colonels.
(Stacia timonere/For the Sun-Times)

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

Moments after the Francis Parker boys soccer team earned its first state berth Monday night, a spectator commented that it could be the greatest 48 hours in the school’s history.

Two days earlier, Elizabeth Epstein won the school’s first girls tennis state title. So who says the North Side school with an enrollment of 316 students can’t ride the recent wave of success to a Class A state crown this weekend at North Central College in Naperville?

‘‘We’re peaking at the right time,’’ said Francis Parker coach Neil Curran, who is 83-20-4 in four seasons.

The Colonels (16-6-2) are in the right spot to make that happen. Thanks to an 11 a.m. quarterfinal time slot against Bloomington Central Catholic (15-3-2), Francis Parker would have the most recovery time for Saturday’s semifinals if it wins today.

Senior forward Harrison Freund leads the way for Curran’s crew with 16 goals and 12 assists. Junior midfielder Tommy Rosenbluth controls the middle with 12 goals and 14 assists, and junior Thomas Eley had 12 assists from his midfield position.

Francis Parker primed itself for the postseason with a solid schedule that featured Class AA programs such as Mount Carmel, Wheaton Academy and Fenwick. Parker outscored its three postseason opponents 12-1.

Defensively, the Colonels need to find a way to keep the Saints’ Hayden Hoerdemann (14 goals) and Patrick Kniery (15 goals) in check. Those two offensive forces will cause the most problems for Parker goalkeeper Charlie Demar, who has a .95 goals-against average.

Manteno (21-1-2) will have its hands full in the 6 p.m. quarterfinal game against two-time defending champion Waterloo Gibault (12-12).

Don’t let the Hawks’ .500 record mislead you; they’ve played one of the toughest schedules of any program in the state. While it doesn’t have the offensive firepower of a year ago, Gibault is under the direction of legendary coach Jim Corsi (239-150-30). This is the Hawks’ sixth quarterfinal berth since 2000.

For Manteno to advance, Austin Newsom (29 goals, 25 assists), Cody Larkin (14 goals), Steve LaCosse (10 goals, 10 assists), Bobby Dodd (12 goals) and Justin Emerson (10 goals) have to come up big. Goalie Kevin Marshall (.56 goals-against average) will be tested, too.