Knights take 1st in the FVC Fox

Grayslake North's James Gianneschi (right) goes up against Central's Asa Goldsmith during last Thursday's crosstown soccer battle. The Knights won the game 4-1. On Tuesday, they beat Crystal Lake Central 4-2 to put the finishing touches on FVC Fox Division championship.
(Joe Shuman/for Pioneer Press)

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A relatively new team which has had its share of struggles has gone on to become a divisional champion.

It's the story of the Tampa Bay Rays, and to a large extent, the Grayslake North High School boys soccer team.

The Knights (14-5, 8-2) wrapped up the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division title on Tuesday with a 4-2 victory over Crystal Lake Central. North is its in third season of varsity action and is just two seasons removed from a 7-13-1 campaign.

North's fine season has not come totally out of the blue. The team was in contention for a division title last fall. Knights' head coach Adam Decaluwe said that disappointment helped fuel the team's quest for success in 2008.

"We lost to Crystal Lake Central on PKs last year and that wound up costing us the championship. This year, the kids that remained had the desire to finish some unfinished business and make sure we took care of things and that we had no mistakes that we regretted."

The prospects of a division crown looked bleak early, when North dropped its first two league games. But the team has now won 8 league games in a row, and it will bring a 5-game overall winning streak into next week's Class 2A Lakes Regional, where it will open up against Vernon Hills at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

"We finished our celebration (after the division title) and we're ready to move on to the regionals," DeCaluwe said. "One of our goals was to win the conference and we did it. The guys don't like the taste after a loss and they won't enjoy the next one. They know what's on the line and are ready to buckle down, perform and execute in (in the postseason)."

The North/Vernon Hills winner meets the Lakes/Grayslake Central winner in the Oct. 25 regional final.

Recap: Julio Zamora scored a hat trick and James Gianneschi also found the net in the victory over Crystal Lake Central.

Zamora opened the scoring with a free kick and then doubled the advantage when he scored off a Josh Larson feed. After CLC pulled a goal back, the Knights Patrick O'Gorman found Gianneschi to restore his team's two-goal cushion.

Early in the second half, Jorge Gomez put Zamora through one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and the junior slotted in his 3rd of the game. The Tigers got a second goal 10 minutes from full time.

Zamora leads the team with 11 goals.

Junior Freddy Rosas was the hat-trick hero in last Thursday's 4-1 win over Grayslake Central. The highly-skilled but unselfish midfielder has clearly taken DeCaluwe's advice to put the ball on net more often.

"We had a conversation about starting to shoot more. I said that if he took 5 more shots than normal in the next 2 games, he would find that 1 or 2 would go in and that defenders would start to back off, opening up passing lanes. " the coach said. "I said 'give it a shot,' and he gave it a shot."

Jimmy Ramirez also scored for North, who did the double over their rival. Zamora, Gomez and Gianneschi had assists. Jordan Lee made 6 saves in goal.

Scoring goals has been a problem for the young Rams (3-18-1) all season. But with the playoffs looming, Central showed some signs of improvement in that area, netting more than 2 for the first time all season in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to Prairie Ridge.

Senior Kyle Wardin, sophomore Caleb Longenecker and senior Tyler Blevins all found the net for Central, all of them scoring for the first time this season.

"All three goals were great goals," Central head coach Michael McCaulou said. "We had good possession, worked through the midfield, connected in the final third and the forwards put the ball in the back of the net."

The Rams are due to open postseason play at 5 p.m. Monday against Lakes in the Class 2A Lakes Regional semifinal.

Recap: Freshman Asa Goldsmith scored the Rams lone goal in last Thursday's 4-1 loss to North. Goldsmith is one of four underclassmen, 2 freshman and 2 sophomores, currently in the Rams' starting lineup. However, McCaulou said inexperience is no longer an excuse at this point in the season.

"People say to me 'you guys are young.' But at this time of year, they are not freshman anymore. They have played 20 games and know what it takes. But we are struggling a little physically. The kids need to get in the weight room (in the offseason)."

McCaulou has been pleased with the team's improvement.

"The guys have worked hard and shown the commitment, dedication and effort from August to now," he said. "They've progressed and learned the game and that's what you want to see as a coach. You want to win games. But we also know realistically where we are technically, fundamentally and talent-wise."