JT soccer team gets college kicks

JOLIET -- The manner in which the Joliet Township High School boys soccer season ended last fall will live in infamy.

What a shame it was.

A Joliet Central student was diagnosed and hospitalized with an infection caused by a meningitis bacteria.

No Central student was allowed to participate in the regional championship game that Friday night in late October. The IHSA ruled the game should go on as scheduled.

That meant vital pieces such as goalie Mike Vertin and defender Dan Martinez were forced to watch the action from outside the fence. And their teammates who could play were shorthanded when JT dropped a 3-1 decision to Normal Community to finish 15-6-1.

But you know what, that situation, sad as it was, is history.

Any lingering negative feelings were erased this week when the JT athletic department hosted a college signing ceremony for five of its soccer athletes -- four members of coach Eduardo Contreras' boys team and Debbie Rios from coach Jeff Lundeen's girls team.

Vertin has cast his lot with NCAA Division III Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis. Martinez is headed to Jefferson College, a community college in Hillsboro, Mo. Forward Andy McKanna and defender Dustin Schmollinger will get their college careers under way at Kishwaukee Community College in Malta.

Rios, meanwhile, will stay close to home and play for the University of St. Francis.

Another recent JT signee in a different sport, girls golfer Kali Hale, also signed recently with USF.

"This is a good indication of where soccer in this town is at both schools," Contreras said. "These guys are a true reflection of what Joliet Township has to offer.

"Three of the four guys signing were our captains. This is the biggest collection of guys signing for college that we've had in one year, and it may be 5 or 6 before it's over.

"These guys are going to forget the wins and losses, but the memories built will be remembered. They will remember the good times."

Vertin recorded seven shutouts his senior year, giving him 22 in his career. Yet when he enrolled at JT, he was not a goalie.

"I switched to goalie my freshman year," he said. "I always wanted to play forward and score goals. I'd still like to prove I could do that, but ..."

It was Vertin's sophomore year when Contreras notified him that he was putting him in goal on the varsity level.

"I guess that's worked out pretty well," Vertin said. "It's nerve-wracking back there in the goal mouth, but at least you don't get tired. During games, I'm thinking how tired the other guys are, and how relieved and calm I am."

Vertin plans to major in business and minor in education at Carthage. He also considered Aurora University -- "I was flip-flopping between the two for the longest time" -- and thought about Concordia in North Carolina before Carthage won out.

He said he is ready to get back on the field and play, but will not soon forget his high school experience.

"I liked playing on the same team with the West guys," the Central student said. "That brought the diversity together."

And how good did Martinez make him look with his defensive prowess?

"Dan was a beast," Vertin said. "He's the best player overall I ever played with and may ever play with."

Martinez said he attended a camp at Northern Illinois University, and Hillsboro coach Steve Peck "liked me, and I liked him. I wound up signing there after I visited at the end of January."

Martinez began playing defense in his junior year and was a natural. "My dad was a defender and I picked it up," he said. "Now I'm a defender in club ball, too."

In college, he is planning to major in biology and minor in chemistry, with the ultimate plan to become an eye surgeon. But there is plenty of soccer in his future as well.

"I feel sorry for the people on our team who don't move on to college soccer," he said. "It's really sad our senior year ended how it did, but we still had a great team."

McKanna, who scored three goals in JT's final victory last season, a 5-0 regional semifinal triumph over Providence Catholic, transferred from Plainfield South to Joliet West after his sophomore year and was a mainstay for the Steelmen. "I liked the way people here played from their hearts, with a lot of passion," he said.

He originally was planning to attend NIU but changed his mind "because of the money issue, mostly. But I'll be looking at NIU after Kishwaukee."

Schmollinger moved here from Las Vegas after eighth grade, thus earning the nickname "Vegas". He didn't play at JT until his sophomore year. "At first, I didn't know how good the soccer is here," he said.

How did it happen that he is moving on with McKanna?

"The Kishwaukee coach saw Andy play," he said. "He recommended me, the coach saw me play, and he liked me, too."

Schmollinger will study welding at Kishwaukee but said he wants to get into T.V. production sometime down the road.

JT girls coach Jeff Lundeen said Rios, a four-year varsity player, "had a huge impact on our program from the beginning. She has the skill and ability some others lack. She has a great presence on the field and great speed. She will be a great fit for USF, where their program is and the competition they play.

"She developed into a leader the last year or two. She loves to play the game."

Rios' senior season at JT, course, will be this spring. Lundeen said she has played a lot of defense in the past, but "I hope to use her as an attacker more this year so she can score some goals."

"I'm looking forward to this season," Rios said. "We have good potential. We have younger girls who developed last year. We'll be a good team."

An outstanding student, Rios will study nursing at USF. "Other schools I looked at had OK education programs, but a big part of it for me is getting into nursing," she said.

Hale, the No. 1 player at JT the last two years and a two-time sectional qualifier, attended the winter golf academy at Green Garden Country Club the last few years, and her improvement has been remarkable.

"The first year I went down about 10 strokes and the next year another 5," she said. "They show you your swing, analyze it, and that has helped me a lot."

"She really made a dramatic change between her sophomore and junior year," JT coach Bob Mores said. "She works with John Platt a lot at Green Garden, and he has done a lot for a lot of young golfers in this area.

"I've had five kids through the years go on to college golf, and Kali is definitely one of the best. She is a good player now and will get better."

Hale is planning to major in business and minor in marketing at USF. And, of course, mix in plenty of golf.

"I've put in a lot of hard work that has really paid off, and I really enjoy the game," she said.