First trip to state tourney will have to wait

Spencer Remick (9) hip-checks his brother Dylan Remick during Catholic League action. The two played their last match for the Ramblers last week after they were upset in the Niles North Sectional semifinals.
(Jerry Daliege/for Pioneer Press)

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Loyola Academy's boys soccer team picked a bad time to have an off day.

The No. 2-seeded Ramblers, who won the Chicago Catholic League title with seven all-conference players and claimed their own IHSA regional, fell flat in their 1-0 loss to No. 6 Maine East in the 3A Niles North Sectional on Oct. 29.

The highly-regarded team again fell short of its expectations of going deep in the playoffs and contending for a state title. The Ramblers (15-4-2) have never adavanced to the State Finals.

"We had an off day," said fifth-year head coach Rob Etheridge. "Our passing wasn't good and our better players didn't produce on offense.

"We picked the wrong time to look forward to playing New Trier (in the supersectionals)," he said. "This was the most successful season we've had since I've been here. But again, we came up short."

Josh Swoboda scored for Maine East with 14 seconds left in the first half.

"It was a sloppy goal," Etheridge said. "We gave it away. Nothing clicked for us. Now we move on to next year."

Etheridge will lose nine seniors, but has 12 juniors returning for another season. While Etheridge will still carry a solid foundation, he loses a senior group that's been together for three seasons. They include top scorers Tommy Belton and brothers Dylan and Spencer Remick.

"Every senior on our team was instrumental in our success the past few years," Etheridge said. "They laid a great foundation for Loyola soccer."