The Northwest Herald boys preview will appear in print Aug. 22 with information on every local team. Until then, here are five storylines to look for in the 2023 season.

Can Crystal Lake South repeat as Fox Valley Conference champions?

Crystal Lake South jumped back up to the top of the FVC standings late last year by winning its last four FVC matches. It overtook Dundee-Crown for the conference championship by beating Huntley in overtime and then Hampshire to finish 8-1 in the FVC.

The Gators return a lot of young talent from last season’s team, headlined by 2022 Northwest Herald Boys Soccer Player of the Year Nolan Getzinger. Ali Ahmed, Nick Prus and Brendan Lewis also all earned honors in the Northwest Herald’s 2022 All-Area teams.

History is stacked against the Gators for repeating as conference champions. No team has repeated as FVC champions in the past 10 years, although South has won the most conference titles during that time with three. Jacobs and D-C each have won two, while Huntley and Crystal Lake Central won one. Hampshire won the FVC tournament during the 2021 spring season.

If there’s any program that has the pedigree to repeat, it’s South. The Gators won a Class 2A State title in 2018 and finished runner-up in 2019. South also won regional titles the past two postseasons.

Who else can challenge for the FVC crown?

D-C came so close to winning the FVC last year. The Chargers led for much of the season before tying with Jacobs to end the regular season, falling three points shy of sharing the FVC crown. They did end up winning a regional title.

D-C should join the Gators in contending for a FVC title with a lot of returning talent from last season’s team. The Chargers will need to replace Miguel Pena, who was named to the all-area first team last season, but Pena spent much of last season mentoring younger players to prepare them for this moment.

Huntley fell six points shy of tying with the Gators, while Prairie Ridge trailed by seven. The Red Raiders lose Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association All-State honoree Zach Heitkemper, and the Wolves lose senior defenders Cade Collins and Brady Rogers, but both teams should play a role in whether the Gators will repeat.

Can Harvard make it three in a row?

Harvard has taken control of the Kishwaukee River Conference the past two seasons, winning two straight conference titles. The Hornets beat out Woodstock North and Johnsburg by six points last fall with a 5-0 KRC record and finished ahead of Woodstock and Woodstock North by six points during the fall 2021 season.

Coach Victor Gonzalez will have the task of trying to replace plenty of graduated talent. Forward David Aquino, who earned first-team honors on last season’s all-area team, led the team with 17 goals, while Saul Sanchez, Pablo Mercado, Lorenzo Eichholz and Andres Hernandez-Flores all contributed.

Harvard will return talent. Martin Quintero and Marco Herrera return for their senior seasons after strong junior seasons.

The question is whether the rest of the KRC can challenge the Hornets. Johnsburg returns all-area goalkeeper Preston Michel and midfielder Kyle Patterson, who helped the Skyhawks with a regional title last season. Maybe they’ll have enough to knock off Harvard this time around.

McHenry County looks for better postseason success

McHenry County-area teams failed to reach the supersectional round of the playoffs last season for the first time since 2013. Huntley, Jacobs and McHenry have all played in a supersectional match during that time, while Harvard and South have made the state finals.

South, Jacobs, Dundee-Crown and Johnsburg all won regional titles last year, but every team failed to win their sectional semifinal match to advance further. All teams likely will play a factor in competing for a regional title this year and will try to redeem the area with a deeper postseason run.

A fall of change for Marian Central

Marian Central will not only have new players this season but also will have new conference rivals as it joins the Chicagoland Christian Conference this fall. The Hurricanes competed independently last season after being in the East Suburban Catholic Conference.

The new conference will include Marian, Christ the King, Chicago Hope Academy, Aurora Christian, Bishop McNamara, Chicago Christian, St. Edward, Timothy Christian and Wheaton Academy. Christ the King will not have a boys soccer team this season.

Wheaton Academy and Timothy Christian enter the conference with the most recent success. Wheaton Academy won the Class 1A state title in 2021 and placed fourth last year, while Timothy Christian took fourth in the 1A postseason in 2021 and placed third last season.

Marian lost in the regional final last season but captured a 1A regional title in 2021. The Hurricanes will try to replace graduated all-area players Alex Trojanowski, Nate Iafigliola, Jacob Bonnet and Dawson Yegge.