Boys soccer: 5 storylines to watch in The Herald-News area in 2025

There’s a lot of hype around the return of football, as there is every season. Don’t forget, however, that the boys soccer season is also upon us. With that in mind, let’s take a look at five storylines to keep an eye on this season.

Reloading Lockport

The Porters were one of the best teams in the state last season and showed it in the playoffs. They advanced to the supersectional round of the Class 3A playoffs, where they fell to Hinsdale Central 2-1. Gone from that team is the 2024 Herald-News Boys Soccer Player of the Year in Ismael Gomez, who leaves big shoes to fill. Goalkeeper Matas Odinas also will be missed.

Still, coach Chris Beal and company have plenty of reason for optimism. Jacob Hareza returns after scoring 17 goals and dishing out 15 assists last season, earning a spot on the Herald-News All-Area second team. Kacper Sikon and Sebastian Gryglak are quality returning starters as well. Losing a player of Gomez’s caliber is no easy task, but keep an eye on Lockport as the season progresses.

New look Lincoln-Way East

Speaking of teams that had an outstanding season last year and now have big shoes to fill, Lincoln-Way East is in that same category. They lost to Lockport in a sectional final in a 3-2 thriller, but went 18-5-2 last season and had a dominant run. However, while Lockport may be replacing the top player in the area from last season, the Griffins are replacing the bulk of their production.

Josh Mensching and Noah Brown are gone. All-Area first team selections Kamden Williams and Liam Treacy have also graduated. Little experience returns for the Griffins, although there is quality there with Owen Bohren and Mateo Espinosa back in the fold. Tiag Hertsberg, Shane Kerley, Talon Hedrick and Sergio Avila will all make their varsity debuts, and coach Matthew Ribbens is excited for their potential. Ribbens said that he still thinks this team should bring home a regional title and compete for the sectional.

Legit Lemont

As excellent as Lockport and Lincoln-Way East were last season, neither of them made it to the state tournament. Lemont, on the other hand, advanced to the Class 2A state semifinals before losing to eventual state champion Althoff Catholic. It was the first state tournament appearance for the Lemont boys soccer team.

Gone from that team are midfielder Tyler Chrisman (five goals, 15 assists) and defender Vincenzo Mancini (all-Conference selection). However, Lemont still returns goalkeeper Adrian Lisowski, who recorded 15 shutouts and helped lead the team to a 23-5-1 record. While last year’s team returned eight of 11 starters, this year’s group will be replacing a large senior class, but Lisowski and junior Andre Guzy should at least keep Lemont’s ship upright.

Where’s Wilmington?

While it’s not yet official, the expectation is that Wilmington won’t be fielding a team this year. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as the Wildcats haven’t fielded a team since 2021. With a quality football team and such low enrollment, it’s difficult for Wilmington to field both a football and soccer team at the same time.

Coach Travis Ivanoff has also retired from coaching at the school, although he agreed to return and coach the boys if they’re able to field a team. Discussions are still being held, and there’s always hope, but it appears possible, even likely, that the Wildcats will make it four straight years without a boys team.

All the rest

There remains a tremendous amount of intriguing storylines throughout the area, too many to pick just one. Two years after going winless, Joliet Central won six games last year and went 2-8 in one-score games, showing improved competitiveness. How will the team fare this season with Ricardo Camacho returning for his senior year?

Plainfield Central loses Sebastian Chavez, but returns goalkeeper Marshall DeGraff. Will they have another outstanding season? Romeoville must replace Kameron McShaw, but brings back Diego Garcia to try and keep things going. Can senior Ethan Koranda close out his career at Minooka with a brilliant finale? It’ll all be worth keeping an eye on in 2025.