Look at how the season started, and it’s unlikely many folks would’ve predicted Plainfield Central getting to where it’s at now. The Wildcats, clearly missing the loss of Sebastian Chavez at the beginning of the year, started 3-3, including dropping their first two matches after having leads in each.

Fast forward a month, and things couldn’t be going much better. After the third loss, they won nine in a row and are currently 14-5-1, including 8-1 in Southwest Prairie Conference play. Their victory over Minooka was the Indians’ only loss of the year.

The Wildcats entered the year knowing they had one of the best keepers in the state in senior Marshall DeGraff. The Bowling Green commit has been sensational in the net. Take out a 7-1 loss to Naperville Central, and Plainfield Central has allowed only 13 goals all year.

The offense has come alive as well. Jorge Mireles, a recent Herald-News Athlete of the Week winner, has helped the Wildcats score 48 goals on the season. His leadership has helped push Plainfield Central to second place in the SWPC.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t work left to do. Plainfield Central is 2-2-1 in its past five games and will want to sharpen things up before the postseason. Still, for what it lost in the offseason and how it started the season, the team will gladly take the position it’s in right now.

Mighty Minooka

As mentioned above, the loss to the Wildcats is the only one on Minooka’s schedule this season. That it came in penalty kicks should also tell you how strong a year the Indians are having.

The Indians are now 15-1 overall and 8-1 in the SWPC, first place in the conference. That’s all impressive on its own. Outscoring their opponents 51-11 makes it even more astonishing. What makes this run particularly magical, though, is that no one outside of Minooka would’ve been able to predict it.

Last season saw Minooka go 5-11-4. The team was just 4-7 in conference play and was outscored 29-41 on the year. While that team was young and this one is more experienced, it’s not like it added some Division I outside talent. This is mostly the same group leading an improbable turnaround.

If there were a Herald-News Coach of the Year, Nate Spriggs would have already earned it, while senior Andrew Calderon is having an All-Area-type season. While the playoffs are a whole different beast, the Indians have earned the right to be believed in.

Lights out Lockport

Like Plainfield Central, Lockport had an impressive season last year with several question marks entering this year. While a lot of key pieces were back from last year’s squad that advanced to the supersectional, it also lost the Herald-News Player of the Year in Ismael Gomez.

Based on where Lockport is now, the Porters haven’t skipped a beat. They are 11-2-2 overall and 6-0 in the Southwest Suburban Conference. A 3-2 loss to De La Salle in the Windy City Tournament finals, followed by a 2-1 defeat to Glenbard West, was followed by back-to-back draws early this season. Since then, they’ve won seven in a row and have outscored opponents 42-16 on the year.

Jacob Hareza has scored 11 goals with six assists in 10 games this year. Krystian Rafacz (six goals, eight assists in 13 games) and Aleko Kolliniatis (eight goals, eight assists in 10 games) have helped lead the way, as well.

It’s been a more balanced effort this year compared to last season, but it’s been working. The Porters are just hoping it keeps working once the playoffs start.

Knights out

The only difference between Lincoln-Way Central and the three teams above is that its outstanding year is probably a little less surprising. The Knights went 16-4 last season and returned most key contributors from a year ago.

As such, they’re 13-3 overall, 6-1 in South Suburban Conference play and second overall in the conference. It’s been a balanced effort, but Aiden Byrne has been piling it on on the offensive side of things lately. He’ll surely hope to keep that going moving forward.