The boy’s varsity soccer team had a three-way tie for first in conference after a hard-fought season from start to finish, led by seniors James Rohlfing and Damian Makowski. 

After a tough loss against a #1 ranked Warren team on March 9, they bounced back with an impressive performance against North Chicago on March 12, where striker Ben Berry and midfield Marko Marynevech were top scorers. The ball wasn’t exclusive to just those two though with four other players hitting the back of the net. With a very young goaltending crew, it sure didn’t show, freshman goalie Brendan Kirkner and sophomore goalie Connor Murphy shutout North Chicago leaving a final score of 8-0 

After shutting out opponents during week two, they played strong against Grant on March 18, where they ended up getting 11 goals on the board and only allowing 1 goal. Varsity soccer coach Thomas Hamilton said, “We started the game a bit flat to be honest, and Grant took advantage and deservedly so, but just seeing the way the guys bounced back [was a highlight].” Bouncing back was an understatement with midfielder Marko Marynevych and striker Daniel Marynevych both getting themselves a hat trick, and even with the two hat tricks, the ball still got around to four other people to hit the back of the net, like Rohlfing, who found the net twice to help secure the victory. With Grant getting their goal early in the game, Kirckner and Murphy made sure to shut them down the rest of the game.

Against the Zion-Benton Zee-Bees on March 27, the Rams carried over the momentum from the past two games to allow for a 2-1 victory, with the likes of Daniel Marynevech and James Rohlfing getting points up on the board. Kirkner was able to save 3 out of 4 shots, and he finished the game with a save percentage at .75, making sure not to let his age affect his performance.

The Rams kept the streak going with a win against the Antioch Sequoits on March 30, where sophomores Daniel Marynevnech and Cameron Paul were able to get on the board leading to a 2-1 victory for the Rams. Kirkner and Murphy were both able to hold the Sequoits to just 1 point in the second half. Leading off of that victory they had a hard-fought match against Lakes, and unfortunately, came up short with the final score being 2-0, Lakes on April 1.

The loss didn’t stop them from showing out against Vernon Hills on April 3. Freshman Nick Molocnikov found his way onto the scorecard along with midfielder Christian Hinestrosa and Marko Marynevych. Kirkner was in goal with 2 saves paving the way for the Rams to take home the win.

On April 6 against the Wauconda Bulldogs, the Rams used the momentum to have another strong showing in the NLCC, shutting out Wauconda and having Rohlfing and Daniel Marynevych lead the way to victory scoring 1 goal each. Against Wauconda, goalie Alexis Garcia-Perez makes his first appearance this season with an impressive 4 saves out of 4 shots.

On April 8, the Rams made sure to make a statement against their cross-town rivals shutting them out and getting on the board five times. Ray Sereno found his way onto the scorecard with one goal and one assist. Rohlfing, Daniel Maryneyvch, and Paul were able to secure the victory by creating a nice cushion finishing with a final score of 5-0.

The final game of the year on April 14 was nothing short of a battle, while competing for first in conference, midfielder Alan Alonso had his second goal of the season when it counted along with Cameron Paul bringing the final score to 2-1. Garcia-Perez had an impressive game with 11 saves and only allowing one goal paving the way for the Rams to be first in conference.

Overall, the Rams this season had a  successful year, finishing the year first in conference and only losing two games. Their final record was 8-2, the senior soccer players are able to walk off the field one last time as conference champions.