MSL Soccer: Years Ending in Four Mean More Boys State Success
Hersey Continues Trophy Trend that Includes Two Titles Since 1984
Hersey made sure years ending in 4 continue to be memorable for Mid-Suburban League boys soccer.
The 2024 Huskies’ 3-0 Class 3A supersectional win over Elgin on Tuesday ensured they will join state champions Fremd (1984) and Palatine (1994), runner-up Buffalo Grove (2004) and third-place finisher Fremd (2014) as MSL boys soccer trophy-winners. The first state tournament was held in 1972 and the MSL didn’t get a qualifier until 1977 when Palatine lost in the semifinals.
Here’s a look at the past four for 4:
1984 - A Lot of Extra Effort for Fremd
Fremd and Quincy Notre Dame battled for 120 minutes without finding the net in their single-class state championship match at St. Charles. It turned into a battle of penalty kicks after four quarters, two overtimes and six five-minute sudden death overtimes.
And Fremd coach Gerardo Pagnani didn’t have some master plan for the penalty kicks.
“I just asked for volunteers and picked the ones who seemed most eager to try,” Pagnani told the Daily Herald’s Keith Reinhard.
Rick Kokodynski, Rich Wood, Patrick Smolen, Brian Nevius and John O’Connor were the chosen ones for Fremd. They all delivered - with Quincy Notre Dame missing its second attempt - and O’Connor’s shot into the lower right corner gave the MSL the first of five boys soccer state titles.
“I’m crazy - I love pressure,” O’Connor told the Herald’s Tom Loftus.
The Vikings attributed their ability to win the three-plus hour marathon to the conditioning drills of assistant coach Ralph Cortez. O’Connor (17 goals) and Craig Hartman (16 goals) were all-tourney picks and defender Mike Ignoffo was an all-state selection. Goalkeeper Bob LeFevre had 5 postseason shutouts and 19 overall in a 24-4 season.
Hartman and Scott Walz had goals in a 2-0 semifinal win over St. Joseph and O’Connor’s hat trick led a 3-0 quarterfinal win over Chicago Public League champion Amundsen. But a 1-0 sectional final win over defending state champion Glenbrook North on O’Connor’s goal with 10 minutes left was an indicator to Pagnani and the Vikings they could compete with anyone in the state.
“I still can’t believe it,” Pagnani told Reinhard the Monday after the title. “A lot of coaches dream of winning state. I know I’ve dreamed about it. But actually winning it is something else.”
The classy Pagnani would finish his head coaching career with another title in 1997 and a second-place finish in 1993.
1994 - Palatine’s Miracle in the Mud
Palatine appeared to be less than a minute away from accepting the second-place trophy in the rain and mud at Fremd’s Hale Hildebrandt Field. Granite City, a powerhouse in the one-class era, was on the verge of preserving a 1-0 lead for its 11th state championship.
Then Ricky Ternes intercepted a sloppy clearing attempt by Granite City in its own end. Ternes chipped the ball to striker Mike Huber and he stayed onside to blast home the tying goal with 20 seconds left in regulation.
There would be no overtime marathon like Fremd’s 10 years earlier. Just 88 seconds into the extra session, John Wolowiec headed in Tim Harold’s corner kick to give the Pirates a 2-1 victory and the title in stunning fashion.
“What summed up that season was our never-say-die attitude and to keep on trucking,” Ternes said for a column on the 20th anniversary of the title.
Palatine, which finished 25-2-2, won the MSL title en route to its fourth state appearance and first under coach Willie Filian. Sweeper Brian Zych anchored a tenacious defense and keeper Chris Jamal was a wall as the Pirates had a nine-match scoreless streak that lasted nearly a month.
The Pirates also showed they weren’t frontrunners in a single-class Elite Eight where it trailed 1-0 in every game and played at three different sites because of the miserable weather and field conditions.
Wolowiec, Huber, Harold and Josh Prutch scored second-half goals to beat Peoria Notre Dame 4-1 in the quarterfinals at Conant. A huge Jamal save kept the deficit within a goal against defending state champion Sandburg and Wolowiec and Huber scored for a 2-1 victory.
Then came the biggest comeback of all.
“It was really, really a fun ride,” Filian said. “Those two weeks went by so fast. We started the playoffs in the sunshine and it was 70 degrees, we beat Crystal Lake South, and we’re thinking we could get through the sectional. The next thing you know, it’s a rainy Saturday night where it’s 45 degrees and we’re holding up a state title trophy.”
And that spring, the Palatine girls won the state championship and Filian became the first coach to win boys and girls soccer titles in the same school year.
2004 - BG’s Near-Perfect Sendoff
Buffalo Grove and retiring head coach John Erfort weren’t even pegged to do much as a sixth seed in the Hersey sectional. But the Bison got hot and rolled all the way to the Class AA title game before losing 1-0 in overtime to Downers Grove South.
Erfort and BG won a title in 1988 with future pro and U.S. National team star Brian McBride. His 2004 team led by keeper Brian Byrne and midfielders Brad DeSimone and Scott Wallner won a pair of 1-0 games in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
Eric Love scored late in the match off Wallner’s feed against Morton to ensure BG would win a trophy. Freshman Brian DeSimone scored in the 74th minute to give the Bison and Erfort a shot at another title trophy.
Brad DeSimone saw limited action in the championship after an injury in the semifinal. Late in the first overtime, striker Mike McCormack scored for favored Downers South (26-2-1). The Bison finished 21-6-3 and Erfort closed his classy career with 333 victories.
“When McCormack scored it was so instantaneous it was like watching a car accident,” Erfort told Herald soccer guru Mike Garofola. “It happened so fast. I’m going to tell my guys they played in a terrific state final match, because they did. The crowd was amazing, both sides had chances and we just put everything out there against a great team in Downers South.”
2014 - Fremd Catches the LeFevre
Fremd caught some LeFevre fever from 30 years earlier as keeper Will LeFevre played a big part in a surge to the Class 3A Final Four. LeFevre’s dad Bob was the keeper on the 1984 state championship team.
Coach Steve Keller’s Vikings won the MSL title behind defender-midfielder Ben Borst, defender Tomas Peleckas and forwards Ben Poder and Zach Schoffstall. In a 1-0 supersectional win over New Trier, Borst scored with 10 minutes left and LeFevre made an incredible save to preserve the shutout in the 77th minute.
Schoffstall’s penalty kick in the 26th minute put Fremd ahead in the semifinal but Hinsdale Central responded to win 2-1. Schoffstall had a hat trick and Danny Burton added a goal in the third-place game for a 4-0 win over Streamwood and coach Matt Polovin, who played on the 1993 state runner-up.
“Obviously we would have liked to be in the championship game tonight,” Schoffstall said to Garofola. “But this is still a great way to go out, especially for all of the seniors on this team, which have been together for so long.”
Keller has won 10 top-four state trophies at Fremd - six with the boys and four with the girls.
Nearly Another MSL Double Play
A loss in penalty kicks to Lane Tech prevented Conant from giving the MSL two teams in the state finals for the third time. The other times also included the Cougars and Barrington.
In 2002, Conant lost in the quarterfinals and Barrington finished third. In 2016, Barrington beat Conant 4-2 in the semifinals with the Broncos finishing second and the Cougars fourth.