Cadets, Vikings ready for matches

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Marmion's soccer team is preparing for Wednesday's Class 2A Hampshire Sectional semifinal match against Lakes, and is relieved it advanced to this point.

The Cadets won their 13th straight match Saturday, 2-1, over Johnsburg, but it wasn't pretty. They trailed for the first time in a month in the game and had to rally for the win by moving some of its players around to other positions to get a spark.

"We didn't have one of our stronger games," Marmion coach Kevin O'Connor said. "It's not about style now. During the regular season, it's about the process. Now, it's about the end result, not the process. We'll take it and move on and try to take advantage of that opportunity."

The Cadets are the No. 2 seed in the sectional, and all four top seeds have stood up through regionals. Marmion faces No. 3 seed Lakes at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The other semifinal is today at 4 p.m. and features top-seeded Wheaton Academy and No. 4 seed Antioch.

Lakes is only in its fifth varsity season as a school, but the Eagles have won two straight regional titles. O'Connor said he has seen Lakes play twice in person and is impressed with what he has seen.

"They're a very solid team," O'Connor said. "I think they're a team that we'll compete with very well. They tied New Trier, 2-2, a few weeks ago, so that speaks to how they can play."

Marmion has been looking forward to a potential rematch with Wheaton Academy since losing to the Warriors earlier this season in conference play. But O'Connor is confident his team will not look past Lakes.

"It's very easy," O'Connor said. "We know if we don't take care of business, we can't play Wheaton Academy. Our focus is to win this game. They don't look past anything. That's a very good characteristic to have on a team. We know if we focus on a game ahead, we may not get there. If we're successful Wednesday, we'll take them into consideration."

• In Class 3A, Geneva is the clear-cut favorite on paper to win the Hoffman Estates Sectional.

The Vikings are the No. 2 seed and will face 12th-seeded Schaumburg tonight at 6:30. The other semifinal features No. 9 seed Wheaton North and No. 10 seed St. Charles North. That means that Geneva is the lone top-eight seed in the field still alive.

"There are two ways to look at it," Geneva coach Ryan Estabrook said. "Either they are just content that they made it this far, or they have so much confidence that they feel they can take down anyone. We don't put much stock in seeds this time of the year. We always respect our opponent, yet fear no one."

The other three teams will have their hands full with Geneva (18-4-2), thanks to its combination of strengths. The Vikings' defense and keeper Ryan Ward are extremely stingy. Seamus Kaminski (18 goals) and Kevin Hilgart (15 goals) are as explosive a forward duo around. And midfielder Brady Wahl dominated Saturday's regional title win.

"We have two high-powered forwards, but the strength of our team is defense," Estabrook said. "It's been hard for teams to get quality shots off of us."