Burlington Central, Conran peaking at right time
Burlington Central couldn't wait for senior midfielder Danny Conran to return to action two weeks ago after missing the team's first 10 games of the soccer season while recovering from knee surgery.
Now we see why.
Starting with Conran's debut against the St. Charles East junior varsity team at the Saints' own tournament, the Rockets have reeled off seven consecutive victories (through Tuesday) and have jumped right back into the conversation of the top teams in the Big Northern Conference East Division, along with Harvard and Hampshire.
After dropping their first conference match of the season to Harvard, the Rockets (11-4-1) and Hornets now have equal 5-1-1 records in conference play. Central was helped by Hampshire earlier this week when the Whip-Purs dealt the Hornets their first loss.
"We got some luck when Hampshire beat Harvard, but that didn't really surprise me," Rockets coach Michael Gecan said. "Hampshire has been coming on strong lately."
And so have the Rockets. Included in the win streak was an amazing come-from-behind victory against Hinckley-Big Rock. In that match, the Rockets trailed 3-0 at halftime. They ended up winning 4-3, scoring the game-winner with two ticks left on the clock on a goal by senior Scott Knewitz.
"I told them at halftime to forget about the first half," Gecan said. "That turned out to be like a basketball game with a shot at the buzzer. We all ran on the field (after Knewitz's goal). I went nuts, too."
Conran has scored four goals since returning from ACL surgery. Gecan also praised the recent play of sophomore goalkeeper Kyle DeRaedt, sophomore defender Steve Hall and usual contributors Enrique Alvarado, Nate Parks and Jordan Werrbach. Alvarado leads the team with 11 goals this season.
"We've definitely had a better chemistry on the field since (Conran) returned," Gecan said. "He had been chomping at the bit to get back in there. He hadn't touched a soccer ball in three months and it's like he never stopped playing. He automatically makes everyone better around him."
Valencia returns -- Elgin senior forward Lucas Valencia, the team's leading scorer the past two seasons, returned to limited action on Tuesday against Bartlett. Valencia had missed two games after sustaining a mild concussion two weeks ago following a violent collision with St. Charles East goalkeeper Charlie Lyon.
Valencia refused immediate medical attention, but underwent a CT Scan the next day after waking up early with headaches.
"I was going at full speed and I didn't see (Lyon) coming," Valencia said. "He was going to punch the ball out and instead he ended up punching my head.
"I just remember I closed my eyes and the next thing I knew people were cheering and I was sweating and shaking."
Golden Eagles impress -- Jacobs doubled its previous win total and turned some heads while taking second place last weekend at the Golden Eagles' own tournament.
After beating Belvidere North, Hoffman Estates and West Chicago in pool play, Jacobs (6-12) was defeated by Geneva 3-1 in the tournament's championship match. Area teams Larkin (1-1-1), Hampshire (0-3) and Dundee-Crown (1-1-1) also competed.
"This was a nice tournament for us and hopefully this will give the boys some confidence. Losing to Geneva is no shame," Golden Eagles coach Jim Dzialo said. "I think we left the weekend pretty pleased. We have started to play better."
Geneva senior Brian Holbrook was the named the tournament's MVP. Geneva also received a "traveling trophy" that it will bring back next year and be passed along on a one-year lease to future winners.
Carbonara continues scoring assault -- Huntley junior Nico Carbonara blew past a handful of players and took over the area scoring lead last week following a five-goal outburst against Grayslake North. Carbonara added another one Tuesday and now has a school-record 26 scores this season. Carbonara held the previous record of 21, set last year.
"He's been scoring a lot of goals lately," Red Raiders coach Kris Grabner said. "I know he was happy, but he didn't make too much of a big deal about it."
More importantly, the Red Raiders (10-7, 6-2) are closing in on the program's first Fox Valley Conference title.
A 3-1 loss to streaking Prairie Ridge on Tuesday sent the Red Raiders into a three-way tie (in the loss column) in the Fox Division with Prairie Ridge and Grayslake North. After beginning the season 0-8, the Wolves (8-8-1) are unbeaten in their last nine matches.
"Winning the conference is definitely one of our goals," Grabner said. "We've talked a lot about it lately and that would be something special for this team."
