Walking down Clark Street, one can see the amber leaves falling from trees and feel the crisp air. These are signs the weather is turning and the fall sports season — boys’ soccer, field hockey, volleyball, girls’ tennis, golf, and cross country — is coming to an end.

Soccer – This year’s soccer team was one of the biggest in recent years. As a result, the team was split into not one but two JV squads and a Varsity team. The new format provided extra playing time for younger players and additional games for the JV teams. The Varsity soccer team had a successful regular season finishing with a record of 7-5-3. Senior captain Rafi Derringer explained one of the reasons he thought the team did so well this year. He said, “Throughout the season we were focused on staying positive and achieving our goal of making it to state.”  The team won Regionals and won their first game of Sectionals 1-0 on a free kick by sophomore Jared Albert. On Friday, October 21, the team advanced to Super-Sectionals, winning the Sectionals championship on a goal in the final minutes of the game scored by Junior Nick Cortez off of a volley. The final score of the game was 1-0. On Tuesday the squad lost in Super-Sectionals to St. Joseph’s, 1-0.

Field Hockey – The field hockey team had high expectations for the season but perhaps most important was beating arch rival Latin. After beating Latin 1-0 in the first meeting, the team was able to repeat its success with a second 1-0 victory over Latin. After that triumph the team could move on to bigger goals. “We are hoping to make it to the second round of the playoffs,” senior captain Fiona Gallagher said, “but we will be proud of ourselves no matter what.” The team finished the regular season with a record of 9-9-1, and lost to Glenbrook South in the first round of regionals.

Volleyball – After finishing the season with a record of 8-8, the volleyball team has their sights set on the tournament and expects to do well. Freshman Alex Ori said, “It was really great bonding as a team and making new friends.” The team’s biggest margin of victory was their win against Roycemore 25-10, 25-8. According to senior captain Leigh Logan, the best moment of the season was when the whole Varsity team did zumba. But succeeding in the tournament is also important. Logan said, “We would be extremely happy to win regionals.” The team won Regionals against Holy Trinity 25-12, 25-18 and advanced to the 2A Regional Finals against Latin on Thursday.

Tennis – The girls’ tennis team had some strong performances this year and capped off the season with a final victory against Trinity. The team ended the season with a record of 5-5. Sophomore Grace Chang and junior Olivia Levine placed 2nd and 3rd place, respectively, at the ISL Tournament.  Chang advanced to the IHSA State Championships, where she finished within the top 25 of 64 players.  

Golf – The golf team had a good season culminating in several strong performances in the tournament. In the postseason, sophomore Nathan Satterfield, junior Ryan Skok, and senior Ben Gershuny all made it to Sectionals. Sadly, they did not advance any further. Gershuny shot an 83, Skok an 86, and Satterfield an 87. Satterfield said, “Our biggest accomplishment as a team was a match where the whole team shot very low.”

Cross Country – The cross country team had a successful year, not only in team performance, but also in individual records. One of the more exciting meets was the season opener, in which the whole team set personal records in the three mile race, including Junior Jack McNabola (15:41), senior captain Will Polsky (18:05), junior Axel Burlin (18:18), and senior Henry Holtz (20:05). McNabola won the ISL Championship and the IHSA Regional.  “In the four years I have been on the team, this is the best it has ever been,” Polsky said, “I hope to rank at least top 10 in sectionals and maybe even make it to state.” Both boys’ and girls’ sides competed in the IHSA Sectional Race at Lisle High School on Saturday.