Amundsen will play St. Charles Friday in the quarterfinals of the state girls soccer tournament.
They don’t deserve each other.
Amundsen’s game, gritty athletes deserve a better fate than the rout that surely awaits them. St. Charles, a program in mid-dynasty, deserves a test worthy of its players’ remarkable skills.
What the teams are getting instead is a mismatch in which, barring forfeit or volcanic eruption, Amundsen can’t win and, perhaps, neither can St. Charles.
If the Saints win big, well, they’re supposed to. If they win too big, they may be accused of running up the score.
It’s an awkward situation, though not a surprising one given the backward nature of girls sports in the Chicago Public League. This is the Illinois High School Association’s 11th state girls soccer tournament but just the fourth year of Public League competition in the sport.
Until now, the Public League has sent its teams into the regionals, where they expired as quickly as it took them to meet up with good suburban opponents. This year, however, Public League girls soccer participation climbed high enough for the league champion to earn an automatic berth in the Elite Eight, just as it does in other team sports.
So when Amundsen defeated Kennedy 1-0 in overtime Monday for the Public League playoff title, you could almost hear a gulp amid the Vikings’ cheers.
To understand why, consider the following:
– Virtually none of Amundsen’s players had soccer experience before enrolling in high school, nor do they play year-round. St. Charles’ players have been involved in soccer since grammar school and play on club teams in the off-season.
– Amundsen has lost seven of its 23 games this season; St. Charles hasn’t lost in its last 80 games.
– New Trier eliminated Amundsen 11-0 in the state series two years ago and 10-0 last season; St. Charles has won the last two state titles and five in all.
Visits to the Public League title game and to St. Charles’ 5-1 defeat of Schaumburg Tuesday in the Palatine supersectional made it clear even to an untrained eye that St. Charles’ players are vastly more skilled than Amundsen’s and play at a markedly faster pace.
Amundsen coach Rich Straka would have liked a couple more years for Public League girls soccer to mature before its champion went straight to the quarterfinals, but he didn’t flinch after winning the inaugural trip.
“You have to do what you have to do,” he said. “Maybe we haven’t been around long enough to play elite teams like St. Charles, but I didn’t make that decision.
“We’re going to go and represent the league with all the dignity and class we can.”
Straka already was doing that Monday, handing out a roster and other information to reporters to help offset the perception Public League teams can’t get their acts together. He doesn’t want anything to detract from his players’–and in particular his eight seniors’–accomplishments, which in their own way rival St. Charles’.
Almost all Amundsen’s players are immigrants, and Straka has had to battle some parents’ notions that a girl’s place is in the home, not on the athletic field. He also has had players miss practices and games to baby-sit siblings or translate for a parent.
“These kids have overcome all sorts of obstacles to get where they are,” Straka said. “This is a great opportunity for them, one they worked very hard for and will always remember.”
Straka’s players know what they’re up against, but they are determined to represent the Public League with honor.
“St. Charles? Oh, man,” senior Amaris Alanis said, shaking her head. “It’s going to be an honor to play them, but we’re going in there to show the Chicago public schools can be a part of this.
“As long as we play tough and try our hardest, it will be good for us and good for all the Public League schools.”
Whether it’s good for St. Charles is debatable. On the one hand, the Saints face a sure victory and a chance to rest their starters; on the other, a blowout isn’t the ideal way to maintain a competitive edge.
St. Charles coach Joe Moreau believes arguments about whether the Public League champ belongs in the Elite Eight are moot, that the league should be treated the same way it is in other sports.
“It has been neat to read about how excited the Amundsen kids are to play in the quarterfinals,” said Moreau, who has a 102-3-6 record in his four years as head coach. “We have to respect them and play with some class and try to play the best game we can.
“When you do that, good things happen.”
Good things are also ahead for Public League soccer. The Chicago school system has started summer camps and grammar-school teams in the sport, so its girls should begin narrowing their talent gap with suburban players.
“People are concerned the city will get blown out Friday, but it’s not about the score,” said Kelly coach Stan Mietus, whose team won the 1997 Public League title. “It’s going to give us a reason to strive to improve.
“In two or three years, we’ll be able to compete with these suburban teams.”
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Send e-mail to Barry Temkin at BarTem@aol.com
