Sports
St. Charles East Soccer Claims Conference Crown
Eric Russell's first-half goal provides the winning margin as the Saints post a 1-0 win over Larkin.
No matter what happens during upcoming postseason play, St. Charles East's boys soccer team will take one major milestone from the regular season.
The Saints are conference champions.
Eric Russell scored the game's only goal off a free kick in the 23rd minute, and the Saints (11-7-1) held on in the closing minutes for a 1-0 victory over Larkin Tuesday night at Memorial Stadium.
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With the win, the Saints clinched the Upstate Eight Conference River Division title outright with a 5-1 record.
"The guys have had a fantastic conference run," said Saints coach Paul Jennison. "A 5-1 record—that's big time. I think that's a lot better than anyone was going to give us credit for at the beginning of the year.
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"I'm very happy and proud of them," Jennison added.
According to Jennison, it has been a while since the Saints were crowned as conference champions.
"I'm not entirely sure but I don't think we've won a conference title since the (St. Charles) schools split (11 years ago)," Jennison said.
"We've been happy to be under the radar all season," he added. "This is a good group of guys. They work hard for each other and you can't ask any more than that."
Russell, a senior defender, blasted a missile past Royals keeper Santiago Guerrero from 20 yards out after being fouled moments earlier.
"I've been in that position a lot and this one finally went in," said Russell, who helped thwart several Larkin scoring chances late in the game. "It was a little shaky toward the end but we kept it together and held them off for the win."
Jennison would expect nothing less from his captain.
"He was fantastic today," Jennison said of Russell. "That's what he's there for. But he can't do it alone‑there's 10 other guys around him. I thought we had three or four guys who played their best games of the year today."
The Saints also received strong performances from senior midfielder Kyle Ortman, defenders Frank DiNatale, Austin Jackman, and Michael Macek and keeper Eric Meesenburg (7 saves).
Eighth-seeded St. Charles East will open regional play against host Glenbard North at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 19. The regional championship is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Oct. 23, in Carol Stream.
"It has been a great year so far but we certainly don't want it to end here," Jennison said.
