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BOYS SOCCER: Reds ready to swoop down on state foes
Gibault is heading for its home away from home this weekend.
The Hawks beat Litchfield 5-1 Tuesday in the finals of the IHSA Class A Lincolnwood Sectional, punching their ticket to the state tournament in Naperville.
It's well-trod turf for the Reds, who finished third in Illinois in 2008 after back-to-back-to-back state titles from 2005-07.
"It feels great," Gibault coach Jim Corsi said. "It doesn't get old. It is an accomplishment because every year you have different players and kids that have never been. It lifts up our whole school community as well."
The Lincolnwood pitch was more like Lake Michigan for the squads, but Gibault senior Griffin Wielgus got his foot through the muck and all the way through a shot that belted into goal and put the Hawks ahead 1-0.
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Litchfield equalized soon after, but senior Brent Russell countered with a goal from way out that put Gibault in front for good.
"They got a nice shot and put it in and it was tied," Corsi said. "It was tense there for about 20 minutes and then we seemed to pull ahead pretty quickly."
Russell's response was key as the Hawks sought to stifle Litchfield's uprising.
"It was very important and it was a great shot," Corsi said. "The field was a lake, there was mud everywhere and the goal area was atrocious. But we still managed."
Wielgus scored once and junior Corey Hogrefe added two goals in the second half to make Litchfield's rain-soaked night a perfect misery.
Now the Hawks head for North Central College in Naperville. Blessed with talent during their championship trilogy, the new-look Reds have cobbled together their latest challenge from disparate parts working in concert.
"This is a mix," Corsi said. "It is a team with a significant number of players with very, very good skill and then some with good hustle who play hard. It is a mixed bag."
Gibault faces a previously unknown quantity in Keith Country Day School in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday, with the title tilt to follow 24 hours later. The Cougars will aim to emulate Spain's slick-passing triumph in Euro 2008.
"The one we worry about is of course the one we play Friday," Corsi said. "I've learned a lot about Keith Country Day. I've called about eight or 10 coaches and I have a couple more who are going to call me back.
"They are primarily a Spanish team. They have a Spanish coach and they play a Spanish style of one or two touches. They are pretty skillful, pretty quick and have scored a lot of goals."
The Hawks have run the gauntlet in their murderous regular-season schedule, facing the likes of St. Louis University High, Chaminade and Vianney from Missouri, as well as Illinois bigwigs Edwardsville, Collinsville and Granite City.
Keith's schedule has been decidedly less urbane.
"They don't play really strong teams necessarily," Corsi said. "I only saw two teams on their schedule that I recognized the names of. They beat one team 18-0, beat several teams 8-0 or 10-0. I didn't call those coaches of course.
"They are a good team, though. They played Rockford-Gilford, a good 3A team that beat them 2-1. Against the big teams they did play, they did well. I expect speed and skill from them."
Despite the program's pedigree up north, this new flight of Hawks will need to choke down the fear and anxiety of the big stage if they hope to reach the heights of their predecessors.
"We have to calm the nerves," Corsi said. "We have to make sure of our short passing game and try to possess the ball. We have to make sure the shots we take have a chance to go in and keep them between the posts. It's state, so you want to make sure everything goes right."
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