It was a cold evening at St. Charles North when the Wildcats arrived to take on their final opponent of the season. At around 5:00 p.m. on Oct. 18, the West Chicago soccer team felt the pressure of the playoffs against Addison Trail.

Players warmed up on the field, ready for the game to start. After warm-ups, the kick-off started. 

WCCHS’s boys’ team started off strong in the first 25-30 minutes. Towards the end of the first half, they came close to scoring when senior Manuel Robles headered the ball just wide of the goal. However, Addison Trail was physical, and kept the Wildcats running.

Although the two teams were evenly matched, the Wildcats were not connecting in the match – players were looking at their own plays, but not focused on playing as a team.

“Our chemistry was not at our best in that game. I think we could have done way better as a team, and it affected us because we weren’t as dangerous when we attacked. One mistake could cost it all,” said Diego Martinez, a senior.

WEGO had a couple of clear chances on the field to score goals, and dominated for most of the game. However, Addison Trail refused to give up.

“I think they played a pretty good game, like us. We played an okay game. It was not our best at all,” said senior Gabe Huerta.

“I think it was a very winnable game. Very unlucky loss, it honestly still frustrates me till this day. I was very surprised because of the hard work that the team has been putting in all season. But Addison trail took a good chance for a goal and finally put a score on the board,” said senior Efrain Romero.

Ultimately, the Wildcats were thwarted by a lack of teamwork. Several of the players tried to take the ball up the field without assistance. The final play started from the midfield position, and the Blazers took the ball along the side. West Chicago’s defense was not ready for Addison Trail’s final shot, and senior David Ramirez was unable to block the fast-moving ball. The other team scored in the last 15-20 minutes of the game, and the Wildcats never recovered.

“It’s not the way we wanted the season to end, but it was a very tricky game where Addison Trail showed up to play, they showed up to compete, to win something and we went in there super confident, overconfident. We could sense being on top, and saw them below, we did not expect them to come fired up, we talked about parts of the game we had to match this game as a state final and things like this happens is sports. A team that wants it more is the team that is going to come on top and unfortunately it wasn’t us this season and a lesson to be taught for the future generations to come,” said Dorian Carrasco, coach of the Varsity team.

West Chicago is now looking forward to next season, and the return of players who made noticeable strides this year, including sophomores Cung Thawng, Donovan Avila and Andrew Munoz, and junior Camilo Salinas. 

Looking toward the next season, senior Nathan Sanchez said, “Be more of a team. Be friends on and off the field to better connect on the field.”