Guilford's NIC-10 title leads Rockford's top 3 storylines ahead of the IHSA soccer playoffs
The boys soccer postseason has arrived in Illinois, and there could be some interesting stories coming up.
Guilford claimed one of the biggest victories in the area this season when it knocked off Boylan 3-2 last week to earn a share of the NIC-10 title. Now, it's on to the Illinois High School Association postseason, which kicks in on Tuesday for the top seeds in Class 2A and 3A. The Class 1A playoffs are already in full swing.
Now Boylan and Guilford are ready to try and leave their marks in 2A and 3A, respectively.
More:Rockford area's high school boys soccer players to know for the 2022 season
"This team is looking to go a long ways this year," Boylan coach Jose Gomez said. "There's a lot of soccer left to play."
Here are three of the top storylines headed into the postseason:
Guilford's win over Boylan nets title
The NIC-10 title came down to defending champion Boylan versus Guilford last Tuesday night, and the Vikings found a way to secure a win and join the Titans as co-champs.
Guilford got early goals from Jesus Medrano and Edwin Ramirez, but Boylan kept fighting back with goals from Alvin Hernandez and a late Adan Pina penalty kick. Finally, though, less than a minute later, Guilford took the lead for good on a Jesse Ramirez goal from deep in the zone.
Guilford (11-5-2) slammed the door on the season, and clinched a piece of the conference title, with a 5-1 win over Belvidere North to cap off last week. Now the Vikings are looking to make a run through the 3A postseason.
Guilford has used a balanced scoring attack much of the season, with juniors Dylan Entrikin (10 goals and 5 assists), Jesus Medrano (8 goals and 3 assists), Miguel Sandoval (6 goals and 5 assists) and Eric Ramirez (5 goals and 9 assists) providing a lot of the points.
The Vikings earned the seventh seed in the 3A bracket, and they travel to take on the 10th-seeded team from Algonquin Jacobs at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. East (No. 4 seed), Jefferson (12), Hononegah (14) and Auburn (16) are also in the same 3A bracket as Guilford.
Boylan still one to beat in Class 2A
The Titans' loss to Guilford kept them from owning the NIC-10 title by itself, but it didn't stop them from making a run in the postseason.
Boylan (16-3-1) has one tie and two losses in its past five games, but did finish strong with an 8-0 win over Freeport last Wednesday. The Titans got the No. 1 regional seed in 2A and take on No. 7 Burlington Central on the road at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Belvidere and Belvidere North face off at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Burlington Central, and the two winners meet for the regional title at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Last season:Boylan soccer claims its 2nd IHSA state soccer championship
They could face Freeport and/or Rochelle in next week's 2A sectionals, if any of them make it that far.
The Titans have been led by senior Victor Ibarra (12 goals and 7 assists) and sophomore Reece Schlicting (10 goals and 9 assists).
Season ends for Class 1A teams
The postseason has already kicked in for the 1A teams in the state, and all of the local teams' seasons have come to a close. The final 1A teams were knocked out just before sectionals, with Oregon getting the farthest, falling 5-0 to Genoa-Kingston in last Friday's regional finals.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, for more than 20 years at the Register Star, and for nearly 30 years all together. He was a four-sport athlete himself, and is the father of five that went on to be jocks of some kind as well.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: IHSA boys soccer playoffs: Top storylines around Rockford
