There were no nerves as the varsity soccer team arrived at school around 7 a.m. on September 29 in preparation for traveling to the Gateway City Boys Soccer Classic in St. Louis.   All pressure was off, because the team knew that it could do better than last year, when it finished in fourth place.  Last year’s experience was a severe blow to the team’s morale as it was heading into the playoffs, where it would eventually win the regional title.

This year everything changed. The team went down to St. Louis knowing that it was better than last year and could win it all, if they played Caravan soccer. This year, the team won second place and changed a lot of perspectives about the Mount Carmel soccer program.

School began on Thursday morning as the varsity players gathered in the Commons awaiting some final words of encouragement from Athletic Director Dan Lacount. “You’re a good team,” assured Lacount.  “You have the potential to be a great team. Treat this as a business trip.” With that encouragement in mind, the team boarded two Caravan mini-buses and headed on its way to St. Louis.

On the way to St. Louis, the team stopped at Subway, where they ate a quick meal before the 7 p.m. game at CBC High School.

The team arrived at the hotel around 2:30 p.m. and had checked into rooms by 3 p.m. After resting from the long bus ride, the team gathered in the Coach Godinez’s room for a strategy meeting at 4 p.m.  The team then got on the buses and departed for their game at 5:30 p.m.

It was quiet on the buses as the players focused before their first game, but afterwards all hell broke loose. The team was celebrating a 4-0 win over St. Dominic of Missouri, a celebration which – to borrow words from MC Head Football Coach Frank Lenti – was “earned and deserved.”

To celebrate, the team enjoyed a late dinner of pasta and salad at the Olive Garden.  However, based on some unfortunate overindulgence by last year’s team, there were strict orders to NOT take advantage of the limitless breadsticks.  Dinner was followed by a quick trip to Walmart to stock up on room supplies, after which the team returned to the hotel rooms by 11:15 p.m. to end the first day.

The second day began with a team breakfast at 8 A.M., although most players didn’t arrive until a half hour later.  Breakfast was followed by another strategy meeting in the coach’s room at 11:00 a.m.  This time the message was straight to the point:  if you want it, then show it. With that, the team departed for the field to prepare for a 12:30 p.m. game.

Things were not going well for the varsity in the first half of the game, as evident by the score line favoring Quincy High School (Illinois) 2-1. It could have been even worse, however.  Late into the first half, sophomore goalie Sergio Valencia blocked a penalty kick to keep the game within a one goal margin.

Although the team was sparked by some choice half-time words from the coaches and the captains, it could not finish the job. The Caravan scored early in the half and was relentless in their shooting efforts, but after that nothing came through. The second half ended in 2-2 tie,

According to tournament rules, a tie must go to a penalty shootout, featuring five players from each team.  Valencia came in big once again, blocking the deciding penalty kick and giving the Caravan a 4-2 win on penalty kicks. That made the final game score 3-2 , and with the win, the Caravan rolled on to the championship.

Following the close shave, there was an almost somber ambiance on the bus.  The team again was treated to a meal at the Olive Garden, and this time the players were allowed to have more than pasta and salad.

The third day began with an early breakfast at 7 a.m. followed by the team meeting at 9, in advance of the 10:30 game against the host school, Christian Brothers College. The score going into the half was 2-1 favoring CBC and the first half ended with junior Moises Sanchez suffering a concussion after a hard hit by a CBC player.

The message from Coach Godinez during halftime break was again asking the question, “How badly do you want it?”  He pointed out that they had overcome the same deficit against Quincy for a win, and said he was confident they could do it again. Despite the inspirational pep talk, the final score was 4-1, with CBC winning the championship on its home field and the Caravan settling for 2nd place.

Adding to the disappointment, the game concluded with a red card delivered to Cesar Cosio, and injuries to freshman Felix Mendoza, junior Giovanny Vargas, and senior captain Jaylen Anderson.  The carnage reflected how hard the Caravan had worked during the game.

Despite the disappointment, Coach Godinez had words of encouragement, “We’re a good team. We just came up a little bit short of our goal.” That positive message was reinforced with some news that broke during the bus ride back to the hotel:  the Caravan had earned the number one seed in its state sectional.

After a good night’s rest and a chance to focus on the new goal of a state championship, the team left for Chicago the following morning around 9:15 a.m. The road home included a half hour lunch break at Steak ‘N’ Shake and a refill on snacks at the gas station before arriving back at Mount Carmel at 3 p.m.

All in all, the trip was successful, for as senior captain Valencia noted, it “really helped us gel as team and get ready for state.”

Following the trip to St. Louis, the Caravan had just two more games in preparation for playoffs. The first game was against St. Ignatius, where it suffered a 5-2 loss. But things turned out better against Marist on Senior Day, as the Caravan easily won 5-0 to end the regular season.

The state playoffs got underway on Thursday, October 20, with a win 7-0 win against Instituto Health Science Career Academy. The next game is against Solorio at 4:30 P.M. on Friday, October 21 for the regional final.