FEATURE ARTICLE

Weekend Preview: 10 Tournaments and 125 Games

By Aaron Brown

Nearly every team in the state has gotten their season underway this week, but things really get going over the weekend, which has 125 games scheduled between Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

That game number total includes four tournaments that get started on Friday and a total of ten tournaments altogether over the entire weekend.

Here is a preview of what to watch for beginning at 4:30pm on Friday:

BOYS

Hoffman Tournament

The Hawks are off to a fast start and will look to keep things moving in an upward direction when they take on Prospect in the first game of the tournament. Later, Schaumburg meets Buffalo Grove, Hinsdale South takes on St Charles East, and Vernon Hills battles Von Steuben on Friday night. The tournament continues on Saturday, concluding with two semifinal games and a championship game at 5:10pm. Schaumburg will look to defend their tournament title and enter the competition as the highest ranked team of the bunch (#22). St Charles East is also off to a fast start at 2-0, so they will look to continue their winning streak against Hoffman and Prospect on Saturday.

Palatine Tournament

The field at the Palatine Tournament is loaded, as every one of the nine teams participating is ranked in the Top 25. With most of the teams having only played once or twice this season, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will emerge to play in the first place bracket on Saturday. The action starts off with the host Pirates taking on Loyola, followed by a state quarterfinal rematch between St Ignatius and McHenry. Two top ten teams meet next when Latin faces H-F, while the night gets even more difficult for Loyola when they take on Curie at 7:15pm. St Ignatius faces another tough test in a rematch of last year’s third place game against Mundelein (playing for the first time this season), while the evening ends with Latin taking on New Trier at 9:00pm. And that’s only Friday! The tournament continues with three more tough matchups on Saturday morning (Curie vs Palatine, Mundelein vs McHenry, New Trier vs H-F) before entering into the championship round.

Naperville Tournament

The five Naperville-area teams meet up for their annual early season test that usually serves as somewhat of a preview of the Neuqua Valley Sectional that takes place ten weeks from now. Metea Valley enters the competition at the Varsity-level for the first time and serves as tournament host, as they take on Naperville North in the first game of the morning at 7:45am. Naperville Central cruised to a tournament win at last year’s event, with three wins by more than an 11-goal margin, so the rest of the field will be looking to close the gap on their rivals early on this season.

Stagg Tournament

The host Chargers are the highest-placed team (third in 2010) returning from last year’s competition, so they will be looking to take the next step as they seek a tournament title early on this year. In last year’s event, Stagg held off Young 10-9 in the third place game, so both teams enter the competition as the two potential favorites in 2011. They are joined by Bradley, Hinsdale Central, Morton, R-B, St Rita, and St Charles North and the tournament gets underway on Friday at 5:00pm when the hosts take on R-B in Palos Hills.

Deer Park Tournament

If last year’s event is any indication, most of the games at the Deerfield/Highland Park Tournament will be closely contested matchups. Glenbrook North went undefeated in the tournament last season, but they will be challenged by the hosts, Barrington, Elk Grove, and Rolling Meadows.

GIRLS

Conant Tournament

The host Cougars will look to defend their title against Lake Forest, Lane, and St Charles East beginning at 9:00am on Saturday. Conant earned an 11-9 win in last year’s eventual title game against Lane, so they should be in for another set of close games against all three teams.

Loyola Tournament

The Ramblers’ four-team tournament gets started at 9:00am on Saturday morning and is highlighted by a 10:00am battle between the sixth-ranked hosts and #10 Fremd. Hersey and R-B fill out the rest of the field and will look to surprise the other two teams in Wilmette this weekend.

Naperville Tournament

The five teams from the Naperville area meet up at Naperville North beginning at 7:45am on Saturday morning; the hosts take on #3 Naperville Central in the early game, which will be followed by nine other contests before the day ends. The Redhawks allowed only eight goals in three wins at last year’s event, so the hosts, Metea Valley, Neuqua Valley, and Waubonsie Valley will all be looking to make things much more interesting this Saturday.

New Trier Tournament

The Trevians host the only girls’ tournament that gets started on Friday, with two games featuring Glenbrook South against ranked opponents. The Titans take on #12 Evanston at 5:00pm and later face #24 St Viator at 7:00pm. Saturday, #13 New Trier, #14 Sandburg, and #23 Wheeling join a talented field that wraps up play with the hosts taking on the top team out of Evanston, GBS, and St Viator at 4:15pm (New Trier also plays a game against Wheeling at 5:15pm that was rescheduled from Friday night due to a scheduling conflict).

Northside Tournament