Kaneland’s varsity boys soccer team had a roller coaster of a season with up and downs, with a plague of injuries to key players and an immensely tough schedule.

“A ton, a ton of injuries, we lost 7 guys and 2 of them being starters,” coach Scott Parillo said.

Parillo came into the season with a very young team, younger than average for a varsity team. Majority of the team were freshmen and sophomores with very little to no experience. With having a tough schedule and injuries to starters, it’s quite impressive that they almost made .500 with a record of 9-12-2.

Last season for the first time in 6 years, the boy’s varsity team didn’t make it the regional championship game. They were able to change that this year by making it to the regional championship game by getting a 4-2 win against Glenbard South in the semi-finals.

What the team was banking on in the playoffs is the fact that everyone expected them to lose, they were the underdogs.

“We have nothing to lose…There’s no pressure on us, all the pressure is on them” Parillo said.

Sadly the spirit of “nothing to lose” wasn’t strong enough for them to bring home the championship against the number 1 seed in the playoffs, Benet Academy. The final score was 2-1 with Kaneland packing their bags and going home.

Overall, the team’s biggest struggle of the season seemed to be on away games with a record of 4-8-2. Parillo on the matter said the injuries and the inconsistent away fields really made it difficult for the team to operate and get the victory in away games.

“We definitely could’ve done better,” sophomore Ben Weiss said.

This year’s team beat the odds and is setting up Kaneland for a bright future with all the young freshmen and sophomore talent they have on the team. Early struggles hit them hard but as proven in the playoffs, they can clearly bounce right back.