SJO soccer to play for regional title on Wednesday

The most successful St. Joseph-Ogden soccer season in program history is trying to add
another chapter of excellence this week.

The Spartans, who have won 14 straight matches and boast a school-record 21 victories, will
play for a Class 1A regional championship at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Second-seeded (21-2-1) will
square off against third-seeded Watseka/Milford (17-4-1) in St. Anne, with the winner moving on
to the Monticello Sectional semifinals.

The Spartans continued their high-scoring ways with a 10-1 victory this past Friday night against
ninth-seeded Iroquois West in a regional semifinal match in St. Anne.

SJO, which has outscored its foes 165-19 this season, relied on a pair of hat tricks from Alex
Acosta and Tyler Hess to key the win against Iroquois West. While Acosta and Hess each
finished with three goals, they also contributed one assist apiece.

Logan Mills was his usual steady presence, too, by netting two goals and adding two assists.
Yadi Acosta and Quinn Stahl each tallied one goal, while Davin Alvarez also got in on the fun
with an assists. Jaxson Colvin finished with two saves.

SJO first established its soccer program in 2009 and is vying for just its second regional title
after the 2012 team won the first one in program history before advancing to a sectional title
match. This group of Spartans hasn’t lost since a 5-2 setback at Uni High on Aug. 29.

If SJO knocks off Watseka/Milford, and the Spartans already own an 8-0 win against the
Warriors on Oct. 7, it advances to the Monticello Sectional this upcoming Saturday for a
semifinal match at noon. SJO would get either top-seeded Normal U-High or fourth-seeded
Bloomington Central Catholic. Those two teams meet for the regional title at 4 p.m. Tuesday in
Normal.

The other Monticello Sectional semifinal would kick off at 10 a.m. this Saturday, with eitherOakwood/Salt Fork or Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Westville meeting either Fisher/Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley or Uni High.

Oakwood/Salt Fork plays Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Westville at 4 p.m. Tuesday in a regional title
match in Hoopeston, with Fisher/GCMS hosting Uni High at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in a regional
championship match in Fisher.