Tarik Koric (19) has a team-leading 14 assists. Gargoyle photo by Stephanie Overmier (click to enlarge)

Freddie Stavins (12) has played tenacious D all season. Gargoyle photo by Stephanie Overmier (click to enlarge)

Alex Mestre (6) is "going to develop into quite a force to reckon with," according to head coach Phil Anders. Gargoyle photo by David Porreca (click to enlarge)

Left-footed Paul Seeley (3) brings energy to the team every time he takes the field. Gargoyle photo by Stephanie Overmier (click to enlarge)

URBANA — This season, a staggering five freshmen have made their way onto the Uni boys varsity soccer team.

As the 9-5-4 Illineks begin their postseason today with a Class 1A regional matchup against Catlin, these members of the Class of 2013 will have a major role in determining how far the team goes in the playoffs.

The "Fresh Five," as senior teammate Ben Lee calls them, are forward Patrick Wong, midfielder Tarik Koric, defender Freddie Stavins, forward-midfielder Paul Seeley, and forward Alex Mestre.

Their contributions have been huge this season, led by Wong's penchant for finding the back of the net. With 14 goals, Wong is second on the team in scoring behind senior Dan Lilly, who has 27 on the year.

Koric, meanwhile, has impressed teammates and opponents alike with his playmaking ability; he leads the team in assists with 14 and has added five goals of his own.

On the other side of the ball, Stavins has been blended in well with seniors Neil Pearson, Jasper Maniates-Selvin, and sophomore Brandon Lin to form one of the area's top defenses.

Along with senior keeper Nile Hamer, they have held opposing offenses to just 20 goals in 18 games. No team — not even Class 2A power Urbana — has scored more than three goals this season against the Illinek varsity.

Seeley and Mestre, though not in the starting lineup, have given the Illineks a boost of speed and agility whenever head coach Philip Anders has put them on the field.

Seeley finished the regular season with three goals and four assists in the 12 varsity games he played, while Mestre has a goal and an assist to his credit in 13 contests.

Secrets to their success

A large part of the freshmen's success can be attributed to their years of playing club soccer together. Wong, Koric, Stavins, and Seeley played for the Little Illini long before they came to Uni.

"We know where and when to make runs or when to give a support option," Wong explained.

Anders agreed, noting that when the freshman starters share the field, their years of playing together pay off.

"You can tell that Patrick, Tarik, and Freddie often look for each other," he said. "They're very comfortable with each other [and] look for each other for playing the ball."

The freshmen have also become comfortable working with their older teammates.

According to Koric, the Illineks have grown closer as a team as the season has progressed, and the upperclassmen have been accepting about having freshmen play such an important role on varsity.

"All of the upperclassmen … help us out with anything that we don't know on and off the field," he said.

One of those upperclassmen is Lilly, who is not only a senior captain but also one of the area's top players.

"The freshmen have done better than I expected," he said after Friday's 3-1 Senior Night victory over St. Thomas More. "They’re contributing at a high rate, and the good thing for them is [that] they’re going to get better. They all still have things that they can work on to get better, and I think they’ll do those things because they love the game."

The transition from club soccer to varsity competition hasn't been without its challenges, of course.

“The style of play is different, with much less ball movement, and more of just kicking it up to the fast person up top," said Seeley. "The whole season is also much more fast paced, with games on three days of the week."

Added Koric: "It's a challenge [because] many of the players on the more experienced teams
can be stronger and faster, but you have to adapt to it as a freshman with different skills."

The view from the top

Despite those minor difficulties, Koric has shown he can be a varsity-level playmaker, according to his head coach.

“You can see it just by the combination balls that he plays or the through balls that he plays, with Dan running across him in the middle and he sets him up perfectly,” Anders said. "Tarik has a great ability to switch the ball. He’s tenacious … and does not good give up. He's often the one slide-tackling left and right. He just has a competitive spirit that is not something that you can necessarily coach. He’s already got that coming in, and that’s fabulous."

Anders was also effusive in his praise of Wong.

"Patrick just loves soccer. He’s had a good number of goals. He’s got good speed, and as a freshman I can only see that that’s going to improve. He works well in combination with Dan, with Tarik, and with Conrad [sophomore midfielder Conrad Schloer] in behind. He’s a very strong player."

The coach also likes Stavins' tenacity.

"Freddie is just a workaholic, nonstop; I love the way he plays. He’s often been outmatched by height against his mark but he usually ends up with the ball. He's the one who turns around and is running upfield with the ball. He's got a great ability for moving forward, [and] he can cross the ball."

Anders noted that Seeley and Mestre have shown exceptional promise during their time on varsity.

"Outside of Jasper, [Paul] is the [only] natural left-footed player that we have that can swing the ball across. So Paul early on saw activity out on the left wing or even just up top. He brings a lot of energy," Anders said.

"Alex has really come along where he started out very strong as a forward. I could see that he knew where to make runs off the ball, that he could get in behind defenses. In this game today [against St. Thomas More] I think he was extremely effective. He’s come along where I think he’s going to develop into quite a force to reckon with. He creates opportunities and he can finish opportunities as well."

The Fresh Five have ambition as well as talent, and they are busy working on their ultimate goal of winning regionals and sectionals. Lilly is confident that they — and the rest of the Illineks — will do just fine in the playoff spotlight.

"With a young team, we had a slow start and lost some games we shouldn’t have, but that’s to be expected," the senior captain said. "Now we’re poised to do well in the postseason.”