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The game is a rematch of last season’s Region 24 quarterfinal
game that sent the Lynx home while SWIC advanced to the finals.
Several of head coach Ben Massena’s team members remember it
well as nine of them felt the sting last fall. Included in those
returning players is the Lynx leading goal scorer Cristian
Castillo (Moline). Castillo will look to add to his impressive
assist and goal scoring tally from a season ago.
Also returning is sophomore standout Ahmadou Ndaiye (Moline).
Ndaiye, a hard tackling midfielder, has been named captain of
the 2016-17 team.
Mixed in with a solid group of returners will be 14 newcomers.
Leading the way will be all-state standout Angel Vargas
(Moline), midfielder Shevon Stewart (Kingston, Jamaica), and
midfielder Adrian Roman (Waukegan).
Coach Massena is excited for this new, exciting talent to mesh
with his solid group of sophomores. “We have a lot of new guys
this season, but we return a very strong core of starters, and
that will be key to making a successful run this season,” said
Massena. “We have some special attacking players, and when we
get everyone to fit into the system, we will be a very dangerous
team who will cause a lot of problems for other college programs
to deal with.”
The first test will come Wednesday, against a very good, fellow
Region 24 SWIC team. “We are ready for our first game,” Massena
added, “and hope that our guys come out hard and ready to play
and make a statement Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. about who we are as
a program this season.”
[Jeff Nelson]
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