After playing the Goal4theGoal tournament the Morton mustangs now rank 14th nationwide and 2nd in the state.  As of now the record for the boys’ varsity team has been 16-2-1 coming off a Pepsi Showdown championship win, the largest soccer tournament in the U.S, on September 23, 2018. Having back 8 of the starters from last year, the Mustangs are once again a powerhouse and big contenders to have a great state championship run guided by Senior captains Israel Carranza and German Tinoco. However, with star player Isaac Carnalla being out due to injuries, coaching changes, and difficulty with discipline, the team has been looking for different alternatives to continue the good run into the state championship tournament. In a random survey of 141 Morton East students, 107 students reported that they think the Morton boys’ soccer team will win the State championship this year. 

“We always have elite talent on our soccer team… Soccer teams in our past have brought us state championships [2011] and near championships, we always have a Top 10 team,” reported School Principal Mr. Gamboa.  

Although the team is always top 10 and competing at an elite level, they’re having concerns about their biggest challenges this year’s season.  

“The biggest challenge for the team this year I feel like is working as a team and defeating our biggest opponent [Naperville North],” said team player Cristian Perez, “Because they’re one of the best teams,” he added. 

The Mustangs have not been able to get passed the Naperville Huskies for the last two years in which the Huskies took the state championship those two years back to back. 

“We’re basically facing one of top teams in the country… they’re always a one goal difference game and it’s always going to be a good game,” explained Soccer Coach Bageanis. 

The Mustangs headed to Iowa for a National High School tournament September 27, 2018, where they had the face the Great Naperville North Huskies for the second time this season, but fruitlessly, the Mustangs were unlucky to reach the finals and face the Huskies.  

“(What is so great about them is that) they’re tall, fast and don’t get tired in the whole game,” Captain Israel Carranza said. 

As of now the worries of the Mustangs are to get passed 6-foot-8-star goalie Tom Welch and his Huskies and gain the confidence to continue the run to a State Championship Win.