It was a beautiful Wednesday evening, with Madison College honoring the WolfPack’s sophomore players prior to the Oct. 24 tournament game.

Women’s soccer players Autumn Petroski, Britt Schumann, Cintia Temozihui Zecua, Esther Noriega and Peyton Trapino were all recognized at midfield before kickoff.

After the proceedings, things did not go according to plan for the defending regional champs.

In a stunning 3-0 loss at the hands of Joliet Junior College, Madison College was eliminated from the NJCAA Region IV Division III Tournament in its final stage.

After a scoreless first half between No. 1 seeded Madison College and its No. 2 seeded opponent, Joliet Junior College’s pressure found a way to break the WolfPack’s defense.

The game had the atmosphere a finals should have, with a boisterous crowd. But sadly only one team can come up with a win in the end.

Joliet found the back of the net thee times in the second half, while holding Madison College scoreless.

Although the ‘Pack have been so dominant on home turf throughout the year, they only started to click in the later stages of the second half.  This was possibly due to a 15 day gap between the final and their previous match, as the matches they were supposed to play over this span were ei-ther forfeited or cancelled.

With the devastating loss in the rear-view mirror, the team has a lot to be proud of this season.  WolfPack keeper Kelly Kubicek finished the game with seven total saves, several of which kept hopes alive in the earlier stages.  Over the season Kubicek allowed only 10 goals (.77 per match), good enough for second in Region IV play and top 10 nationally.

Midfielder Peyton Trapino also had a standout season, coming in with 23 assists this year, which was most in the region and second in the nation.  Later in the week, the second-year player was awarded North Central Community College Conference Most Valuable Player for her high-powered season.

Furthermore, a program-record eight players were selected for first or second-team all-conference honors to cap off the successful season for players and fans.  These players include Jen-na Kohrt, Kelly Kubicek, Britt Schumann, and Peyton Trapino named to first-team, and Esther Noriega, Autumn Petroski, Meghan Petroski, and Mary Raemisch on second-team. 

Also honored as N4C Coach of the Year was Matt Schwartz, who has been extremely success-ful throughout his tenure as head coach.

Although it did not end the way players, fans and coaches were hoping, they had another tremendous season.

The team finished the season 11-2-1 overall and won the conference title for a second straight year with a 9-0-1 record. Schwartz’s overall record in his two years as coach is an astound-ing 26-5-3.