By Dominic Scianna
There’s something to be said for attaining goals, and especially gratifying when a coach can get his team to buy into those goals with a specific roadmap to success.
That’s what Lane Tech coach Andrew Ricks has accomplished the past two years with his boys varsity soccer program.
They believed, as their Champions nickname proclaims, that they belonged with the best soccer teams in the state.
He’s made the North Side Chicago Public School (CPS) a contender for a state crown these last two seasons, finishing as runners-up in the 2024 state finals. Lane followed that up this season with a fourth-place finish in the state championships this November. That’s two IHSA state finals trips in back-to-back seasons.
“It’s not lost on me that this is not normal,” said Ricks. “It’s hard to do and you strive to do your best. I never thought I’d be coaching in the state final last year, and thought it wouldn’t be easy to do it again.
“So, I never take it for granted and I’m thankful to these kids who left it all out there on the field with their effort. I’m very proud of them and proud of where we’ve come (as a program).”
Lane (21-4) would advance to their second IHSA Final Four in as many years at Hoffman Estates High School, home to this year’s state finals (November 6-8). Its first game would pit the team against eventual 2025 Class 3A state champion Naperville North. The Champions fell 1-0 in their state semifinal contest, battling the Huskies toe-to-toe in a heartbreaking loss. Naperville North (25-0-4) went undefeated and was ranked #1 in Class 3A for most of this year.
Then, Lane vied for third place in the state playoffs going up against Glenbrook North (21-3-3). The Spartans and veteran coach Phil Vignocchi would upend the Champions 3-2 on a late penalty kick tally to break a 2-2 tie with under 12 minutes to play to decide the match.
“Last year, we made it the farthest Lane has ever been (and a CPS team has ever advanced). And a lot of people thought that we wouldn’t get here again,” said senior Nathan Perrichon-Nguyen, Lane senior forward. “We were determined to get another chance (in the state finals) and we did and played our hardest to show that last year wasn’t a fluke.”
Perrichon-Nguyen and junior midfielder Oren Rehm tallied goals for Lane in the loss to Glenbrook North, and senior netminder Evan Burgess kept the Spartans at bay for much of the game with his solid performance in goal.
But the Champions didn’t hang their collective heads after the loss. They all gathered, at the behest of Coach Ricks, in front of Lane’s faithful fans to sing the school fight song one last time, for the 19 seniors on this 2025 squad, after the game.
“To come back here with a new team and do it again shows our character and leadership,” said Burgess. “It meant a lot to me, personally, in my last year. We’re all very connected as a team, and just the atmosphere around us was great this year.”
With its success, Lane is now known across Illinois as a destination for one of the top boys soccer programs in the state, and that’s not lost on the current student-athletes who have built the foundation for future success.
“We were able to make history and I’m glad that the future 5th through 8th graders that would be looking at high schools in Chicago would consider Lane Tech, and hope they’d be inspired to go to our school because of our success in soccer,” noted Burgess.
Photos by Morgan Gaietto, Amundsen sophomore (IG: moments.bymorgann)
