Rockall kept ’Canes steady

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When his team’s confidence wavered after a 2-7 start, Marian Central girls soccer coach Kristian Rockall reminded them that they had to keep believing.

Marian’s girls soccer team started its season with losses that could have made any team lose faith. That the losses came against teams two and three times the size of Marian provided little solace. Losses are losses, and particularly at the start of the season, they can be devastating.

But Rockall refused to let the Hurricanes give up. He knew he had a group of players capable of making a legitimate run in the IHSA Class 2A postseason. They had to keep believing, learning from their mistakes and forging on, even if they had to take some losses along the way.

“They couldn’t get caught up in the scoreboard,” Rockall said. “They couldn’t worry about that. We had players out with injuries, we were working on lineups, we were playing all these big schools, and we had to keep a positive attitude. We had to go into every game thinking we could win.”

In the end, the Hurricanes almost won it all. Marian was four penalty kicks shy of a Class 2A state title, losing to Troy Triad, 2-1, after four overtime periods and a penalty kick shootout in the state championship game.

For his ability to keep his team’s spirits up, for putting together a state champion-caliber team and for designing a tough schedule to prepare his players to accomplish what they did, Rockall is the Northwest Herald Girls Soccer Coach of the Year, as selected by the sports staff with input from local coaches.

Crystal Lake South’s Brian Allen, Huntley’s Kris Grabner and Jacobs’ Anthony Cappello also were considered for the award.

“[Marian] played a very competitive schedule early against the bigger schools in [Class] 3A and while they lost most of those matches, he obviously kept his girls’ spirits up,” Allen said, “and ultimately it paid big dividends in the long run with their magnificent push to the 2A state finals.”

The Hurricanes’ early season schedule included Jacobs, Boylan, Benet, Metea Valley, Libertyville, Glenbard West and Carmel – all widely respected 3A teams. It’s a schedule many small schools would balk at, but Rockall knew it would prepare his team for the postseason.

The Hurricanes dominated their playoff opponents, outscoring them, 26-2. Their Class 2A regional final against Burlington Central, which went into overtime, was the Hurricanes’ most difficult match until they reached the state championship.

“He really got his team playing very well at the right time,” Grabner said. “They had the one close call [against Burlington] in the regional and really used that as a spring board.”

Rockall will lose five seniors, but already is looking forward to duplicating this season’s success next year.

“I can’t wait to work with these girls again. It’s just a fantastic group, and we’ve got hopes that we can do something like this again.”