Where would you go to watch the Lancers dominate the field on a cool fall afternoon? You would want to go to the Raymond Park, where Lincolnwood soccer field is located. Soccer is a major sport here at Lincolnwood. Many teams have stood out of the crowd, and some have blown us away with amazing soccer seasons.

Lincolnwood soccer began in 1994. The early teams had some growing pains, but the program has become one of the best in the area. The first team had only 16 players, which is relevantly small amount of players compared to most teams today. They came out of the season with 1 win and 9 losses. The first players were Jeremy McClung, Kyle Vinson, Neil Marten, Jamie Roach, Zeb Hoffman, Andrew Stead, Kyle Watson, Jason Hartman, Ryan Patterson, Jess Gilpin, Rush Herman, Brian Farrar, Justen Hampton, Brad Marten, Kevin Dagon, and Dean Stottler.           

Our school has been through five coaches since the beginning, which isn’t many for a program nearly twenty years old. Craig Davelis was the first coach for our soccer team. His record was 7 wins and 19 losses. Marc Deem followed with 26 wins and 38 losses. Mark Thompson’s record was 3 wins and 30 losses. After Thompson, Dennis Umberger took over and had several successful seasons. He knew the game and how to win. He finished his coaching career with a record of 101 wins, 42 losses and 13 ties with a .689 average. He coached the team seven years without having a losing season. Umberger’s assistant coach, Vern Stevens, took the head coach job in 2008, showing the skills that he learned from Umberger. The team ended with 21 wins, 1 loss, and 2 ties in the 2008 season. Our current coach, William Gunn, has 28 wins and 15 losses.

Soccer is an important part of Lincolnwood’s sports curriculum and will continues to be one of the best soccer programs in the area. The overall record for the school is 186 wins, 145 losses, and 26 ties. Head to the field next fall to see just how good we really are.