Jones boy’s varsity soccer team’s regular season came to an end with their loss in the Windy City Cup Championship against Lincoln Park High School.

“The season went well overall. We came up short in the Windy City Final, but we still accomplished a lot as a team this year,” said Captain Paxton Hengesbach ‘24.

This is Hengesbach’s fourth and final year on the team, but he holds his chin up and is very proud of the team this year.

“Encouraging, that’s how this year has been,” said Hengesbach.

He mentioned goalie and Co-Captain, Almir Hajdarevic ‘24, as a very important player and key to the success of this year’s team.

“Everyone deserves a shoutout, but Almir stood on his head all season. He was always solid for us in goal and was a leader at every practice and game,” said Hengesbach

Hajdarevic has been the starting goalkeeper for Jones Varsity Soccer since he was a freshman, so this loss is very tough.

“It was a heartbreaking loss,” said Hajdarevic. “In my four years of varsity, this season’s team had the most potential with a roster full of diverse backgrounds, but sometimes things just don’t go your way.”

Jones held the lead with a score of 2-0 moving towards the end of the game. Lincoln Park was able to tie it up before the end of regular time sending the game into penalties.

“We absolutely dominated and had the game in our hands. After hitting the post for what felt like seven times they took advantage of our lack of focus in the back lines in a few moments and tied the game up,” said Hajdarevic.

Hengesbach reflects on similarities between this season’s roster and last season’s.

“Both years have been pretty similar with play off results and our wins and losses. A lot of younger guys stepped up this year and played a big role, so I think we are in a good position and the future is in great hands,” said Hengesbach.

The team plans to utilize their dedicated mindset as they approach the state playoff.

“State is always challenging but we are excited to play these big games. We play Riverside-Brookfield first round who are a good team so we need to prepare and perform the best we can,” said player Anthony Flasck ‘24.

Now as they move towards the tournament, they plan to keep working and really show the state what they can do.

“Effort, that’s what gets us wins. The loss is just more motivation for a group like us,” said Hajdarevic.