Burzynski gives ‘real Sandburg’ a boost
Sophomore scores 3 goals as rebounding Eagles open season with win over Marist
After gaining varsity experience last season as a freshman, Sandburg’s Sebastian Burzynski expected to grow as a soccer player this year.
The literal growth spurt he had? That was a pleasant surprise for the sophomore midfielder.
“Last year, I was a lot smaller,” Burzynski said. “I was 5-foot-4, 100 pounds. Now, I’m about 5-foot-9, 145 pounds. I learned last year that high school soccer is very physical. You get hit a lot. So, I made sure to get stronger because being able to put a body on someone really helps.
“Then, I got taller, too. That helps a lot in the middle. It obviously helps with winning headers.”
Burzynski scored four goals last season. He nearly matched that in his first game this year, recording a hat trick as the Eagles opened up Thursday night with a 4-3 victory over Marist.
“I remember coming in from eighth grade and people said it would be impossible to move up to varsity as a freshman,” Burzynski said. “The coaches believed in me and I just wanted to keep working hard. I’m really happy to be a part of this team.”
Sandburg coach Desi Vuillaume said Burzynski was unrecognizable when preseason practices began.
“It’s hard to recognize any of them with the masks on, but he comes out and he’s like a foot taller and he’s muscular,” Vuillaume said. “He’s worked hard in the offseason.”
The Eagles finished 3-13-4 last season. For a program that is accustomed to challenging for conference and sectional titles every year, it was a wake-up call.
“A lot of them took it to heart and had a lot of soul-searching,” Vuillaume said. “It’s not like we had a bad team. But there was a lot of tough competition and we weren’t up for the challenge.
“The kids put the work in. They’ve come out really determined, really hungry.”
A win over Marist — which reached a sectional final last season and returned six starters — was a strong opening statement.
“He reminded us how it felt to lose almost every game last year,” Burzynski said of Vuillaume. “We didn’t like it, obviously. Half came back from last year, half are new, but we’re all fired up to play all those teams we lost to last year and show them who the real Sandburg is.”
New-look Spartans: After a 6-0 win over Beecher and a 5-2 loss to Stagg in the opening week, it’s clear Marian Catholic has the ability to score goals.
Spartans coach Diego Herrera has been focused, however, on how his team creates that offense.
“I’m looking to change the way Marian plays,” Herrera said. “I don’t want to be a kickball team anymore. I want to possess the ball. You’re going to hear the kids yelling, ‘connect, connect,’ and just trying to get those passes going and build up our possession.”
Junior forward Angel Manrique, who scored two goals against Beecher, likes the way the Spartans are connecting.
“We’re making through passes and just seeing the field open up,” he said. “It’s a lot of moving the ball around and being aggressive.”
Challenging champs: Marist opened the season with a 3-0 win over 2019 Class 1A state champion Chicago U-High. Defending 2A champion Benet is part of the RedHawks’ East Suburban Catholic schedule.
So, why not try for the whole deal? “We’d like to play all three of last year’s state champions,” Marist coach Sean Maxwell said. “We’re working on (3A champion) West Chicago. We can see how we match up since there is no state series.”