Here's a look at the 2025 Morton College men's soccer team...

2024 summary
Finished 12-8-3 overall and 4-3 in Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference. Won Region 4 tournament as a sixth seed to reach NJCAA national tournament for third time in last five seasons where Panthers lost to Iowa Lakes and CCBC Essex in pool play. Sent a player to NCAA Division I level for fourth straight year and extended stretch of consecutive seasons with 10 or more wins to 16.

First take on 2025
"After two weeks of practice and one friendly game, things are looking good," Morton College men's soccer coach Juan Franco said. "It's a matter of getting everyone to understand our system of play. We've got 13 people back. They're showing the newcomers how the system works."

Franco understands soccer can be unpredictable and points to the great run made by last year's team as the Panthers were 8-1-1 after October 1st.

"Anything can happen, you just never know," Franco notes. "You have to think good things and be positive. Nobody expected us to do well last year and we did."

2025 season debut
The Panthers head north to Michigan for a pair of games, taking on Madonna University's junior varsity Thursday, August 21st to kick off the campaign.

Moving forward
Ricardo Cruz (10 goals, 3 assists) and Winner Muya (5 goals, 3 assists) are back. Newcomer Yousri Italief was impressive in Morton College's 3-1 "friendly" win over Governors State with a pair of goals and an assist.

Omar Garcia, a freshman, helped his club team qualify for nationals.

"I like our forwards," Franco said. "I expect good things from them."

Midfield report
The Panthers return Marcos Talavera, Henrique Soares, Felipe Almeida and Pierre Balderas in the midfield. Mario Feliu, a freshman, is one to watch.

Line of defense
Lorenz Garcia and Jules Beretta, who can create offense, anchor the defense. Newcomers Eneas Laureys, Sam Akamba, William Calafiori and transfer Lucas Ramirez also are expected to contribute.

"Most of our opponents play long ball," Franco said. "I like our size back there."

Netminder news
The Panthers can go big with 6-5 sophomore Rafael Dos Santos and 6-3 Soultani Salmi. Dos Santos served as an understudy to Victor Salermon, now at NCAA D1 Incarnate Word in San Antonio. 

"Both are really good," Franco said. "Both have a lot of leadership abilities."

About the schedule
The Panthers didn't get any breaks when the 2025 Skyway Conference was created. First up is a rematch of last year's Region 4 title game against Elgin August 26th, followed by road contests at Prairie State and Moraine Valley. Morton College's Skyway fate could very well be determined by September 9th.

Morton College, Prairie State and Elgin all are in the NJCAA Division II preseason top 20 at 14, 16 and 17 respectively. Rock Valley, at 18, makes it four Region 4 teams in the top 20, tying Region 23 for the most top 20 teams nationally.

Region 4 men's soccer always is highly competitive and since 2020, only No. 1 seed has emerged as Region 4 champ.

"There's a lot of tough teams in Region 4," Franco said. "You always have to be prepared."

Key games
August 26th – Elgin. Rematch of last year's Region 4 title game won by Panthers 3-2 in OT.
September 4th – at Prairie State. It's been either Morton College or Prairie State emerging as Region 4 champ six of the last seven years.
September 9th – at Moraine Valley. Seeking payback for last year's 7-2 loss. Lost last two meetings.
October 4th – at Triton. Back on schedule for first time since 2021.