Confronted by multiple defenders, Grayslake Central senior forward Ivan Sereno isn’t fazed.
After all, the Northern Lake County Conference player of the year entered the Class 2A Vernon Hills Regional championship game on Friday with 31 goals this season. So nothing surprises Grayslake Central senior midfielder Damian Sereno, his cousin.
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“Ivan might have three players in front of him, so you think it’s impossible for him to get through them,” Damian Sereno said. “But he gets through them. His goal scoring is special.”
Ivan Sereno demonstrated that once more against conference rival Wauconda. His goal in the 67th minute lifted the fourth-seeded Rams to a 1-0 victory over the fifth-seeded Bulldogs.
Senior goalkeeper Michal Taradys made three saves for Grayslake Central (13-5), which will host a sectional next week and play eighth-seeded Highland Park (10-11-1) in the first semifinal at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Scoring the goal, Ivan Sereno maneuvered past several defenders and buried a shot inside the far post.
“There were like five Wauconda players all around me,” he said. “I tried to do what I do best, and that’s getting out of pressure.”
Ivan Sereno, who has 32 goals and 11 assists this season, said he has been waiting to make his mark for the Rams after watching his older brother Raymond play. Raymond Sereno, a 2023 Grayslake Central graduate, was a key player on the team that won the 2A third-place trophy in 2022.
“I remember this same exact field when I was a freshman and my brother Raymond was a senior playing here,” Ivan Sereno said. “I was in the stands watching him play. I kept thinking that one day I wanted to be a part of that team and help them succeed, so here I am now.”
Grayslake Central coach Keith Andersson is glad to have him. Talented players like Alan Alonso and Danik Marynevych have starred for the Rams during Andersson’s tenure, but Andersson said Ivan Sereno is different.
“Ivan is one of the most polished forwards that I’ve ever seen,” Andersson said. “Two or three guys, he just fends them off, and he does a great job feeding his teammates. Ivan is so smooth and so controlled and is a great teammate. He gives us that spark every game.”
Wauconda (13-6-1) has lost three straight games in the rivalry, and Ivan Sereno is one of the reasons, according to coach Tim Miller.
“He has a relentless work rate,” Miller said. “He works very hard to get to the ball, and once he gets it, he can create space for himself to go forward. It’s also like he has the ball attached to his foot, like Velcro, and it’s his right and left foot.
“He’s hard to contain, so if he squares you up 1v1, you’re in a really bad spot.”
The Bulldogs tried to avoid that, of course, but Ivan Sereno got through eventually.
“He’s a complete player,” Miller said. “We did our best to contain him and kept him down for most of the game.”
A few minutes before the goal, Ivan Sereno got loose and hit the near post with a shot from 5 yards.
“I felt like I was able to get in between a few defenders and tried to tap it in around the keeper, but it went wide,” he said. “I was lucky to get that second chance, and this time I got it inside the net.”
Ivan Sereno said he hopes his surge of goals helps him get a scholarship to play soccer in college. He joked that if soccer doesn’t work out for him, he’s a talented golfer.
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“I’m starting to talk to a couple of schools, and coach Andersson is trying to connect me to good coaches so I can play,” Ivan Sereno said. “My passion for soccer grew by playing a recreational Sunday league with my dad and my close friends. I want to keep playing this season and beyond.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.