Ever since Joel Salmeron finished off Alonzo Torres’ chipped pass in overtime of the state final against Naperville Central, the Morton boys soccer team has been living a charmed life.
The Mustangs received their final rewards for winning the Class 3A championship Jan. 27 at halftime of the Morton-Willowbrook boys basketball game. The players, coaches and staff of the team were given state championship rings and the state championship banner was revealed to the crowd.
Each of the players, dressed up in suits donated to them for the occasion, received a loud cheer from the crowd. The loudest was reserved for Salmeron, who was announced last among the players.
“He’s on cloud nine still I think,” Morton coach Mike Caruso said. “For four years at varsity as a starter so it’s well deserved. Couldn’t happen to a better kid.”
The all-state senior forward deferred credit to his teammates, but said receiving their rings was something the team has been eagerly waiting for.
“We got our ring measurements, we were all excited and that was like a month ago so now that we actually got them it feels great,” Salmeron said. “All the support that we’ve had, obviously it was a full crowd so it was a great feeling.”
It’s been nearly three months since the team won in Frankfort in early November and they are still having celebrations.
“It’s good that we spaced out the celebrations a little bit so it’s kind of never-ending,” Caruso said. “It’s good to get them back together again and a well deserved ceremony for these guys for the great year they had.”
Having the team back together and seeing the championship banner, which will be in both the East and West campuses, brought all the memories back from the historic season.
“I still can’t believe we did it because you’ve got to have a little bit of luck involved with the skill,” Caruso said. “We had a lot of overtime games and stuff, but we persevered through it and it’s good for the Morton community, Berwyn-Cicero and surrounding communities.”
