That Crete-Monee's Carlos Posada is a relentless worker, is all the more reason to expect the unexpected out of him.
The Warrior's leading goal scorer and forward will pace Crete-Monee on to the pitch as the postseason opens with a 6:30 p.m. game Tuesday against Stagg at the Andrew Regional.
"We play Stagg and they're pretty tough," Posada said. "But I know that we'll play 100 percent and we should be able to win. Hopefully our defense will hold up, and I'll try to do my job."
Crete-Monee will face a tough opponent in Stagg, and Posada is guaranteed to draw a stampede of Chargers every time that he touches the ball. Posada's 63 goals are the single-season record at Crete-Monee, and he has also become the all-time leading goal scorer for the Warriors. This is just his junior season.
With that ability to find the back of the net, he has seen teams plan specifically for him and make it a high priority to shut down the scoring machine several times this season.
"Carlos, the attention is gonna be there," Warriors coach Julian Lagunas said. "They going to be probably all over him."
On top of all his skills, his coach sings the praises of Posada's work ethic and relentless pursuit to be the best at everything he tries.
"His work ethic is unbelievable," Lagunas said. "He has to win everything. It doesn't matter what it is, he has to win."
Posada also led the Warriors to a 17-3 record this season and a 8-2 mark in the Southland Athletic Conference. Both of the Warriors conference losses came at the hands of Bloom Township. Once the postseason starts, the soonest the Warriors could face Bloom would be somewhere down the road at the Marian Catholic Sectional.
"The rest of us are juniors," Posada said of a young Crete-Monee team with only one senior starter. "We just have to step it up too. We all have to play good, as a team."
For now, the Warriors are focused squarely on Stagg.
Lagunas knows that some of his other players are going to have to step up for the Warriors if they plan on making a deep run into the tournament.
"He's gonna be watched, he's going to be man marked," Lagunas said. "Other people need to score. When he's pulling that much attention somebody else needs to make a play."
Posada doesn't seem to mind being the center of attention for opposing defenses, and has even begun to plan for his life beyond high school.
"I want to go to a four-year university and play soccer there," Posada said of his long-term goals. "It doesn't really matter, as long as I get to play soccer. It's what I love to do."
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