Under the Monocle: Parker Gawne

On Friday, the Dukes soccer team headed over to Hoffman Estates high school to take on Addison Trail in their second-round regional game. Despite losing by a score of three to one, the team had a very successful season. They finished the year with a 14-6-1 record, their best under head coach Lukasz Majewski, and a share of the conference title.

Junior Parker Gawne was the teams leading scorer with 12, and despite getting knocked out earlier than expected, he had a lot of positive things to say about the season.

“It was hard to end the season on that note,” Gawne said. “Coming into the playoffs I was really confident in our chances of going deep because we are a great team that works well together. I thought we were capable of getting the job done no matter who we faced.”

Being brought up to the sophomore team as a freshman, and then to the varsity level as a sophomore, shows that Gawne is the real deal. But it’s not something that was handed to him either. He has had his eyes this for a long time.

“One goal I’ve had since I was a little kid was to earn all-state honors, “ Gawne said. “I ended up falling short of that this season, but still earning all-conference. I know this is still a great award, but I still have my heart set on earning all-state in the future.”

Coming up as an underclassman and playing at the varsity level in any sport is a huge accomplishment. But becoming a starter and emerging as a leader to begin his junior season is rare. Gawne had multiple performances throughout the season that show he has continued to work and improve.

“My most memorable game had to be the at Oak Park-River Forest,“ Gawne said. “I scored a hat-trick against one of our conference opponents in a game we won 3-0. I put up another hat-trick in our next game against Riverside-Brookfield, as a soccer player that will definitely be one of my greatest achievements.”

Most teams tend to be in trouble starting a new season due to losing key senior athletes. This Dukes team, however, seems to be in good hands as they already have a core in place for next season full of great leaders.

“Both of my coaches continue to push me and are always there for me which helps improve my confidence,“ Gawne said. “I have developed great chemistry with my junior teammates Ethan Oder, Jack Musial, and Joe Meade. We’ve been playing together for a long time and we continue to push each other to keep improving.”