After emerging as a productive scorer last season, junior midfielder/forward Max Figueroa has taken on a different role this fall for St. Lawrence.
Figueroa comes off the bench. His minutes have been limited at times, and at times, he plays in a midfield role rather than his familiar striker position. He scored just one goal in the regular season.
None of that took away his confidence or desire to make a difference for the Vikings.
“Some kids like to keep their heads down if they don’t start, but I’m not going to let that affect me mentally because it’s going to affect my play,” Figueroa said. “When I come off the bench, I always feel like I’ve earned this.” I know I have to take my chance. It’s there and I have to catch it.
“I have to work my butt off. Once I’m on the field, I’ve got to shine.”
Figuera shined on the biggest stage Friday night. He scored his second goal of the season, leading St. Lawrence to a 3-0 win over Glenbrook North in the Class 3A state semifinals at Hoffman Estates.
Chris Caravantis scored twice for the Vikings (24-2-4), while Mavin Marquez had an assist. Vin Deese made five saves, getting help from a defense led by Paulie Rzadkos, Jose Garcia, Hilario Sanchez and Sal Soto.
St. Lawrence will play in its first state championship game in program history at 7 p.m. Saturday against Naperville North (24-0-4), a 1-0 winner over Lynn Tech (21-3). It is also the Vikings’ first year competing in Class 3A.
“It’s history, but we’ll keep working hard,” Figueroa said. “No matter who is on the field with us, we will win.”
Figueroa took the lead in the 26th minute against Glenbrook North (20-3-3) after hitting the far post to score on Marquez’s pass.
Caravantes felt this was a needed boost after the Vikings started slowly.
“Max gave us the energy we needed off the bench,” Caravantis said. “He came with the drive and knew where he had to be. He got to the back post and was there to score.”
Caravantis’ two goals in the second half allowed St. Lawrence to pull away.
“It feels good to score two goals, the same way, against a good team,” Caravantis said. “To make the third person feel like they’re going to end it, it’s going to kill their energy and passion.”
Meanwhile, Figueroa never loses energy. After reaching double figures in goals last season, he has avoided any concern about not matching those numbers this year.
“I can feel emotions sometimes, but I don’t let them affect me,” he said. “Yes, I scored more goals last year, but I still feel like I’m playing with everything I have.
He added: “Scoring goals feels really good, but I don’t have to score goals to play a good game.”
St. Lawrence coach Jaime Alonso feels Figueroa has given his team a great spark throughout the playoffs and continues to earn more playing time.
“Max has always put his head down and worked,” Alonso said. “He has never shied away from the challenge of coming off the bench and playing wherever we need to put him. Anytime I ask him where he wants to play, he says it doesn’t matter and he just wants to be on the field.
“It’s a testament to his positive mentality. I think a lot of other kids probably walked away from that role.”
And now Figueroa has surpassed his brother Tristan, who was a senior captain in 2023 as St. Lawrence finished third in Class 2A.
“It’s amazing,” Max said. “When I saw my brother playing here, I knew I needed to do the same thing. My brother did well at state. I should do it, too.”