Coal City advances to state for 2nd straight year with 3-1 supersectional win over Rochester

A little over a year ago, no Coal City boys soccer team had never won a regional title.But after last year’s team picked up regional and sectional championships on its way to a third-place finish at state, and after a dozen seniors graduated, the 2026 Coalers had big shoes to fill if they wanted to keep filling the trophy case. They filled them, and after repeating as regional and sectional champions this season, the Coalers (16-7) are now heading back to state.They downed Rochester 3-1 in Monday’s IHSA Class 1A Illinois Valley Central Supersectional matchup against Rochester, getting first-half goals from Carter Hollis and Creed Macaluso to take a 2-0 lead into halftime. After the Rockets came out of the break with a quick goal, Macaluso netted another midway through the half to give the Coalers some insurance. The senior captain is heading to state for the second straight season to finish off his high school career. “It means a lot, because last year we had a lot of ups and downs,” M