ST. JOSEPH - The St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team rumbled to a 5-0 first half start against visiting Unity on Tuesday. Adding two more goals in the second frame, the Spartans defeated the Rockets 7-0 in Illini Prairie Conference play at Dick Duval Field.
Hunter Cler opened the scoring with a finish off a Lucas Stevens pass, and the goals came quickly after that. Tyler Hess buried one, Cler struck again—again with Stevens providing the setup—and Stevens himself joined the party with a goal of his own. Before halftime, Zach Harper dished an assist to Skyler Graham, who closed the first-half scoring with the Spartans up 5-0.
The second half played out much the same way. Harper found the net and later turned provider again, assisting Waylon Jones to close out SJO’s seven-goal shutout win.
The victory only added to a remarkable run under head coach Chris Stevens, who has led the Spartans to 55 wins against just 11 losses in his two and a half seasons at the helm. Ranked by both the Associated Press and MaxPreps, the Spartans are a perfect 17-0 this fall. For context, the Illinois high school record for consecutive wins belongs to New Trier, which strung together 88 victories between 2002 and 2005. While SJO isn’t there yet, the streak has put them in rare company.
Even more eye-catching than the win-loss column is the team’s defensive dominance. Tuesday’s clean sheet was their 12th of the season, and between August 29 and September 18 they stacked nine straight to enter the IHSA’s consecutive shutouts list. The Spartans have scored 98 goals so far this season while surrendering just seven—yes, you can still count them all on two hands.
SJO’s schedule doesn’t slow down. They’ll host Georgetown-Ridge Farm-Westville on Sept. 27, face Danville in a non-conference match on Sept. 29, and return to league play Oct. 1 at St. Thomas More. Four more regular season games remain before the Spartans turn their focus toward postseason play.
For Unity, the night was another tough outing. The Rockets fell to 1-5-2 overall and 0-2 in the Illini Prairie. They’ll travel to Rantoul on Sept. 25 and then host Illinois Valley Central Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
Box Score
Scoring SummarySt. Joseph-Ogden 7, Unity 0
First Half
SJO – Hunter Cler (assist Lucas Stevens)
SJO – Tyler Hess
SJO – Hunter Cler (assist Lucas Stevens)
SJO – Lucas Stevens
SJO – Skyler Graham (assist Zach Harper)
Second Half
SJO – Zach Harper
SJO – Waylon Jones (assist Zach Harper)
Team Records
St. Joseph-Ogden: 17-0 (2-0 IPC)
Unity: 1-5-2 (0-2 IPC)
St. Joseph-Ogden Athletics | Unity Athletics | Illini Prairie Sports
ST. JOSEPH - Last month, St. Joseph-Ogden High School announced the recipients of the third quarter Honor Roll and High Honor Roll. To be recognized on the Honor Roll at SJO, students must achieve a grade point average (GPA) of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Those with a GPA exceeding 3.74 are honored as 
The students named below earned recognition for their academic performance and attention to excellence at Unity High School. Congratulations to each on their exceptional scholastic effort in the first semester.
Malia Fairbanks, Phillip Hartke and Grace Renfrow are three of 32 members of the junior class who achived a grade point average of 3.75 or better at Unity High after the first semester. Forty-eight students from the class of 2024 will also be recognized as high honors students on January 26 along with the entire list of students below who made the honor roll or attained high honors status from their efforts between August 19 and December 22.
Students earning a GPA of 3.20 to 3.74 are recognized as honor students.
