Determination Helped Brother Rice Standout Savarino Enjoy Record-Setting Career

Even before Billy Savarino stepped on the soccer field at Brother Rice for the first time, he was determined to be the most prolific goal scorer in Illinois history.

He had Hinckley-Big Rock standout John Thurow’s record 142 career goals etched in his mind.

“It was a personal goal of mine to break that record going into my freshman year,” said Savarino, a 1993 Brother Rice graduate. “Growing up, I played at a high level and I worked hard to break it. I used to take 500 shots a day and was always working to get better.”

Longtime Brother Rice coach Nick Markulin never discounted the lofty goal when it was broached to him, but knew it would be extremely difficult to achieve.

Markulin inserted Savarino into the starting lineup as a freshman and was rewarded for his decision when the forward scored 25 goals.

“When you start as a freshman there are so many challenges, like the physical aspect of the game, size, speed and maturity of the players,” Markulin said. “When he said he was going to be the all-time leading goal scorer, I did think he could be a top goal scorer in the area right away. I told him, ‘By the time you’re a senior, great things should happen. Whether you can set the record, we’ll see. Anything is possible.’ ”

Savarino went on to shatter the record, finishing his career with 159 goals.

His record-setting goal came midway through the second half of a win over Mount Carmel and fans stormed the field to celebrate the historic moment.

“It felt like a big accomplishment,” said Savarino, who was part of Brother Rice’s 2011 inaugural class of inductees into its Hall of Fame, the Circle of Champions. “Once the record was broken, I remember feeling a huge relief. We had a very good team that season.

"We felt we could win the state championship and (chasing) the record just added pressure. Channel 7 news came out at the beginning of the season. A lot of articles were written. Everything just took away from what I was trying to do, which was help the team win a state championship.”

Savarino, whose record was broken Oct. 11 by Crete-Monee’s Carlos Posada, was a three-time all-state performer, two-time All-American and Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year for the Crusaders.

He shared the record for most goals in a game with 10 in 1992 until Glenbrook North’s Konrad Klosowiak scored 11 goals in 2009.

“I’ve been coaching five decades and Billy is a player that you get once in a century,” said Markulin, who coached Brother Rice from 1972-93 and returned in 1999 after a stint at Moraine Valley Junior College and has been the coach ever since. “He was an outstanding young man and great individual. He was incredibly coachable, very determined and his work rate was phenomenal.

“He had tremendous endurance, acceleration, dribbling skills and the shot. Billy was devastating in the box and was not afraid of being pushed or shoved and being everyone’s target. He was a phenomenal leader and had everything it took to be a success story. You have to be proud of a young man like that. He knew what he wanted and went after it.”

Close, But No IHSA State Title Cigar

Savarino is now a 35-year-old Mokena resident. He grew up in Orland Park, but when it came time to pick a high school, he knew Brother Rice was the place for him.

“My two older brothers, Phil and Joe, played soccer at Brother Rice and I wanted to follow in their footsteps and go to a Catholic school,” Savarino said. “One of my best friends, Josh Feigl, went to Sandburg and about 10 other players I grew up playing with went there. The running joke was always that we would play each other in the state championship game and it almost happened.”

Brother Rice advanced to state three times during Savarino’s career, but he never accomplished his ultimate goal of winning a state championship.

The Crusaders lost to Fremd 2-1 in the semifinals his senior season and ended up placing fourth, while Feigl and Sandburg went on to win the title.

“Brother Rice was awesome,” said Savarino, who played four seasons at Notre Dame. “I met a lot of great teammates. It’s definitely four years of my life I’ll never forget.”

COMING THURSDAY: Log on at 6 a.m. Thursday to find out how Billy Savarino felt when his IHSA state soccer scoring record was shattered and what he is doing with himself nowadays.