Two years ago, Grayslake Central’s Mitchell Fein looked ahead and realized an opportunity could arise in 2023.

Fein was a talented sophomore at the time and knew juniors Danik Marynevych and Alan Alonso were the engines that would drive the Rams to the Class 2A state semifinals in back-to-back seasons.

“The coaches had me playing a lot of different positions, and I said I was like a pocketknife,” Fein said. “I knew back then Daniel and Alan were both ahead of me, so it might happen that I would have to (take over) at some point. I foresaw it a little bit, if I put in more work.”

Fein has emerged as that go-to player for Grayslake Central (11-4) this season. The senior midfielder has a team-high 14 goals and five assists as the Rams head into the postseason as the top-seeded team in the Class 2A Grayslake Central Sectional.

Fein had totaled 11 goals and 27 assists in previous seasons.

“I felt I needed to do more for the team and play a bigger role,” he said.

Rams coach Keith Andersson said Fein started to spend extra hours working on his craft earlier this year to prepare for the season.

“We noticed in the spring, Mitchell would be out there every single day it was slightly warm out,” Andersson said. “He would bring a kick wall out on the turf, lay out his own cones and kick off the wall, work on his dribbling, on his touch and turns. He was nonstop training.”

Grayslake Central senior goalkeeper and captain Uriel Garcia-Perez, a three-year starter, said he started seeing a different side of Fein.

“Mitch has been a great player, but he was always on the quiet side and would only say things here and there,” Garcia-Perez said. “It wasn’t until during our summer workouts when I really saw that he stepped up. He would just push us a lot.

“I think Mitch just knew that with the other valuable players gone that he had to wear their shoes and do the things they would do. I think Mitch’s hard work paid off a lot.”

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Andersson agreed that Fein has risen to the occasion.

“This year Mitchell has filled in Alan’s role, like his (graduation) didn’t hurt us at all,” Andersson said. “I thought it was going to be a difficult position, playing the No. 10 role, just to have another box-to-box player. But the one thing he has over Alan is he can head the ball. He’s our air attack.”

Fein said he has taken his leadership role seriously.

“I’ve just learned this year to be more positive toward my teammates,” he said. “We’re all working together to reach our goal of making it to state. Not many teams can say they made state three years in a row.”

Fein, who said he has a 4.45 GPA, is planning to follow in someone else’s footsteps next season.

“My mom played soccer at the University of Central Florida, so she’s kind of put an influence on me to play soccer,” he said. “As long as I can remember, I had a ball on my feet. I’m pretty motivated to play in college. I will definitely be playing at the next level.”

Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.