Southtown Star’s 3 things to know

1. The area is ripe with teams on the rise. Marian Catholic, the Windy City Ram Classic champion, is 9-1 after going 9-12-4 last season. T.F. United, at 6-1, already has surpassed its win total (5) from a year ago. Lockport (3-2), which lost its first six matches in 2012 before finishing 7-11-3, made an impressive run to the championship match of the Lemont Cup before falling to Plainfield North.

2. Don’t count out Lincoln-Way Central. The Knights underachieved in the regular season in 2012 before making a run to the Class 3A Sweet Sixteen. Losing 11 seniors from that squad, it seemed like a rebuilding year was inevitable. However, Central may reload quickly. The Knights were impressive in a 3-0 season-opening win over Plainfield South. Juniors Tyler Massa and Jacob Lysik lead the Central attack. The Knights get a serious test Thursday, hosting Sandburg.

3. Getenet Timmermans is one of the Southland’s most exciting players. The senior, a native of Ethiopia, has flown under the radar a bit at Chicago Christian, but that should change. He has scored 12 goals over the Knights’ first six matches, increasing his career total to 67. He scored four times in a win over Westmont and added a hat trick in a victory over Evergreen Park. Chicago Christian is 3-1-2.