Sulamc leads Argo
over Oak Lawn for consolation title
2nd half brace gives Argonauts 2-1 Windy City win at Toyota Park
By Patrick Z. McGavin
BRIDGEVIEW — For more than a half, Argo coach John Gayton thought his team looked dead. They had every reason not to be. They were playing in Toyota Park against rival Oak Lawn. But the Argonauts were flat-footed and off their rhythm.
Then eight minutes into the second half, they caught magic.
Geraldo Flores and Matt Sulamc parlayed a beautiful scoring sequence that electrified the rest of the team and the Argonauts rallied for the 2-1 comeback victory over the Spartans for the consolation championship of the Windy City Ram Classic on Monday morning.
Sulamc scored his ninth and 10th goals of the season in the the Argonauts win. The last came on a penalty kick in the 59th minute and proved to be the game-winner. For his scoring acumen, Sulamc earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction.
Down 1-0 after the Spartans' junior forward Mohammad Farraj scored in the final minute of the first half, the Argonauts (4-1-1) responded with some spirited play out of the break. The most dazzling sequence occurred as Flores played a one touch to a streaking Sulamc, who cut inside and played the ball to the outside to Flores.
Flores drove the ball down the right edge and made a sharp cross that Sulamc drilled home for the all-important equalizer. The synchronicity and timing was something to behold.
"We saw an open gap right there, and then I saw Sulamc," Flores said. "I cut in passed the ball to him and then he gave it right back, and I decided to give it right back to him and he finished.
"It was a beautiful goal."
The tenor of the game instantly changed. Moments after the tying goal, midfielder Michal Szlachta hit a ball off the post. Argo became the aggressor and dictated the style of play.
"We were soft in the second half and they played much tougher," said Oak Lawn's Farraj.
The change of fortunes was dramatic given Oak Lawn (4-2-1) had the more sustained and offensively creative play in the first half.
Midfielder Giovanni Barragan played a couple of nice balls, including a free kick from about 25 yards out that Argonauts' keeper Marco Soto tipped off the crossbar.
"We were really feeling the game," Barragan said. "Everything was happening like we wanted it to. We were able to get pressure up top, and we scored in that last minute of the first half."
Oak Lawn had never defeated Argo in soccer. The Spartans rued only coming away with a dominant first half performance with the one-goal advantage. To a man they felt the lead should have been greater. Soto made three excellent first half saves.
"It's typical in that we had a lot of good chances, but when you don't put them in they come back and sneak up on you," Oak Lawn coach Nate Joiner said.
"We didn't finish in the first half when we had the flow of the game and the momentum."
Argo was more fluid and aggressive at the start of the second half.
"I think in the first half we were just nervous," Gaytan said. "Most of the kids are just sophomores who were intimidated by playing at a professional field. In the second half we were less nervous, and we started running the offense.
"We were able to attack better and adjust to their attacking style. On the counter we were able to get more opportunities."
Part of the first half sluggishness was attributed to the absence of Sulamc, the team's leading scorer who did not start the game for missing a weekend practice.
"Once we scored that first goal, on such a beautiful play, we just got all fired up," Sulamc said. "The momentum changed and we realized we could do that."
The play leading to the penalty kick was not surprisingly a disputed one. The referee ruled a foul in the box against the Spartans off a corner. Joiner said his defender was pushed from behind.
Argo called upon Sulamc to deliver.
"I like to go low and in the corner and hope for the best," he said.
He blasted the ball into the lower left corner, and it skipped underneath the diving Abel Cavada.
"We practice penalty kicks all the time," Sulamc said. "That's all we do."
Argo forward Matthew Warciak also provided another offensive threat opposite Sulamc up top. His ability to drive the ball and create pressure in the Spartans' interior opened up the attack for the Argonauts.
Oak Lawn was defensive and on its heels.
"For some reason we always better in the second half" Gayton said. "Defensively we were also better in the second half."
Oak Lawn's strong effort concluded a good tournament performance.
"Argo is a good team," Joiner said. "They're always tough. We didn't play through a couple of adverse calls which was our fault, so give them the credit.
"This was a great tournament. We got to play against teams that we normally don't see, like some city schools. What I liked about was all the teams we played were high quality. Then to finish off by playing here at Toyota Park was a lot of fun for the kids."
Starting lineups
Oak Lawn
GK: Abel Cavada
D: Matt Barrera
D: Adam Baniewicz
D: Jake Rispin
D: Sadiq Mohamad
M: Donal Nugent
M: Cody Figus
M: Akram Mahdi
M: Giovanni Barragan
M: Michal Szlafarski
F: Mohammad Farraj
Argo
GK: Marco Soto
D: Chris Jagielo
D: Armando Gallegos
D: Victor Martinez
D: Jose Soria
M: Leonardo Ochoa
M: Michal Szlachta
M: Geraldo Flores
F: Antonio Martinez
F: Mateusz Bartyczak
F: Matthew Warciak
Man of the Match: Matt Sulamc, F, Argo
over Oak Lawn for consolation title
2nd half brace gives Argonauts 2-1 Windy City win at Toyota Park
By Patrick Z. McGavin
BRIDGEVIEW — For more than a half, Argo coach John Gayton thought his team looked dead. They had every reason not to be. They were playing in Toyota Park against rival Oak Lawn. But the Argonauts were flat-footed and off their rhythm.
Then eight minutes into the second half, they caught magic.
Geraldo Flores and Matt Sulamc parlayed a beautiful scoring sequence that electrified the rest of the team and the Argonauts rallied for the 2-1 comeback victory over the Spartans for the consolation championship of the Windy City Ram Classic on Monday morning.
Sulamc scored his ninth and 10th goals of the season in the the Argonauts win. The last came on a penalty kick in the 59th minute and proved to be the game-winner. For his scoring acumen, Sulamc earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction.
Down 1-0 after the Spartans' junior forward Mohammad Farraj scored in the final minute of the first half, the Argonauts (4-1-1) responded with some spirited play out of the break. The most dazzling sequence occurred as Flores played a one touch to a streaking Sulamc, who cut inside and played the ball to the outside to Flores.
Flores drove the ball down the right edge and made a sharp cross that Sulamc drilled home for the all-important equalizer. The synchronicity and timing was something to behold.
"We saw an open gap right there, and then I saw Sulamc," Flores said. "I cut in passed the ball to him and then he gave it right back, and I decided to give it right back to him and he finished.
"It was a beautiful goal."
The tenor of the game instantly changed. Moments after the tying goal, midfielder Michal Szlachta hit a ball off the post. Argo became the aggressor and dictated the style of play.
"We were soft in the second half and they played much tougher," said Oak Lawn's Farraj.
The change of fortunes was dramatic given Oak Lawn (4-2-1) had the more sustained and offensively creative play in the first half.
Midfielder Giovanni Barragan played a couple of nice balls, including a free kick from about 25 yards out that Argonauts' keeper Marco Soto tipped off the crossbar.
"We were really feeling the game," Barragan said. "Everything was happening like we wanted it to. We were able to get pressure up top, and we scored in that last minute of the first half."
Oak Lawn had never defeated Argo in soccer. The Spartans rued only coming away with a dominant first half performance with the one-goal advantage. To a man they felt the lead should have been greater. Soto made three excellent first half saves.
"It's typical in that we had a lot of good chances, but when you don't put them in they come back and sneak up on you," Oak Lawn coach Nate Joiner said.
"We didn't finish in the first half when we had the flow of the game and the momentum."
Argo was more fluid and aggressive at the start of the second half.
"I think in the first half we were just nervous," Gaytan said. "Most of the kids are just sophomores who were intimidated by playing at a professional field. In the second half we were less nervous, and we started running the offense.
"We were able to attack better and adjust to their attacking style. On the counter we were able to get more opportunities."
Part of the first half sluggishness was attributed to the absence of Sulamc, the team's leading scorer who did not start the game for missing a weekend practice.
"Once we scored that first goal, on such a beautiful play, we just got all fired up," Sulamc said. "The momentum changed and we realized we could do that."
The play leading to the penalty kick was not surprisingly a disputed one. The referee ruled a foul in the box against the Spartans off a corner. Joiner said his defender was pushed from behind.
Argo called upon Sulamc to deliver.
"I like to go low and in the corner and hope for the best," he said.
He blasted the ball into the lower left corner, and it skipped underneath the diving Abel Cavada.
"We practice penalty kicks all the time," Sulamc said. "That's all we do."
Argo forward Matthew Warciak also provided another offensive threat opposite Sulamc up top. His ability to drive the ball and create pressure in the Spartans' interior opened up the attack for the Argonauts.
Oak Lawn was defensive and on its heels.
"For some reason we always better in the second half" Gayton said. "Defensively we were also better in the second half."
Oak Lawn's strong effort concluded a good tournament performance.
"Argo is a good team," Joiner said. "They're always tough. We didn't play through a couple of adverse calls which was our fault, so give them the credit.
"This was a great tournament. We got to play against teams that we normally don't see, like some city schools. What I liked about was all the teams we played were high quality. Then to finish off by playing here at Toyota Park was a lot of fun for the kids."
Starting lineups
Oak Lawn
GK: Abel Cavada
D: Matt Barrera
D: Adam Baniewicz
D: Jake Rispin
D: Sadiq Mohamad
M: Donal Nugent
M: Cody Figus
M: Akram Mahdi
M: Giovanni Barragan
M: Michal Szlafarski
F: Mohammad Farraj
Argo
GK: Marco Soto
D: Chris Jagielo
D: Armando Gallegos
D: Victor Martinez
D: Jose Soria
M: Leonardo Ochoa
M: Michal Szlachta
M: Geraldo Flores
F: Antonio Martinez
F: Mateusz Bartyczak
F: Matthew Warciak
Man of the Match: Matt Sulamc, F, Argo