BG opens MSL campaign
with strong effort, tops host Hersey
1st half strikes from Marzariegos and Brauner send off rivals
By Mike Garofola
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS -- The early-season results for both Buffalo Grove and Hersey have been less than memorable.
Hersey, a perennial top-of-the-table club in the Mid-Suburban League is currently
going through a case of growing pains with manager Darren Llewellyn, who is still
in the process of establishing a true first 11 from a
varsity roster which is filled with one of his youngest groups during
his tenure with the Huskies.
To the north stands Buffalo Grove, which after a dazzling
postseason finish last fall, returned most of the core from that
sectional semifinal side - in addition to a new head-man in Brad Abel,
who turned in countless winning seasons at Hersey
when he led the girls program there.
Unfortunately, the Bison have also had trouble finding their form.
But not Tuesday night.
In the MSL opener for both sides, the Bison were on their front
feet from the opening whistle, striking early during a torrential
downpour, then again just before intermission, to secure a
well-deserved 2-0 road victory at Roland Goins Stadium in Arlington
Heights.
"One game obviously doesn't mean we've turned things around. It
was very encouraging to see everyone play the way we're capable of
with a quality effort on both sides of the ball for 80 minutes," said
Abel, whose club is now 2-3-1, after going 1-2-1 at the Northside
College Showcase last week. In its final game at New Trier,
the Bison beat 2014 tourney champs St. Charles East 3-2.
"Our won-loss record might be a little deceiving, especially when you're
coming from a tournament that's so competitive, and with us playing
three of the best teams that were there: New Trier, Lyons and
Streamwood," Abel said. "So I cannot be too upset about our results there, but I
also know we didn't play to the level that we're capable of. But we were a lot closer to that level tonight.
Veteran striker Drew Brauner agrees that his team will benefit from
Buffalo Grove's participation in the Northfield event.
"That was a great tournament last week. Streamwood was fourth in the
state, New Trier made it to the supers (both in 2014), and Lyons is always really good," the senior said.
"Yes, we could have played better there. But I felt we got better
with each game, and being a part of that tournament is going to really
help us get ready for our schedule here in the MSL. And that is what
is most important right now."
Brauner, who has made a habit of bagging big goals during
the past two seasons with the big club, was ever present in most of
what the visitors offered during their terrific first half of soccer. His
contributions included the 38th-minute goal that doubled the
advantage of the Bison and helped put the home side on its heels the
rest of the way.
"We're so young, and we lack varsity experience, so we don't deal with
adversity very well right now," said Hersey junior Jack Rasmussen, whom
Llewellyn has given the captains armband to wear this fall.
"The effort has been there, and everyone is playing hard, but when
they scored that early first goal, which was just bad luck, (you) could
see us hanging our heads for awhile. And we can't be getting down on
ourselves just because we give up goals."
Sophomore Manny Marzariegos unloaded a 30-yard blast which, when it
left his right boot, looked as if it would go on frame and be handled by Hersey
keeper Brett Harris. But it was redirected on the way
in and went in, resulting in a 1-0 advantage just two minutes into the match.
"Bad luck for Hersey, good fortune for us. Scoring first and early,
especially in a game with Hersey is always big," admitted Abel.
"Yeah, it was bad luck for us, but those things happen in soccer, and
Jack is correct, we need to learn to deal with things that go wrong in
this sport," began Llewellyn.
"We didn't match up well with BG. They are big, fast and physical, and
that's trouble for us right now. Plus they have that No. 9 (Alex
Alfaro) in the middle, and when he's on the ball, he is creative and
dangerous."
"Alex is magic on the ball," said Brauner.
"He makes a lot of things happen because of his vision, and ability to
distribute, and we're at our best when he's doing what he was
tonight."
Alfaro had few touches in the first quarter hour, with Brauner,
Colin Doyle and Colin Dekorski more involved in a Bison attack that
stretched the Huskies (0-2-3, 0-1-0) to the max in their own end.
Brauner sent Dekorski through, but the junior was correctly ruled
offside by the assistant referee, just prior to Tyler Niemann and
Brauner helping Doyle put one on frame that forced Harris into a save.
It would then be time for Alfaro to put his imprint on the match. The
junior consistantly tricked his way into the area and dribbled an
opponent or two, while providing quality balls to his teammates to
keep the Huskies under duress. It was all the more impressive when you
consider how hard it rained the entire first period.
"When you see Alex play the way he was, and can, you see a very
talented player, who can change the course of the game," said Abel, of
Tuesday night's Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
"We need to be at that level, and take people on more often, while
getting others involved at the same time in order for our attack to
run at a high level."
A handful of deep long throws from Buffalo Grove's Hans Haller kept Rasmussen and his
mates wary in the opening half, and another pinpoint toss led to
Brauner's late goal, which he found from an angle with his left foot --
driving his shot from just inside the box into the far inside netting.
"Drew can be really dangerous with his shot, but he's also a very good
distributor of the ball," said the soft-spoken Alfaro.
The Bison attack forced Hersey to realign itself.
"We made some adjustments at the break, moved Jack back from his spot
as defensive midfielder, and tried to get the guys to play more direct, because right
now, I feel with the talent that we have - we'll need to go direct,
and bypass the midfield, because we're struggling to play through the
middle with short passes and some combination play," said Llewellyn.
The Huskies received some good play from Christian Castro, Matt
Dickey, Saul Casillas, and freshman Thomas Kilba, who showed good
pace and a nice soccer IQ with and without the ball.
Casillas flashed a serve from the far flag through the box to an
unmarked Kilba - but the varsity newcomer was unable to put enough
pace on his shot to test keeper Daniel Sempoch with his 44th minute
attempt.
Doyle could have made things worse for the Huskies after he met Haller's
long throw - but grazed the bar with a lovely side-footed blast in
the 58th minute. Then sophomore keeper, Isaac Carvajal made sure it
stayed 2-0 when he fully extended to his right to turn around
Brauner's sure goal at 61 minutes.
"Isaac is a sophomore, and he's shown well, and Thomas (Kilba) as a
freshman are two guys we'll be counting on for our future, along with
another sophomore, Jesse Lopez, all from a roster that is mostly
sophomores and juniors," said Llewellyn.
"We haven't settled on a starting lineup, or formation yet, but we
might be getting closer. Hopefully it will come together in
order for us to be there at the end."
Buffalo Grove, which will host Hoffman Estates on Saturday after
its match with the Hawks was moved from Thursday,
now looks to add several three-point matches in its quest to stay
near the top of the table this fall.
"We can attack and get forward with the best of them, and tonight,
our guys along the back: Hans, Tyler, Brendan Carr, Andy Tanabe, Gorgis
(Yelda) all showed they can play tight, organized soccer along the
back for us. In order for us to succeed in the conference, and
later on, they will have to continue to do so for us," Abel said.
Starting lineups
Buffalo Grove
GK- Daniel Sempoch
D- Tyler Niemann
D- Hans Haller
D- Brendan Carr
D- Gorgis Yelda
MF- Colin Doyle
MF- Alex Alfaro
MF- Manny Marzariegos
MF- Hector Herrera
F- Drew Brauner
F- Colin Dekorsi
Hersey
GK- Brett Harris
D- Steven Custer
D- Daniel Gritt
D- Michael Santry
D- Giuseppe Scaletta
MF- Christian Castro
MF- Thomas Kilba
MF- Jack Rasmussen
MF- Colin Mallers
F- Matthew Dickey
F- Jesse Lopez
Man of the Match: Alex Alfaro, MF, Buffalo Grove
with strong effort, tops host Hersey
1st half strikes from Marzariegos and Brauner send off rivals
By Mike Garofola
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS -- The early-season results for both Buffalo Grove and Hersey have been less than memorable.
Hersey, a perennial top-of-the-table club in the Mid-Suburban League is currently
going through a case of growing pains with manager Darren Llewellyn, who is still
in the process of establishing a true first 11 from a
varsity roster which is filled with one of his youngest groups during
his tenure with the Huskies.
To the north stands Buffalo Grove, which after a dazzling
postseason finish last fall, returned most of the core from that
sectional semifinal side - in addition to a new head-man in Brad Abel,
who turned in countless winning seasons at Hersey
when he led the girls program there.
Unfortunately, the Bison have also had trouble finding their form.
But not Tuesday night.
In the MSL opener for both sides, the Bison were on their front
feet from the opening whistle, striking early during a torrential
downpour, then again just before intermission, to secure a
well-deserved 2-0 road victory at Roland Goins Stadium in Arlington
Heights.
"One game obviously doesn't mean we've turned things around. It
was very encouraging to see everyone play the way we're capable of
with a quality effort on both sides of the ball for 80 minutes," said
Abel, whose club is now 2-3-1, after going 1-2-1 at the Northside
College Showcase last week. In its final game at New Trier,
the Bison beat 2014 tourney champs St. Charles East 3-2.
"Our won-loss record might be a little deceiving, especially when you're
coming from a tournament that's so competitive, and with us playing
three of the best teams that were there: New Trier, Lyons and
Streamwood," Abel said. "So I cannot be too upset about our results there, but I
also know we didn't play to the level that we're capable of. But we were a lot closer to that level tonight.
Veteran striker Drew Brauner agrees that his team will benefit from
Buffalo Grove's participation in the Northfield event.
"That was a great tournament last week. Streamwood was fourth in the
state, New Trier made it to the supers (both in 2014), and Lyons is always really good," the senior said.
"Yes, we could have played better there. But I felt we got better
with each game, and being a part of that tournament is going to really
help us get ready for our schedule here in the MSL. And that is what
is most important right now."
Brauner, who has made a habit of bagging big goals during
the past two seasons with the big club, was ever present in most of
what the visitors offered during their terrific first half of soccer. His
contributions included the 38th-minute goal that doubled the
advantage of the Bison and helped put the home side on its heels the
rest of the way.
"We're so young, and we lack varsity experience, so we don't deal with
adversity very well right now," said Hersey junior Jack Rasmussen, whom
Llewellyn has given the captains armband to wear this fall.
"The effort has been there, and everyone is playing hard, but when
they scored that early first goal, which was just bad luck, (you) could
see us hanging our heads for awhile. And we can't be getting down on
ourselves just because we give up goals."
Sophomore Manny Marzariegos unloaded a 30-yard blast which, when it
left his right boot, looked as if it would go on frame and be handled by Hersey
keeper Brett Harris. But it was redirected on the way
in and went in, resulting in a 1-0 advantage just two minutes into the match.
"Bad luck for Hersey, good fortune for us. Scoring first and early,
especially in a game with Hersey is always big," admitted Abel.
"Yeah, it was bad luck for us, but those things happen in soccer, and
Jack is correct, we need to learn to deal with things that go wrong in
this sport," began Llewellyn.
"We didn't match up well with BG. They are big, fast and physical, and
that's trouble for us right now. Plus they have that No. 9 (Alex
Alfaro) in the middle, and when he's on the ball, he is creative and
dangerous."
"Alex is magic on the ball," said Brauner.
"He makes a lot of things happen because of his vision, and ability to
distribute, and we're at our best when he's doing what he was
tonight."
Alfaro had few touches in the first quarter hour, with Brauner,
Colin Doyle and Colin Dekorski more involved in a Bison attack that
stretched the Huskies (0-2-3, 0-1-0) to the max in their own end.
Brauner sent Dekorski through, but the junior was correctly ruled
offside by the assistant referee, just prior to Tyler Niemann and
Brauner helping Doyle put one on frame that forced Harris into a save.
It would then be time for Alfaro to put his imprint on the match. The
junior consistantly tricked his way into the area and dribbled an
opponent or two, while providing quality balls to his teammates to
keep the Huskies under duress. It was all the more impressive when you
consider how hard it rained the entire first period.
"When you see Alex play the way he was, and can, you see a very
talented player, who can change the course of the game," said Abel, of
Tuesday night's Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
"We need to be at that level, and take people on more often, while
getting others involved at the same time in order for our attack to
run at a high level."
A handful of deep long throws from Buffalo Grove's Hans Haller kept Rasmussen and his
mates wary in the opening half, and another pinpoint toss led to
Brauner's late goal, which he found from an angle with his left foot --
driving his shot from just inside the box into the far inside netting.
"Drew can be really dangerous with his shot, but he's also a very good
distributor of the ball," said the soft-spoken Alfaro.
The Bison attack forced Hersey to realign itself.
"We made some adjustments at the break, moved Jack back from his spot
as defensive midfielder, and tried to get the guys to play more direct, because right
now, I feel with the talent that we have - we'll need to go direct,
and bypass the midfield, because we're struggling to play through the
middle with short passes and some combination play," said Llewellyn.
The Huskies received some good play from Christian Castro, Matt
Dickey, Saul Casillas, and freshman Thomas Kilba, who showed good
pace and a nice soccer IQ with and without the ball.
Casillas flashed a serve from the far flag through the box to an
unmarked Kilba - but the varsity newcomer was unable to put enough
pace on his shot to test keeper Daniel Sempoch with his 44th minute
attempt.
Doyle could have made things worse for the Huskies after he met Haller's
long throw - but grazed the bar with a lovely side-footed blast in
the 58th minute. Then sophomore keeper, Isaac Carvajal made sure it
stayed 2-0 when he fully extended to his right to turn around
Brauner's sure goal at 61 minutes.
"Isaac is a sophomore, and he's shown well, and Thomas (Kilba) as a
freshman are two guys we'll be counting on for our future, along with
another sophomore, Jesse Lopez, all from a roster that is mostly
sophomores and juniors," said Llewellyn.
"We haven't settled on a starting lineup, or formation yet, but we
might be getting closer. Hopefully it will come together in
order for us to be there at the end."
Buffalo Grove, which will host Hoffman Estates on Saturday after
its match with the Hawks was moved from Thursday,
now looks to add several three-point matches in its quest to stay
near the top of the table this fall.
"We can attack and get forward with the best of them, and tonight,
our guys along the back: Hans, Tyler, Brendan Carr, Andy Tanabe, Gorgis
(Yelda) all showed they can play tight, organized soccer along the
back for us. In order for us to succeed in the conference, and
later on, they will have to continue to do so for us," Abel said.
Starting lineups
Buffalo Grove
GK- Daniel Sempoch
D- Tyler Niemann
D- Hans Haller
D- Brendan Carr
D- Gorgis Yelda
MF- Colin Doyle
MF- Alex Alfaro
MF- Manny Marzariegos
MF- Hector Herrera
F- Drew Brauner
F- Colin Dekorsi
Hersey
GK- Brett Harris
D- Steven Custer
D- Daniel Gritt
D- Michael Santry
D- Giuseppe Scaletta
MF- Christian Castro
MF- Thomas Kilba
MF- Jack Rasmussen
MF- Colin Mallers
F- Matthew Dickey
F- Jesse Lopez
Man of the Match: Alex Alfaro, MF, Buffalo Grove