Taft finalizes First Division crown
Tovar, Knap lead big 2nd half effort for 3-1 win over Lincoln Park
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Teams preach thou shalt not concede goals at the start of a game, or the end of a half. Taft committed a cardinal sin as Lincoln Park victimized the Eagles’ own aggression by scoring off a counter with just seconds remaining in the 40th minute.
Taft was a bit dazed but not flattened by the event.
“It woke us up,” senior Eagles’ forward Patrick Knap said. “We thought they were not going to do that to us. We thought we had the half closed out, but they shocked us.
“After that we rebounded.”
Taft demonstrated a growing maturity and ability to withstand adversity as Knap scored two goals and freshman forward Brandon Tovar made his presence felt with two standout assists as the Eagles rallied for the 3-1 victory over Lincoln Park at Near North Field on Thursday afternoon.
Taft (8-5-3, 5-1-1) won its fourth-straight game. The victory was not just gratifying as proof of the team’s resilience and mental toughness. It went beyond that. The Eagles clinched the First Division title with 16 points and achieved one of the team's primary goals, returning to the Premier Division.
“We knew what was at stake, the seniors especially,” Taft coach Jeff Lucco said. “They wanted to put us back in the Premier Division. They also wanted us to win a conference -- even if it is just the First Division.”
Taft registered its second-consecutive comeback victory. The Eagles fell behind Curie in the second minute on Tuesday and then rode the hot play of Knap, who scored all his team's goals in a 4-2 win that put their destiny in their own hands. And Lincoln Park (9-7-4, 3-2-2) was not going to go easy into the night.
The Lions feature one of the best young talents in the city -- 6-foot-2 sophomore forward Theo Givens. A commanding and physical player, Givens led the division in scoring with 29 points. He is the most impressive player of a young program on the rise.
“Half of my team is either freshmen or sophomores,” Lincoln Park coach Geoffrey Ruttenberg said. “I only have two seniors. We are young, but very talented and learning all the time. We got hurt today by making some of the same mistakes we have made in pretty much all of our losses this year, like an inability to clear the ball.”
Givens facilitated the Lions’ best early scoring chance by smashing a laser off a free kick from about 24 yards out that Eagles’ sophomore keeper Pablo Rueda made a superb stop on. Lincoln Park keeper Thomas Diaz Servin recorded four saves in the first half, the most dramatic a low and hard ball off a repatriated corner kick that sophomore midfielder Sergio Diaz hammered at the left corner.
Taft enjoyed the superior possession time and generated more consistently dangerous chances in the first half. The Eagles facilitated 12 corner kicks in the game to just three for the Lions. Lincoln Park mitigated the Eagles’ own play in the 40th minute. A Taft corner was punched out near midfield that allowed Givens to ignite his own break.
Givens drove the ball down the center-left edge and slotted a ball on the left flank to trailing sophomore forward Luciano Ringo. He made a quick counterstep to force Pablo to come off the line and he redirected the ball inside the far post for the Lions’ goal.
Taft got the message. “It was a wake-up call for us,” Tovar said. “In the second half we played with more intensity. We just played our hearts out and left everything out on the field.”
Lucco, by his own admission, is a bit of a firebrand, an intense and passionate coach. Events of the last month have caused him to reassess his coaching style, and it has paid off.
“I have been working, personally, on being a lot more positive,” Lucco said. “I think it has rubbed off. When we do concede we try to see the positive in it. The last four conference games we have responded very well.”
The Eagles did not get rattled after Curie’s early goal Tuesday. The Lincoln Park goal was just another barrier the team had to surmount. Knap again took charge. Taft showed off a more focused style and level of engagement.
In the 42nd minute, Knap navigated through a crowd draped all over him to create just enough space to drill home a ball for the Eagles’ breakthrough score.
“There were three bodies around me, two guys in front of me and one behind me,” he said. “I just controlled the ball, shielded the ball. And I had another guy on me and I was able to body him out of the way, and I just shot it with my left foot, and it went in the bottom corner.”
Taft began its 2017 campaign undefeated through its first six games (4-0-2). The stretch was punctuated by a very impressive road victory over previously unbeaten Loyola. A poor second half against Lake View began a downward slide, and the team suffered a crisis of faith during the PepsiCo Showdown. The Eagles lost all four games in the tournament.
“The tournament was really hard for us,” Lucco said. “We lost four games. We lost a few players -- two guys quit. We were at a crossroads. We had a meeting, and we sat them down and said, ‘If you don’t want to play, go,’ and they all stayed. Since that day, we’ve done a lot less practicing, a lot of more talking and hanging out. On the field they pick each other up.”
Lucco also instituted an important technical change, switching his formation from a 4-5-1 to 3-5-2. “We feel a lot more confident now,” he said. “It has worked. They are more fluid, they pass better, and our movement is better. They have the attitude of even when they do concede they feel like they can come back.”
Tovar moved from the middle to play off Knap up-top. “Patrick was really isolated, and I wanted to give him help, and he has been awesome,” Lucco said. Tovar proved the difference against the Lions. His speed, cutting and ability to create off the dribble or on set pieces overwhelmed Lincoln Park. Tovar earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his work in the win.
Taft maintained its pressure, and Tovar administered back-to-back corner kicks. On the second attempt, from the right edge, he served a ball into the box that senior defender Mateusz Koziara smashed inside the near post in the 57th minute for the Eagles’ 2-1 advantage.
“Honestly on the first assist I had on the corner I just kind of looked for Matthew Koziara,” Tovar said. “He is the one who usually puts in the header, and he is the go-to guy. I did not think it would go in, or that he’d be able to get to it. Fortunately he was there.”
Taft was rejuvenated and Lincoln Park was now on the defensive. The Lions loaded up in the box and pushed numbers forward in an effort to create mismatches. In the 60th minute sophomore defender Krzysztof Piekosz had a header sail just above the bar.
Turnabout is fair play, and the Eagles put the game away by engineering their own counter in the 66th minute. Tovar made a deep run down the right sideline and served a perfect cross that Knap finished with a powerful first touch.
“It was an excellent pass, and all I needed to do was get a (foot) on it,” Knap said.
The two goal lead held up.
“We were enthusiastic after we scored at the end of the half,” Ruttenberg said. “We had our chances, a few times the ball didn't bounce our way, but Taft played well. We were not quite able to execute our game plan in the second half. We wanted to play more possession, and have quicker touches. We are a young team, and we never quit.”
Starting lineups
Taft
GK: Pablo Rueda
D: Mateusz Koziara
D: Marek Klimek
D: Byron Abayya
MF: Melvin Zamora
MF: Ilyas Boukrim
MF: Alexis Sanchez
MF: Sergio Diaz
MF: Joshua Andreu
F: Brandon Tovar
F: Patrick Knap
Lincoln Park
GK: Thomas Diaz Servin
D: Aidan McDermott
D: Krzysztof Piekosz
D: Jakub Korybski
D: Nico McFarlane
MF: Andi Kallaba
MF: Lukas McFarlane
MF: Brandon Banchs
F: Stalin Compoverde
F: Theo Givens
F: Luciano Ringo
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the match: Brandon Tovar, fr., F, Taft
Scoring summary
First half
Lincoln Park—Luciano Ringo (Theo Givens), 40th minute
Second half
Taft—Patrick Knap, 42nd minute
Taft—Mateusz Koziara (Brandon Tovar), 57th minute
Taft—Knap (Tovar), 66th minute
Tovar, Knap lead big 2nd half effort for 3-1 win over Lincoln Park
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Teams preach thou shalt not concede goals at the start of a game, or the end of a half. Taft committed a cardinal sin as Lincoln Park victimized the Eagles’ own aggression by scoring off a counter with just seconds remaining in the 40th minute.
Taft was a bit dazed but not flattened by the event.
“It woke us up,” senior Eagles’ forward Patrick Knap said. “We thought they were not going to do that to us. We thought we had the half closed out, but they shocked us.
“After that we rebounded.”
Taft demonstrated a growing maturity and ability to withstand adversity as Knap scored two goals and freshman forward Brandon Tovar made his presence felt with two standout assists as the Eagles rallied for the 3-1 victory over Lincoln Park at Near North Field on Thursday afternoon.
Taft (8-5-3, 5-1-1) won its fourth-straight game. The victory was not just gratifying as proof of the team’s resilience and mental toughness. It went beyond that. The Eagles clinched the First Division title with 16 points and achieved one of the team's primary goals, returning to the Premier Division.
“We knew what was at stake, the seniors especially,” Taft coach Jeff Lucco said. “They wanted to put us back in the Premier Division. They also wanted us to win a conference -- even if it is just the First Division.”
Taft registered its second-consecutive comeback victory. The Eagles fell behind Curie in the second minute on Tuesday and then rode the hot play of Knap, who scored all his team's goals in a 4-2 win that put their destiny in their own hands. And Lincoln Park (9-7-4, 3-2-2) was not going to go easy into the night.
The Lions feature one of the best young talents in the city -- 6-foot-2 sophomore forward Theo Givens. A commanding and physical player, Givens led the division in scoring with 29 points. He is the most impressive player of a young program on the rise.
“Half of my team is either freshmen or sophomores,” Lincoln Park coach Geoffrey Ruttenberg said. “I only have two seniors. We are young, but very talented and learning all the time. We got hurt today by making some of the same mistakes we have made in pretty much all of our losses this year, like an inability to clear the ball.”
Givens facilitated the Lions’ best early scoring chance by smashing a laser off a free kick from about 24 yards out that Eagles’ sophomore keeper Pablo Rueda made a superb stop on. Lincoln Park keeper Thomas Diaz Servin recorded four saves in the first half, the most dramatic a low and hard ball off a repatriated corner kick that sophomore midfielder Sergio Diaz hammered at the left corner.
Taft enjoyed the superior possession time and generated more consistently dangerous chances in the first half. The Eagles facilitated 12 corner kicks in the game to just three for the Lions. Lincoln Park mitigated the Eagles’ own play in the 40th minute. A Taft corner was punched out near midfield that allowed Givens to ignite his own break.
Givens drove the ball down the center-left edge and slotted a ball on the left flank to trailing sophomore forward Luciano Ringo. He made a quick counterstep to force Pablo to come off the line and he redirected the ball inside the far post for the Lions’ goal.
Taft got the message. “It was a wake-up call for us,” Tovar said. “In the second half we played with more intensity. We just played our hearts out and left everything out on the field.”
Lucco, by his own admission, is a bit of a firebrand, an intense and passionate coach. Events of the last month have caused him to reassess his coaching style, and it has paid off.
“I have been working, personally, on being a lot more positive,” Lucco said. “I think it has rubbed off. When we do concede we try to see the positive in it. The last four conference games we have responded very well.”
The Eagles did not get rattled after Curie’s early goal Tuesday. The Lincoln Park goal was just another barrier the team had to surmount. Knap again took charge. Taft showed off a more focused style and level of engagement.
In the 42nd minute, Knap navigated through a crowd draped all over him to create just enough space to drill home a ball for the Eagles’ breakthrough score.
“There were three bodies around me, two guys in front of me and one behind me,” he said. “I just controlled the ball, shielded the ball. And I had another guy on me and I was able to body him out of the way, and I just shot it with my left foot, and it went in the bottom corner.”
Taft began its 2017 campaign undefeated through its first six games (4-0-2). The stretch was punctuated by a very impressive road victory over previously unbeaten Loyola. A poor second half against Lake View began a downward slide, and the team suffered a crisis of faith during the PepsiCo Showdown. The Eagles lost all four games in the tournament.
“The tournament was really hard for us,” Lucco said. “We lost four games. We lost a few players -- two guys quit. We were at a crossroads. We had a meeting, and we sat them down and said, ‘If you don’t want to play, go,’ and they all stayed. Since that day, we’ve done a lot less practicing, a lot of more talking and hanging out. On the field they pick each other up.”
Lucco also instituted an important technical change, switching his formation from a 4-5-1 to 3-5-2. “We feel a lot more confident now,” he said. “It has worked. They are more fluid, they pass better, and our movement is better. They have the attitude of even when they do concede they feel like they can come back.”
Tovar moved from the middle to play off Knap up-top. “Patrick was really isolated, and I wanted to give him help, and he has been awesome,” Lucco said. Tovar proved the difference against the Lions. His speed, cutting and ability to create off the dribble or on set pieces overwhelmed Lincoln Park. Tovar earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his work in the win.
Taft maintained its pressure, and Tovar administered back-to-back corner kicks. On the second attempt, from the right edge, he served a ball into the box that senior defender Mateusz Koziara smashed inside the near post in the 57th minute for the Eagles’ 2-1 advantage.
“Honestly on the first assist I had on the corner I just kind of looked for Matthew Koziara,” Tovar said. “He is the one who usually puts in the header, and he is the go-to guy. I did not think it would go in, or that he’d be able to get to it. Fortunately he was there.”
Taft was rejuvenated and Lincoln Park was now on the defensive. The Lions loaded up in the box and pushed numbers forward in an effort to create mismatches. In the 60th minute sophomore defender Krzysztof Piekosz had a header sail just above the bar.
Turnabout is fair play, and the Eagles put the game away by engineering their own counter in the 66th minute. Tovar made a deep run down the right sideline and served a perfect cross that Knap finished with a powerful first touch.
“It was an excellent pass, and all I needed to do was get a (foot) on it,” Knap said.
The two goal lead held up.
“We were enthusiastic after we scored at the end of the half,” Ruttenberg said. “We had our chances, a few times the ball didn't bounce our way, but Taft played well. We were not quite able to execute our game plan in the second half. We wanted to play more possession, and have quicker touches. We are a young team, and we never quit.”
Starting lineups
Taft
GK: Pablo Rueda
D: Mateusz Koziara
D: Marek Klimek
D: Byron Abayya
MF: Melvin Zamora
MF: Ilyas Boukrim
MF: Alexis Sanchez
MF: Sergio Diaz
MF: Joshua Andreu
F: Brandon Tovar
F: Patrick Knap
Lincoln Park
GK: Thomas Diaz Servin
D: Aidan McDermott
D: Krzysztof Piekosz
D: Jakub Korybski
D: Nico McFarlane
MF: Andi Kallaba
MF: Lukas McFarlane
MF: Brandon Banchs
F: Stalin Compoverde
F: Theo Givens
F: Luciano Ringo
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the match: Brandon Tovar, fr., F, Taft
Scoring summary
First half
Lincoln Park—Luciano Ringo (Theo Givens), 40th minute
Second half
Taft—Patrick Knap, 42nd minute
Taft—Mateusz Koziara (Brandon Tovar), 57th minute
Taft—Knap (Tovar), 66th minute