Lockport is tired of ties
0-0 draw vs. hosts is Porter's third straight in Lemont Cup
By Steve Millar
LEMONT -- Lockport played three games in pool play in the Lemont Cup and all three resulted in draws.
That left Porters coach Chris Beal with concerns after his side's scoreless match Thursday against host Lemont.
“It’s very, very frustrating,” Beal said. “I think the lack of productivity in the final third and our inability to create chances and ultimately finish chances is becoming repetitive.”
The draw followed a 1-1 tie against Plainfield East and a 2-2 stalemate with Lincoln-Way West. The Porters (1-0-3) finished third in their group and will play Minooka in Saturday’s fifth-place game.
Taking on a Lemont team that had struggled mightily and brought an 0-4 record into the game, Lockport put eight shots on goal but could not get one by Indians goalkeeper Anthony Belsan.
That’s becoming an all too familiar problem for Beal.
“I think we identified before the season that our attacking third and our ability to score goals might be a problem,” he said. “Every season, you want two or three individuals that come up with 10 or 15 goals, maybe 20 goals. Right now, we’re challenging the players saying ‘Who’s going to be the guy to step up and score 10 or 15 goals and who’s going to be the player with 10 o 15 assists?’ Without those numbers it’s hard to be successful.”
The Porters had a great chance in the sixth minute as David Villa got the ball wide and sent a nice cross into the box. Tom Calderaro’s header was knocked over the crossbar by a leaping Belsan.
In the 24th minute, it was Calderaro doing the passing to find David Kordaczka right in front of the net, but Belsan stopped the point blank shot with his chest.
“We’re doing a lot of the things that we need to do, we just need to put the ball in the back of the net,” Lockport goalkeeper Jakub Krawczyk said.
For Belsan, it was a huge performance after he allowed five goals in the Indians’ loss Tuesday to Plainfield East.
“These past two games were really rough on me,” he said. “I gave up some unreasonable goals. My team was very good about it. They supported me. They never knocked me down.
“We’ve had a rough season starting out and just coming together. I think we have more skill than last year, but not enough teamwork. Today was really good for us. I’m really proud of us today.”
Belsan came up big a couple more times in the second half. The Porters created a strong chance off a corner with just under 17 minutes to go as Villa’s cross found
Brian Moore, who ripped a laser that Belsan stopped. Jack Dilger put the rebound wide.
Three minutes later, Jose Magallanes carried the ball through the midfield and played a perfectly-placed ball into the box for a Villa header, but Belsan leaped for the save.
While the Porters were creating chances, their defense was making things easy on Krawczyk. Lockport defended six Lemont corners without giving up a shot on goal.
On an Indians corner with 19:30 left in the game, Krawczyk attempted to intercept the cross and missed, but Kezie Nwachukwu was there to clear it away.
Nwachukwu, Moore, Tom Inczauskis and Charles Garcia were strong in the back all day for the Porters. It’s a group that’s new to playing together, but is starting to solidify.
“We were initially a little shaky in the back, but now we’re really starting to clean things up back there,” Nwachukwu said. “People are getting used to their roles and doing a good job with them.
“This game, we just had to watch (Lemont). They’re a talented team, but in the end it was just kick and run. We just had to stay solid in the back and play smart.”
Beal is happy with the effort he’s getting from his defense, and especially from his senior goalkeeper Krawczyk.
“It’s very difficult when you’re transitioning your whole back line,” he said. “Our back four is working to improve every game, positionally, technically, tactically. I think we’re blessed to have Jakub in goal. He’s been phenomenal so far. I’m really proud of the way he’s playing right now. He looks so confident and sure right now.”
Krawczyk echoed his coach’s sentiments regarding confidence. After transferring to Lockport for his junior season, he had to fit in with the Porters. Now, he’s unquestionably one of the team’s leaders.
“Last year, I was the new kid,” he said. “My first start was in the finals of this tournament. I felt like I had to prove myself, and I feel like I did a good job doing that last year, so this year I’m definitely a lot more comfortable and confident.”
Now, Beal is just looking for more from the rest of the team.
“It’s early in the season and we usually struggle early in the season, and we’ve been able to manage to work hard and turn things around,” he said. “Ultimately, the games in conference and the postseason are what really count, and we haven’t played those yet. There’s a little room for error now, but there won’t be in a month’s time. We can only move forward.”
Lemont coach Rick Prangen, meanwhile, was encouraged by his team’s best effort of the season.
“Our first two games, we weren’t great, but we weren’t awful,” he said. “The next two, we were just flat-out terrible. We had an absolute lack of will and desire to do anything. We came out really defensive-minded today because we just gave up five goals our last game, and we haven’t done that for 15 years.
“I thought you saw guys today really trying to make a difference and trying to defend for their lives. There was a concentration level which we didn’t have the last two games. These are all things we can build off of and go forward. We’re struggling right now with who we’re going to be and what we’re going to be about, but today was a step forward for us.”
Starting lineups
Lockport
GK: Jakub Krawczyk
D: Brian Moore
D: Kezie Nwachukwu
D: Tom Inczauskis
D: Charles Garcia
M: Jack Dilger
M: Zach Stojak
M: Jose Magallanes
M: Nick Kowalczyk
F: David Villa
F: Tom Calderaro
Lemont
GK: Anthony Belsan
D: Mike Prasauskas
D: Nick Simaidis
D: Bobby Pinczes
D: Matt Uthupan
M: Alex Alvarez
M: Jakob Rabianski
M: David Waliczek
M: David Frechmen
M: Lukasz Sulka
F: Martynas Biskis
Man of the Match
Kezie Nwachukwu, D, Lockport
Anthony Belsan, GK, Lemont
Officials: Reid Bennett, Mike McDermott, Steven Riggs
0-0 draw vs. hosts is Porter's third straight in Lemont Cup
By Steve Millar
LEMONT -- Lockport played three games in pool play in the Lemont Cup and all three resulted in draws.
That left Porters coach Chris Beal with concerns after his side's scoreless match Thursday against host Lemont.
“It’s very, very frustrating,” Beal said. “I think the lack of productivity in the final third and our inability to create chances and ultimately finish chances is becoming repetitive.”
The draw followed a 1-1 tie against Plainfield East and a 2-2 stalemate with Lincoln-Way West. The Porters (1-0-3) finished third in their group and will play Minooka in Saturday’s fifth-place game.
Taking on a Lemont team that had struggled mightily and brought an 0-4 record into the game, Lockport put eight shots on goal but could not get one by Indians goalkeeper Anthony Belsan.
That’s becoming an all too familiar problem for Beal.
“I think we identified before the season that our attacking third and our ability to score goals might be a problem,” he said. “Every season, you want two or three individuals that come up with 10 or 15 goals, maybe 20 goals. Right now, we’re challenging the players saying ‘Who’s going to be the guy to step up and score 10 or 15 goals and who’s going to be the player with 10 o 15 assists?’ Without those numbers it’s hard to be successful.”
The Porters had a great chance in the sixth minute as David Villa got the ball wide and sent a nice cross into the box. Tom Calderaro’s header was knocked over the crossbar by a leaping Belsan.
In the 24th minute, it was Calderaro doing the passing to find David Kordaczka right in front of the net, but Belsan stopped the point blank shot with his chest.
“We’re doing a lot of the things that we need to do, we just need to put the ball in the back of the net,” Lockport goalkeeper Jakub Krawczyk said.
For Belsan, it was a huge performance after he allowed five goals in the Indians’ loss Tuesday to Plainfield East.
“These past two games were really rough on me,” he said. “I gave up some unreasonable goals. My team was very good about it. They supported me. They never knocked me down.
“We’ve had a rough season starting out and just coming together. I think we have more skill than last year, but not enough teamwork. Today was really good for us. I’m really proud of us today.”
Belsan came up big a couple more times in the second half. The Porters created a strong chance off a corner with just under 17 minutes to go as Villa’s cross found
Brian Moore, who ripped a laser that Belsan stopped. Jack Dilger put the rebound wide.
Three minutes later, Jose Magallanes carried the ball through the midfield and played a perfectly-placed ball into the box for a Villa header, but Belsan leaped for the save.
While the Porters were creating chances, their defense was making things easy on Krawczyk. Lockport defended six Lemont corners without giving up a shot on goal.
On an Indians corner with 19:30 left in the game, Krawczyk attempted to intercept the cross and missed, but Kezie Nwachukwu was there to clear it away.
Nwachukwu, Moore, Tom Inczauskis and Charles Garcia were strong in the back all day for the Porters. It’s a group that’s new to playing together, but is starting to solidify.
“We were initially a little shaky in the back, but now we’re really starting to clean things up back there,” Nwachukwu said. “People are getting used to their roles and doing a good job with them.
“This game, we just had to watch (Lemont). They’re a talented team, but in the end it was just kick and run. We just had to stay solid in the back and play smart.”
Beal is happy with the effort he’s getting from his defense, and especially from his senior goalkeeper Krawczyk.
“It’s very difficult when you’re transitioning your whole back line,” he said. “Our back four is working to improve every game, positionally, technically, tactically. I think we’re blessed to have Jakub in goal. He’s been phenomenal so far. I’m really proud of the way he’s playing right now. He looks so confident and sure right now.”
Krawczyk echoed his coach’s sentiments regarding confidence. After transferring to Lockport for his junior season, he had to fit in with the Porters. Now, he’s unquestionably one of the team’s leaders.
“Last year, I was the new kid,” he said. “My first start was in the finals of this tournament. I felt like I had to prove myself, and I feel like I did a good job doing that last year, so this year I’m definitely a lot more comfortable and confident.”
Now, Beal is just looking for more from the rest of the team.
“It’s early in the season and we usually struggle early in the season, and we’ve been able to manage to work hard and turn things around,” he said. “Ultimately, the games in conference and the postseason are what really count, and we haven’t played those yet. There’s a little room for error now, but there won’t be in a month’s time. We can only move forward.”
Lemont coach Rick Prangen, meanwhile, was encouraged by his team’s best effort of the season.
“Our first two games, we weren’t great, but we weren’t awful,” he said. “The next two, we were just flat-out terrible. We had an absolute lack of will and desire to do anything. We came out really defensive-minded today because we just gave up five goals our last game, and we haven’t done that for 15 years.
“I thought you saw guys today really trying to make a difference and trying to defend for their lives. There was a concentration level which we didn’t have the last two games. These are all things we can build off of and go forward. We’re struggling right now with who we’re going to be and what we’re going to be about, but today was a step forward for us.”
Starting lineups
Lockport
GK: Jakub Krawczyk
D: Brian Moore
D: Kezie Nwachukwu
D: Tom Inczauskis
D: Charles Garcia
M: Jack Dilger
M: Zach Stojak
M: Jose Magallanes
M: Nick Kowalczyk
F: David Villa
F: Tom Calderaro
Lemont
GK: Anthony Belsan
D: Mike Prasauskas
D: Nick Simaidis
D: Bobby Pinczes
D: Matt Uthupan
M: Alex Alvarez
M: Jakob Rabianski
M: David Waliczek
M: David Frechmen
M: Lukasz Sulka
F: Martynas Biskis
Man of the Match
Kezie Nwachukwu, D, Lockport
Anthony Belsan, GK, Lemont
Officials: Reid Bennett, Mike McDermott, Steven Riggs