DGN seeks to emulate
its coach's success, literally
Trojans top Loyola 3-1, hope to emulate
DGN alum Schmitt’s 2001 team
By Dave Owen
DOWNERS GROVE- Mike Schmitt was a defender on Downers Grove North’s 2001 state quarterfinal squad.
Fourteen years later with Schmitt as head coach, the Trojans are earning similar raves in September.
A 3-1 Senior Night win Tuesday over Loyola gave Downers Grove North, ranked no. 4 in the Chicagoland Soccer poll, a perfect 7-0 record this fall.
“There hasn’t been a team like this at North since our coach played,” said Downers North senior Steven Klasing.
“We’re very pleased with where we’re at. I had a feeling this would be a good season – we have a lot of good kids on the team. I never thought we’d be 7-0, but it’s a great feeling, a great senior year.”
Klasing added to the great Trojans season Tuesday with one of the plays of the year.
With his team ahead 1-0, Klasing blocked a Loyola defensive end pass attempt upfield and chased the ball down for a breakaway up the middle. Dribbling in, he chipped a shot over the charging Rambler goalkeeper for a 2-0 lead with 3:09 left in the first half.
“The first two minutes of the game I realized they sent it back to us (from the backline),” Klasing said. “I realized if we put pressure on them I could steal the ball once or twice.
“I got lucky. He kicked it right at me, I took it to the goal and I finished.”
With the scoring chance at his feet, Klasing used a change in strategy to produce his second goal of the season.
“Our coach told me I take the ball outside too much,” Klasing said, “so I took it to the middle of the field, and once I took it to the middle I had an easy shot into the back of the net.”
A seemingly easier shot 5:56 before halftime put the Trojans up 1-0 – but with a twist.
Downers North’s Jokubas Baranauskas was fouled inside the box, giving the Trojans’ Sam Crowley a penalty kick.
After converting his first try, Crowley was forced to kick again after the officials ruled the PK attempt had come before they were ready. Crowley then lined his second try low inside the left post, just as his first.
“I wasn’t expecting that (after the first PK try), and I was kind of angry at first,” Crowley said, “but I put it away so it wasn’t a big deal.”
On field turf soaked by afternoon rains (and by a brief downpour at the start of the second half), the Trojans took a little while to find their footing before leaving Loyola high and dry.
The teams traded corner kicks in the first eight minutes, and Loyola’s David Gripman had a 25-yard shot deflected on goal in the 11th minute.
“It was kind of rough in the beginning,” Schmitt said. “The first 15-20 minutes was kind of getting used to the field conditions. But I thought we played pretty well, and our seniors played really well.
“Dan Schuller and Carter Tome in the back played really solid, and Liam Budnik and Steven Klasing I thought had really good games. A lot of our seniors did.”
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match Crowley was another of those senior stars, who added to the late first-half surge with an incredible long distance threat 4:10 before halftime.
After Tome was fouled, Crowley’s rocket 49-yard direct kick connected with Schuller deep in the box. Schuller’s 6-yard header required a great leaping one-handed deflection by Loyola goalkeeper Nick Troiano to prevent another goal.
“Sam’s very versatile,” said Schmitt. “He can play small ball, he can play the long balls, and he has a very solid right foot. And he’s a very strong defensive center mid. He’s really kind of the backbone of our midfield and the start of our defense. He’s an outstanding player, very versatile.”
That near-miss and two Trojan finishes marred an otherwise decent first half for Loyola.
“Credit to Downers Grove North – we made two mistakes and they punished us for both mistakes,” Loyola coach Baer Fisher said. “Really I thought that was the game right there.
“Downers Grove was solid everywhere on the field, but it was a good matchup. Beside those 10 minutes we competed well and defended well as a team. Overall it wasn’t a bad showing – they’re a good team.
“They had the run of the play but we defended well,” Fisher added. “If we get rid of those mistakes I think it’s a different game.”
The Trojans elevated their intensity after a close call on Thursday. Trailing East Aurora, Downers North rallied for a 3-2 win to keep their unbeaten, untied record intact.
“We have a really good attitude,” Crowley said. “The other day we were down 2-0 going to the second half, and never really gave up. We kept fighting for it.
“Our heads weren’t down or anything – we just kept playing. We have really good attitudes, and a lot of that comes from coach (Schmitt). He doesn’t let the 7-0 get to our heads, and makes sure we keep playing soccer.”
With a 2-0 halftime lead against Loyola, the Trojans stayed on the offensive.
Off a scramble in front of the Rambler net with 31:30 left, Ronaldo Perez fielded the ball at the top of the box and sent a 12-yarder towards an empty right side of the net – only to have the shot blocked by a Loyola defender. Just 40 seconds later, Baranauskas’ great chance was denied by a diving Troiano save.
While not tested as often, Downers North senior goalkeeper Jimmy Miller rose to his challenges. His best stop came seven minutes into the second half, denying Loyola striker Sean Hickey’s left wing attack with a high catch.
“Jimmy Miller’s had a really solid season so far,” Schmitt said. “He’s doing a fantastic job.”
Schmitt inserted senior Antonio Ferrer at goalkeeper in the final minutes of each half.
Ferrer was in goal during the Trojans’ big first half finish. He was later in net with 2:04 left to play, when Loyola’s Julian Hilpusch spoiled the shutout bid with a perfectly placed 30-yard free kick just under the right crossbar.
“It’s always nice to at least get a consolation goal,” Fisher said. “I was happy with one of our captains Jordan Hickey. And one of our freshmen who’s a good attacking player is David Gripman -- he’s shown well.”
But by the time of that Loyola goal, the Trojans had added further cushion to their lead.
Sophomore Jack Richards had been denied on a 15-yard strike with 21:50 to play on a sliding Troiano kick save.
But off a Perez pass with 3:45 left, Richards lined an 18-yard drive from the left top of the box inside the upper right corner of the net for a 3-0 lead.
The Downers North attack over the last 20 minutes also produced big threats inches wide of the net by Crowley (low 40-yard free
kick) and Klasing, and a Perez 18-yarder caught by Troiano.
“I think once we brought the ball down and played it around instead of forcing it forward, we really started to control the game more,” Crowley said. “We played it through the middle and around the back instead of playing big balls forward. We got more control of the game there, and that really helped.”
That switch in style also created good chances in the last 20 minutes of the first half for Tome (header blocked at the post off an Alex Pacheco cross) and Schuller (header just wide of the right post off a 42-yard Crowley direct kick).
At the turn of the century, Schmitt played under head coach Christine Tomek on a long postseason run. Now with Tomek as an assistant coach and Schmitt at the helm, the Trojans have started 2015 in style.
“Overall the character and hard work of this team is phenomenal,” Schmitt said. “From Day One of preseason they’ve outworked everybody, and we have a very talented crop of midfielders and defenders. That mixed with the hard work and the character, that’s what has gotten us here so far.
“We’ve played really good soccer the first seven games.”
Klasing hopes the good times are just starting.
“Soccer here at North’s going to come a long way now,” he said, “and we have a lot of young kids who are going to be good here in the next couple of years. I think the program’s going to just keep developing.”
Starting lineups
Loyola
GK- Nick Troiano
D- Sean Leider
D- Matt Brennan
D- William Franke
D- David Montaguila
M- Colin Leider
M- Christian Jimenez
M- Matt Salter
M- David Gripman
F- Julian Hilpusch
F- Sean Hickey
Downers Grove North
GK- Jimmy Miller
D- Dan Schuller
D- Ruairi Cunningham
D- Carter Tome
D- Riley Gagliano
M- Sam Crowley
M- Liam Budnik
M- Alex Pacheco
M- Matt Durbin
F- Steven Klasing
F- Ronaldo Perez
Man of the Match: Sam Crowley, MF, Downers Grove North
its coach's success, literally
Trojans top Loyola 3-1, hope to emulate
DGN alum Schmitt’s 2001 team
By Dave Owen
DOWNERS GROVE- Mike Schmitt was a defender on Downers Grove North’s 2001 state quarterfinal squad.
Fourteen years later with Schmitt as head coach, the Trojans are earning similar raves in September.
A 3-1 Senior Night win Tuesday over Loyola gave Downers Grove North, ranked no. 4 in the Chicagoland Soccer poll, a perfect 7-0 record this fall.
“There hasn’t been a team like this at North since our coach played,” said Downers North senior Steven Klasing.
“We’re very pleased with where we’re at. I had a feeling this would be a good season – we have a lot of good kids on the team. I never thought we’d be 7-0, but it’s a great feeling, a great senior year.”
Klasing added to the great Trojans season Tuesday with one of the plays of the year.
With his team ahead 1-0, Klasing blocked a Loyola defensive end pass attempt upfield and chased the ball down for a breakaway up the middle. Dribbling in, he chipped a shot over the charging Rambler goalkeeper for a 2-0 lead with 3:09 left in the first half.
“The first two minutes of the game I realized they sent it back to us (from the backline),” Klasing said. “I realized if we put pressure on them I could steal the ball once or twice.
“I got lucky. He kicked it right at me, I took it to the goal and I finished.”
With the scoring chance at his feet, Klasing used a change in strategy to produce his second goal of the season.
“Our coach told me I take the ball outside too much,” Klasing said, “so I took it to the middle of the field, and once I took it to the middle I had an easy shot into the back of the net.”
A seemingly easier shot 5:56 before halftime put the Trojans up 1-0 – but with a twist.
Downers North’s Jokubas Baranauskas was fouled inside the box, giving the Trojans’ Sam Crowley a penalty kick.
After converting his first try, Crowley was forced to kick again after the officials ruled the PK attempt had come before they were ready. Crowley then lined his second try low inside the left post, just as his first.
“I wasn’t expecting that (after the first PK try), and I was kind of angry at first,” Crowley said, “but I put it away so it wasn’t a big deal.”
On field turf soaked by afternoon rains (and by a brief downpour at the start of the second half), the Trojans took a little while to find their footing before leaving Loyola high and dry.
The teams traded corner kicks in the first eight minutes, and Loyola’s David Gripman had a 25-yard shot deflected on goal in the 11th minute.
“It was kind of rough in the beginning,” Schmitt said. “The first 15-20 minutes was kind of getting used to the field conditions. But I thought we played pretty well, and our seniors played really well.
“Dan Schuller and Carter Tome in the back played really solid, and Liam Budnik and Steven Klasing I thought had really good games. A lot of our seniors did.”
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match Crowley was another of those senior stars, who added to the late first-half surge with an incredible long distance threat 4:10 before halftime.
After Tome was fouled, Crowley’s rocket 49-yard direct kick connected with Schuller deep in the box. Schuller’s 6-yard header required a great leaping one-handed deflection by Loyola goalkeeper Nick Troiano to prevent another goal.
“Sam’s very versatile,” said Schmitt. “He can play small ball, he can play the long balls, and he has a very solid right foot. And he’s a very strong defensive center mid. He’s really kind of the backbone of our midfield and the start of our defense. He’s an outstanding player, very versatile.”
That near-miss and two Trojan finishes marred an otherwise decent first half for Loyola.
“Credit to Downers Grove North – we made two mistakes and they punished us for both mistakes,” Loyola coach Baer Fisher said. “Really I thought that was the game right there.
“Downers Grove was solid everywhere on the field, but it was a good matchup. Beside those 10 minutes we competed well and defended well as a team. Overall it wasn’t a bad showing – they’re a good team.
“They had the run of the play but we defended well,” Fisher added. “If we get rid of those mistakes I think it’s a different game.”
The Trojans elevated their intensity after a close call on Thursday. Trailing East Aurora, Downers North rallied for a 3-2 win to keep their unbeaten, untied record intact.
“We have a really good attitude,” Crowley said. “The other day we were down 2-0 going to the second half, and never really gave up. We kept fighting for it.
“Our heads weren’t down or anything – we just kept playing. We have really good attitudes, and a lot of that comes from coach (Schmitt). He doesn’t let the 7-0 get to our heads, and makes sure we keep playing soccer.”
With a 2-0 halftime lead against Loyola, the Trojans stayed on the offensive.
Off a scramble in front of the Rambler net with 31:30 left, Ronaldo Perez fielded the ball at the top of the box and sent a 12-yarder towards an empty right side of the net – only to have the shot blocked by a Loyola defender. Just 40 seconds later, Baranauskas’ great chance was denied by a diving Troiano save.
While not tested as often, Downers North senior goalkeeper Jimmy Miller rose to his challenges. His best stop came seven minutes into the second half, denying Loyola striker Sean Hickey’s left wing attack with a high catch.
“Jimmy Miller’s had a really solid season so far,” Schmitt said. “He’s doing a fantastic job.”
Schmitt inserted senior Antonio Ferrer at goalkeeper in the final minutes of each half.
Ferrer was in goal during the Trojans’ big first half finish. He was later in net with 2:04 left to play, when Loyola’s Julian Hilpusch spoiled the shutout bid with a perfectly placed 30-yard free kick just under the right crossbar.
“It’s always nice to at least get a consolation goal,” Fisher said. “I was happy with one of our captains Jordan Hickey. And one of our freshmen who’s a good attacking player is David Gripman -- he’s shown well.”
But by the time of that Loyola goal, the Trojans had added further cushion to their lead.
Sophomore Jack Richards had been denied on a 15-yard strike with 21:50 to play on a sliding Troiano kick save.
But off a Perez pass with 3:45 left, Richards lined an 18-yard drive from the left top of the box inside the upper right corner of the net for a 3-0 lead.
The Downers North attack over the last 20 minutes also produced big threats inches wide of the net by Crowley (low 40-yard free
kick) and Klasing, and a Perez 18-yarder caught by Troiano.
“I think once we brought the ball down and played it around instead of forcing it forward, we really started to control the game more,” Crowley said. “We played it through the middle and around the back instead of playing big balls forward. We got more control of the game there, and that really helped.”
That switch in style also created good chances in the last 20 minutes of the first half for Tome (header blocked at the post off an Alex Pacheco cross) and Schuller (header just wide of the right post off a 42-yard Crowley direct kick).
At the turn of the century, Schmitt played under head coach Christine Tomek on a long postseason run. Now with Tomek as an assistant coach and Schmitt at the helm, the Trojans have started 2015 in style.
“Overall the character and hard work of this team is phenomenal,” Schmitt said. “From Day One of preseason they’ve outworked everybody, and we have a very talented crop of midfielders and defenders. That mixed with the hard work and the character, that’s what has gotten us here so far.
“We’ve played really good soccer the first seven games.”
Klasing hopes the good times are just starting.
“Soccer here at North’s going to come a long way now,” he said, “and we have a lot of young kids who are going to be good here in the next couple of years. I think the program’s going to just keep developing.”
Starting lineups
Loyola
GK- Nick Troiano
D- Sean Leider
D- Matt Brennan
D- William Franke
D- David Montaguila
M- Colin Leider
M- Christian Jimenez
M- Matt Salter
M- David Gripman
F- Julian Hilpusch
F- Sean Hickey
Downers Grove North
GK- Jimmy Miller
D- Dan Schuller
D- Ruairi Cunningham
D- Carter Tome
D- Riley Gagliano
M- Sam Crowley
M- Liam Budnik
M- Alex Pacheco
M- Matt Durbin
F- Steven Klasing
F- Ronaldo Perez
Man of the Match: Sam Crowley, MF, Downers Grove North