Lake Park's Costa makes Metea Valley pay
Junior midfielder's 2nd half goal lifts Lake Park to 1-0 victory
By Chris Walker
AURORA -– Lorenzo Costa saw a play develop well off in the distance.
When the time came for him to finish, the junior Lancer made sure to not miss the opportunity sent to him beautifully from Alessandro Montes.
Costa broke a scoreless tie with 25:27 left in the second half to lift Lake Park to a 1-0 victory over Metea Valley in Thursday night’s DuPage Valley Conference game in Aurora.
“Our defense made a nice stop in the back, and it broke through the middle,” Costa said. “We got a couple of real good combination passes, and I just got the ball and took the shot and finished it up. It felt good to get a goal because we were fighting all game, and we needed to put one away.”
Lake Park (7-2-3, 2-1-1) enjoyed a better run of play throughout the game, but understood the dangers of a game that remains scoreless for so long.
“We never put our heads down,” Costa said. “We knew the time was going to come where we were going to score one. We had possession for most of the game, so we never lost our confidence.”
The Lancers applied a good amount of pressure on Metea Valley’s backline and keeper Joey Coryell, especially in the first half.
Alex Armas, Anthony Passi, Michael Passi and Brody Thompson all threatened to put one in the net, but they were either thwarted by the impressive play of the Mustangs in the back, led by Ryan Donovan, Brandon Howard and Ethan Williams, or they simply rushed their attempts or misfired.
“We need to clean some things up in the final third because we easily could’ve been up 2-0 or 3-0 because we had our chances,” Lake Park coach Anthony Passi said. “We were cracking some shots outside the 18, but I thought we did a nice job in controlling the game.”
Metea Valley (6-8-0, 3-4-0) didn’t net the equalizer but it threatened more after yielding the go-ahead goal than it did beforehand.
The Mustangs had a few really good chances late.
Close to midway through the second half, Alex Perez sped down one of the sidelines but his shot toward the goal was just a bit off target, hitting the side of the net.
With just under 15 minutes remaining, Lucas Francisco was able to get his right foot on a loose ball in the penalty area. Lake Park keeper Michael Jasiak was unable to snag the ball in a crowded area and it fell dangerously, right in front of Francisco whose quick shot caromed off a defender and out of harm’s way.
The Mustangs never quit. A long pass nearly found Ryan Barry with 10 seconds remaining, but the sophomore couldn’t pounce on the ball and fire a shot attempt as the Lancers cleared it to seal the victory.
“I guess the optimistic view of it is that as rough and as bad as it was that we played, we were still into it until the end of the game,” Metea Valley coach Joshua Robinson said. “So we take some solace in that and how well our defense played and kept us in another game. I think that’s just four goals allowed in our last eight games, so we want to keep doing that.”
Despite not playing as well as they did in Tuesday’s win against Waubonsie Valley, the Mustangs still were able to compete down to the wire.
“Congrats to Lake Park. They played well, and they worked hard all day. The goal they got was a good goal. and I just think we struggled getting it done today,” Robinson said. “I’m not sure if it was the letdown with the bigger, well not bigger, but the rivalry game against Waubonsie (Valley) on Tuesday, but for whatever reason we struggled to connect and since we struggled with that we scrambled a lot. They came at us with a lot of energy and made it tough for us.”
It was an attack that Metea Valley senior defender Brandon Howard wasn’t accustomed to seeing.
“We knew it was going to be fast-paced, but we weren’t prepared enough for it. We haven’t played teams as fast-paced as this and couldn’t pass the ball around,” he said. “I think we moved better in the second half, but overall I don’t think we played very well because of their high pressure.”
That pressure hurt Metea Valley’s ability to possess.
“Today, possession is what killed us,” Howard said. “They had more possessions, more chances to score. I think that’s what was the big difference.”
Some of that pressure came from Lake Park senior defenders Michael Passi and Joshua Solarz.
“We played an all-around good game,” Michael Passi said. “It was a full 80 minutes and a team victory. We were able to possess through the middle and had the ball in their half of the field for most of the game.”
Solarz was equally pleased with how he and his teammates played, but he also knows they can get better.
“I feel like we played good tonight, but we still haven’t achieved our full potential,” he said. “We’re going to try to keep going every game from now on. We know all our games the rest of the way are going to be like this, hard games, and no easy ones. We just have to keep fighting and keep working in practice, watching film and having some fun doing it.”
The game was the inaugural DVC meeting between the two schools. Lake Park only has a few years under its belt after transitioning from the Upstate Eight Conference, while Metea Valley is in its debut season. What was already a tough conference is only getting tougher as Thursday showed.
“Every game in the DVC is a battle. I don’t care who we play, but it’s a battle,” Anthony Passi said. “It’s going to be a physical game every time. I think it’s the best conference in the state of Illinois without a doubt.”
The game was the first for both teams since the IHSA post-season seeds were announced.
Metea Valley is the No. 5 seed in the Metea Valley Sectional.
“The Thursday game after the seeding on Wednesday is always a good game, because you’ve got yourself already seeded and you’re trying to figure some things out and usually against a good opponent,” Robinson said. “We need to figure out a way to beat teams like Lake Park. They were similar to Jacobs and Huntley in their style and their work rate.”
Lake Park is the no. 8 seed in the Wheaton Academy Sectional.
“I thought we’d go somewhere between No. 6 and No. 8 which means we’ll play the No. 1 which isn’t what we’re looking for,” Anthony Passi said. “Last year we played Schaumburg in the regional final, and they were all over us, but we came out with a victory and surprised them a bit. When it comes to the state playoffs though it’s not the seeding as it is whoever is hot at the right time. Hopefully we’ll hit our full throttle and potential then.”
Robinson is loosening the throttle a bit for his Mustangs. After playing pretty much three times a week the last few weeks, he’s giving his team a little bit of a breather with Homecoming scheduled this weekend before Waubonsie Valley's Warrior Invitaional begins Monday.
“We can train (Friday) and then take the weekend off for Homecoming so they can enjoy themselves a bit,” Robinson said. “We pound so much soccer into them during the high school season that they need to take a step away and go and have some fun without thinking of soccer.”
The Lancers won’t enjoy such a luxury away from the pitch. They’re scheduled to host Hinsdale South at noon Saturday.
Starting lineups
Lake Park
GK: Michael Jasiak
D: Joshua Solarz
D: Brody Thompson
D: Jack Fischer
MF: Lorenzo Costa
MF: Alessandro Montes
MF: Michael Passi
MF: Dan Hynes
MF: Alex Armas
F: Anthony Passi
F: Pasqual Ottolino
Metea Valley
GK: Joey Coryell
D: Ryan Donovan
D: Brandon Howard
D: Ethan Williams
MF: Michael Adams
MF: Nathan Barrett
MF: Esteban Castillo
MF: Lucas Francisco
MF: Jacob Kellogg
MF: John Lynch
F: Dominic Duffy
Man of the Match: Lorenzo Costa, MF, Lake Park
Junior midfielder's 2nd half goal lifts Lake Park to 1-0 victory
By Chris Walker
AURORA -– Lorenzo Costa saw a play develop well off in the distance.
When the time came for him to finish, the junior Lancer made sure to not miss the opportunity sent to him beautifully from Alessandro Montes.
Costa broke a scoreless tie with 25:27 left in the second half to lift Lake Park to a 1-0 victory over Metea Valley in Thursday night’s DuPage Valley Conference game in Aurora.
“Our defense made a nice stop in the back, and it broke through the middle,” Costa said. “We got a couple of real good combination passes, and I just got the ball and took the shot and finished it up. It felt good to get a goal because we were fighting all game, and we needed to put one away.”
Lake Park (7-2-3, 2-1-1) enjoyed a better run of play throughout the game, but understood the dangers of a game that remains scoreless for so long.
“We never put our heads down,” Costa said. “We knew the time was going to come where we were going to score one. We had possession for most of the game, so we never lost our confidence.”
The Lancers applied a good amount of pressure on Metea Valley’s backline and keeper Joey Coryell, especially in the first half.
Alex Armas, Anthony Passi, Michael Passi and Brody Thompson all threatened to put one in the net, but they were either thwarted by the impressive play of the Mustangs in the back, led by Ryan Donovan, Brandon Howard and Ethan Williams, or they simply rushed their attempts or misfired.
“We need to clean some things up in the final third because we easily could’ve been up 2-0 or 3-0 because we had our chances,” Lake Park coach Anthony Passi said. “We were cracking some shots outside the 18, but I thought we did a nice job in controlling the game.”
Metea Valley (6-8-0, 3-4-0) didn’t net the equalizer but it threatened more after yielding the go-ahead goal than it did beforehand.
The Mustangs had a few really good chances late.
Close to midway through the second half, Alex Perez sped down one of the sidelines but his shot toward the goal was just a bit off target, hitting the side of the net.
With just under 15 minutes remaining, Lucas Francisco was able to get his right foot on a loose ball in the penalty area. Lake Park keeper Michael Jasiak was unable to snag the ball in a crowded area and it fell dangerously, right in front of Francisco whose quick shot caromed off a defender and out of harm’s way.
The Mustangs never quit. A long pass nearly found Ryan Barry with 10 seconds remaining, but the sophomore couldn’t pounce on the ball and fire a shot attempt as the Lancers cleared it to seal the victory.
“I guess the optimistic view of it is that as rough and as bad as it was that we played, we were still into it until the end of the game,” Metea Valley coach Joshua Robinson said. “So we take some solace in that and how well our defense played and kept us in another game. I think that’s just four goals allowed in our last eight games, so we want to keep doing that.”
Despite not playing as well as they did in Tuesday’s win against Waubonsie Valley, the Mustangs still were able to compete down to the wire.
“Congrats to Lake Park. They played well, and they worked hard all day. The goal they got was a good goal. and I just think we struggled getting it done today,” Robinson said. “I’m not sure if it was the letdown with the bigger, well not bigger, but the rivalry game against Waubonsie (Valley) on Tuesday, but for whatever reason we struggled to connect and since we struggled with that we scrambled a lot. They came at us with a lot of energy and made it tough for us.”
It was an attack that Metea Valley senior defender Brandon Howard wasn’t accustomed to seeing.
“We knew it was going to be fast-paced, but we weren’t prepared enough for it. We haven’t played teams as fast-paced as this and couldn’t pass the ball around,” he said. “I think we moved better in the second half, but overall I don’t think we played very well because of their high pressure.”
That pressure hurt Metea Valley’s ability to possess.
“Today, possession is what killed us,” Howard said. “They had more possessions, more chances to score. I think that’s what was the big difference.”
Some of that pressure came from Lake Park senior defenders Michael Passi and Joshua Solarz.
“We played an all-around good game,” Michael Passi said. “It was a full 80 minutes and a team victory. We were able to possess through the middle and had the ball in their half of the field for most of the game.”
Solarz was equally pleased with how he and his teammates played, but he also knows they can get better.
“I feel like we played good tonight, but we still haven’t achieved our full potential,” he said. “We’re going to try to keep going every game from now on. We know all our games the rest of the way are going to be like this, hard games, and no easy ones. We just have to keep fighting and keep working in practice, watching film and having some fun doing it.”
The game was the inaugural DVC meeting between the two schools. Lake Park only has a few years under its belt after transitioning from the Upstate Eight Conference, while Metea Valley is in its debut season. What was already a tough conference is only getting tougher as Thursday showed.
“Every game in the DVC is a battle. I don’t care who we play, but it’s a battle,” Anthony Passi said. “It’s going to be a physical game every time. I think it’s the best conference in the state of Illinois without a doubt.”
The game was the first for both teams since the IHSA post-season seeds were announced.
Metea Valley is the No. 5 seed in the Metea Valley Sectional.
“The Thursday game after the seeding on Wednesday is always a good game, because you’ve got yourself already seeded and you’re trying to figure some things out and usually against a good opponent,” Robinson said. “We need to figure out a way to beat teams like Lake Park. They were similar to Jacobs and Huntley in their style and their work rate.”
Lake Park is the no. 8 seed in the Wheaton Academy Sectional.
“I thought we’d go somewhere between No. 6 and No. 8 which means we’ll play the No. 1 which isn’t what we’re looking for,” Anthony Passi said. “Last year we played Schaumburg in the regional final, and they were all over us, but we came out with a victory and surprised them a bit. When it comes to the state playoffs though it’s not the seeding as it is whoever is hot at the right time. Hopefully we’ll hit our full throttle and potential then.”
Robinson is loosening the throttle a bit for his Mustangs. After playing pretty much three times a week the last few weeks, he’s giving his team a little bit of a breather with Homecoming scheduled this weekend before Waubonsie Valley's Warrior Invitaional begins Monday.
“We can train (Friday) and then take the weekend off for Homecoming so they can enjoy themselves a bit,” Robinson said. “We pound so much soccer into them during the high school season that they need to take a step away and go and have some fun without thinking of soccer.”
The Lancers won’t enjoy such a luxury away from the pitch. They’re scheduled to host Hinsdale South at noon Saturday.
Starting lineups
Lake Park
GK: Michael Jasiak
D: Joshua Solarz
D: Brody Thompson
D: Jack Fischer
MF: Lorenzo Costa
MF: Alessandro Montes
MF: Michael Passi
MF: Dan Hynes
MF: Alex Armas
F: Anthony Passi
F: Pasqual Ottolino
Metea Valley
GK: Joey Coryell
D: Ryan Donovan
D: Brandon Howard
D: Ethan Williams
MF: Michael Adams
MF: Nathan Barrett
MF: Esteban Castillo
MF: Lucas Francisco
MF: Jacob Kellogg
MF: John Lynch
F: Dominic Duffy
Man of the Match: Lorenzo Costa, MF, Lake Park