Schaumburg's 2nd half
barrage blasts Barrington
Lopez scores pair in Saxons' big MSL road win
By Ken Keenan
BARRINGTON -- In the first big battle of the season for bragging
rights in the Mid-Suburban League, Schaumburg turned a 0-0 halftime
score upside down with a second-half explosion to post an important
3-0 win over Barrington.
Senior forward Jessie Lopez led the way with a pair of
highlight-reel goals that provided the Saxons with a comfy cushion.
Freshman forward Nick Marino (assisted by senior forward Noah
Kostkiewicz) buried a shot past outstanding Broncos junior goalkeeper
Alex Ruffolo in the final minute to complete the scoring.
Schaumburg improved to 10-1-0 overall with the win, and upped their
unblemished conference mark to 5-0-0. Barrington fell to 7-2-1, 3-1-0.
"Coach (Hamid Mehreioskouei) got us pumped at halftime," said Lopez,
Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match. "We had to come out hard ... had
to be the first team to score."
Stellar Schaumburg senior midfielder Jason Schoo said, "We knew if we
didn't come out strong in the second half that we could be in trouble.
(Barrington) outworked us in the first half -- we outworked them in
the second half."
Pushing the pace behind crisp passing in the midfield, Barrington did
control a bit more of the play in the first half. A 45-yard free kick
by junior defender Nash Pirie just missed connecting with the head of
junior midfielder Alex Drewno in the eighth minute, and sophomore
forward Klaus Pallan headed a corner kick wide 30 seconds later. In
the ninth minute, junior forward Kyle Owen was stopped by Saxons
senior keeper Edgar Avila, who earned his seventh shutout of the
season.
The Broncos nearly grabbed the lead when senior forward Hans Pallan
banged a 20-yard free kick off the crossbar with 9.9 seconds left
before the break.
"If we would have capitalized on that free kick, it might have been a
completely different game," said Pirie, a standout in defeat.
Mehreioskouei said, "I wasn't happy with the first half. Barrington
did a great job in the midfield. They were prepared and ready to play,
and we weren't winning the individual battles on the field. Luckily,
our defense held up. Jason (Schoo), Niko (Davis), the whole backline
-- they gave us a chance to collect ourselves and recalibrate.
"At halftime I said, 'These next 40 minutes will show a lot, so be a
better soccer player than the guy next to you.' "
Barrington head coach Scott Steib said, "I actually thought we were
not very good in the first 10 to 15 minutes in the first half, and
then we had good play in the last half of the first half. In the
second half, we were timid and shy, and (the Saxons) were more
determined. It's not a recipe for success to be shy."
Added Ruffolo: "I felt we were a little flat. The energy went down
from the first half to the second half."
The Saxons came out like gangbusters after the break, winning a
majority of the 50/50 balls while keeping the hosts pinned in their own
zone. Ruffolo kept the match scoreless with two incredible saves in a
45-second span in the 46th minute, robbing Lopez from right in front
-- and then stoning senior defender Niko Davis with an acrobatic stop
in close to spoil a pretty passing sequence among Schoo, junior
defender Andrew Bird and Kostkiewicz.
Lopez and Co. didn't let up. In the 52nd minute, the returning
All-American rifled a low, 30-yard rocket that Ruffolo nabbed. A
minute later, Lopez danced between at least three defenders to set up
Kostkiewicz, whose shot sailed over the crossbar.
With 24:11 left in the second half, Lopez and fellow senior forward
Alexis Flores executed a beautiful give-and-go, and Lopez finished to
give the Saxons a 1-0 edge.
Lopez made it 2-0 on a 15-yard free kick from a sharp angle on the
left side with 2:41 showing. Ruffolo got a piece of the rising blast,
but the ball tipped off the crossbar and landed just inside the goal
line.
"It motivates us to see how hard (Lopez) works," Davis said. "We came
at 'em, and kept coming at 'em, and it showed in the result."
Between goals, Lopez snaked through a trio of defenders for a quick
shot in the 65th minute, and he then set up junior defender Andrew
Bird for a wide-angle cross that drifted over the crossbar with 10:50
to go.
"Jessie is a player who uses imagination and creativity,"
Mehreioskouei said. "I talked to him about finding different spaces to
get the ball, and once he gets it, he starts to dictate his own
rhythm."
Added Pirie: "After the first goal, we had a our heads down a bit. We need to get
composure, but we weren't able to do it. But give (Schaumburg) credit.
It was not ugly goals on their part. And (Ruffolo) saved us a bunch of
times. It could have been worse."
Steib said, "(Ruffolo) kept us in the game a long time."
But not long enough to stop the surging Saxons.
"It was a huge game, and it feels great to win," Schoo said.
Added Mehreioskouei: "It's a quality win against a quality opponent.
But it's a tough road in the MSL, so we're taking it one game at a
time."
Starting lineups
Schaumburg
GK: Edgar Avila
D: Niko Davis
D: Andrew Ralston
D: Chris Melecio
D: Andrew Bird
M: Jason Schoo
M: Daniel Artman
M: Jessie Lopez
M: Mike Marino
F: Eddie Gomez
F: Alexis Flores
Barrington
GK: Alex Ruffolo
D: John Gadbois
D: Josh Coulter
D: Nash Pirie
D: Braeden Nelson
M: Gio Guarnero
M: Zach Carbonara
M: Luke Sellers
F: Kyle Owen
F: Caleb Orr
F: Klaus Pallan
Man of the Match: Jesse Lopez, F, Schaumburg
Officials: Gary Jorian, Mohammed Mushtaq, Rafal Zielinski
barrage blasts Barrington
Lopez scores pair in Saxons' big MSL road win
By Ken Keenan
BARRINGTON -- In the first big battle of the season for bragging
rights in the Mid-Suburban League, Schaumburg turned a 0-0 halftime
score upside down with a second-half explosion to post an important
3-0 win over Barrington.
Senior forward Jessie Lopez led the way with a pair of
highlight-reel goals that provided the Saxons with a comfy cushion.
Freshman forward Nick Marino (assisted by senior forward Noah
Kostkiewicz) buried a shot past outstanding Broncos junior goalkeeper
Alex Ruffolo in the final minute to complete the scoring.
Schaumburg improved to 10-1-0 overall with the win, and upped their
unblemished conference mark to 5-0-0. Barrington fell to 7-2-1, 3-1-0.
"Coach (Hamid Mehreioskouei) got us pumped at halftime," said Lopez,
Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match. "We had to come out hard ... had
to be the first team to score."
Stellar Schaumburg senior midfielder Jason Schoo said, "We knew if we
didn't come out strong in the second half that we could be in trouble.
(Barrington) outworked us in the first half -- we outworked them in
the second half."
Pushing the pace behind crisp passing in the midfield, Barrington did
control a bit more of the play in the first half. A 45-yard free kick
by junior defender Nash Pirie just missed connecting with the head of
junior midfielder Alex Drewno in the eighth minute, and sophomore
forward Klaus Pallan headed a corner kick wide 30 seconds later. In
the ninth minute, junior forward Kyle Owen was stopped by Saxons
senior keeper Edgar Avila, who earned his seventh shutout of the
season.
The Broncos nearly grabbed the lead when senior forward Hans Pallan
banged a 20-yard free kick off the crossbar with 9.9 seconds left
before the break.
"If we would have capitalized on that free kick, it might have been a
completely different game," said Pirie, a standout in defeat.
Mehreioskouei said, "I wasn't happy with the first half. Barrington
did a great job in the midfield. They were prepared and ready to play,
and we weren't winning the individual battles on the field. Luckily,
our defense held up. Jason (Schoo), Niko (Davis), the whole backline
-- they gave us a chance to collect ourselves and recalibrate.
"At halftime I said, 'These next 40 minutes will show a lot, so be a
better soccer player than the guy next to you.' "
Barrington head coach Scott Steib said, "I actually thought we were
not very good in the first 10 to 15 minutes in the first half, and
then we had good play in the last half of the first half. In the
second half, we were timid and shy, and (the Saxons) were more
determined. It's not a recipe for success to be shy."
Added Ruffolo: "I felt we were a little flat. The energy went down
from the first half to the second half."
The Saxons came out like gangbusters after the break, winning a
majority of the 50/50 balls while keeping the hosts pinned in their own
zone. Ruffolo kept the match scoreless with two incredible saves in a
45-second span in the 46th minute, robbing Lopez from right in front
-- and then stoning senior defender Niko Davis with an acrobatic stop
in close to spoil a pretty passing sequence among Schoo, junior
defender Andrew Bird and Kostkiewicz.
Lopez and Co. didn't let up. In the 52nd minute, the returning
All-American rifled a low, 30-yard rocket that Ruffolo nabbed. A
minute later, Lopez danced between at least three defenders to set up
Kostkiewicz, whose shot sailed over the crossbar.
With 24:11 left in the second half, Lopez and fellow senior forward
Alexis Flores executed a beautiful give-and-go, and Lopez finished to
give the Saxons a 1-0 edge.
Lopez made it 2-0 on a 15-yard free kick from a sharp angle on the
left side with 2:41 showing. Ruffolo got a piece of the rising blast,
but the ball tipped off the crossbar and landed just inside the goal
line.
"It motivates us to see how hard (Lopez) works," Davis said. "We came
at 'em, and kept coming at 'em, and it showed in the result."
Between goals, Lopez snaked through a trio of defenders for a quick
shot in the 65th minute, and he then set up junior defender Andrew
Bird for a wide-angle cross that drifted over the crossbar with 10:50
to go.
"Jessie is a player who uses imagination and creativity,"
Mehreioskouei said. "I talked to him about finding different spaces to
get the ball, and once he gets it, he starts to dictate his own
rhythm."
Added Pirie: "After the first goal, we had a our heads down a bit. We need to get
composure, but we weren't able to do it. But give (Schaumburg) credit.
It was not ugly goals on their part. And (Ruffolo) saved us a bunch of
times. It could have been worse."
Steib said, "(Ruffolo) kept us in the game a long time."
But not long enough to stop the surging Saxons.
"It was a huge game, and it feels great to win," Schoo said.
Added Mehreioskouei: "It's a quality win against a quality opponent.
But it's a tough road in the MSL, so we're taking it one game at a
time."
Starting lineups
Schaumburg
GK: Edgar Avila
D: Niko Davis
D: Andrew Ralston
D: Chris Melecio
D: Andrew Bird
M: Jason Schoo
M: Daniel Artman
M: Jessie Lopez
M: Mike Marino
F: Eddie Gomez
F: Alexis Flores
Barrington
GK: Alex Ruffolo
D: John Gadbois
D: Josh Coulter
D: Nash Pirie
D: Braeden Nelson
M: Gio Guarnero
M: Zach Carbonara
M: Luke Sellers
F: Kyle Owen
F: Caleb Orr
F: Klaus Pallan
Man of the Match: Jesse Lopez, F, Schaumburg
Officials: Gary Jorian, Mohammed Mushtaq, Rafal Zielinski