Scoreless draw leaves St. Francis,
Lake Park wanting more
Neither team satisfied with end result
By Ken Keenan
ROSELLE -- Depending on any number of variables, a scoreless draw can
be viewed as good, bad or just plain ugly.
Following a 0-0 tie between St. Francis and host Lake Park in Hillner
Classic play on Tuesday, the postscript saw both teams
leaning toward the latter.
Despite possessing the ball more than Lake Park, and maintaining
control with good spacing and passing in the midfield, the Spartans
didn't test Lancers senior goalkeeper Michael Jasiak all that often.
Lake Park, on the other hand, attacked well in spurts but had trouble
establishing any kind of rhythm.
"I'm totally disappointed -- not happy with a tie," said St. Francis
head coach Kevin Ward, whose team exited the game at 1-0-1. "We did not play to
our capabilities. Yes, the passing was OK. But you've got to finish
the ball, and we had no ball possession in the attacking third. We
have to take more shots.
"Also, it was not the kind of soccer we want to play defensively. We
have to clean up a lot. I expect more."
Lake Park head coach Anthony Passi's crew left the field with a 1-2-2
mark. Last season, which featured their third sectional title in four
years, the Lancers suffered only two defeats in 26 tries.
"We walked off the field not satisfied," Passi said. "The biggest
thing is chemistry. We have to find our identity. We keep allowing
teams to stay with us, and we need to put teams away. We were chasing
early in the game -- then we had some spurts. But we just weren't
consistent. We were reacting to their play and not really setting the
tone.
"Our guys want more, and they're more than capable. It's a matter of
stepping up -- 5/50 balls, the little things. We have to get better as
a team ... have to want it a little more."
Lake Park senior defender Dan Hynes said, "It's unacceptable. We
didn't move the ball ... didn't play as a team, lost 50/50 balls,
didn't put away our chances. Overall, it was a bad effort."
Added fellow senior defender Brody Thompson: "We came out flat as a
team -- not working as a team. Our midfield was not there, so it was
hard to distribute. We were trying to get in the final third, but we
kept losing balls. As a unit, it was very frustrating."
Lake Park nearly broke the deadlock in the 19th minute. Finding
himself with a wide-open look from about 15 yards out, junior
midfielder Alessandro Montes was stopped on a diving, one-handed save
by St. Francis senior keeper Jonathan Burke -- Chicagoland Soccer's
Man of the Match.
Two minutes later, a 20-yard free kick by Lancers junior midfielder
Lorenzo Costa snaked around the Spartans' defensive wall, but again
Burke shut the door. In the 24th minute, Burke made a nice diving save
on a low rocket by senior forward Pasquale Ottolino.
"He saved our butts back there," Ward said. "He had some stellar saves
in the first half."
Though he earned a shutout, Burke wasn't happy about the end result, either.
"I'm not satisfied with a draw," he said. "It's better than a loss,
but I think we could've played a lot better, for sure. Some of our
stuff just wasn't clicking."
St. Francis' best chances in the first half came on a just-wide tip by
sophomore midfielder Henry Roback after he zeroed in on a free kick by
senior mid Keenan Corrigan, with 8:10 left, and five minutes later on
a shot by soph forward Leo Herard after he made a nice cut while
dribbling in.
Sophomore defender Ethan Grosam, a versatile performer who covered a
lot of ground on both sides of the field and handled most of the
Spartans' throw-ins, joined the parade of players leaving the field in
less than a happy state.
"We're not satisfied with this tie," Grosam said. "We can play a lot
better. We didn't show it this game."
Added teammate Sean Conley, a freshman midfielder: "We want to win
this (Hillner Classic) tourney, not be another team to just show up.
We want teams to be scared of us on the pitch. We worked hard
controlling the midfield, but we didn't defend as well as we'd like,
and we didn't put the ball in the back of the net. You have to show it
on the scoreboard.
"We're happy to be 1-0-1 -- no losses -- but we're not satisfied. We
want to put teams behind us."
Lake Park had one of the best chances by either team in the second
half when senior defender Michael Passi charged in and rolled a shot
wide after bouncing up following a minor collision with Burke. With
19:15 remaining, Costa rifled a shot high from 15 yards out.
"I thought we did have some spurts -- but kind of weak, and we didn't
finish," Jasiak said. "There were a few balls we should have put in the
back of the net. We worked hard for the shutout, but we have to score
a few goals."
The Spartans had a crack at it with it 4:53 left. A well-placed free
kick by junior defender Carney Herard was headed wide by Conley in
traffic.
Fittingly, Burke snagged a ball out of midair after a Lake Park
throw-in with only 10 seconds to go.
Lake Park wraps up play in the Hillner Classic on Thursday, against
Wheaton North, while St. Francis continues with matches against
York on Thursday, and Conant on Saturday.
"It's good to have zero losses, but we wanted to be 2-0," Burke said.
"So we're not satisfied. We just have to keep working hard."
Jasiak said that one of the things Lake Park needs to work on is team bonding.
"We have a lot of experience, a lot of talent, but we're just not
putting it together," he said. "We have a tradition here, and we want
to win -- and make it to state. We just have to focus on us -- on team
-- and the wins will come."
Starting lineups
St. Francis
G: Jonathan Burke
D: Ethan Grosam
D: Carney Herard
D: Timmy Pisarski
D: Jacob Power
M: Keenan Corrigan
M: Matthew Martin
M: David Gianos
M: Ryan Pennington
M: Nicholas Roehl
F: Zach Crecenzo
Lake Park
G: Michael Jasiak
D: Joshua Solarz
D: Brody Thompson
D: Michael Passi
D: Dan Hynes
M: Anthony Passi
M: Lorenzo Costa
M: Jack Fischer
M: Alessandro Montes
M: Franco Presta
F: Pasquale Ottolino
Man of the Match: Jonathan Burke, GK, St. Francis
Officials: Brett Richter, Jim Brotsos, Krzysztof Bajopek
Lake Park wanting more
Neither team satisfied with end result
By Ken Keenan
ROSELLE -- Depending on any number of variables, a scoreless draw can
be viewed as good, bad or just plain ugly.
Following a 0-0 tie between St. Francis and host Lake Park in Hillner
Classic play on Tuesday, the postscript saw both teams
leaning toward the latter.
Despite possessing the ball more than Lake Park, and maintaining
control with good spacing and passing in the midfield, the Spartans
didn't test Lancers senior goalkeeper Michael Jasiak all that often.
Lake Park, on the other hand, attacked well in spurts but had trouble
establishing any kind of rhythm.
"I'm totally disappointed -- not happy with a tie," said St. Francis
head coach Kevin Ward, whose team exited the game at 1-0-1. "We did not play to
our capabilities. Yes, the passing was OK. But you've got to finish
the ball, and we had no ball possession in the attacking third. We
have to take more shots.
"Also, it was not the kind of soccer we want to play defensively. We
have to clean up a lot. I expect more."
Lake Park head coach Anthony Passi's crew left the field with a 1-2-2
mark. Last season, which featured their third sectional title in four
years, the Lancers suffered only two defeats in 26 tries.
"We walked off the field not satisfied," Passi said. "The biggest
thing is chemistry. We have to find our identity. We keep allowing
teams to stay with us, and we need to put teams away. We were chasing
early in the game -- then we had some spurts. But we just weren't
consistent. We were reacting to their play and not really setting the
tone.
"Our guys want more, and they're more than capable. It's a matter of
stepping up -- 5/50 balls, the little things. We have to get better as
a team ... have to want it a little more."
Lake Park senior defender Dan Hynes said, "It's unacceptable. We
didn't move the ball ... didn't play as a team, lost 50/50 balls,
didn't put away our chances. Overall, it was a bad effort."
Added fellow senior defender Brody Thompson: "We came out flat as a
team -- not working as a team. Our midfield was not there, so it was
hard to distribute. We were trying to get in the final third, but we
kept losing balls. As a unit, it was very frustrating."
Lake Park nearly broke the deadlock in the 19th minute. Finding
himself with a wide-open look from about 15 yards out, junior
midfielder Alessandro Montes was stopped on a diving, one-handed save
by St. Francis senior keeper Jonathan Burke -- Chicagoland Soccer's
Man of the Match.
Two minutes later, a 20-yard free kick by Lancers junior midfielder
Lorenzo Costa snaked around the Spartans' defensive wall, but again
Burke shut the door. In the 24th minute, Burke made a nice diving save
on a low rocket by senior forward Pasquale Ottolino.
"He saved our butts back there," Ward said. "He had some stellar saves
in the first half."
Though he earned a shutout, Burke wasn't happy about the end result, either.
"I'm not satisfied with a draw," he said. "It's better than a loss,
but I think we could've played a lot better, for sure. Some of our
stuff just wasn't clicking."
St. Francis' best chances in the first half came on a just-wide tip by
sophomore midfielder Henry Roback after he zeroed in on a free kick by
senior mid Keenan Corrigan, with 8:10 left, and five minutes later on
a shot by soph forward Leo Herard after he made a nice cut while
dribbling in.
Sophomore defender Ethan Grosam, a versatile performer who covered a
lot of ground on both sides of the field and handled most of the
Spartans' throw-ins, joined the parade of players leaving the field in
less than a happy state.
"We're not satisfied with this tie," Grosam said. "We can play a lot
better. We didn't show it this game."
Added teammate Sean Conley, a freshman midfielder: "We want to win
this (Hillner Classic) tourney, not be another team to just show up.
We want teams to be scared of us on the pitch. We worked hard
controlling the midfield, but we didn't defend as well as we'd like,
and we didn't put the ball in the back of the net. You have to show it
on the scoreboard.
"We're happy to be 1-0-1 -- no losses -- but we're not satisfied. We
want to put teams behind us."
Lake Park had one of the best chances by either team in the second
half when senior defender Michael Passi charged in and rolled a shot
wide after bouncing up following a minor collision with Burke. With
19:15 remaining, Costa rifled a shot high from 15 yards out.
"I thought we did have some spurts -- but kind of weak, and we didn't
finish," Jasiak said. "There were a few balls we should have put in the
back of the net. We worked hard for the shutout, but we have to score
a few goals."
The Spartans had a crack at it with it 4:53 left. A well-placed free
kick by junior defender Carney Herard was headed wide by Conley in
traffic.
Fittingly, Burke snagged a ball out of midair after a Lake Park
throw-in with only 10 seconds to go.
Lake Park wraps up play in the Hillner Classic on Thursday, against
Wheaton North, while St. Francis continues with matches against
York on Thursday, and Conant on Saturday.
"It's good to have zero losses, but we wanted to be 2-0," Burke said.
"So we're not satisfied. We just have to keep working hard."
Jasiak said that one of the things Lake Park needs to work on is team bonding.
"We have a lot of experience, a lot of talent, but we're just not
putting it together," he said. "We have a tradition here, and we want
to win -- and make it to state. We just have to focus on us -- on team
-- and the wins will come."
Starting lineups
St. Francis
G: Jonathan Burke
D: Ethan Grosam
D: Carney Herard
D: Timmy Pisarski
D: Jacob Power
M: Keenan Corrigan
M: Matthew Martin
M: David Gianos
M: Ryan Pennington
M: Nicholas Roehl
F: Zach Crecenzo
Lake Park
G: Michael Jasiak
D: Joshua Solarz
D: Brody Thompson
D: Michael Passi
D: Dan Hynes
M: Anthony Passi
M: Lorenzo Costa
M: Jack Fischer
M: Alessandro Montes
M: Franco Presta
F: Pasquale Ottolino
Man of the Match: Jonathan Burke, GK, St. Francis
Officials: Brett Richter, Jim Brotsos, Krzysztof Bajopek