Naperville Central lays down
the law, handcuffs Waubonie Valley
Redhawks dominate in 2-0 victory
By Steve Nemeth
NAPERVILLE -- Remember that legal expression that “possession is nine-tenths of the law”?
When it came to deciding a winner in Saturday morning’s Best of the West Group I match between Waubonsie Valley and host Naperville Central, that principle translated to a 2-0 Redhawk triumph.
“Coach always talks about doing the things we work on in practice, and we’ve spent a lot of time working on possessing the ball,” Noah Canlas said. “When your teammate has (possession), the other end (of scoring) is being in the right place at the right time. In that respect, movement off the ball can be 90 percent of the play. So it was on me to get to the right place.”
Canlas was often in good spaces, but none better than with 10:23 left in the first half when Christopher Schwaiger’s touch pass allowed the senior to rip a shot from the right side that caromed off the left post and in for what became a 1-0 halftime lead.
“Seeing Chris with the ball, I was just looking to find an open place to make the best attempt possible,” added Canlas, whose overall play earned him Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match status.
Naperville Central coach Troy Adams had nothing but praise for his senior.
“No question Noah was dominant from the center mid position and his performance not only got us a goal, but several other chances for himself and his teammates,” Central coach Troy Adams said in confirming the selection.
After the “Thor” weather guard system interrupted the announcement of starters, the two sides and fans begrudgingly left with blue sky showing in one direction and some dark clouds in the opposite distance. After safety prevailed, Waubonsie Valley’s Ryan Dittmer had a try from the left wing just 31 seconds in but Redhawk goalie Joe Kallikadan displayed his sure hands.
Unfortunately for Waubonsie Valley, that would be one of only two saves required as Naperville Central took over the contest.
“The biggest problem was possession, we just gave the ball up too often and too easily,” Waubonsie Valley coach Jose Garcia said. “And our energy level just wasn’t there.”
“Possession was missing everywhere,” senior Leo Mendoza agreed. “We need to get it from the back to the midfield to the forwards. We have a lot of first-time varsity players, so I try to remind them to keep their heads in the game, keep it simple and not be nervous.”
That's somewhat easier said than done with the majority of the Warrior roster being populated by underclassmen.
“We have good players and plenty of talent but we have to possess the ball to accomplish anything,” Dittmer said. “We had trouble early finding Leo and Eric (Saucedo), and our attack wasn’t there. We need to get the ball up top so we can shoot more.”
Shooting was never an issue for Naperville Central. The Redhawks compiled a 17-3 advantage for shots on goal within a 28-9 edge in overall attempts. Add on a 7-1 count for corner kicks and the ball spent much of the time in front of Warrior goalies Les Krutchen and Jacob Hennessy, who split the halves.
Although the second half included an early Waubonsie Valley direct free kick, Mendoza’s equivalent of a sharp grounder was cleanly fielded by Redhawk second half keeper Wesley Sprague, who shared credit for the latest of four Naperville Central clean sheet victories.
The Redhawk offense was overwhelming. Jimmy Kalkofen turned a long carry and dribble toward center into a free kick, but the shot sailed over the goal. A minute later it was Schwaiger’s turn with his blast blocked by defenders.
But on the next surge, Schwaiger’s unselfish choice to pass up a shot turned into his second assist when Taha Din finished into the open left half of the goal with 31:45 still to be played.
“We work a lot on finishing so I was confident when Chris put through such a perfect ball,” Din said. “My part was easy. I think it was an example of the kind of great team play we aim for.”
Adams may not have heard his junior’s assessment, but he definitely agreed.
“This was our most complete game; every phase, technically, tactically, psychologically,” Adams said. “Our passes were crisp, the defense made sure of coverage, we worked the ball up and down the field with confidence. It was what we coaches like to believe is their demonstrating the ‘we’ and not the ‘I’.
“I really liked the play of two sophomores Zach (Kokes) and Jimmy (Kalkofen), who are making the leap to varsity (from JV and frosh-soph respectively). They take coaching well and showed a very good understanding of what’s expected of them.”
Despite the victory, Naperville Central anticipated that it would be unable to defend its 2014 crown. The only scenario required Bartlett to lose by a margin large enough to put the tiebreaker in play.
That didn't even come close to happening. The Hawks, the surprise team of the tournament under first-year head coach Vince DiNuzzo, beat Sandburg 1-0 in order to advance to the BOTW final against Naperville North.
Senior defender Griffin Geisler saw Central’s “must-win big” scenario going into the Waubonsie Valley game as a plus.
“It’s good to see us handle that extra pressure. I thought we responded well today with a great team effort,” said Geisler, who is dealing with the extra weight and discomfort associated with a heavily-padded cast on his broken left wrist. “(The cast is) a little bit of a disadvantage to deal with, but it’s probably more awkward than anything, and annoying to have to answer questions about it. It definitely does itch a lot, so I’m hoping Tuesday (the hard cast) can be replaced by a simple brace.”
Starting lineups
Waubonsie Valley
G Les Kruchten
D Rogelio Grimaldo
D Nate Bailey
D Brett Babcock
D Charles Zehnel
M Ryan Dittmer
M Stephan Spano
M Giacomo Parrino
M Mitch Mueller
F Leo Mendoza
F Eric Saucedo
Naperville Central
G Joe Kallikadan
D Colin Bradley-Leon
D Frank DeStefano
D Griffin Geisler
D Joe Granato
M Noah Canlas
M Nate Zain
M Christopher Schwaiger
M Jimmy Kalkofen
F Kyle Forest
F Taha Din
Man of the Match: Noah Canlas, MF, Naperville Central
the law, handcuffs Waubonie Valley
Redhawks dominate in 2-0 victory
By Steve Nemeth
NAPERVILLE -- Remember that legal expression that “possession is nine-tenths of the law”?
When it came to deciding a winner in Saturday morning’s Best of the West Group I match between Waubonsie Valley and host Naperville Central, that principle translated to a 2-0 Redhawk triumph.
“Coach always talks about doing the things we work on in practice, and we’ve spent a lot of time working on possessing the ball,” Noah Canlas said. “When your teammate has (possession), the other end (of scoring) is being in the right place at the right time. In that respect, movement off the ball can be 90 percent of the play. So it was on me to get to the right place.”
Canlas was often in good spaces, but none better than with 10:23 left in the first half when Christopher Schwaiger’s touch pass allowed the senior to rip a shot from the right side that caromed off the left post and in for what became a 1-0 halftime lead.
“Seeing Chris with the ball, I was just looking to find an open place to make the best attempt possible,” added Canlas, whose overall play earned him Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match status.
Naperville Central coach Troy Adams had nothing but praise for his senior.
“No question Noah was dominant from the center mid position and his performance not only got us a goal, but several other chances for himself and his teammates,” Central coach Troy Adams said in confirming the selection.
After the “Thor” weather guard system interrupted the announcement of starters, the two sides and fans begrudgingly left with blue sky showing in one direction and some dark clouds in the opposite distance. After safety prevailed, Waubonsie Valley’s Ryan Dittmer had a try from the left wing just 31 seconds in but Redhawk goalie Joe Kallikadan displayed his sure hands.
Unfortunately for Waubonsie Valley, that would be one of only two saves required as Naperville Central took over the contest.
“The biggest problem was possession, we just gave the ball up too often and too easily,” Waubonsie Valley coach Jose Garcia said. “And our energy level just wasn’t there.”
“Possession was missing everywhere,” senior Leo Mendoza agreed. “We need to get it from the back to the midfield to the forwards. We have a lot of first-time varsity players, so I try to remind them to keep their heads in the game, keep it simple and not be nervous.”
That's somewhat easier said than done with the majority of the Warrior roster being populated by underclassmen.
“We have good players and plenty of talent but we have to possess the ball to accomplish anything,” Dittmer said. “We had trouble early finding Leo and Eric (Saucedo), and our attack wasn’t there. We need to get the ball up top so we can shoot more.”
Shooting was never an issue for Naperville Central. The Redhawks compiled a 17-3 advantage for shots on goal within a 28-9 edge in overall attempts. Add on a 7-1 count for corner kicks and the ball spent much of the time in front of Warrior goalies Les Krutchen and Jacob Hennessy, who split the halves.
Although the second half included an early Waubonsie Valley direct free kick, Mendoza’s equivalent of a sharp grounder was cleanly fielded by Redhawk second half keeper Wesley Sprague, who shared credit for the latest of four Naperville Central clean sheet victories.
The Redhawk offense was overwhelming. Jimmy Kalkofen turned a long carry and dribble toward center into a free kick, but the shot sailed over the goal. A minute later it was Schwaiger’s turn with his blast blocked by defenders.
But on the next surge, Schwaiger’s unselfish choice to pass up a shot turned into his second assist when Taha Din finished into the open left half of the goal with 31:45 still to be played.
“We work a lot on finishing so I was confident when Chris put through such a perfect ball,” Din said. “My part was easy. I think it was an example of the kind of great team play we aim for.”
Adams may not have heard his junior’s assessment, but he definitely agreed.
“This was our most complete game; every phase, technically, tactically, psychologically,” Adams said. “Our passes were crisp, the defense made sure of coverage, we worked the ball up and down the field with confidence. It was what we coaches like to believe is their demonstrating the ‘we’ and not the ‘I’.
“I really liked the play of two sophomores Zach (Kokes) and Jimmy (Kalkofen), who are making the leap to varsity (from JV and frosh-soph respectively). They take coaching well and showed a very good understanding of what’s expected of them.”
Despite the victory, Naperville Central anticipated that it would be unable to defend its 2014 crown. The only scenario required Bartlett to lose by a margin large enough to put the tiebreaker in play.
That didn't even come close to happening. The Hawks, the surprise team of the tournament under first-year head coach Vince DiNuzzo, beat Sandburg 1-0 in order to advance to the BOTW final against Naperville North.
Senior defender Griffin Geisler saw Central’s “must-win big” scenario going into the Waubonsie Valley game as a plus.
“It’s good to see us handle that extra pressure. I thought we responded well today with a great team effort,” said Geisler, who is dealing with the extra weight and discomfort associated with a heavily-padded cast on his broken left wrist. “(The cast is) a little bit of a disadvantage to deal with, but it’s probably more awkward than anything, and annoying to have to answer questions about it. It definitely does itch a lot, so I’m hoping Tuesday (the hard cast) can be replaced by a simple brace.”
Starting lineups
Waubonsie Valley
G Les Kruchten
D Rogelio Grimaldo
D Nate Bailey
D Brett Babcock
D Charles Zehnel
M Ryan Dittmer
M Stephan Spano
M Giacomo Parrino
M Mitch Mueller
F Leo Mendoza
F Eric Saucedo
Naperville Central
G Joe Kallikadan
D Colin Bradley-Leon
D Frank DeStefano
D Griffin Geisler
D Joe Granato
M Noah Canlas
M Nate Zain
M Christopher Schwaiger
M Jimmy Kalkofen
F Kyle Forest
F Taha Din
Man of the Match: Noah Canlas, MF, Naperville Central