Downers South edges Fremd on Diaz goal
Mustang star makes most of rare chance
By Matt Le Cren
DOWNERS GROVE -- Downers Grove South striker Eric Diaz touched the ball only a few times on Saturday, but one was all he needed.
Diaz scored on his only shot of the game, and the host Mustangs made that goal stand up for a 1-0 victory over Fremd.
The goal came with 27:09 remaining in the second half of a game that saw little possession and even fewer scoring chances.
Sophomore forward Nick Rohl got free in the left side of the box and ripped a 16-yard shot. Fremd goalie Mike Kramer made a great diving save, but the Vikings failed to clear the rebound.
Joe Caldarazzo blocked the clearing attempt and the ball spun to the feet of Diaz, who buried a 10-yard shot.
“Mentally we made an error to be in that situation, and then we got beat one-on-one,” Fremd coach Steve Keller said. “Our goalie made a great save. We had a clear, but we panicked and it ended up in the back of the net.”
“It was a great save,” Downers South coach Jon Stapleton said. “Joe Caldarazzo got on the second ball, had a shot that was deflected and bounced to Eric’s feet to finish.
“As a coaching staff, we were talking about it. It was three shots on frame and the one went in, so a lot of composure there to make things dangerous. So that was good.”
The goal was the only highlight of a close battle in which neither team was able to establish its midfield play with any consistency. Each side had six shots, and both sides made two saves.
Despite his lack of touches, the dangerous Diaz, who is one of just two returning starters for the Mustangs, wasn’t unhappy with his team’s performance.
“I felt like we played fine,” said Diaz, who earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors. “We kept our composure, which is really good. We touched the ball and we got forward.
“In the first half we were really direct, and I felt like we just kept the ball in the middle, and we found chances up top so then we took those chances.”
Fremd (1-2), which was coming off a 2-0 loss to New Trier on Friday night, did well to limit the chances, with defenders Daniel Burton, Kurt Rettke, Benjamin Borst, Tomas Peleckas and Luke Kosacz holding the Mustangs (1-0) to just one shot in the first half.
Even in the second half, the Mustangs were unable to generate much despite playing with a stiff wind at their backs. Aside from Diaz’s goal, the only other shot that came close was Caldarazzo’s open 16-yarder that hit the side of the net with 4:30 remaining.
“The goal was just unlucky, I guess,” Kramer said. “We’ve been trying hard with a good work ethic, and eventually we’re going to score some goals and hopefully win some games.”
Coach Keller also liked Fremd's hustle, stating, “This was a tough test coming here today, especially back-to-back, but we fought hard. You can’t fault the effort. We’ve just got to clean up the mental errors and be a little more smart going forward.”
The Mustangs didn’t make many glaring errors despite their inexperience. Goalie Sam Dumford made two saves to record the shutout in his varsity debut, and the Andrew Dobosenski-led defense protected him well.
Coach Stapleton pointed to his team's inexperience, explaining, “We've got a lot of guys [for whom] it was their first varsity game. We had two returning starters and two other guys that contributed minutes last year, so it’s a new group.
“We enjoy playing Fremd every year. They’re a great program and they always play hard, so it was a good first contest.”
Despite the inexperience, Stapleton has high expectations for the Mustangs. He thinks Diaz and Rohl will produce if the midfielders can get them the ball.
“Eric and Nick form a nice partnership,” Stapleton said. “Alex Escamilla came in and gave us some good minutes up top as well. We had a hard time establishing possession, at least in the early going, and Eric didn’t get tons of touches but he got the one that counted.”
Diaz was thrilled with the opening win and hopes it is a sign of things to come.
“I think that we still have a lot to develop,” Diaz said. “The new players have a lot to develop and learn, but being one of the more experienced guys I feel like I can help them and guide them through, and I’m ready for a great season.”
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK Mike Kramer
D Daniel Burton
D Kurt Rettke
D Benjamin Borst
D Tomas Peleckas
D Luke Kosacz
M Ivan Martin
F Benjamin Poder
F Rohan Menon
F Zach Schoffstall
F Jacob Cuthbert
Downers Grove South
GK Sam Dumford
D Griffin Overbeck
D Andrew Dobosenski
D Kyle Harty
D Ryan Strelau
M Hunter Thoren
M Peter Fish
M Andrew Pierropoulos
M Jason Galik
F Eric Diaz
F Nick Rohl
Referees: Harold Cooper, Mike McDermott, Dave Rubenee.
Mustang star makes most of rare chance
By Matt Le Cren
DOWNERS GROVE -- Downers Grove South striker Eric Diaz touched the ball only a few times on Saturday, but one was all he needed.
Diaz scored on his only shot of the game, and the host Mustangs made that goal stand up for a 1-0 victory over Fremd.
The goal came with 27:09 remaining in the second half of a game that saw little possession and even fewer scoring chances.
Sophomore forward Nick Rohl got free in the left side of the box and ripped a 16-yard shot. Fremd goalie Mike Kramer made a great diving save, but the Vikings failed to clear the rebound.
Joe Caldarazzo blocked the clearing attempt and the ball spun to the feet of Diaz, who buried a 10-yard shot.
“Mentally we made an error to be in that situation, and then we got beat one-on-one,” Fremd coach Steve Keller said. “Our goalie made a great save. We had a clear, but we panicked and it ended up in the back of the net.”
“It was a great save,” Downers South coach Jon Stapleton said. “Joe Caldarazzo got on the second ball, had a shot that was deflected and bounced to Eric’s feet to finish.
“As a coaching staff, we were talking about it. It was three shots on frame and the one went in, so a lot of composure there to make things dangerous. So that was good.”
The goal was the only highlight of a close battle in which neither team was able to establish its midfield play with any consistency. Each side had six shots, and both sides made two saves.
Despite his lack of touches, the dangerous Diaz, who is one of just two returning starters for the Mustangs, wasn’t unhappy with his team’s performance.
“I felt like we played fine,” said Diaz, who earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors. “We kept our composure, which is really good. We touched the ball and we got forward.
“In the first half we were really direct, and I felt like we just kept the ball in the middle, and we found chances up top so then we took those chances.”
Fremd (1-2), which was coming off a 2-0 loss to New Trier on Friday night, did well to limit the chances, with defenders Daniel Burton, Kurt Rettke, Benjamin Borst, Tomas Peleckas and Luke Kosacz holding the Mustangs (1-0) to just one shot in the first half.
Even in the second half, the Mustangs were unable to generate much despite playing with a stiff wind at their backs. Aside from Diaz’s goal, the only other shot that came close was Caldarazzo’s open 16-yarder that hit the side of the net with 4:30 remaining.
“The goal was just unlucky, I guess,” Kramer said. “We’ve been trying hard with a good work ethic, and eventually we’re going to score some goals and hopefully win some games.”
Coach Keller also liked Fremd's hustle, stating, “This was a tough test coming here today, especially back-to-back, but we fought hard. You can’t fault the effort. We’ve just got to clean up the mental errors and be a little more smart going forward.”
The Mustangs didn’t make many glaring errors despite their inexperience. Goalie Sam Dumford made two saves to record the shutout in his varsity debut, and the Andrew Dobosenski-led defense protected him well.
Coach Stapleton pointed to his team's inexperience, explaining, “We've got a lot of guys [for whom] it was their first varsity game. We had two returning starters and two other guys that contributed minutes last year, so it’s a new group.
“We enjoy playing Fremd every year. They’re a great program and they always play hard, so it was a good first contest.”
Despite the inexperience, Stapleton has high expectations for the Mustangs. He thinks Diaz and Rohl will produce if the midfielders can get them the ball.
“Eric and Nick form a nice partnership,” Stapleton said. “Alex Escamilla came in and gave us some good minutes up top as well. We had a hard time establishing possession, at least in the early going, and Eric didn’t get tons of touches but he got the one that counted.”
Diaz was thrilled with the opening win and hopes it is a sign of things to come.
“I think that we still have a lot to develop,” Diaz said. “The new players have a lot to develop and learn, but being one of the more experienced guys I feel like I can help them and guide them through, and I’m ready for a great season.”
Starting lineups
Fremd
GK Mike Kramer
D Daniel Burton
D Kurt Rettke
D Benjamin Borst
D Tomas Peleckas
D Luke Kosacz
M Ivan Martin
F Benjamin Poder
F Rohan Menon
F Zach Schoffstall
F Jacob Cuthbert
Downers Grove South
GK Sam Dumford
D Griffin Overbeck
D Andrew Dobosenski
D Kyle Harty
D Ryan Strelau
M Hunter Thoren
M Peter Fish
M Andrew Pierropoulos
M Jason Galik
F Eric Diaz
F Nick Rohl
Referees: Harold Cooper, Mike McDermott, Dave Rubenee.