St. Charles North gets
the jump on Elk Grove
North Stars advance, but Grenadiers never stop fighting
By Ken Keenan
ELK GROVE -- An early goal turned out to be all St. Charles North needed in a Class 3A regional semifinal against Elk Grove, with the North Stars adding a second-half tally to beat the host Grenadiers 2-0 Wednesday night.
Less than three minutes into the match, a corner kick by St. Charles North junior midfielder Alex Amro floated toward Elk Grove senior goalkeeper Alberto Centeno's crease and was headed in by senior defender Nick Graham to give the North Stars a quick 1-0 advantage.
Amro -- Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match -- also assisted on the second goal, firing a 25-yard free kick that was tapped in by senior midfielder Zach Morgando in the 55th minute after a deflection.
St. Charles North (11-6-4 overall) advanced to the Elk Grove Regional final, set for 3 p.m. Saturday, while the Grens finished the 2014 season at 4-12-2.
"Obviously, an early goal in the postseason is good to have," said North Stars head coach Eric Willson. "Come playoff time, you want to get off on the right foot, and we've had success on corners and set pieces. We got off to a great start, then it got away from us for a while. Hats off to Elk Grove -- that's a hardworking team, and they gave us some problems. It was great to get that goal, but we knew it would be a hard fight."
The first goal actually seemed to energize the home team. Though the Grens never really mounted any serious pressure, they marked the North Stars closely, resulting in a midfield battle for much of the match. St. Charles North counted only two shots on goal in the first half, matching Elk Grove's total.
"We've had some slow starts this season, but the quick goal caught us by surprise," said Grens senior midfielder Ivan Corona, who was strong in the middle throughout the match while also handling most of his team's long-range free kicks. "It was a tough goal, but it was definitely a wakeup call."
Willson said he talked to his crew at halftime "about picking it up, and we did a better job in the second half. We gained more control in the second half."
Elk Grove had the first good scoring opportunity in the second half, as junior forward Chris Guadarrama delivered a 15-yard blast from the left flank that was handled by junior goalkeeper Kevin Sabres.
St. Charles North responded with 28 minutes remaining in regulation with a free kick from the side of the box by Amro that resulted in a fingertip save by Centeno in traffic. That was a precursor to the backbreaker three minutes later -- the Amro restart that found Morgando for the North Stars' second goal.
"Sometimes you have to put a ball in space and go after it," Willson said.
Amro said he's spent plenty of time practicing set-piece kicks in practice, revealing that he generally hits a bunch of balls at least 30 minutes before drills even begin.
"You have to be ready for the games," said Amro, who also proved to be a jitterbug in the midfield whenever Elk Grove attempted to mount an attack.
"He's gotten better and better every game we've played," Willson said. "He has very good skill and good vision. And when he plays quickly, he does a lot of things well."
In keeping with the tone of the match, neither team seriously threatened on offense after the second goal, though St. Charles North senior forward Lorenzo Estrada walked in untouched to put a decent shot on Centeno in the 56th minute.
Corona followed with a 45-yard free kick that Sabres easily snagged out of the air with 23:25 to go. Long free kicks and a plethora of throw-ins were the order of the day from there.
"In the second half, we wanted to increase the defensive pressure and cut off the passing lanes," Morgando said. "We know it's the playoffs, and teams don't give up easily."
Such was the case for Elk Grove for a good part of the 2014 campaign, even though the Grens' record may have indicated otherwise.
"We had good chunks of play (against St. Charles North) but nothing dangerous -- the story of our season," said Elk Grove coach Rob Shepard. "I'm not a moral victory fan, but we definitely had heart. We have a lot of young guys coming back, and if they let this sit with them it can turn into a positive. We have to come back next year and get results."
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK: Kevin Sabres
D: Brandon Stricker
D: Garrett Morgando
D: Nick Graham
MF: Alex Amro
MF: Ryan Olson
MF: Zach Morgando
MF: Luke Denson
MF: Hanson Hagemann
F: Lorenzo Estrada
F: Chris Watson
Elk Grove
GK: Alberto Centeno
D: Connor Emmerich
D: Markos Christoforou
D: Daniel Hadler
MF: Ivan Corona
MF: Noe Centeno
MF: Ivan Rodriguez
MF: Oscar Suarez
F: Edgar Soto
F: Carlos Miranda
F: Chris Guadarrama
Man of the Match: Alex Amro, St. Charles North
Officials: Jay Cummins, Steve Below, Paul Rojas.
the jump on Elk Grove
North Stars advance, but Grenadiers never stop fighting
By Ken Keenan
ELK GROVE -- An early goal turned out to be all St. Charles North needed in a Class 3A regional semifinal against Elk Grove, with the North Stars adding a second-half tally to beat the host Grenadiers 2-0 Wednesday night.
Less than three minutes into the match, a corner kick by St. Charles North junior midfielder Alex Amro floated toward Elk Grove senior goalkeeper Alberto Centeno's crease and was headed in by senior defender Nick Graham to give the North Stars a quick 1-0 advantage.
Amro -- Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match -- also assisted on the second goal, firing a 25-yard free kick that was tapped in by senior midfielder Zach Morgando in the 55th minute after a deflection.
St. Charles North (11-6-4 overall) advanced to the Elk Grove Regional final, set for 3 p.m. Saturday, while the Grens finished the 2014 season at 4-12-2.
"Obviously, an early goal in the postseason is good to have," said North Stars head coach Eric Willson. "Come playoff time, you want to get off on the right foot, and we've had success on corners and set pieces. We got off to a great start, then it got away from us for a while. Hats off to Elk Grove -- that's a hardworking team, and they gave us some problems. It was great to get that goal, but we knew it would be a hard fight."
The first goal actually seemed to energize the home team. Though the Grens never really mounted any serious pressure, they marked the North Stars closely, resulting in a midfield battle for much of the match. St. Charles North counted only two shots on goal in the first half, matching Elk Grove's total.
"We've had some slow starts this season, but the quick goal caught us by surprise," said Grens senior midfielder Ivan Corona, who was strong in the middle throughout the match while also handling most of his team's long-range free kicks. "It was a tough goal, but it was definitely a wakeup call."
Willson said he talked to his crew at halftime "about picking it up, and we did a better job in the second half. We gained more control in the second half."
Elk Grove had the first good scoring opportunity in the second half, as junior forward Chris Guadarrama delivered a 15-yard blast from the left flank that was handled by junior goalkeeper Kevin Sabres.
St. Charles North responded with 28 minutes remaining in regulation with a free kick from the side of the box by Amro that resulted in a fingertip save by Centeno in traffic. That was a precursor to the backbreaker three minutes later -- the Amro restart that found Morgando for the North Stars' second goal.
"Sometimes you have to put a ball in space and go after it," Willson said.
Amro said he's spent plenty of time practicing set-piece kicks in practice, revealing that he generally hits a bunch of balls at least 30 minutes before drills even begin.
"You have to be ready for the games," said Amro, who also proved to be a jitterbug in the midfield whenever Elk Grove attempted to mount an attack.
"He's gotten better and better every game we've played," Willson said. "He has very good skill and good vision. And when he plays quickly, he does a lot of things well."
In keeping with the tone of the match, neither team seriously threatened on offense after the second goal, though St. Charles North senior forward Lorenzo Estrada walked in untouched to put a decent shot on Centeno in the 56th minute.
Corona followed with a 45-yard free kick that Sabres easily snagged out of the air with 23:25 to go. Long free kicks and a plethora of throw-ins were the order of the day from there.
"In the second half, we wanted to increase the defensive pressure and cut off the passing lanes," Morgando said. "We know it's the playoffs, and teams don't give up easily."
Such was the case for Elk Grove for a good part of the 2014 campaign, even though the Grens' record may have indicated otherwise.
"We had good chunks of play (against St. Charles North) but nothing dangerous -- the story of our season," said Elk Grove coach Rob Shepard. "I'm not a moral victory fan, but we definitely had heart. We have a lot of young guys coming back, and if they let this sit with them it can turn into a positive. We have to come back next year and get results."
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK: Kevin Sabres
D: Brandon Stricker
D: Garrett Morgando
D: Nick Graham
MF: Alex Amro
MF: Ryan Olson
MF: Zach Morgando
MF: Luke Denson
MF: Hanson Hagemann
F: Lorenzo Estrada
F: Chris Watson
Elk Grove
GK: Alberto Centeno
D: Connor Emmerich
D: Markos Christoforou
D: Daniel Hadler
MF: Ivan Corona
MF: Noe Centeno
MF: Ivan Rodriguez
MF: Oscar Suarez
F: Edgar Soto
F: Carlos Miranda
F: Chris Guadarrama
Man of the Match: Alex Amro, St. Charles North
Officials: Jay Cummins, Steve Below, Paul Rojas.