2nd half scoring surge powers
Glenbrook North over Niles North
Arner, Golde goals light the way for Spartans
By Dave Owen
NILES -- Thursday’s game began with anything but an electric atmosphere at Niles North.
With the southwest light tower of the stadium out of commission, the start of the game was delayed 25 minutes as players went through prolonged warmups on a half-lit field.
The lights finally flicked on, and visiting Glenbrook North had plenty of second half voltage. A pair of nice goals from distance and a strong defensive effort
earned the Spartans a 2-0 win over the Vikings.
“It was a great second half,” GBN coach Paul Vignocchi said. “Our boys really responded well. I thought the first half -- the delay and everything -- took us out of our rhythm for warmup.
“And they (Niles North) disrupted our play in the first half. Most of it was because of them. They were fast to the ball and did a nice job. In the second half our guys came out with a lot of energy and did a nice job.”
After a close back-and-forth battle for 57 minutes, the Spartans’ Tommy Arner was on target with an end to the draw.
Jackson Grabill’s initial drive into the box was denied by the Viking defense, but Arner fielded the loose ball and sent a 20-yarder into the top left corner of the net for a 1-0 GBN lead with 22:34 left to play.
“It was in the box. The ball came out, and I had called to Adam Melnick to let the ball go (through),” Arner said. “I shot the ball, and it went upper 90.
“At first I thought we were a little slow, but once we got the goal in the second half I think we were much faster.”
The Spartans were certainly up to speed when it came to precision shots.
With 13:52 left, Ryan Golde showed perfect aim and touch when he dribbled into open space and lined a 35-yarder from up top just over leaping goalkeeper Zac Sward’s fingertips and under the crossbar to double the Glenbrook North lead.
“Seth (Grossman) won the ball, Allan (Dontsis) got the ball to me, and I was dribbling towards the middle,” Golde said. “Max Knebelkamp was going to the outside and I saw him open, but I decided to shoot. The goalie got a piece of it, but I was able to get it over him.”
Both Arner and Golde notched their second goals of the season, as the Spartans scored multiple goals in a game for the first time since Sept. 4.
“We tell them all the time, if you don’t shoot you’re not going to score,” Vignocchi said. “No matter where you’re at, if you have an opportunity to hit a shot, go ahead and hit it.
“We’re starting to realize that a little more. Those weren’t high percentage shots that we scored, but the more they believe they can put those in the better we’re going to be.”
Besides the goal scorers, even bigger factors in the win were goalkeeper Ian Albert and the Spartan defense.
“It starts with our goalkeeper Ian,” Vignocchi said. “He was steady, he didn’t make any mistakes, no rebounds. He’s our leader back there.
“And Seth (Grossman) and Mason (Rose) our center backs did a nice job. It starts in the back, and on both (scoring) opportunities we won the ball.”
In his second game back from injury, Grossman was all over the field en route to Man of the Match honors.
Two of his many strong moments were a nice blocked shot and clear upfield 11:50 before halftime, then a nice sliding clean block to deny a Niles North attack later in the half.
“Getting back into the swing of it, the first game (Monday) I was still cleaning it up and trying to work on my passing and all that,” Grossman said. “But for the most part I feel back to my old self, and it feels really good to be back out here after three weeks.”
Grossman’s presence was especially vital to repel strong Niles North first half attacks. And his win of a 50/50 ball set up the second goal.
“Having Seth back is obviously big,” Vignocchi said. ”He’s our catalyst back there. We have guys who have the ability to defend well. And it transitions into our offense too.”
Coming off four-straight ties, Niles North endured missed chances and two late perfect strikes to suffer a loss.
“We were the lord of the ties,” Vikings coach Filip Cejovic joked. “I feel our season up to this point has been very unlucky. They didn’t look 2-0 better to me. I thought it was a very competitive game.
“They’re an excellent team, really well coached, a lot of pace, a very physical squad, strong. And we have a hard time scoring. We dominated possession in the first half, but still didn’t create many great chances to trouble them.”
A Ricky Torres corner kick three minutes in was headed wide by George Beto. Glenbrook North's Evan Goldberg blocked a corner kick cross that denied another early Niles North chance. and Albert came up big with 26:40 left in the first half with his save of Sahil Modi’s 15-yard shot.
The Spartans produced the last quality chance of the half, when a Grabill 40-yard direct kick 3:25 before the break was headed on goal by Rose.
The first 10 minutes of the second half featured chances for Glenbrook North’s Kamil Barabas (cross to the crease deflected off a defender and saved by Sward) and Arner (a high bouncing 40-yarder over goalkeeper Sward’s head and just wide of the left post).
After that unlikely shot nearly went in, Arner didn’t miss on his next try.
“We couldn’t clear the ball on that first goal,” Cejovic said. “We had three or four chances to clear the ball and didn’t, they take a turnaround fadeaway shot upper 90 to take the lead. And the second from 35 yards out, he (Golde) lobs our goalie.”
Up 2-0, the GBN defense remained a wall en route to its fourth shutout of 2015 and second in a row.
Niles North's Fanuel Teclai sent a 26-yard direct kick over the net with 11:35 left, and later lined a 28-yarder wide under strong marking from Rose with 4:50 to play.
In between those tries with 6:55 to go, Grossman nicely deflected a would-be Viking cross from the endline off a Niles North player and out for a Glenbrook North goal kick.
“It’s our leadership in the back, and we have a lot of athleticism as well,” Grossman named as keys to the Spartan defense. “We’re by far not the biggest defense in Illinois, but we have the ability to stay focused, stay strong and stand our ground against bigger opponents.”
Cejovic went away impressed.
“I told the kids to keep their heads up because there’s nothing to be ashamed of after today’s game,” he said. “GBN is a very good team and we played them hard. They’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs for whoever has to play them. I hope the draw is kind to us and we avoid them.”
With strength at the defensive end and ability to finish from distance, the Spartans hope to be a factor in late October – and before that.
“I think it really brought our confidence up the last game after we won,” Arner said. “And now we’re back on a winning streak.”
Thursday’s pregame delay was another frustrating reminder of recent events that tested Glenbook North's patience.
“Last week we basically had the whole week off from games because of weather,” Golde said. “I just think it was good for us to get our minds back from last week. Now we’re back and focused and ready to go.”
After enduring a three-game winless streak, the Spartans are healthy again and confident.
“We struggled, but now we’ve won our first two conference games,” Grossman said. “It’s a perfect time to get back on track.”
Starting lineups
Glenbrook North
GK- Ian Albert
D- Evan Goldberg
D- Seth Grossman
D- Mason Rose
D- Jackson Grabill
MF- Andrew Kwolek
MF- Ryan Golde
MF- Tommy Arner
MF- Allan Dontsis
F- Alex Kahn
F- Kamil Barabas
Niles North
GK- Zac Sward
D- Alem Zukancic
D- Niko Torres
D- Juan Vargas
D- Will Alfaro
MF- Mark Regalado
MF- Chris Patino
MF- Ricky Torres
MF- Ben Antlept
F- Matt Naranjo
F- George Beto
Man of the Match: Seth Grossman, D, Glenbrook North
Glenbrook North over Niles North
Arner, Golde goals light the way for Spartans
By Dave Owen
NILES -- Thursday’s game began with anything but an electric atmosphere at Niles North.
With the southwest light tower of the stadium out of commission, the start of the game was delayed 25 minutes as players went through prolonged warmups on a half-lit field.
The lights finally flicked on, and visiting Glenbrook North had plenty of second half voltage. A pair of nice goals from distance and a strong defensive effort
earned the Spartans a 2-0 win over the Vikings.
“It was a great second half,” GBN coach Paul Vignocchi said. “Our boys really responded well. I thought the first half -- the delay and everything -- took us out of our rhythm for warmup.
“And they (Niles North) disrupted our play in the first half. Most of it was because of them. They were fast to the ball and did a nice job. In the second half our guys came out with a lot of energy and did a nice job.”
After a close back-and-forth battle for 57 minutes, the Spartans’ Tommy Arner was on target with an end to the draw.
Jackson Grabill’s initial drive into the box was denied by the Viking defense, but Arner fielded the loose ball and sent a 20-yarder into the top left corner of the net for a 1-0 GBN lead with 22:34 left to play.
“It was in the box. The ball came out, and I had called to Adam Melnick to let the ball go (through),” Arner said. “I shot the ball, and it went upper 90.
“At first I thought we were a little slow, but once we got the goal in the second half I think we were much faster.”
The Spartans were certainly up to speed when it came to precision shots.
With 13:52 left, Ryan Golde showed perfect aim and touch when he dribbled into open space and lined a 35-yarder from up top just over leaping goalkeeper Zac Sward’s fingertips and under the crossbar to double the Glenbrook North lead.
“Seth (Grossman) won the ball, Allan (Dontsis) got the ball to me, and I was dribbling towards the middle,” Golde said. “Max Knebelkamp was going to the outside and I saw him open, but I decided to shoot. The goalie got a piece of it, but I was able to get it over him.”
Both Arner and Golde notched their second goals of the season, as the Spartans scored multiple goals in a game for the first time since Sept. 4.
“We tell them all the time, if you don’t shoot you’re not going to score,” Vignocchi said. “No matter where you’re at, if you have an opportunity to hit a shot, go ahead and hit it.
“We’re starting to realize that a little more. Those weren’t high percentage shots that we scored, but the more they believe they can put those in the better we’re going to be.”
Besides the goal scorers, even bigger factors in the win were goalkeeper Ian Albert and the Spartan defense.
“It starts with our goalkeeper Ian,” Vignocchi said. “He was steady, he didn’t make any mistakes, no rebounds. He’s our leader back there.
“And Seth (Grossman) and Mason (Rose) our center backs did a nice job. It starts in the back, and on both (scoring) opportunities we won the ball.”
In his second game back from injury, Grossman was all over the field en route to Man of the Match honors.
Two of his many strong moments were a nice blocked shot and clear upfield 11:50 before halftime, then a nice sliding clean block to deny a Niles North attack later in the half.
“Getting back into the swing of it, the first game (Monday) I was still cleaning it up and trying to work on my passing and all that,” Grossman said. “But for the most part I feel back to my old self, and it feels really good to be back out here after three weeks.”
Grossman’s presence was especially vital to repel strong Niles North first half attacks. And his win of a 50/50 ball set up the second goal.
“Having Seth back is obviously big,” Vignocchi said. ”He’s our catalyst back there. We have guys who have the ability to defend well. And it transitions into our offense too.”
Coming off four-straight ties, Niles North endured missed chances and two late perfect strikes to suffer a loss.
“We were the lord of the ties,” Vikings coach Filip Cejovic joked. “I feel our season up to this point has been very unlucky. They didn’t look 2-0 better to me. I thought it was a very competitive game.
“They’re an excellent team, really well coached, a lot of pace, a very physical squad, strong. And we have a hard time scoring. We dominated possession in the first half, but still didn’t create many great chances to trouble them.”
A Ricky Torres corner kick three minutes in was headed wide by George Beto. Glenbrook North's Evan Goldberg blocked a corner kick cross that denied another early Niles North chance. and Albert came up big with 26:40 left in the first half with his save of Sahil Modi’s 15-yard shot.
The Spartans produced the last quality chance of the half, when a Grabill 40-yard direct kick 3:25 before the break was headed on goal by Rose.
The first 10 minutes of the second half featured chances for Glenbrook North’s Kamil Barabas (cross to the crease deflected off a defender and saved by Sward) and Arner (a high bouncing 40-yarder over goalkeeper Sward’s head and just wide of the left post).
After that unlikely shot nearly went in, Arner didn’t miss on his next try.
“We couldn’t clear the ball on that first goal,” Cejovic said. “We had three or four chances to clear the ball and didn’t, they take a turnaround fadeaway shot upper 90 to take the lead. And the second from 35 yards out, he (Golde) lobs our goalie.”
Up 2-0, the GBN defense remained a wall en route to its fourth shutout of 2015 and second in a row.
Niles North's Fanuel Teclai sent a 26-yard direct kick over the net with 11:35 left, and later lined a 28-yarder wide under strong marking from Rose with 4:50 to play.
In between those tries with 6:55 to go, Grossman nicely deflected a would-be Viking cross from the endline off a Niles North player and out for a Glenbrook North goal kick.
“It’s our leadership in the back, and we have a lot of athleticism as well,” Grossman named as keys to the Spartan defense. “We’re by far not the biggest defense in Illinois, but we have the ability to stay focused, stay strong and stand our ground against bigger opponents.”
Cejovic went away impressed.
“I told the kids to keep their heads up because there’s nothing to be ashamed of after today’s game,” he said. “GBN is a very good team and we played them hard. They’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs for whoever has to play them. I hope the draw is kind to us and we avoid them.”
With strength at the defensive end and ability to finish from distance, the Spartans hope to be a factor in late October – and before that.
“I think it really brought our confidence up the last game after we won,” Arner said. “And now we’re back on a winning streak.”
Thursday’s pregame delay was another frustrating reminder of recent events that tested Glenbook North's patience.
“Last week we basically had the whole week off from games because of weather,” Golde said. “I just think it was good for us to get our minds back from last week. Now we’re back and focused and ready to go.”
After enduring a three-game winless streak, the Spartans are healthy again and confident.
“We struggled, but now we’ve won our first two conference games,” Grossman said. “It’s a perfect time to get back on track.”
Starting lineups
Glenbrook North
GK- Ian Albert
D- Evan Goldberg
D- Seth Grossman
D- Mason Rose
D- Jackson Grabill
MF- Andrew Kwolek
MF- Ryan Golde
MF- Tommy Arner
MF- Allan Dontsis
F- Alex Kahn
F- Kamil Barabas
Niles North
GK- Zac Sward
D- Alem Zukancic
D- Niko Torres
D- Juan Vargas
D- Will Alfaro
MF- Mark Regalado
MF- Chris Patino
MF- Ricky Torres
MF- Ben Antlept
F- Matt Naranjo
F- George Beto
Man of the Match: Seth Grossman, D, Glenbrook North