Romp at "The Swamp"
Crystal Lake South blasts Hononegah on Senior Day
By Dave Surico
CRYSTAL LAKE -- Crystal Lake South's sports teams are nicknamed the Gators and the moniker may never have been more fitting than Wednesday. On a field, nicknamed The Swamp, that more than lived up to its billing, the hosts bogged down Hononegah 8-0 on a Senior Day the Class of '15 will never forget.
The hosts muddied up their white uniforms as they slogged through the first 23 minutes without a goal. That didn't last another minute.
It was then their coaches' words appeared to sink in.
"We've been preaching final third for the last 1 1/2 weeks," coach Brian Allen said. "That's been an area that where we've had chances to extend leads of 1- and 2-0 and just havent done it. We challenged the guys today, and they responded in a big way."
Playing in the mudhole that was the south goal, Indians' goalkeeper Drew Hasse could no longer rely on goalie gloves that were slickened by the slop. That contributed to the host's icebreaker, a hard Charlie Ruff shot that slipped off the hands of Hasse and into the goal in the 24th minute.
After Hononegah defenders Matthew Baade and Alex Carey blocked shots, the Indians crossed midfield and received a 40-yard Carey's restart that Gator goalie Dalton Kause easily handled. It was the visitor's last shot of the game.
A minute later Crystal Lake South freshman Nikolas Getzinger started one of the prettiest combinations of the game. From midfield he headed a ball to Ruff on the left half of the field. Getzinger made a run down the middle and received a return pass and slotted that to sophomore Andrew Grabowski for an easy finish in the 27th minute.
Grabowski doubled his pleasure four minutes later when senior Hononegah's Hasse again couldn't grasp a hard shot, this time Orlando Tapia's blast from 15 yards. That left a rebound opportunity that the keeper appeared to be running in place trying to get to. Grabowski buried the easy chance for a 3-0 lead.
Ben Nyman's blast from 40-yards was stopped but rolled off the keeper's hands again for a 4-0 edge at 34 minutes.
The next goal in the scoring parade came after Stefan Harris was taken down from behind in the box a minute later. Prior to his penalty kick attempt, he conversed with Tapia.
"He was trying to help me out. The kid made a good save," Harris said. "I did not listen to him (Tapia); I probably should have."
Getzinger made up for the miss when he glided in from the back and punched home the short rebound.
The pair combined again on a give-and-go that the freshman gave and received for the final tally of the six-goal first half with only 10 seconds left.
And it could have been much worse if not for Hasse's yeoman job in impossible conditions. He was credited with 13 saves in the first half.
"I enjoy these games because you get a lot of action, but at the same time they're all over you so they're scoring a lot of goals," he said. "After the first 10 minutes it was really hard to grip the ball so i just had to punch it out. We had a game last night and our field was really muddy, but this was a lot muddier."
Harris, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match finally got to reap the rewards he earned with his solid work rate. In the 42nd minute Harris saw his hard work pay off in the scoring column after a long pass from Jake Canfield that halved the remaining game time to 19 minutes. He scored again in the 50th minute after help from Julio Campos.
Initially, the state of his kit made it hard to give him credit. The entire back of his jersey was caked in mud, making his number unreadable.
"I did have a very big fall right on my back. I went up for a header and went down right in the mud ... just lost my balance," said Harris, who had three assists to go along with his pair of goals. "We had a slow start. After we got a few we started rolling. It was a team effort all the way around."
Getzinger also had a strong game with two goals and an assist. The active midfielder no longer plays like a freshman.
"I went in the game thinking it was the senior game and a freshman is not going to get a lot of playing time. I wanted to go in and try to play some good soccer for myself," he said.
"(In) the beginning I was the freshman that nobody knew. Now I get along with everybody, and our team chemistry is just really, really, really good in the middle. And I think that's how we score almost all of our goals -- through the middle -- and me being a part of that is kind of special."
Crystal Lake South coach Brian Allen, resplendent in his traditional Senior Day garb of a suit and soccer tie, gave each of his seniors their final home moment in the spotlight as he subbed them out of the game. Ruff got the first curtain call; his teammates stood in a line at the scorer's table clapping and waiting to congratulate him. They did the same for Tapia, Campos, Ryan Russman, Nyman, Harris, Kause and defender and co-captain Andrew Perrine.
"Anything we can do to recognize them, and give them the proper respect that they deserve," Allen said. "High school soccer for them is something that's special and anything that we can add to their memories we want to be able to do that."
The Gators head into their Tuesday game with regional host Jacobs with a 15-5-1 record and as winners in 8-of-their-last-9 games.
The victory Wednesday was Crystal Lake South's second of the season over Hononegah. The first came via a 2-0 decision in the visitor's tournament in September.
The game was a complete washout for the Indians (3-15-1). After a satisfying 2-1 win over Guilford on their Senior Night on Tuesday, the Indians were as flat as a mud pancake.
"This is our worst loss this year," said coach Vee Jevremovic. "They're a good team. We both played under the same conditions, and our team just didn't show up. It's sad, and it's embarassing a little bit. It's the worst loss we probably suffered in six years.
"I apologized to Brian. This isn't what our team is like. Glad it worked out for him on Senior Day to get everybody in. We've got some explaining to do and work to do as a team."
The Indians host Auburn in a state tournament play-in game Friday.
Besides Hasse there was another bright spot for Hononegah. While many participants in the game had big days, none of them made the big play that people were still talking about after the game.
That honor went to Hononegah junior Luis Ortega. Crystal Lake South looked like it had its first goal in the 15th minute. But seemingly coming from nowhere, Ortega went airborne and cleared the ball off the line with a bicycle kick that drew the loudest "oooooh" heard from a crowd this season.
Sure hope somebody got a video of that.
Starting lineups
Hononegah
GK: Drew Hasse
D: Matthew Baade
D: Erik Swanberg
D: Wyatt Reid
MF: Jared Lund
MF: Alex Carey
MF: Jack Callahan
MF: Brennan Nolting
MF: Albert Pipitone
F: Luis Ortega
F: Rudy Reynolds
Crystal Lake South
GK: Dalton Kause
D: Kennan Grissom
D: Jacob Canfield
D: Andrew Perrine
D: Jeff Kirschenbaum
MF: Ryan Russmann
MF: Orlando Tapia
MF: Charlie Ruff
MF: Julio Campos
MF: Ben Nyman
F: Stefan Harris
Man of the Match: Stefan Harris, Crystal Lake South
Officials: Kevin Brophy (center); Richard Quathamer; Steve Sobey.
Crystal Lake South blasts Hononegah on Senior Day
By Dave Surico
CRYSTAL LAKE -- Crystal Lake South's sports teams are nicknamed the Gators and the moniker may never have been more fitting than Wednesday. On a field, nicknamed The Swamp, that more than lived up to its billing, the hosts bogged down Hononegah 8-0 on a Senior Day the Class of '15 will never forget.
The hosts muddied up their white uniforms as they slogged through the first 23 minutes without a goal. That didn't last another minute.
It was then their coaches' words appeared to sink in.
"We've been preaching final third for the last 1 1/2 weeks," coach Brian Allen said. "That's been an area that where we've had chances to extend leads of 1- and 2-0 and just havent done it. We challenged the guys today, and they responded in a big way."
Playing in the mudhole that was the south goal, Indians' goalkeeper Drew Hasse could no longer rely on goalie gloves that were slickened by the slop. That contributed to the host's icebreaker, a hard Charlie Ruff shot that slipped off the hands of Hasse and into the goal in the 24th minute.
After Hononegah defenders Matthew Baade and Alex Carey blocked shots, the Indians crossed midfield and received a 40-yard Carey's restart that Gator goalie Dalton Kause easily handled. It was the visitor's last shot of the game.
A minute later Crystal Lake South freshman Nikolas Getzinger started one of the prettiest combinations of the game. From midfield he headed a ball to Ruff on the left half of the field. Getzinger made a run down the middle and received a return pass and slotted that to sophomore Andrew Grabowski for an easy finish in the 27th minute.
Grabowski doubled his pleasure four minutes later when senior Hononegah's Hasse again couldn't grasp a hard shot, this time Orlando Tapia's blast from 15 yards. That left a rebound opportunity that the keeper appeared to be running in place trying to get to. Grabowski buried the easy chance for a 3-0 lead.
Ben Nyman's blast from 40-yards was stopped but rolled off the keeper's hands again for a 4-0 edge at 34 minutes.
The next goal in the scoring parade came after Stefan Harris was taken down from behind in the box a minute later. Prior to his penalty kick attempt, he conversed with Tapia.
"He was trying to help me out. The kid made a good save," Harris said. "I did not listen to him (Tapia); I probably should have."
Getzinger made up for the miss when he glided in from the back and punched home the short rebound.
The pair combined again on a give-and-go that the freshman gave and received for the final tally of the six-goal first half with only 10 seconds left.
And it could have been much worse if not for Hasse's yeoman job in impossible conditions. He was credited with 13 saves in the first half.
"I enjoy these games because you get a lot of action, but at the same time they're all over you so they're scoring a lot of goals," he said. "After the first 10 minutes it was really hard to grip the ball so i just had to punch it out. We had a game last night and our field was really muddy, but this was a lot muddier."
Harris, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match finally got to reap the rewards he earned with his solid work rate. In the 42nd minute Harris saw his hard work pay off in the scoring column after a long pass from Jake Canfield that halved the remaining game time to 19 minutes. He scored again in the 50th minute after help from Julio Campos.
Initially, the state of his kit made it hard to give him credit. The entire back of his jersey was caked in mud, making his number unreadable.
"I did have a very big fall right on my back. I went up for a header and went down right in the mud ... just lost my balance," said Harris, who had three assists to go along with his pair of goals. "We had a slow start. After we got a few we started rolling. It was a team effort all the way around."
Getzinger also had a strong game with two goals and an assist. The active midfielder no longer plays like a freshman.
"I went in the game thinking it was the senior game and a freshman is not going to get a lot of playing time. I wanted to go in and try to play some good soccer for myself," he said.
"(In) the beginning I was the freshman that nobody knew. Now I get along with everybody, and our team chemistry is just really, really, really good in the middle. And I think that's how we score almost all of our goals -- through the middle -- and me being a part of that is kind of special."
Crystal Lake South coach Brian Allen, resplendent in his traditional Senior Day garb of a suit and soccer tie, gave each of his seniors their final home moment in the spotlight as he subbed them out of the game. Ruff got the first curtain call; his teammates stood in a line at the scorer's table clapping and waiting to congratulate him. They did the same for Tapia, Campos, Ryan Russman, Nyman, Harris, Kause and defender and co-captain Andrew Perrine.
"Anything we can do to recognize them, and give them the proper respect that they deserve," Allen said. "High school soccer for them is something that's special and anything that we can add to their memories we want to be able to do that."
The Gators head into their Tuesday game with regional host Jacobs with a 15-5-1 record and as winners in 8-of-their-last-9 games.
The victory Wednesday was Crystal Lake South's second of the season over Hononegah. The first came via a 2-0 decision in the visitor's tournament in September.
The game was a complete washout for the Indians (3-15-1). After a satisfying 2-1 win over Guilford on their Senior Night on Tuesday, the Indians were as flat as a mud pancake.
"This is our worst loss this year," said coach Vee Jevremovic. "They're a good team. We both played under the same conditions, and our team just didn't show up. It's sad, and it's embarassing a little bit. It's the worst loss we probably suffered in six years.
"I apologized to Brian. This isn't what our team is like. Glad it worked out for him on Senior Day to get everybody in. We've got some explaining to do and work to do as a team."
The Indians host Auburn in a state tournament play-in game Friday.
Besides Hasse there was another bright spot for Hononegah. While many participants in the game had big days, none of them made the big play that people were still talking about after the game.
That honor went to Hononegah junior Luis Ortega. Crystal Lake South looked like it had its first goal in the 15th minute. But seemingly coming from nowhere, Ortega went airborne and cleared the ball off the line with a bicycle kick that drew the loudest "oooooh" heard from a crowd this season.
Sure hope somebody got a video of that.
Starting lineups
Hononegah
GK: Drew Hasse
D: Matthew Baade
D: Erik Swanberg
D: Wyatt Reid
MF: Jared Lund
MF: Alex Carey
MF: Jack Callahan
MF: Brennan Nolting
MF: Albert Pipitone
F: Luis Ortega
F: Rudy Reynolds
Crystal Lake South
GK: Dalton Kause
D: Kennan Grissom
D: Jacob Canfield
D: Andrew Perrine
D: Jeff Kirschenbaum
MF: Ryan Russmann
MF: Orlando Tapia
MF: Charlie Ruff
MF: Julio Campos
MF: Ben Nyman
F: Stefan Harris
Man of the Match: Stefan Harris, Crystal Lake South
Officials: Kevin Brophy (center); Richard Quathamer; Steve Sobey.