Lake Park strikes before lightning
Lancers double up Wheaton Warrenville South, 4-2
By Chris Walker
WHEATON – Lake Park hadn’t allowed a single goal in its three DuPage Valley Conference games as it headed into Thursday’s game against Wheaton Warrenville South.
The Lancers had also only scored once during those three games, so while their defense had been greedy, their offense had also stalled.
Things changed quite a bit on Thursday.
Lake Park gave up two goals, but also had a big night on offense, connecting four times in a 4-2 victory.
The game was suspended because of lightning with 11:53 remaining in the second half. Rather than wait 30 minutes after each lightning strike to resume the action, the officials convened briefly and ruled the game complete.
“The boys did a really good job, especially after halftime,” Lake Park assistant coach Chris Fruehling said. “They got better as the game went on, especially working better together in the second half.”
Fruehling inherited lead coaching duties as head coach Anthony Passi sat out a red-card suspension.
Lake Park (12-1-4, 2-0-2) struck first when senior Kris Lopez connected from 18 yards away with 11:41 remaining in the first half. He secured the ball right at the top of the penalty box, turned and sent a liner into the back of the net.
Wheaton Warrenville South (5-9-1, 0-3-0) responded right back with 9:51 left
when sophomore Charlie Kerby was simply trying to make something happen for his teammates.
Kerby sent a high lofting pass toward the back of the penalty area, and it kept carrying so much that Lake Park goalkeeper Michael Jasiak had to save it. Jasiak appeared to either slip a bit or mistime his jump to make the save. The ball slipped out of his hands and found a home in the back of the net.
It was the first time in four games that Jasiak and the Lancers have allowed a foe to score in DVC play.
“I just wanted to try to get something in the box and take advantage of our size,” Kerby said. “We had an advantage there, but I didn’t think it would go in. It’s not very common to get a goal like that.”
Such a surprise led to momentum for the Tigers. One could argue that they controlled the remainder of the half, earning a pair of corner kicks and getting a great shot on goal from Daniel Hynes in the final minute of the half.
“It definitely raised our spirits and helped us play well,” Kerby said. “I just think fatigue caught up with us in the second half. They had fast forwards and kept pushing hard all the way. We kept playing hard, but they made the bigger plays.”
Lake Park broke the tie with a pair of second-half goals from Oliver Horgan.
Ricky Claudio, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match for helping set up Horgan for such great scoring chances, assisted on both of Horgan’s goals.
“We’ve got great chemistry and know what each other is going to do so well,” Horgan said. “We found some gaps in the second half and took advantage of those openings. We possessed well and were able to find out what worked best for us.”
After playing scoreless soccer against Naperville Central for 100 minutes on Tuesday, the Lancers were still feeling drained Thursday.
“It was tough to come back after that game, but we knew we had to come out and forget about that and move forward,” Claudio said. “I think we played very well in the second half, and that was the difference.”
Horgan’s second goal came with 26:11 remaining to give the Lancers a 3-1 cushion, but Wheaton Warrenville South’s Elliot Kettle responded less than a minute later, slamming in a shot from 25 yards out to make it 3-2.
The Tigers just weren’t done yet.
“We kept battling hard, but they made more plays,” Kettle said. “Overall it was a good match against a good team, and I like how we kept fighting. I thought we played really well at times and maybe just got a little unlucky at times.”
Their inability to stop the Lancers in the final third of the field was crucial.
“They really turned us inside out,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said. “Our first defender was no longer the first guy, and then they found the opening. Their first two goals were off of rebounds, and we need to do a better job of stopping that.”
Starting lineups
Lake Park
GK: Michael Jasiak
D: Franco Mariani
D: Miguel Ramirez
D: Josh Solarz
D: Brody Thompson
MF: Ricky Claudio
MF: Kris Lopez
MF: Lorenzo Mariani
MF: Anthony Passi
MF: Michael Passi
F: Oliver Horgan
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Adam Mrzlak
D: Luis Cruz
D: Ian Daniel
D: Charlie Kerby
D: Chris Stamatopoulos
MF: Anthony Berardi
MF: Mark Crisostomo
MF: Haris Hadzic
MF: Danny Jimenez
MF: Elliot Kettle
D: Darby Anderson
Man of the Match: Ricky Claudio, Lake Park
Lancers double up Wheaton Warrenville South, 4-2
By Chris Walker
WHEATON – Lake Park hadn’t allowed a single goal in its three DuPage Valley Conference games as it headed into Thursday’s game against Wheaton Warrenville South.
The Lancers had also only scored once during those three games, so while their defense had been greedy, their offense had also stalled.
Things changed quite a bit on Thursday.
Lake Park gave up two goals, but also had a big night on offense, connecting four times in a 4-2 victory.
The game was suspended because of lightning with 11:53 remaining in the second half. Rather than wait 30 minutes after each lightning strike to resume the action, the officials convened briefly and ruled the game complete.
“The boys did a really good job, especially after halftime,” Lake Park assistant coach Chris Fruehling said. “They got better as the game went on, especially working better together in the second half.”
Fruehling inherited lead coaching duties as head coach Anthony Passi sat out a red-card suspension.
Lake Park (12-1-4, 2-0-2) struck first when senior Kris Lopez connected from 18 yards away with 11:41 remaining in the first half. He secured the ball right at the top of the penalty box, turned and sent a liner into the back of the net.
Wheaton Warrenville South (5-9-1, 0-3-0) responded right back with 9:51 left
when sophomore Charlie Kerby was simply trying to make something happen for his teammates.
Kerby sent a high lofting pass toward the back of the penalty area, and it kept carrying so much that Lake Park goalkeeper Michael Jasiak had to save it. Jasiak appeared to either slip a bit or mistime his jump to make the save. The ball slipped out of his hands and found a home in the back of the net.
It was the first time in four games that Jasiak and the Lancers have allowed a foe to score in DVC play.
“I just wanted to try to get something in the box and take advantage of our size,” Kerby said. “We had an advantage there, but I didn’t think it would go in. It’s not very common to get a goal like that.”
Such a surprise led to momentum for the Tigers. One could argue that they controlled the remainder of the half, earning a pair of corner kicks and getting a great shot on goal from Daniel Hynes in the final minute of the half.
“It definitely raised our spirits and helped us play well,” Kerby said. “I just think fatigue caught up with us in the second half. They had fast forwards and kept pushing hard all the way. We kept playing hard, but they made the bigger plays.”
Lake Park broke the tie with a pair of second-half goals from Oliver Horgan.
Ricky Claudio, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match for helping set up Horgan for such great scoring chances, assisted on both of Horgan’s goals.
“We’ve got great chemistry and know what each other is going to do so well,” Horgan said. “We found some gaps in the second half and took advantage of those openings. We possessed well and were able to find out what worked best for us.”
After playing scoreless soccer against Naperville Central for 100 minutes on Tuesday, the Lancers were still feeling drained Thursday.
“It was tough to come back after that game, but we knew we had to come out and forget about that and move forward,” Claudio said. “I think we played very well in the second half, and that was the difference.”
Horgan’s second goal came with 26:11 remaining to give the Lancers a 3-1 cushion, but Wheaton Warrenville South’s Elliot Kettle responded less than a minute later, slamming in a shot from 25 yards out to make it 3-2.
The Tigers just weren’t done yet.
“We kept battling hard, but they made more plays,” Kettle said. “Overall it was a good match against a good team, and I like how we kept fighting. I thought we played really well at times and maybe just got a little unlucky at times.”
Their inability to stop the Lancers in the final third of the field was crucial.
“They really turned us inside out,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said. “Our first defender was no longer the first guy, and then they found the opening. Their first two goals were off of rebounds, and we need to do a better job of stopping that.”
Starting lineups
Lake Park
GK: Michael Jasiak
D: Franco Mariani
D: Miguel Ramirez
D: Josh Solarz
D: Brody Thompson
MF: Ricky Claudio
MF: Kris Lopez
MF: Lorenzo Mariani
MF: Anthony Passi
MF: Michael Passi
F: Oliver Horgan
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Adam Mrzlak
D: Luis Cruz
D: Ian Daniel
D: Charlie Kerby
D: Chris Stamatopoulos
MF: Anthony Berardi
MF: Mark Crisostomo
MF: Haris Hadzic
MF: Danny Jimenez
MF: Elliot Kettle
D: Darby Anderson
Man of the Match: Ricky Claudio, Lake Park