Naperville Central and
Lake Park come up empty
Scoreless defensive battle leaves DVC wide open
By Chris Walker
ROSELLE -- Year in and year out, you won’t find a more competitive conference for boys high school soccer than the DuPage Valley Conference.
That’s probably why its winners celebrate, and don’t take for granted, conference championships each fall. It takes a very special season to stand alone atop the DVC standings.
It hasn’t taken long for Lake Park, which joined the conference last season, to get acclimated to what makes DVC soccer so special, especially since they’ve been able to enjoy some success.
The Lancers hosted Naperville Central on Tuesday night for the first time since the Redhawks beat them, 2-1, in the Class 3A third-place game.
While that victory was a good one for the Redhawks to finish their 2013 campaign, one could argue that their 2-1 loss to Lake Park last year on Senior Night was a more significant game because it helped the Lancers win the DVC. Plus, there are many who believe the third-place state game is more of a consolation for teams, especially since they have to bounce back less than 24 hours after the disappointment of a loss in the state semifinals and a missed opportunity to play for a state championship.
Nonetheless, and with that brief history from a year ago, the two teams tangled for 100 minutes on Tuesday in Roselle, yet nothing was settled. Neither team could get a bounce to go their way nor take advantage of any of each other’s miscues as they tiredly walked off the field after a hard-fought and physical 0-0 game.
No doubt about it, both teams had their chances.
“I thought we had the better opportunities if you look at the whole game,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “We couldn’t find a way to put the ball in the goal. We’re at a point right now where we can’t produce the number of goals we need to produce a win.”
The Redhawks hit the post in the first half, and that was certainly one of their best opportunities to take a lead, but they also sent several shots right at Lake Park goalkeeper Michael Jasiak or into his general neighborhood where he was able to safely handle them.
“I just went with my first instinct, which was to reach and react,” he said. “I made a few key saves and it helped save the game, but we also had a few chances that we should’ve put away but couldn’t.”
Hearing the gasping for air and then exhaling for relief from the fans after one of his many saves was something that Jasiak, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match, had hoped would inspire his midfield and forwards to lift the team.
“The fans got really loud after some of the saves, especially if we then got the ball in the attacking third,” he said. “They seemed to feed off of it, so we just pushed as hard as we could.”
When a scoreless game makes it way toward the final lap -- let’s say the final 10 minutes -- fatigue and desperation also become part of the equation. That was no different, as both teams exchanged a fair share of near-misses. Naperville Central undoubtedly applied more offensive pressure during that final lap.
Lake Park had a corner kick with 10:28 remaining that rattled around inside the center of the box, but no Lancer was able to collect it and send a shot on goal before it was sent 180 degrees the other way.
Jordi McCormack blasted a 30-yard liner for Naperville Central that rose and just landed wide left with 7:08 on the clock.
A miscommunication by Naperville Central’s defenders and goalkeeper Joseph Kallikadan almost allowed a bounding ball to find the net with 6:21 left, but Kallikadan was able to respond in the brink of time to deny it.
Jordi Heeneman secured possession right in the front of the net for Naperville Central with 5:46 remaining, but his quick shot went in the worst direction -- right at Jasiak’s chest -- and was vacuumed in.
Sheehan got another great chance with just under three minutes remaining. His header was batted away by Jasiak, but McCormack collected the rebound and quickly sent in another shot. Once again, Jasiak was there to make the stop.
“He played a phenomenal game and kept us in it,” Lancers coach Anthony Passi said. “Our back line held their ground. They were strong.”
Passi praised the play of his back line. While they’re an undersized unit -- four of the five guys in back are no taller than 5-foot-9 -- they didn’t back down from the bigger Redhawks.
“They really battled, and it wasn’t easy,” Passi said. “Our back line held their ground. They were strong.”
At 6-1 and 185 pounds, Lake Park senior defender Miguel Ramirez almost looks giant-like working alongside Josh Solarez (5-7), Lorenzo Mariana (5-7) Franco Mariana (5-8) and Brody Thompson (5-9), none of whom weighs more than 145 pounds.
“They were more physical than us and had way more size, but we kept working hard on getting balls in the air,” Ramirez said. “Lorenzo is a small kid, but he didn’t back down. We all worked hard and we were able to stay compact in back.”
While the game goes down as a tie, you could argue that Lake Park escaped without defeat, while Naperville Central took the bus ride home with nothing more than a draw. It’s hard to not look at it that way because the Redhawks had far more scoring chances.
“We had our chances and we were getting a lot more pressure up high than they were,” Naperville Central senior Riley Guttosch said. “We had the ball in the box a lot, but couldn’t find that final touch. We just hit too many shots right at the goalie, and unfortunately it was one of those days where we just couldn’t find one and couldn’t finish.”
Of course, you also could argue that Naperville Central was able to flee without a loss. Lake Park forward Oliver Horgan came inches away from scoring midway through the second overtime.
Horgan broke free and fired a shot that was magnetized by the right post. The ball caromed back in his direction, but Kallikadan smothered it.
It was the Lancers' best opportunity all evening.
“I thought I had it,” Horgan said. “We knew we weren’t going to have many chances, so we had to put away any chance we got. That was my best one, and I just missed it.”
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
GK: Joseph Kallikadan
D: Sean Flading
D: Griffin Geisler
MF: Noah Canlas
MF: Nick Coon
MF: Riley Guttosch
MF: Noah Hey
MF: Jordi McCormack
F: Ethan Mohr
F: Jordi Heeneman
F: Daniel Poole
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
Man of the Match: Michael Jasiak
Officials: (refused to give their names)
Lake Park come up empty
Scoreless defensive battle leaves DVC wide open
By Chris Walker
ROSELLE -- Year in and year out, you won’t find a more competitive conference for boys high school soccer than the DuPage Valley Conference.
That’s probably why its winners celebrate, and don’t take for granted, conference championships each fall. It takes a very special season to stand alone atop the DVC standings.
It hasn’t taken long for Lake Park, which joined the conference last season, to get acclimated to what makes DVC soccer so special, especially since they’ve been able to enjoy some success.
The Lancers hosted Naperville Central on Tuesday night for the first time since the Redhawks beat them, 2-1, in the Class 3A third-place game.
While that victory was a good one for the Redhawks to finish their 2013 campaign, one could argue that their 2-1 loss to Lake Park last year on Senior Night was a more significant game because it helped the Lancers win the DVC. Plus, there are many who believe the third-place state game is more of a consolation for teams, especially since they have to bounce back less than 24 hours after the disappointment of a loss in the state semifinals and a missed opportunity to play for a state championship.
Nonetheless, and with that brief history from a year ago, the two teams tangled for 100 minutes on Tuesday in Roselle, yet nothing was settled. Neither team could get a bounce to go their way nor take advantage of any of each other’s miscues as they tiredly walked off the field after a hard-fought and physical 0-0 game.
No doubt about it, both teams had their chances.
“I thought we had the better opportunities if you look at the whole game,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “We couldn’t find a way to put the ball in the goal. We’re at a point right now where we can’t produce the number of goals we need to produce a win.”
The Redhawks hit the post in the first half, and that was certainly one of their best opportunities to take a lead, but they also sent several shots right at Lake Park goalkeeper Michael Jasiak or into his general neighborhood where he was able to safely handle them.
“I just went with my first instinct, which was to reach and react,” he said. “I made a few key saves and it helped save the game, but we also had a few chances that we should’ve put away but couldn’t.”
Hearing the gasping for air and then exhaling for relief from the fans after one of his many saves was something that Jasiak, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match, had hoped would inspire his midfield and forwards to lift the team.
“The fans got really loud after some of the saves, especially if we then got the ball in the attacking third,” he said. “They seemed to feed off of it, so we just pushed as hard as we could.”
When a scoreless game makes it way toward the final lap -- let’s say the final 10 minutes -- fatigue and desperation also become part of the equation. That was no different, as both teams exchanged a fair share of near-misses. Naperville Central undoubtedly applied more offensive pressure during that final lap.
Lake Park had a corner kick with 10:28 remaining that rattled around inside the center of the box, but no Lancer was able to collect it and send a shot on goal before it was sent 180 degrees the other way.
Jordi McCormack blasted a 30-yard liner for Naperville Central that rose and just landed wide left with 7:08 on the clock.
A miscommunication by Naperville Central’s defenders and goalkeeper Joseph Kallikadan almost allowed a bounding ball to find the net with 6:21 left, but Kallikadan was able to respond in the brink of time to deny it.
Jordi Heeneman secured possession right in the front of the net for Naperville Central with 5:46 remaining, but his quick shot went in the worst direction -- right at Jasiak’s chest -- and was vacuumed in.
Sheehan got another great chance with just under three minutes remaining. His header was batted away by Jasiak, but McCormack collected the rebound and quickly sent in another shot. Once again, Jasiak was there to make the stop.
“He played a phenomenal game and kept us in it,” Lancers coach Anthony Passi said. “Our back line held their ground. They were strong.”
Passi praised the play of his back line. While they’re an undersized unit -- four of the five guys in back are no taller than 5-foot-9 -- they didn’t back down from the bigger Redhawks.
“They really battled, and it wasn’t easy,” Passi said. “Our back line held their ground. They were strong.”
At 6-1 and 185 pounds, Lake Park senior defender Miguel Ramirez almost looks giant-like working alongside Josh Solarez (5-7), Lorenzo Mariana (5-7) Franco Mariana (5-8) and Brody Thompson (5-9), none of whom weighs more than 145 pounds.
“They were more physical than us and had way more size, but we kept working hard on getting balls in the air,” Ramirez said. “Lorenzo is a small kid, but he didn’t back down. We all worked hard and we were able to stay compact in back.”
While the game goes down as a tie, you could argue that Lake Park escaped without defeat, while Naperville Central took the bus ride home with nothing more than a draw. It’s hard to not look at it that way because the Redhawks had far more scoring chances.
“We had our chances and we were getting a lot more pressure up high than they were,” Naperville Central senior Riley Guttosch said. “We had the ball in the box a lot, but couldn’t find that final touch. We just hit too many shots right at the goalie, and unfortunately it was one of those days where we just couldn’t find one and couldn’t finish.”
Of course, you also could argue that Naperville Central was able to flee without a loss. Lake Park forward Oliver Horgan came inches away from scoring midway through the second overtime.
Horgan broke free and fired a shot that was magnetized by the right post. The ball caromed back in his direction, but Kallikadan smothered it.
It was the Lancers' best opportunity all evening.
“I thought I had it,” Horgan said. “We knew we weren’t going to have many chances, so we had to put away any chance we got. That was my best one, and I just missed it.”
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
GK: Joseph Kallikadan
D: Sean Flading
D: Griffin Geisler
MF: Noah Canlas
MF: Nick Coon
MF: Riley Guttosch
MF: Noah Hey
MF: Jordi McCormack
F: Ethan Mohr
F: Jordi Heeneman
F: Daniel Poole
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
Man of the Match: Michael Jasiak
Officials: (refused to give their names)