Unbeaten St. Charles East charges forward
Tops Buffalo Grove 4-0 in New Trier tournament
By Dave Owen
WINNETKA- Endless waves of pressure helped St. Charles East continue its early-season offensive surge Wednesday with a 4-0 win over Buffalo Grove in the second round of the New Trier tournament.
And while Saints’ coach Paul Jennison saw room to improve on his team’s performance, Buffalo Grove senior midfielder Zach Masciopinto offered a strong endorsement of St. Charles East’s talents.
“I’m in the middle of the field, I take two touches and they’re already collapsing on me,” Masciopinto said. “They’re very physical and very quick. If you make a mistake, they’re on you right away.
“You have to play two-touch soccer, and you can’t panic. If you do panic, you’ll get eaten up, and they’ll take advantage of it.”
The Saints (4-0) were on the attack from the opening faceoff. Big defensive plays by Buffalo Grove’s Ryan Drum and Connor Reid denied threats in the first 90 seconds by Tyler Robbins and Zach Manibog, respectively.
The third challenge was devastating to the Bison (2-2) – Taylor Ortiz’s cross from the right side deflected off a defender attempting to clear the ball, sailing high into the air and inside the upper right corner of the net for an own goal and a 1-0 St. Charles East lead.
The Saints were lucky on that 3rd-minute goal, but their offense didn't need any help the rest of the way.
Manibog and Robbins each had three excellent chances repelled in the next 25 minutes. Then late first half goals by Collin Sheehan (off an Ortiz assist in the 28th minute) and Claudio Difruscolo put the Saints in command at 3-0.
Sheehan nicely turned inside a defender and lined a low, 12-yard shot into the net. Difruscolo’s effort summed up the Saints’ relentless effort – he stormed the net to pound home a rebound after Jared Brown’s initial shot was stopped by Buffalo Grove goalkeeper Connor May.
“It was a lucky rebound, but I’ll take it,” Difruscolo said.
To the senior, the Saints’ staggering total of 21 goals in four games this season has been the reward for preparation.
“It’s the hard work we put in practice, and we just keep going forward from there,” Difruscolo said. “It’s just a lot of work on the ball, a lot of touches, getting a lot of movement and pressure, things like that to improve our game.”
The Saints’ final goal 9 minutes into the second half came on a great individual effort by Evan DiLeonardi. Fielding the ball 12 yards from the net, he fought off a defender and sent a low shot inside the left post.
“I got it, took a touch by a guy, and I slipped a little bit on my shot but it rolled past the keeper,” DiLeonardi said.
The standout 6-foot-2 midfielder was on solid footing when assessing the value of the Saints’ long trip to New Trier for the talent-rich tournament.
“I think this is really good,” DiLeonardi said. “Last year we were undefeated in the regular season but may not have played the best competition. So the playoffs came around and we weren’t ready for a close game (falling 1-0 at sectionals to Lake Park).
“This year we’re trying to get some big teams in, so we see what it’s like to have a battle and we’re not surprised during playoffs when we meet those teams.”
DiLeonardi was selected the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, an honor that could have just as easily gone to Ortiz, Robbins or five other Saints.
That team balance isn’t lost on St. Charles East coach Paul Jennison.
“Every game this season all 22 guys have played, and there really isn’t any drop off whatsoever,” Jennison said. “Every guy on the squad has a chance to start on a different day.”
Every player is also motivated to push the attack upfield. Even goalkeeper Steven Owens quickly ignited the transition with long throws upfield after he fielded the ball – twice leading to quality shots on goal.
“We’re all about getting all 11 guys involved in the attack,” said Saints’ defender Ryan Stackhouse, who made two nice defensive plays in the final third to deny Bison chances. “It’s getting the fullbacks up, the center backs high, and really pressing the other team and not giving them a chance to get out (of their half).
“But everyone’s defending. The forwards, the front line: everyone’s pressing and making it hard on them.”
A tough critic
While happy with the win and his team’s strong start to 2014, Jennison keeps high standards.
“Myself and the lads are well aware that wasn’t our best performance,” Jennison said. “We forced way too many balls, we really didn’t execute in the direct areas, and I thought defensively we broke down on three or four occasions. These are things we need to clean up.
“At the end of the day we’re happy with the score line, but the performance wasn’t the best. The way we’ve been playing it was maybe expected we’d drop off slightly, but we did still have enough strength and depth to stay on the right side of the score line.”
DiLeonardi agreed about the sometimes flawed play.
“We were pretty rough early in the first half, but we picked it up a little,” DiLeonardi said. “It wasn’t our best game. We’re still working on it – it’s the fourth game of the season so there’s a ways to go before playoff time.”
Told that would be very bad news for any opponent that faces the Saints at their best, DiLeonardi smiled.
“That’s what I’m hoping,” he said.
Buffalo Grove battles
After facing powerful New Trier on Monday, Buffalo Grove had another elite opponent across the line 48 hours later.
That’s just how coach Rick Carlson likes it – the Bison played their best soccer of the year late last year to reach the sectional finals, and hope tests like the New Trier tournament to lay the foundation for a repeat.
“That’s why we came to this tournament, to play quality teams,” Carlson said. “We’ll play two of the best teams in the state back-to-back, and that’s fine with us.
“We need to be able to respond. We don’t want to play these teams when it comes close to tournament time and have to make adjustments late in the season. We want to play good teams early, and if that means we get our butts kicked early, we’ll figure things out. And we have kids that can do that.”
The Bison withstood the Saints’ charge impressively for much of the first half. Brendan Carr’s nice block of a Robbins chance in front kept the score 1-0 in the 24th minute.
Two minutes later, Buffalo Grove had a great chance to tie the game but was denied when Masciopinto’s point-blank header off a long Hans Haller throw-in was caught by Saints’ goalkeeper Owens.
“I like the long throws because I can get my head on a lot of them,” Masciopinto said. “Corner kicks and long throws – taking advantage of them is something we like to do.”
Haller later had a nice block of a dangerous cross deep into the box by the Saints’ Brown, and sophomore Colin Dekorsi (shot just wide in the 16th minute) and Christian Miguel generated good scoring chances as well.
“We have guys that are warriors like Zach and Hans,” Carlson said, “who will continue to give whatever they have. I’m not disappointed in that, but we have to have a collective effort.
“We needed to have more energy, and they (St. Charles East) took advantage of that,” Carlson added. “We let them control the game. I won’t accept our energy level today, regardless of who we’re playing. Against New Trier, they hung four on us but we had good energy and scored two goals. We did not have that same energy today.”
But there’s a big silver lining to the tournament challenges.
“It’s definitely good to get some exposure to these highly ranked teams early in the year,” Masciopinto said. “We did it a couple of years ago at the Highland Park tournament, and I think it’s good for us to see what we’re up against.”
Wednesday’s opposing coach sees good things for the Bison.
“I thought Buffalo Grove was a quality team,” Jennison said. “They have some quality players, and they put us under pressure in the right areas. I think on a different day you’re looking at a different score line.”
Another test for the Saints
The road gets tougher for St. Charles East at 7 p.m. Thursday, when the host Trevians provide the next challenge in a talented tournament.
“I think they’re very excited for their biggest test of the season tomorrow,” Jennison said of his team, “and I think we’re going to learn a lot about this group even though it’s so early in the season. New Trier will be a quality test. This is why we came to the tournament.
“We just have to concentrate on us and getting better, and understand that if we are serious about prolonging our season we’ll need to execute in the right areas.”
Being their best in October and November remains the Saints’ top priority, and last year’s sectional exit is always added motivation to the players.
“Yeah, there’s a little bit of that left over from last year,” Stackhouse said. “We know there are a lot of expectations, and we know our potential. But we just work to get better and focus one day at a time. We’re doing that, and the results have been good so far.”
STARTING LINEUPS:
St. Charles East:
G-Steven Owens
D-Ryan Stackhouse
D-Brandon Villanueva
D-Robert Wolak
D-Kyle McLean
M-Taylor Ortiz
M-Evan DiLeonardi
M-Chris Edgerton
M-Christian Memje
F-Tyler Robbins
F-Zach Manibog
Buffalo Grove:
G-Connor May
D-Hans Haller
D-Mike Kotlyar
D-Connor Reid
D-Ryan Drum
M-Zach Masciopinto
M-Sean King
M-Brendan Carr
M-Drew Brauner
F-Colin Dekorsi
F-Christian Miguel
Man of the Match: Evan DiLeonardi, St. Charles East
Tops Buffalo Grove 4-0 in New Trier tournament
By Dave Owen
WINNETKA- Endless waves of pressure helped St. Charles East continue its early-season offensive surge Wednesday with a 4-0 win over Buffalo Grove in the second round of the New Trier tournament.
And while Saints’ coach Paul Jennison saw room to improve on his team’s performance, Buffalo Grove senior midfielder Zach Masciopinto offered a strong endorsement of St. Charles East’s talents.
“I’m in the middle of the field, I take two touches and they’re already collapsing on me,” Masciopinto said. “They’re very physical and very quick. If you make a mistake, they’re on you right away.
“You have to play two-touch soccer, and you can’t panic. If you do panic, you’ll get eaten up, and they’ll take advantage of it.”
The Saints (4-0) were on the attack from the opening faceoff. Big defensive plays by Buffalo Grove’s Ryan Drum and Connor Reid denied threats in the first 90 seconds by Tyler Robbins and Zach Manibog, respectively.
The third challenge was devastating to the Bison (2-2) – Taylor Ortiz’s cross from the right side deflected off a defender attempting to clear the ball, sailing high into the air and inside the upper right corner of the net for an own goal and a 1-0 St. Charles East lead.
The Saints were lucky on that 3rd-minute goal, but their offense didn't need any help the rest of the way.
Manibog and Robbins each had three excellent chances repelled in the next 25 minutes. Then late first half goals by Collin Sheehan (off an Ortiz assist in the 28th minute) and Claudio Difruscolo put the Saints in command at 3-0.
Sheehan nicely turned inside a defender and lined a low, 12-yard shot into the net. Difruscolo’s effort summed up the Saints’ relentless effort – he stormed the net to pound home a rebound after Jared Brown’s initial shot was stopped by Buffalo Grove goalkeeper Connor May.
“It was a lucky rebound, but I’ll take it,” Difruscolo said.
To the senior, the Saints’ staggering total of 21 goals in four games this season has been the reward for preparation.
“It’s the hard work we put in practice, and we just keep going forward from there,” Difruscolo said. “It’s just a lot of work on the ball, a lot of touches, getting a lot of movement and pressure, things like that to improve our game.”
The Saints’ final goal 9 minutes into the second half came on a great individual effort by Evan DiLeonardi. Fielding the ball 12 yards from the net, he fought off a defender and sent a low shot inside the left post.
“I got it, took a touch by a guy, and I slipped a little bit on my shot but it rolled past the keeper,” DiLeonardi said.
The standout 6-foot-2 midfielder was on solid footing when assessing the value of the Saints’ long trip to New Trier for the talent-rich tournament.
“I think this is really good,” DiLeonardi said. “Last year we were undefeated in the regular season but may not have played the best competition. So the playoffs came around and we weren’t ready for a close game (falling 1-0 at sectionals to Lake Park).
“This year we’re trying to get some big teams in, so we see what it’s like to have a battle and we’re not surprised during playoffs when we meet those teams.”
DiLeonardi was selected the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, an honor that could have just as easily gone to Ortiz, Robbins or five other Saints.
That team balance isn’t lost on St. Charles East coach Paul Jennison.
“Every game this season all 22 guys have played, and there really isn’t any drop off whatsoever,” Jennison said. “Every guy on the squad has a chance to start on a different day.”
Every player is also motivated to push the attack upfield. Even goalkeeper Steven Owens quickly ignited the transition with long throws upfield after he fielded the ball – twice leading to quality shots on goal.
“We’re all about getting all 11 guys involved in the attack,” said Saints’ defender Ryan Stackhouse, who made two nice defensive plays in the final third to deny Bison chances. “It’s getting the fullbacks up, the center backs high, and really pressing the other team and not giving them a chance to get out (of their half).
“But everyone’s defending. The forwards, the front line: everyone’s pressing and making it hard on them.”
A tough critic
While happy with the win and his team’s strong start to 2014, Jennison keeps high standards.
“Myself and the lads are well aware that wasn’t our best performance,” Jennison said. “We forced way too many balls, we really didn’t execute in the direct areas, and I thought defensively we broke down on three or four occasions. These are things we need to clean up.
“At the end of the day we’re happy with the score line, but the performance wasn’t the best. The way we’ve been playing it was maybe expected we’d drop off slightly, but we did still have enough strength and depth to stay on the right side of the score line.”
DiLeonardi agreed about the sometimes flawed play.
“We were pretty rough early in the first half, but we picked it up a little,” DiLeonardi said. “It wasn’t our best game. We’re still working on it – it’s the fourth game of the season so there’s a ways to go before playoff time.”
Told that would be very bad news for any opponent that faces the Saints at their best, DiLeonardi smiled.
“That’s what I’m hoping,” he said.
Buffalo Grove battles
After facing powerful New Trier on Monday, Buffalo Grove had another elite opponent across the line 48 hours later.
That’s just how coach Rick Carlson likes it – the Bison played their best soccer of the year late last year to reach the sectional finals, and hope tests like the New Trier tournament to lay the foundation for a repeat.
“That’s why we came to this tournament, to play quality teams,” Carlson said. “We’ll play two of the best teams in the state back-to-back, and that’s fine with us.
“We need to be able to respond. We don’t want to play these teams when it comes close to tournament time and have to make adjustments late in the season. We want to play good teams early, and if that means we get our butts kicked early, we’ll figure things out. And we have kids that can do that.”
The Bison withstood the Saints’ charge impressively for much of the first half. Brendan Carr’s nice block of a Robbins chance in front kept the score 1-0 in the 24th minute.
Two minutes later, Buffalo Grove had a great chance to tie the game but was denied when Masciopinto’s point-blank header off a long Hans Haller throw-in was caught by Saints’ goalkeeper Owens.
“I like the long throws because I can get my head on a lot of them,” Masciopinto said. “Corner kicks and long throws – taking advantage of them is something we like to do.”
Haller later had a nice block of a dangerous cross deep into the box by the Saints’ Brown, and sophomore Colin Dekorsi (shot just wide in the 16th minute) and Christian Miguel generated good scoring chances as well.
“We have guys that are warriors like Zach and Hans,” Carlson said, “who will continue to give whatever they have. I’m not disappointed in that, but we have to have a collective effort.
“We needed to have more energy, and they (St. Charles East) took advantage of that,” Carlson added. “We let them control the game. I won’t accept our energy level today, regardless of who we’re playing. Against New Trier, they hung four on us but we had good energy and scored two goals. We did not have that same energy today.”
But there’s a big silver lining to the tournament challenges.
“It’s definitely good to get some exposure to these highly ranked teams early in the year,” Masciopinto said. “We did it a couple of years ago at the Highland Park tournament, and I think it’s good for us to see what we’re up against.”
Wednesday’s opposing coach sees good things for the Bison.
“I thought Buffalo Grove was a quality team,” Jennison said. “They have some quality players, and they put us under pressure in the right areas. I think on a different day you’re looking at a different score line.”
Another test for the Saints
The road gets tougher for St. Charles East at 7 p.m. Thursday, when the host Trevians provide the next challenge in a talented tournament.
“I think they’re very excited for their biggest test of the season tomorrow,” Jennison said of his team, “and I think we’re going to learn a lot about this group even though it’s so early in the season. New Trier will be a quality test. This is why we came to the tournament.
“We just have to concentrate on us and getting better, and understand that if we are serious about prolonging our season we’ll need to execute in the right areas.”
Being their best in October and November remains the Saints’ top priority, and last year’s sectional exit is always added motivation to the players.
“Yeah, there’s a little bit of that left over from last year,” Stackhouse said. “We know there are a lot of expectations, and we know our potential. But we just work to get better and focus one day at a time. We’re doing that, and the results have been good so far.”
STARTING LINEUPS:
St. Charles East:
G-Steven Owens
D-Ryan Stackhouse
D-Brandon Villanueva
D-Robert Wolak
D-Kyle McLean
M-Taylor Ortiz
M-Evan DiLeonardi
M-Chris Edgerton
M-Christian Memje
F-Tyler Robbins
F-Zach Manibog
Buffalo Grove:
G-Connor May
D-Hans Haller
D-Mike Kotlyar
D-Connor Reid
D-Ryan Drum
M-Zach Masciopinto
M-Sean King
M-Brendan Carr
M-Drew Brauner
F-Colin Dekorsi
F-Christian Miguel
Man of the Match: Evan DiLeonardi, St. Charles East