St. Charles East scores KO
Saints come out punching in quest for redemption
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NAPERVILLE -- Soccer is a lot like boxing. Contrasts make the match, and a big, decisive action early tends to have wide-ranging consequences throughout.
In a season-opening showdown of elite teams, St. Charles East made the first move and Neuqua Valley never had an answer. The Saints were confident and alive, Neuqua Valley hesitant and somewhat lost.
The showdown of the two best teams in the River (St. Charles East) and Valley (Neuqua Valley) divisions of the Upstate Eight never really materialized. St. Charles East made it anticlimactic.
Senior forward Zach Manibog scored two goals, and the Saints put together a convincing and highly methodical exhibition of their talents and skill level with a 5-1 victory Tuesday in Naperville.
Fortune favors the bold. St. Charles East has a big, sweeping attack and features multiple scoring options, working both in the field of play and off stops and re-starts. Two minutes and one second was all it took. "They came at us, and we didn't handle it very well," Neuqua Valley coach Skip Begley said.
In the official third minute of the match, senior forward Tyler Robbins controlled a ball down the left edge and caught Neuqua Valley senior keeper Ricky Rolbecki out of position. With Rolbecki making a futile stab at the ball, Robbins smashed a left-foot play that started St. Charles East on the right track.
"I got a good through ball, and I was able to get a good touch on the ball," Robbins said.
"That early goal was not good for our confidence back there," Begley said. "I thought we were very hesitant in that back. On that first goal, we just seemed out of position and they took advantage of it."
In the 14th minute, Manibog collected a pass from sophomore midfielder Chris Edgerton and punched through a short ball for the 2-0 advantage. "We seem to relax more and get more into the game once we put that first goal in," said Manibog, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match.
The early narrative for the Saints goes like this: Somewhat embarrassed by how its highly ambitious season ended last year, St. Charles East has turned the 2014 season into a quest for its own redemption.
"This was just one game, and I saw a lot out there that was good and encouraging. But it's just one game, and I also saw a lot out there that clearly we have areas in the game that we need to work on," St. Charles East coach Paul Jennison said. "We want to right the wrong of how last year ended."
St. Charles East lost to eventual state fourth-place finisher Lake Park in the Class 3A Schaumburg Sectional Final. Jennison coached the girls team to a Class 3A state runner-up finish last spring. The girls team came out of nowhere and achieved the unexpected.
Jennison is demanding the team play up to its talent level, day in and day out. "No matter how we play in one game, I'm never going to be satisfied," he said. "I'm going to continue to push.
"This was a good result against a very good team, but still, I saw a lot out there I didn't like, that I thought was sloppy, or we just were doing things we shouldn't, like chase when we didn't need to."
Robbins said the combination of the difficult loss and the thrill of watching the girls team "has lit a fire under us."
Neuqua Valley's best player, senior forward Ryan Ross, a Bowling Green recruit, offered another perspective. "Starting from behind right from the beginning is tough, and it's hard to get out of your head," he said. "Right away, we started to doubt and put our heads down, and we shouldn't done that, because we were struggling."
The early psychological damage was also present moments after the first St. Charles East goal. With the Saints' keeper pulled out of the net -- the result of some sharp passing -- Neuqua Valley failed to connect on three point-blank shots. They were thus denied the early equalizer that could have significantly altered the pace and style of play.
"We have to do a better job of fighting through the early struggles," Begley said.
Neuqua Valley senior midfielder Xavi Ortiz, the team's second-best player, struggled through a painful hip flexor and saw limited minutes. Midfielder Kas Baladi is out with a foot injury. "Every team deals with injuries this time of the year, but it was definitely tough to have to play without them," Ross said.
One team pushed forward, while the other was caught reacting. The result was perhaps a bit shocking but understandable. Midfielder Evan DiLeonardi scored in the 29th minute to put the Saints up 3-0 at the break.
The lone bright spot for the Wildcats occurred early in the second half. Playing with greater purpose, Neuqua Valley finally broke through in the 47th minute as reserve forward Mike Moser split through an open seam in the Saints' backline and drilled a ball home for a momentary blast of excitement that cut the deficit to 3-1.
That was the closest Neuqua Valley got. Manibog answered six minutes later. Senior Collin Sheehan finalized the rout. "From the start, they just seemed fresher, and they just kept coming at us," Begley said
Starting lineups
St. Charles East: GK: Steven Owens; D: Ryan Stackhouse, Brandon Villanueva, Robert Wolak; MF: Jared Brown, Taylor Ortiz, Jordan Moore, Evan DiLeonardi, Christian Memije; F: Zach Manibog, Tyler Robbins
Neuqua Valley: GK: Ricky Rolbecki; D: Javi Verdin, Reed Kurtenbach, Jack Schoonenberg: MF: Adrian Cardenas, Xavi Ortiz, Chibuike Nwachhukuchu, Doug Smith, Joel Algrem; F: Ryan Ross, Austin Flatt
Man of the Match: Zach Manibog
Saints come out punching in quest for redemption
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NAPERVILLE -- Soccer is a lot like boxing. Contrasts make the match, and a big, decisive action early tends to have wide-ranging consequences throughout.
In a season-opening showdown of elite teams, St. Charles East made the first move and Neuqua Valley never had an answer. The Saints were confident and alive, Neuqua Valley hesitant and somewhat lost.
The showdown of the two best teams in the River (St. Charles East) and Valley (Neuqua Valley) divisions of the Upstate Eight never really materialized. St. Charles East made it anticlimactic.
Senior forward Zach Manibog scored two goals, and the Saints put together a convincing and highly methodical exhibition of their talents and skill level with a 5-1 victory Tuesday in Naperville.
Fortune favors the bold. St. Charles East has a big, sweeping attack and features multiple scoring options, working both in the field of play and off stops and re-starts. Two minutes and one second was all it took. "They came at us, and we didn't handle it very well," Neuqua Valley coach Skip Begley said.
In the official third minute of the match, senior forward Tyler Robbins controlled a ball down the left edge and caught Neuqua Valley senior keeper Ricky Rolbecki out of position. With Rolbecki making a futile stab at the ball, Robbins smashed a left-foot play that started St. Charles East on the right track.
"I got a good through ball, and I was able to get a good touch on the ball," Robbins said.
"That early goal was not good for our confidence back there," Begley said. "I thought we were very hesitant in that back. On that first goal, we just seemed out of position and they took advantage of it."
In the 14th minute, Manibog collected a pass from sophomore midfielder Chris Edgerton and punched through a short ball for the 2-0 advantage. "We seem to relax more and get more into the game once we put that first goal in," said Manibog, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match.
The early narrative for the Saints goes like this: Somewhat embarrassed by how its highly ambitious season ended last year, St. Charles East has turned the 2014 season into a quest for its own redemption.
"This was just one game, and I saw a lot out there that was good and encouraging. But it's just one game, and I also saw a lot out there that clearly we have areas in the game that we need to work on," St. Charles East coach Paul Jennison said. "We want to right the wrong of how last year ended."
St. Charles East lost to eventual state fourth-place finisher Lake Park in the Class 3A Schaumburg Sectional Final. Jennison coached the girls team to a Class 3A state runner-up finish last spring. The girls team came out of nowhere and achieved the unexpected.
Jennison is demanding the team play up to its talent level, day in and day out. "No matter how we play in one game, I'm never going to be satisfied," he said. "I'm going to continue to push.
"This was a good result against a very good team, but still, I saw a lot out there I didn't like, that I thought was sloppy, or we just were doing things we shouldn't, like chase when we didn't need to."
Robbins said the combination of the difficult loss and the thrill of watching the girls team "has lit a fire under us."
Neuqua Valley's best player, senior forward Ryan Ross, a Bowling Green recruit, offered another perspective. "Starting from behind right from the beginning is tough, and it's hard to get out of your head," he said. "Right away, we started to doubt and put our heads down, and we shouldn't done that, because we were struggling."
The early psychological damage was also present moments after the first St. Charles East goal. With the Saints' keeper pulled out of the net -- the result of some sharp passing -- Neuqua Valley failed to connect on three point-blank shots. They were thus denied the early equalizer that could have significantly altered the pace and style of play.
"We have to do a better job of fighting through the early struggles," Begley said.
Neuqua Valley senior midfielder Xavi Ortiz, the team's second-best player, struggled through a painful hip flexor and saw limited minutes. Midfielder Kas Baladi is out with a foot injury. "Every team deals with injuries this time of the year, but it was definitely tough to have to play without them," Ross said.
One team pushed forward, while the other was caught reacting. The result was perhaps a bit shocking but understandable. Midfielder Evan DiLeonardi scored in the 29th minute to put the Saints up 3-0 at the break.
The lone bright spot for the Wildcats occurred early in the second half. Playing with greater purpose, Neuqua Valley finally broke through in the 47th minute as reserve forward Mike Moser split through an open seam in the Saints' backline and drilled a ball home for a momentary blast of excitement that cut the deficit to 3-1.
That was the closest Neuqua Valley got. Manibog answered six minutes later. Senior Collin Sheehan finalized the rout. "From the start, they just seemed fresher, and they just kept coming at us," Begley said
Starting lineups
St. Charles East: GK: Steven Owens; D: Ryan Stackhouse, Brandon Villanueva, Robert Wolak; MF: Jared Brown, Taylor Ortiz, Jordan Moore, Evan DiLeonardi, Christian Memije; F: Zach Manibog, Tyler Robbins
Neuqua Valley: GK: Ricky Rolbecki; D: Javi Verdin, Reed Kurtenbach, Jack Schoonenberg: MF: Adrian Cardenas, Xavi Ortiz, Chibuike Nwachhukuchu, Doug Smith, Joel Algrem; F: Ryan Ross, Austin Flatt
Man of the Match: Zach Manibog