St. Viator turns up heat,
downs Grayslake Central
Regional title recipe starts with goal in first 40 seconds
By Dave Owen
CHICAGO -- Expect the unexpected with Saint Viator, which must be the only high school soccer program in the country to have produced both an NFL running back (Jarrett Payton) and an MLS player (Nino Da Silva).
Trivia on fastest goal in a regional title game might be tougher to assemble, but the Lions are likely high on that list as well after Saturday’s Class 2A Amundsen regional final.
Zach Gyuricza’s goal just 40 seconds into the match gave Saint Viator a lead that it never relinquished en route to a 2-1 win over Grayslake Central.
“We say it all the time that we usually play best when we get an early goal, and we got it,” Gyuricza said. “Then we kept pushing the whole time. The whole first half we controlled mostly, but that (first goal) gave us so much energy.”
A throw-in by Chris Beiersdorf connected with Gyuricza inside the box, and he powered the ensuing drive into the net to give the No. 5 sectional seed a quick edge on the fourth-seeded Rams.
“We played exceptionally well after that first goal and started playing our game,” said Gyuricza, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “We were more relaxed, we were confident and it showed.”
“We knew if we came out with heart and energy, we could put some away early,” Lions senior Aidan Williams said. “That first goal was huge for us. It got us all going.”
The regional win sends the Lions (18-5-1) on to Wednesday’s Grayslake Central sectional semifinal against No. 1 seed Antioch. It also eased the remaining sting of last year’s upset loss in the regional semifinals to Carmel.
“This is huge,” Williams said. “We wanted this really bad as seniors because last year was such a disappointment. We thought we were going to go somewhere. We made a point last year when we lost that we’d come back and get it back this year.”
The point was made quickly on Saturday.
“We were ready for the ballgame,” Lions coach Mike Taylor said. “The kids believe in themselves and came out and put one away in 40 seconds.
“It was an opportunist goal, but those things happen. I thought we pretty much controlled the whole first half, and then we got another one just before halftime.”
Saint Viator was dangerous even when least expected. With 5:15 left in the half, Brandon Braun sent a high 50-yard free kick that skimmed the top of the left post. Then the Lions surprisingly turned defense into instant offense to go up 2-0.
Three minutes before halftime, Grayslake Central’s Joey Mudd broke in on goal but was denied when Lions goalkeeper Aaron Tres raced out to make a sliding save.
Beiersdorf cleared the zone to erase that threat to tie, and Williams broke in on left wing at the other end on the counterattack. Williams’ cross from just left of the post found Tony Pineda in front for a 2-0 lead with 2:35 left in the half.
“Coach kept telling me to try and take him (in on goal) and see what would happen,” said Williams, who had an 8-yard shot stopped 17:30 before halftime. “I listened to him, and Tony was there to put it in.”
With Saint Viator seemingly in command, Grayslake Central (16-6) threw its own surprise into the mix with 22:14 to play. Off a Mudd throw-in, Isaac Longenecker’s shot hit the post and Johnny Madrid was on the spot for the rebound score that cut the Lions' lead to 2-1.
“In the second half we struggled a little bit to get the flow, but it’s hard to hold them out,” Taylor said. “They’re a good team and they’re scrappy inside the 18.
“But it comes down to my big boys up front – you have to stop them, and if you can’t stop them, you won’t stop us. Zach has speed to kill, and I thought Chris Beiersdorf did a great job on their No. 11 (Mudd) and didn’t allow him many opportunities, and we didn’t give No. 3 (Longenecker) many opportunities. If we shut those two down, we knew we’d be good.”
Containing the Lions’ own big two was a huge task for Grayslake Central.
“No. 10 and 11 (Williams and Gyuricza) hurt us,” Rams coach Steve Feldman said. “Hats off to Mike (Taylor). He’s got a great squad over there.
“That start was tough to come back from, but I thought we bounced back well. We had some good possession, and they’re a good team that’s fast.”
Up 2-1, the Lions stood tall defensively down the stretch. Miles McDonnell headed away a Grayslake Central free kick with 17:15 left and followed by blocking a Mudd cross into the box at 14:20.
“We knew coming in that Grayslake Central would be good, especially offensively,” McDonnell said. “In the second half they kept pounding us, but our defense stood strong.
“We kept telling each other, ‘Focus, stay with your men the whole time.’ They did score one, but overall we did a pretty good job.”
The Lions appeared to have an insurance goal with 5:30 left when Gyuricza sent a cross to Williams wide open in front. But his blast from inside 6 yards was somehow saved on a one-handed reach by Rams goalkeeper Connor Gosell.
“I thought it was in for sure,” Williams said. “The keeper made a great save. It was a really tough game, and putting that one away would have made it a lot easier. But we still got the job done.”
Grayslake Central’s only threats in the final five minutes were a 40-yard shot caught by Tres with 3:50 left, then Williams’ header out of danger of a throw-in one minute later.
With seven wins in a row, the Lions are gaining momentum and praise.
“We’ve played Libertyville and some of those teams, and this is the best team we’ve played so far,” Feldman said. “They do a good job, and hats off to them.
“But we fought hard. They’re a big, strong, physical team, and I have some young kids with just a couple of seniors.”
Having won on Amundsen’s natural grass field, the Lions return to more familiar field turf at sectionals. Confidence and motivation are both in ample supply.
“Once we get on turf we’ll be good because we’re quick,” Taylor said. “Now the ball doesn’t have a funny bounce, and we can get the ball rolling smoothly.
“We’re looking forward to it, as a little No. 5 seed that’s not supposed to win. So we’ll take our No. 5 seed and keep on working up.”
From a 2-2-1 record in early September, the Lions are now at the top of their game.
“If we come out with energy, we can play with anybody,” Williams said. “We started off with a tough schedule, but we’ve won a bunch in a row now and kind of figured it out.”
Starting lineups
Saint Viator
GK- Aaron Tres
D- Brandon Braun
D- Chris Beiersdorf
D- Ryan Carroll
MF- Patrick Hickey
MF- Miles McDonnell
MF- Anthony Pineda
MF- Javier Romero
MF- Sean Lonigro
F- Aidan Williams
F- Zach Gyuricza
Grayslake Central
GK- Connor Gosell
D- Randy Betancourth
D- Ben Sizelove
D- Trevor Veenstra
D- Brian Wehde
MF- Isaac Longenecker
MF- Johnny Madrid
MF- Jackson Frey
MF- Paul Kulis
F- Leo Orozco
F- Joey Mudd
Officials: Ricardo Herrera, Isaac Bustamante, Neal Bader
Man of the Match: Zach Gyuricza, Saint Viator
downs Grayslake Central
Regional title recipe starts with goal in first 40 seconds
By Dave Owen
CHICAGO -- Expect the unexpected with Saint Viator, which must be the only high school soccer program in the country to have produced both an NFL running back (Jarrett Payton) and an MLS player (Nino Da Silva).
Trivia on fastest goal in a regional title game might be tougher to assemble, but the Lions are likely high on that list as well after Saturday’s Class 2A Amundsen regional final.
Zach Gyuricza’s goal just 40 seconds into the match gave Saint Viator a lead that it never relinquished en route to a 2-1 win over Grayslake Central.
“We say it all the time that we usually play best when we get an early goal, and we got it,” Gyuricza said. “Then we kept pushing the whole time. The whole first half we controlled mostly, but that (first goal) gave us so much energy.”
A throw-in by Chris Beiersdorf connected with Gyuricza inside the box, and he powered the ensuing drive into the net to give the No. 5 sectional seed a quick edge on the fourth-seeded Rams.
“We played exceptionally well after that first goal and started playing our game,” said Gyuricza, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “We were more relaxed, we were confident and it showed.”
“We knew if we came out with heart and energy, we could put some away early,” Lions senior Aidan Williams said. “That first goal was huge for us. It got us all going.”
The regional win sends the Lions (18-5-1) on to Wednesday’s Grayslake Central sectional semifinal against No. 1 seed Antioch. It also eased the remaining sting of last year’s upset loss in the regional semifinals to Carmel.
“This is huge,” Williams said. “We wanted this really bad as seniors because last year was such a disappointment. We thought we were going to go somewhere. We made a point last year when we lost that we’d come back and get it back this year.”
The point was made quickly on Saturday.
“We were ready for the ballgame,” Lions coach Mike Taylor said. “The kids believe in themselves and came out and put one away in 40 seconds.
“It was an opportunist goal, but those things happen. I thought we pretty much controlled the whole first half, and then we got another one just before halftime.”
Saint Viator was dangerous even when least expected. With 5:15 left in the half, Brandon Braun sent a high 50-yard free kick that skimmed the top of the left post. Then the Lions surprisingly turned defense into instant offense to go up 2-0.
Three minutes before halftime, Grayslake Central’s Joey Mudd broke in on goal but was denied when Lions goalkeeper Aaron Tres raced out to make a sliding save.
Beiersdorf cleared the zone to erase that threat to tie, and Williams broke in on left wing at the other end on the counterattack. Williams’ cross from just left of the post found Tony Pineda in front for a 2-0 lead with 2:35 left in the half.
“Coach kept telling me to try and take him (in on goal) and see what would happen,” said Williams, who had an 8-yard shot stopped 17:30 before halftime. “I listened to him, and Tony was there to put it in.”
With Saint Viator seemingly in command, Grayslake Central (16-6) threw its own surprise into the mix with 22:14 to play. Off a Mudd throw-in, Isaac Longenecker’s shot hit the post and Johnny Madrid was on the spot for the rebound score that cut the Lions' lead to 2-1.
“In the second half we struggled a little bit to get the flow, but it’s hard to hold them out,” Taylor said. “They’re a good team and they’re scrappy inside the 18.
“But it comes down to my big boys up front – you have to stop them, and if you can’t stop them, you won’t stop us. Zach has speed to kill, and I thought Chris Beiersdorf did a great job on their No. 11 (Mudd) and didn’t allow him many opportunities, and we didn’t give No. 3 (Longenecker) many opportunities. If we shut those two down, we knew we’d be good.”
Containing the Lions’ own big two was a huge task for Grayslake Central.
“No. 10 and 11 (Williams and Gyuricza) hurt us,” Rams coach Steve Feldman said. “Hats off to Mike (Taylor). He’s got a great squad over there.
“That start was tough to come back from, but I thought we bounced back well. We had some good possession, and they’re a good team that’s fast.”
Up 2-1, the Lions stood tall defensively down the stretch. Miles McDonnell headed away a Grayslake Central free kick with 17:15 left and followed by blocking a Mudd cross into the box at 14:20.
“We knew coming in that Grayslake Central would be good, especially offensively,” McDonnell said. “In the second half they kept pounding us, but our defense stood strong.
“We kept telling each other, ‘Focus, stay with your men the whole time.’ They did score one, but overall we did a pretty good job.”
The Lions appeared to have an insurance goal with 5:30 left when Gyuricza sent a cross to Williams wide open in front. But his blast from inside 6 yards was somehow saved on a one-handed reach by Rams goalkeeper Connor Gosell.
“I thought it was in for sure,” Williams said. “The keeper made a great save. It was a really tough game, and putting that one away would have made it a lot easier. But we still got the job done.”
Grayslake Central’s only threats in the final five minutes were a 40-yard shot caught by Tres with 3:50 left, then Williams’ header out of danger of a throw-in one minute later.
With seven wins in a row, the Lions are gaining momentum and praise.
“We’ve played Libertyville and some of those teams, and this is the best team we’ve played so far,” Feldman said. “They do a good job, and hats off to them.
“But we fought hard. They’re a big, strong, physical team, and I have some young kids with just a couple of seniors.”
Having won on Amundsen’s natural grass field, the Lions return to more familiar field turf at sectionals. Confidence and motivation are both in ample supply.
“Once we get on turf we’ll be good because we’re quick,” Taylor said. “Now the ball doesn’t have a funny bounce, and we can get the ball rolling smoothly.
“We’re looking forward to it, as a little No. 5 seed that’s not supposed to win. So we’ll take our No. 5 seed and keep on working up.”
From a 2-2-1 record in early September, the Lions are now at the top of their game.
“If we come out with energy, we can play with anybody,” Williams said. “We started off with a tough schedule, but we’ve won a bunch in a row now and kind of figured it out.”
Starting lineups
Saint Viator
GK- Aaron Tres
D- Brandon Braun
D- Chris Beiersdorf
D- Ryan Carroll
MF- Patrick Hickey
MF- Miles McDonnell
MF- Anthony Pineda
MF- Javier Romero
MF- Sean Lonigro
F- Aidan Williams
F- Zach Gyuricza
Grayslake Central
GK- Connor Gosell
D- Randy Betancourth
D- Ben Sizelove
D- Trevor Veenstra
D- Brian Wehde
MF- Isaac Longenecker
MF- Johnny Madrid
MF- Jackson Frey
MF- Paul Kulis
F- Leo Orozco
F- Joey Mudd
Officials: Ricardo Herrera, Isaac Bustamante, Neal Bader
Man of the Match: Zach Gyuricza, Saint Viator