St. Francis class war continues,
Bartlett is Spartans latest Class 3A victim
Back-and-forth contest turns on Hawks' lack of consistency
By Steve Nemeth
BARTLETT -- St. Francis coach Kevin Ward wanted to strike the perfect balance between complimenting the Class 2A Spartans’ latest achievement and guarding against overconfidence.
“The season and our level of play is like a huge mountain. I caught a glimpse of a snow-tipped peak, but I’m a long way from planting a flag,” Ward said.
St. Francis – ranked No. 24 in the latest Chicagoland Soccer poll – upset Bartlett 1-0 and made the no. 17 Hawks the fifth Class 3A program unable to defeat the Spartans.
“Believe in our system,” Ward said with a tone that hinted at his team’s failure to do so in their previous outing – a 3-2 road loss to Class 2A Mt. Carmel in the Chicago Catholic League South Division opener. “When you do, (the system) works.”
It’s a style of play predicated on ball possession, focus and composure regardless of the opponent. It’s what enabled the Spartans to take first place in Lake Park’s Hillner Classic. That’s where St. Francis (3-1-2) defeated Wheaton North (1-0) and York (2-1), with 0-0 deadlocks against Lake Park and Conant.
The final score Saturday was not an indication that Bartlett failed to play well. Instead it spotlighted the Hawks’ struggles with consistency, which contributed to the third 1-0 loss in the last four games for Bartlett (4-4).
In a back-and-forth game, which seemed to escalate in intensity, a particular series of events became magnified.
First-year Bartlett coach Vince DiNuzzo and his players were convinced they should have received a penalty kick opportunity. However, the continuation of play produced a breakaway opportunity for St. Francis. Zach Crescenzo raced toward a 1-v.-1 with Hawk goalie Jake Hasenstein. The collision resulted in Hasenstein being issued a yellow card and a penalty kick being awarded to the Spartans.
With Hasenstein forced to the sideline, teammate Igor Zwada donned the keeper jersey and gloves. But he was unable to deny the first goal of the season of David Gianos, whose pivotal success earned him the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match accolade.
“The key to PKs is to commit to your shot and not overthink it,” Gianos said.
The 1-0 margin came with 10:33 left in regulation, which meant the remainder of the game featured a variety of defensive clearances by St. Francis in response to every Bartlett attack.
“I don’t think we deserved to lose. Maybe we didn’t deserve a win,” DiNuzzo said. “We’re still not healthy (in terms of our roster), so if we don’t score, we don’t win. (The officials) are human, they make mistakes like we do.”
Depending on the offensive or defensive view, both sides had their share of miscues throughout the opening half.
Zwada had a shot from distance snared by Spartan goalie Jonathan Burke before the headers from the Hawks' Zwada and T.J. Ivkovich sailed wide right and left, respectively.
Midway through the half, Hasenstein rushed out for a sliding clear and soon had to make a save on a Ryan Pennington try from the left side. A stellar cross found Pennington unmarked in the middle for a virtual empty-net chance, but he shanked his shot over the
goal. Hasenstein made a solid save on a Nicholas Roehl right-side laser prior to halftime.
Bartlett’s Oliver Saile opened the second half with a cannon volley that went wide right. After dual yellow cards, Gianos put a free kick from distance on target, but Hasenstein made the sure-handed catch. At the opposite end, Burke did the same on a Vince Leone left-footed rocket.
Then came the end-to-end sequence that left the Hawks displeased. St. Francis almost got an insurance goal due to Bartlett’s lack of attention when Roehl had a drive carom off the right post with 9:19 still to be played.
Burke went high in the air with 4:21 left to grab a long bomb from Leone. The clean sheet was the fourth of the year for Burke and St. Francis.
“Maybe the soccer gods smiled on us, but I also believe our ball possession, focus and composure put us in a position to win,” Ward said. “Our defensive shape today was also very good, as was our ball possession. And we were stellar down the middle. It’s those little things that add up big in a close game.
“I thought Keenan (Corrigan) played well throughout, and our freshman (Nick Gulli) played out of his mind. He stopped their penetration, especially one time late. And (Timmy) Pisarski was also solid in back.”
Burke echoed those thoughts, saying, “The shutout is always nice, but I really have to give credit to my defenders and our communication.”
Gulli demonstrated a veteran’s mind-set in insisting the defense was “simply playing hard and playing smart. Defense can win championships, so my aim is to just help our defense the best I’m able.”
As a veteran of the program, Gianos insisted much of the credit belonged at the top.
“It’s all about being one as a team, believing and not wanting to back down from anyone. Coach has turned our attitude around,” Gianos said of the Spartans yielding just the lone goal to the quartet of 3A foes in the Lake Park tourney.
Ward stated, “Our approach is not to shy away from anyone. This year we have the mind-set and personnel to make it work.”
Next up for St. Francis is a long-awaited home debut Tuesday when Montini visits Kuhn Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. contest. That’ll be the first of eight home dates over the course of the last 11 games of a regular season designed to prepare the Spartans for a lengthy 2A postseason run.
For Bartlett, the focus shifts back to the opportunity to build upon a 1-0-0 record within the Upstate Eight Conference’s Valley Division with a Tuesday visit to Glenbard East.
“I’m confident we’ll be better in that match. Perhaps I need to be better (as a coach) in getting the boys up for nonconference games,” DiNuzzo said. “Igor (Zwada) deserves a pat on the back today for his effort, desire and play on and off the ball. He’s remarkable; forward, midfield or on defense. He’s been outstanding wherever I’ve positioned him. If everyone put in his effort, I know we’d be OK.”
Understandably disappointed to see his team’s recent struggles, Zwada skipped analogies for some honest but blunt assessment.
“We need to get on the same page with the same work ethic," he said. "Everyone is either trying to do too little or too much. We have to get in sync and finish our chances.
“Everyone underestimates us based on the past. For my three previous years, I think people looked down on us, marked a ‘W’ on their schedule. Earlier this year we were (playing) smarter, making people pay for not respecting us.
"Suddenly we’re trending backward; at this point, we’re giving a ‘W’ to some people. It starts with simple things, like keeping possession, finding feet, connecting passes, creating opportunities and finishing chances. It’s time we do that again.”
Starting lineups
St. Francis
G Jonathan Burke
D Nicholas Guilli
D Timmy Pisarski
D Carmeu Herard
D Ethan Grosam
M David Gianos
M Keenan Corrigan
M Mathrew Martin
M Nicholas Roehl
M Sean Conley
F Ryan Pennington
Bartlett
G Jake Hasenstein
D Rudy Reyes
D Joshua Merkel
D Joshua White
D Igor Zwada
M Alexis Contreras
M Oliver Sale
M Venici Leone
M Ryan Stratton
F Tim Riordan
F T.J. Ivkovich
Man of the Match: David Gianos, MF, St. Francis
Referees: Dylan Kramer (center), Victor Huerrera, Jay Cummins
Bartlett is Spartans latest Class 3A victim
Back-and-forth contest turns on Hawks' lack of consistency
By Steve Nemeth
BARTLETT -- St. Francis coach Kevin Ward wanted to strike the perfect balance between complimenting the Class 2A Spartans’ latest achievement and guarding against overconfidence.
“The season and our level of play is like a huge mountain. I caught a glimpse of a snow-tipped peak, but I’m a long way from planting a flag,” Ward said.
St. Francis – ranked No. 24 in the latest Chicagoland Soccer poll – upset Bartlett 1-0 and made the no. 17 Hawks the fifth Class 3A program unable to defeat the Spartans.
“Believe in our system,” Ward said with a tone that hinted at his team’s failure to do so in their previous outing – a 3-2 road loss to Class 2A Mt. Carmel in the Chicago Catholic League South Division opener. “When you do, (the system) works.”
It’s a style of play predicated on ball possession, focus and composure regardless of the opponent. It’s what enabled the Spartans to take first place in Lake Park’s Hillner Classic. That’s where St. Francis (3-1-2) defeated Wheaton North (1-0) and York (2-1), with 0-0 deadlocks against Lake Park and Conant.
The final score Saturday was not an indication that Bartlett failed to play well. Instead it spotlighted the Hawks’ struggles with consistency, which contributed to the third 1-0 loss in the last four games for Bartlett (4-4).
In a back-and-forth game, which seemed to escalate in intensity, a particular series of events became magnified.
First-year Bartlett coach Vince DiNuzzo and his players were convinced they should have received a penalty kick opportunity. However, the continuation of play produced a breakaway opportunity for St. Francis. Zach Crescenzo raced toward a 1-v.-1 with Hawk goalie Jake Hasenstein. The collision resulted in Hasenstein being issued a yellow card and a penalty kick being awarded to the Spartans.
With Hasenstein forced to the sideline, teammate Igor Zwada donned the keeper jersey and gloves. But he was unable to deny the first goal of the season of David Gianos, whose pivotal success earned him the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match accolade.
“The key to PKs is to commit to your shot and not overthink it,” Gianos said.
The 1-0 margin came with 10:33 left in regulation, which meant the remainder of the game featured a variety of defensive clearances by St. Francis in response to every Bartlett attack.
“I don’t think we deserved to lose. Maybe we didn’t deserve a win,” DiNuzzo said. “We’re still not healthy (in terms of our roster), so if we don’t score, we don’t win. (The officials) are human, they make mistakes like we do.”
Depending on the offensive or defensive view, both sides had their share of miscues throughout the opening half.
Zwada had a shot from distance snared by Spartan goalie Jonathan Burke before the headers from the Hawks' Zwada and T.J. Ivkovich sailed wide right and left, respectively.
Midway through the half, Hasenstein rushed out for a sliding clear and soon had to make a save on a Ryan Pennington try from the left side. A stellar cross found Pennington unmarked in the middle for a virtual empty-net chance, but he shanked his shot over the
goal. Hasenstein made a solid save on a Nicholas Roehl right-side laser prior to halftime.
Bartlett’s Oliver Saile opened the second half with a cannon volley that went wide right. After dual yellow cards, Gianos put a free kick from distance on target, but Hasenstein made the sure-handed catch. At the opposite end, Burke did the same on a Vince Leone left-footed rocket.
Then came the end-to-end sequence that left the Hawks displeased. St. Francis almost got an insurance goal due to Bartlett’s lack of attention when Roehl had a drive carom off the right post with 9:19 still to be played.
Burke went high in the air with 4:21 left to grab a long bomb from Leone. The clean sheet was the fourth of the year for Burke and St. Francis.
“Maybe the soccer gods smiled on us, but I also believe our ball possession, focus and composure put us in a position to win,” Ward said. “Our defensive shape today was also very good, as was our ball possession. And we were stellar down the middle. It’s those little things that add up big in a close game.
“I thought Keenan (Corrigan) played well throughout, and our freshman (Nick Gulli) played out of his mind. He stopped their penetration, especially one time late. And (Timmy) Pisarski was also solid in back.”
Burke echoed those thoughts, saying, “The shutout is always nice, but I really have to give credit to my defenders and our communication.”
Gulli demonstrated a veteran’s mind-set in insisting the defense was “simply playing hard and playing smart. Defense can win championships, so my aim is to just help our defense the best I’m able.”
As a veteran of the program, Gianos insisted much of the credit belonged at the top.
“It’s all about being one as a team, believing and not wanting to back down from anyone. Coach has turned our attitude around,” Gianos said of the Spartans yielding just the lone goal to the quartet of 3A foes in the Lake Park tourney.
Ward stated, “Our approach is not to shy away from anyone. This year we have the mind-set and personnel to make it work.”
Next up for St. Francis is a long-awaited home debut Tuesday when Montini visits Kuhn Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. contest. That’ll be the first of eight home dates over the course of the last 11 games of a regular season designed to prepare the Spartans for a lengthy 2A postseason run.
For Bartlett, the focus shifts back to the opportunity to build upon a 1-0-0 record within the Upstate Eight Conference’s Valley Division with a Tuesday visit to Glenbard East.
“I’m confident we’ll be better in that match. Perhaps I need to be better (as a coach) in getting the boys up for nonconference games,” DiNuzzo said. “Igor (Zwada) deserves a pat on the back today for his effort, desire and play on and off the ball. He’s remarkable; forward, midfield or on defense. He’s been outstanding wherever I’ve positioned him. If everyone put in his effort, I know we’d be OK.”
Understandably disappointed to see his team’s recent struggles, Zwada skipped analogies for some honest but blunt assessment.
“We need to get on the same page with the same work ethic," he said. "Everyone is either trying to do too little or too much. We have to get in sync and finish our chances.
“Everyone underestimates us based on the past. For my three previous years, I think people looked down on us, marked a ‘W’ on their schedule. Earlier this year we were (playing) smarter, making people pay for not respecting us.
"Suddenly we’re trending backward; at this point, we’re giving a ‘W’ to some people. It starts with simple things, like keeping possession, finding feet, connecting passes, creating opportunities and finishing chances. It’s time we do that again.”
Starting lineups
St. Francis
G Jonathan Burke
D Nicholas Guilli
D Timmy Pisarski
D Carmeu Herard
D Ethan Grosam
M David Gianos
M Keenan Corrigan
M Mathrew Martin
M Nicholas Roehl
M Sean Conley
F Ryan Pennington
Bartlett
G Jake Hasenstein
D Rudy Reyes
D Joshua Merkel
D Joshua White
D Igor Zwada
M Alexis Contreras
M Oliver Sale
M Venici Leone
M Ryan Stratton
F Tim Riordan
F T.J. Ivkovich
Man of the Match: David Gianos, MF, St. Francis
Referees: Dylan Kramer (center), Victor Huerrera, Jay Cummins