Wheaton North steals momentum,
ground game from Maine West
Falcons find secret weapon in choppy field
By Alison Moran
LA GRANGE -- The last game in a tournament often means long waits and less than ideal field conditions. Such was the case Saturday for the 15th-seeded Maine West Warriors and unseeded Wheaton North Falcons, whose scheduled 3:30 p.m. game was pushed back nearly an hour to finish earlier games.
Both teams complained about the "choppy" field, but Maine West, which is struggling this season after winning 15 games in 2013, may have had difficulty playing its vintage ground game. Wheaton North shut down the Warriors 2-0 at the Lyons Sports Complex.
North appeared to take control of the game from the start, taking momentum away from the Warriors by stopping their ground game with great defensive stops.
Just six and a half minutes into the game, Wheaton North senior midfielder Aaron Deeke sailed the ball past Maine West goalkeeper Edgar Vallejo for the first score.
Deeke remained in command throughout the game, creating opportunities for scoring and running an aggressive defense. Eight minutes later, senior midfielder Jason Szumski scored another, and the aggressive defense provided by Zach Oslund and Ethan Taira shut down the Warriors.
"We wanted to focus on starting strong and not give up any dangerous situations by turning the ball over," said Deeke, who gained Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match honors.
Deeke also gave credit to the backs, who "played a great game, with a lot of organization." Asked about his sheer aggression against the Warriors, he said, "I have a pretty clear view of the field, and it's up to me to set a good example. "
North coach Tim McEvilly was pleased, but admitted, "It was a difficult game for both teams. We were sitting for two hours, so it was hard to keep ready to play."
McEvilly described his strategy for beating the Warriors.
"We put two or three men on the ball to not allow (Maine West) to change the direction of play," he said. "We did that very well. The choppy field took care of the rest. "
Maine West coach Alan Matan won't blame the field for the Warriors' loss to the unseeded Falcons.
"We're a possession team, and we like to keep the ball on the ground as much as possible, " he said. "It's a little more difficult for us. But we're not going to give any excuses. We're just going to congratulate Wheaton North on a nice job."
Wheaton North moves on to play No. 2 seed New Trier on Tuesday. The Trevians beat unseeded Solorio 3-1.
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
Connor Reese- GK
Zoran Tanasic-F
Sam Mason- M
Aaron Deeke- M
Zach Oslund-D
Ethan Taira- D
Cooper Winckler-M
Jason Szumski- M
Alex Bienduga- F
Jack Williams- M
Armand Torres-D
Maine West
Edgar Vallejo- GK
Giuseppe Pulvino-M
Christian Ayala-M
Maciej Czerlonko-D
Daniel Silva Jr.-M
Fernando Beccera-M
Alex Landowski-D
Edgar Felix-D
Johanny Orozko- M
Michael Podsiadly-D
Martin Contreras- F
Man of the Match: Aaron Deeke, Wheaton North.
ground game from Maine West
Falcons find secret weapon in choppy field
By Alison Moran
LA GRANGE -- The last game in a tournament often means long waits and less than ideal field conditions. Such was the case Saturday for the 15th-seeded Maine West Warriors and unseeded Wheaton North Falcons, whose scheduled 3:30 p.m. game was pushed back nearly an hour to finish earlier games.
Both teams complained about the "choppy" field, but Maine West, which is struggling this season after winning 15 games in 2013, may have had difficulty playing its vintage ground game. Wheaton North shut down the Warriors 2-0 at the Lyons Sports Complex.
North appeared to take control of the game from the start, taking momentum away from the Warriors by stopping their ground game with great defensive stops.
Just six and a half minutes into the game, Wheaton North senior midfielder Aaron Deeke sailed the ball past Maine West goalkeeper Edgar Vallejo for the first score.
Deeke remained in command throughout the game, creating opportunities for scoring and running an aggressive defense. Eight minutes later, senior midfielder Jason Szumski scored another, and the aggressive defense provided by Zach Oslund and Ethan Taira shut down the Warriors.
"We wanted to focus on starting strong and not give up any dangerous situations by turning the ball over," said Deeke, who gained Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match honors.
Deeke also gave credit to the backs, who "played a great game, with a lot of organization." Asked about his sheer aggression against the Warriors, he said, "I have a pretty clear view of the field, and it's up to me to set a good example. "
North coach Tim McEvilly was pleased, but admitted, "It was a difficult game for both teams. We were sitting for two hours, so it was hard to keep ready to play."
McEvilly described his strategy for beating the Warriors.
"We put two or three men on the ball to not allow (Maine West) to change the direction of play," he said. "We did that very well. The choppy field took care of the rest. "
Maine West coach Alan Matan won't blame the field for the Warriors' loss to the unseeded Falcons.
"We're a possession team, and we like to keep the ball on the ground as much as possible, " he said. "It's a little more difficult for us. But we're not going to give any excuses. We're just going to congratulate Wheaton North on a nice job."
Wheaton North moves on to play No. 2 seed New Trier on Tuesday. The Trevians beat unseeded Solorio 3-1.
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
Connor Reese- GK
Zoran Tanasic-F
Sam Mason- M
Aaron Deeke- M
Zach Oslund-D
Ethan Taira- D
Cooper Winckler-M
Jason Szumski- M
Alex Bienduga- F
Jack Williams- M
Armand Torres-D
Maine West
Edgar Vallejo- GK
Giuseppe Pulvino-M
Christian Ayala-M
Maciej Czerlonko-D
Daniel Silva Jr.-M
Fernando Beccera-M
Alex Landowski-D
Edgar Felix-D
Johanny Orozko- M
Michael Podsiadly-D
Martin Contreras- F
Man of the Match: Aaron Deeke, Wheaton North.