Crystal Lake South seeks
to improve quality control
Gators top Woodstock North 4-2, but coach wants more
By Dave Surico
CRYSTAL LAKE -- For Brian Allen, the in-between times are what's important.
"We have moments of brilliance, and then we hit lulls. It's all about consistency," said the Crystal Lake South coach.
Allen didn't find exactly what he was looking for Thursday, but his Gators (5-2) had more than enough positives to post a 4-2 win over Woodstock North.
What he wants to regularly view is the kind of effort he saw in his club's signature win this season -- a 4-1 result over St. Charles North last Saturday at the Barrington Classic.
"We put it together against St. Charles North and got a great result," he said. "We've been telling the guys they've been capable of playing that way. We had a great summer; we played Peoria Notre Dame and we beat them.
"They (his players) were up to the challenge, knowing they could be good. But in the fall you've got to show it. The first two games against Barrington and Lake Zurich (2-0 and 3-0 losses respectively in the Classic), I think they went in and just assumed they'd hang tough without putting a consistent effort in.
"There were 20-minute flashes of good soccer in those games, but against St. Charles North we came out and played a steady 80."
Against Woodstock North, Crystal Lake South was consistent in its ability to find wide open attempts on Thunder goalkeeper Ricky Rodriguez. The hosts let him know they'd be visiting often with an early corner kick to his doorstep. The junior plucked the ball out of the air to begin a busy afternoon.
In the fourth minute, the keeper was contested by Charlie Ruff when catching Orlando Tapia's cross. The ball came loose from contact and Ruff tapped it in. The play was originally called a goal, but the decision was reversed after a discussion between center official Gary Jurian and AR Bob Shea.
Woodstock North's first concentrated offensive push put three balls in the box starting in the sixth minute, but each was dismissed by the Gators, who then resumed an offensive push that hallmarked much of the game.
The host's Andrew Grabowski had a prime chance to break the ice in the 11th minute. The sophomore was 10 yards out on the left post after crisscrossing passes from Orlando Tapia and Charlie Ruff found him unmarked, but the sophomore went wide with a left-footed shot in the 11th minute.
An undeterred Tapia kept looking for his teammates. A minute later he found freshman Nikolas Getzinger in stride down the middle of the Gators' offensive third. The midfielder came in 1 v. 1 and sidestepped the rushing Rodriguez before calmly rolling the ball into the right side of the net.
"I thought we came out pretty good ... that's what makes us a better team -- working hard with each other," said Tapia, who earned Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match honor for his high work rate and three assists in the game.
"This is the best team I've been on out of my whole four years," Tapia said. "We want a lot to come out of this season -- definitely make a good run."
Crystal Lake South almost extended its lead when Grabowski mirrored Getzinger's move in the 19th minute. But he sent the ball too slowly toward the empty net and Thunder defender Riley Basaran ran it down and cleared it off the line.
Woodstock North's first dangerous effort came when Michael McCarty put Alejandro Miranda on goal, but Crystal Lake South keeper Dalton Kause came out for a sliding save that kept the Thunder off the board at the 20-minute mark.
The visitors continued to make a little noise in Gators territory. Zach Schmidt used some fancy footwork to maintain possession near the left backline before sending a ball that forced Kause to go airborne to take it away from Edder Tapia in the 26th minute.
The pressure payed off the Thunder. Alejandro Miranda's steal near midfield led to the equalizer.
The senior midfielder passed the takeaway to Josh Jandron at the top of the 18-yard box toward the left post. The forward hit a strong left-footed strike that flew inside the right post to pull Woodstock North even at the 29-minute mark.
The tie was short-lived. Crystal Lake South's Tapia, a four-year varsity player, found two teammates free of the Woodstock North defense. Senior Stefan Harris got the ball at his feet, and with plenty of time to compose himself, calmly buried a 16-footer in the 32nd minute for a lead that wasn't relinquished.
The Gators kept on the attack. Woodstock North's Rodriguez had to come up big again when he charged an open Julio Campos and forced him to push a solid opportunity just wide of the right post in the 38th minute.
The Gators went for the kill after the break.
"We came out with the mentality to be a better second half team than the first half to put them under pressure," Tapia said. "We decided to start attacking more as a team, and that's what helped us out a lot."
The senior's header hit the crossbar in the 45th minute before Grabowski found redemption.
A Ruff pass found him outside the right post, 10 yards off the endline. From there Grabowski put strong shot on the ground past a post-hugging Rodriguez nine minutes into the second half.
The sophomore followed with a little cleanup work in the 51st minute. It started when Getzinger sent the ball down the right side to Ryan Russman, who found Tapia in middle. His rocket was stopped but created a rebound that Grabowski popped home for his eighth goal of the season.
"I know I wasn't at my best at the beginning. You've got to keep moving through it," said the soft-spoken sophomore, who liked the way his team came out for the second half. "I definitely felt we were fired up and ready to put some in the net and put them under."
Allen thinks the Gators are on the right track, but sees room for improvement.
"We pepper the keeper, and we have to be sharper," he said. "There are two
disappointing sides. I think we need to stretch the lead and make it a little more
comfortable and start knocking the ball around instead of having to continue to go-go-
go.
"On the defensive side of the ball not napping, we sent too many forward and
left ourselves vulnerable and they got their second one. We need to have a higher standard."
Allen credited his seniors, who include Ben Nyman and team co-captains Andrew
Perrine and four-year varsity player Ruff, for leading the charge that put the game away after the intermission.
"They know soccer's an 80-minute game, and we didn't have out best first half," Allen said. "We knew we were going to get more chances. It was a just a matter of being more efficient."
Woodstock North coach Lauren Farley was satisfied with her team's performance.
"We're playing a Crystal Lake team that has a lot of players who play club all year long round, and I think we definitely challenged them," said Farley, who coaches both varsity teams at the school. "They're playing really hard."
The Thunder (1-8) never surrendered and put together their best offense of the game in the latter stages of the game. That culminated in Edder Tapia's rebound goal off a Chris Niese shot in the 77th minute.
Junior keeper Rodriguez was the reason the Thunder (1-8) stayed in the game. The team stat sheet credited him with 19 saves -- some of the spectacular variety.
"I prefer not to be as busy as that was. A few one-on-ones, that's fine, but having this many close shots and this many goals scored, that shouldn't happen," Rodriguez said. "They challeged me a lot, so it was good for me. That's the hardest team we've played this season so far."
Starting lineups
Woodstock North
GK: Ricky Rodriguez
D: Esteban Albarran
D: Riley Basaran
D: Kacper Scheibe
D: Ian Andersen
MF: Zach Schmidt
MF: Johnathan Glaser
MF: Alejandro Miranda
MF: Edder Tapia
F: Luis Balleno
F: Chris Niese
Crystal Lake South
GK: Dalton Kause
D: Jeff Kirshenbaum
D: Zach Schmidt
D: Kennan Grissom
D: Andrew Perrine
MF: Mike Woeste
MF: Orlando Tapia
MF: Julio Campos
MF: Charlie Ruff
MF: Nikolas Getzinger
F: Andrew Grabowski
Man of the Match: Orlando Tapia, MF, Crystal Lake South
Referees: Gary Jurian (center); Kevin Brophy; Bob Shea
to improve quality control
Gators top Woodstock North 4-2, but coach wants more
By Dave Surico
CRYSTAL LAKE -- For Brian Allen, the in-between times are what's important.
"We have moments of brilliance, and then we hit lulls. It's all about consistency," said the Crystal Lake South coach.
Allen didn't find exactly what he was looking for Thursday, but his Gators (5-2) had more than enough positives to post a 4-2 win over Woodstock North.
What he wants to regularly view is the kind of effort he saw in his club's signature win this season -- a 4-1 result over St. Charles North last Saturday at the Barrington Classic.
"We put it together against St. Charles North and got a great result," he said. "We've been telling the guys they've been capable of playing that way. We had a great summer; we played Peoria Notre Dame and we beat them.
"They (his players) were up to the challenge, knowing they could be good. But in the fall you've got to show it. The first two games against Barrington and Lake Zurich (2-0 and 3-0 losses respectively in the Classic), I think they went in and just assumed they'd hang tough without putting a consistent effort in.
"There were 20-minute flashes of good soccer in those games, but against St. Charles North we came out and played a steady 80."
Against Woodstock North, Crystal Lake South was consistent in its ability to find wide open attempts on Thunder goalkeeper Ricky Rodriguez. The hosts let him know they'd be visiting often with an early corner kick to his doorstep. The junior plucked the ball out of the air to begin a busy afternoon.
In the fourth minute, the keeper was contested by Charlie Ruff when catching Orlando Tapia's cross. The ball came loose from contact and Ruff tapped it in. The play was originally called a goal, but the decision was reversed after a discussion between center official Gary Jurian and AR Bob Shea.
Woodstock North's first concentrated offensive push put three balls in the box starting in the sixth minute, but each was dismissed by the Gators, who then resumed an offensive push that hallmarked much of the game.
The host's Andrew Grabowski had a prime chance to break the ice in the 11th minute. The sophomore was 10 yards out on the left post after crisscrossing passes from Orlando Tapia and Charlie Ruff found him unmarked, but the sophomore went wide with a left-footed shot in the 11th minute.
An undeterred Tapia kept looking for his teammates. A minute later he found freshman Nikolas Getzinger in stride down the middle of the Gators' offensive third. The midfielder came in 1 v. 1 and sidestepped the rushing Rodriguez before calmly rolling the ball into the right side of the net.
"I thought we came out pretty good ... that's what makes us a better team -- working hard with each other," said Tapia, who earned Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match honor for his high work rate and three assists in the game.
"This is the best team I've been on out of my whole four years," Tapia said. "We want a lot to come out of this season -- definitely make a good run."
Crystal Lake South almost extended its lead when Grabowski mirrored Getzinger's move in the 19th minute. But he sent the ball too slowly toward the empty net and Thunder defender Riley Basaran ran it down and cleared it off the line.
Woodstock North's first dangerous effort came when Michael McCarty put Alejandro Miranda on goal, but Crystal Lake South keeper Dalton Kause came out for a sliding save that kept the Thunder off the board at the 20-minute mark.
The visitors continued to make a little noise in Gators territory. Zach Schmidt used some fancy footwork to maintain possession near the left backline before sending a ball that forced Kause to go airborne to take it away from Edder Tapia in the 26th minute.
The pressure payed off the Thunder. Alejandro Miranda's steal near midfield led to the equalizer.
The senior midfielder passed the takeaway to Josh Jandron at the top of the 18-yard box toward the left post. The forward hit a strong left-footed strike that flew inside the right post to pull Woodstock North even at the 29-minute mark.
The tie was short-lived. Crystal Lake South's Tapia, a four-year varsity player, found two teammates free of the Woodstock North defense. Senior Stefan Harris got the ball at his feet, and with plenty of time to compose himself, calmly buried a 16-footer in the 32nd minute for a lead that wasn't relinquished.
The Gators kept on the attack. Woodstock North's Rodriguez had to come up big again when he charged an open Julio Campos and forced him to push a solid opportunity just wide of the right post in the 38th minute.
The Gators went for the kill after the break.
"We came out with the mentality to be a better second half team than the first half to put them under pressure," Tapia said. "We decided to start attacking more as a team, and that's what helped us out a lot."
The senior's header hit the crossbar in the 45th minute before Grabowski found redemption.
A Ruff pass found him outside the right post, 10 yards off the endline. From there Grabowski put strong shot on the ground past a post-hugging Rodriguez nine minutes into the second half.
The sophomore followed with a little cleanup work in the 51st minute. It started when Getzinger sent the ball down the right side to Ryan Russman, who found Tapia in middle. His rocket was stopped but created a rebound that Grabowski popped home for his eighth goal of the season.
"I know I wasn't at my best at the beginning. You've got to keep moving through it," said the soft-spoken sophomore, who liked the way his team came out for the second half. "I definitely felt we were fired up and ready to put some in the net and put them under."
Allen thinks the Gators are on the right track, but sees room for improvement.
"We pepper the keeper, and we have to be sharper," he said. "There are two
disappointing sides. I think we need to stretch the lead and make it a little more
comfortable and start knocking the ball around instead of having to continue to go-go-
go.
"On the defensive side of the ball not napping, we sent too many forward and
left ourselves vulnerable and they got their second one. We need to have a higher standard."
Allen credited his seniors, who include Ben Nyman and team co-captains Andrew
Perrine and four-year varsity player Ruff, for leading the charge that put the game away after the intermission.
"They know soccer's an 80-minute game, and we didn't have out best first half," Allen said. "We knew we were going to get more chances. It was a just a matter of being more efficient."
Woodstock North coach Lauren Farley was satisfied with her team's performance.
"We're playing a Crystal Lake team that has a lot of players who play club all year long round, and I think we definitely challenged them," said Farley, who coaches both varsity teams at the school. "They're playing really hard."
The Thunder (1-8) never surrendered and put together their best offense of the game in the latter stages of the game. That culminated in Edder Tapia's rebound goal off a Chris Niese shot in the 77th minute.
Junior keeper Rodriguez was the reason the Thunder (1-8) stayed in the game. The team stat sheet credited him with 19 saves -- some of the spectacular variety.
"I prefer not to be as busy as that was. A few one-on-ones, that's fine, but having this many close shots and this many goals scored, that shouldn't happen," Rodriguez said. "They challeged me a lot, so it was good for me. That's the hardest team we've played this season so far."
Starting lineups
Woodstock North
GK: Ricky Rodriguez
D: Esteban Albarran
D: Riley Basaran
D: Kacper Scheibe
D: Ian Andersen
MF: Zach Schmidt
MF: Johnathan Glaser
MF: Alejandro Miranda
MF: Edder Tapia
F: Luis Balleno
F: Chris Niese
Crystal Lake South
GK: Dalton Kause
D: Jeff Kirshenbaum
D: Zach Schmidt
D: Kennan Grissom
D: Andrew Perrine
MF: Mike Woeste
MF: Orlando Tapia
MF: Julio Campos
MF: Charlie Ruff
MF: Nikolas Getzinger
F: Andrew Grabowski
Man of the Match: Orlando Tapia, MF, Crystal Lake South
Referees: Gary Jurian (center); Kevin Brophy; Bob Shea