New Grabowski scores 4, CLS tops Antioch
Junior Brad continues family legacy, Gators remain undefeated
By Matt Misiek
CRYSTAL LAKE -- Last fall, Crystal Lake South’s Brad Grabowski got the opportunity to enjoy major minutes on the pitch with his brother, former Gator standout forward and current Aurora University player Andrew Grabowski. While big brother was up front tallying goals to become the school’s fourth all-time leading scorer, Brad played more as a starter on the wing in support.
Fast forward to Wednesday afternoon at the Gators’ Soccer Park. Brad, now a junior and donning his brother’s familiar number 23, made his presence felt early and often in the forward spot. Grabowski kept the family tradition alive up-front as he notched four goals for the Gators and sparked them to a 7-0 nonconference victory over Antioch and a 3-0-0 start to their 2017 campaign.
“It means a lot,” Grabowski said regarding the opportunity to play up-top. “Being on varsity the past few years has prepared me. The first year I was learning a lot from the older players, not getting a lot of minutes. Last year, I was starting more out wide in preparation to, more or less, be in his spot.”
Grabowski, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, kicked off the scoring in the seventh minute. After superb work from midfielder Nick Langdon moved the ball down the left wing to the end line, the junior cut in and dropped a short pass where Grabowski struck a left-footed drive from eight yards to the right of and past Antioch goalkeeper Noah Boehm.
His second goal came early in the second half. A Gator through-ball found Grabowski and Boehm both chasing the ball 25 yards from goal. Boehm won the race and tried to kick it upfield, but the ball caromed off of the Gator forward and bounded back behind the Sequoit keeper and into the net.
“When the goalie and Brad went head-to head and Brad won, it shows that he puts in the hard work,” said Langdon.
The third and fourth goals for Grabowski came in succession in the 68th and 69th minutes. The first of the pair saw the junior chip the ball over Boehm from 20 yards out.
Crystal Lake South also received a strong game from senior midfielder Oscar Campos. Campos provided the remaining first half finishes, volleying in a short cross from Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List midfielder Nik Getzinger in the 12th minute. The goal was heavily disputed by the Sequoits, who claimed that Getzinger was offside when receiving the ball, but the flag stayed down on the right.
Campos’ second goal came in the 34th minute as he finished off great service from sophomore forward Alex Canfield with a short tap-in for a 3-0 halftime lead.
“The first two games, the energy has been there even in practices,” Campos added. “Our mindset of not giving up and challenging every single time. Just going out and wanting to win games.
“Our middle of the field is our strength, and we are able to get the ball out wide,” he continued. “The middle of the field and the ability to get it to us, and we fought through the rest of the game and things came out very good for us.”
The fifth Crystal Lake South goal actually was a result of a rule change effective this season. Gator sophomore forward Sabien Raymond was in the clear but was pulled down outside of the eighteen by Antioch defender and captain R.J. Vazquez, who was shown a red card for the foul under the “last man” rule, and it opened up a debate between the officials and Antioch coaching staff.
The change for this season is if the “last man” foul occurred in the penalty area it is a yellow card and a penalty kick. If the foul occurs outside of the area, it is a straight red card. After talking with Antioch head coach Marni Polakow and Crystal Lake South assistant coach Tony Allen, who took over the coaching duties in the second half for head coach Brian Allen, the call was altered to show Vazquez yellow and a spot kick to the Gators. Langdon stepped up and converted the kick left of Boehm.
Antioch (1-1-0), was unable to get anything going in the offensive end against the Gators backline of Andrew Edge, Ricky Cristante, Ryan Yazel and Marcin Sliwinski.
Their closest chance of the match came in the 50th minute as senior defender Jason Wood ripped a drive from the top of the 18 to the right of Gator keeper Brandon Gorka, but just wide of the near post.
Antioch coach Polakow praised Boehm and found some bright spots in the Sequoits early season performance.
“My goalie played like a man today,” Polakow added of her senior keeper. “My goalie thinks everything is his fault, in reality nothing was his fault. Things could have been a lot worse.”
“He was put in a lot of game-like situations,” she continued. “These situations you cannot manipulate like in practice. I was also able to get some of the younger players in and give them an opportunity to step in and get some minutes.”
Boehm gave his assessment of the afternoon.
“I know I can be more confident in these situations,” he said. “I hesitated on several occasions, and I just need to keep my confidence. Since this is the second game, our team is not yet a congealed unit and with this tournament (at Illinois Math and Science Academy) coming up this weekend, our team can take shape.”
Antioch will compete against Aurora Central and Joliet Catholic and the hosts at the event.
For Crystal Lake South, the opening three wins (including an 8-1 count over Hononegah and 1-0 versus Streamwood) have made a statement that this team can make some noise beyond the Fox Valley Conference.
“We were familiar with each other last year,” said Cristante. “However, we played with each other over the summer and we have been really working well together and have found out how to connect.”
“The mentality of this team is different from last year,” said coach Tony Allen. “They like coming out and playing all the time. They like to be together, and they have a good time.”
Allen also noted that the conditioning and physical state of the team has dramatically improved.
“Last year I don’t know if Grabowski could go 65 minutes,” he added. “I asked him (today) if he was OK with fifteen minutes left and he said he was, even coming off an injury in the spring. Jack (Wruck) is just a horse out there, and if he plays well, so do we.”
Crystal Lake South will play in the Johnsburg Tournament this weekend which includes Jefferson, Hampshire, and the host Skyhawks.
“This is a good test for us,” said Allen. “Three games in two days. Different styles, Rockford Jefferson is probably a bit more possession-based. Hampshire has a new coach, and it’s been a few years since we faced Johnsburg. If we do what we need to do, then we should do well.”
Starting lineups
Crystal Lake South
GK: Brandon Gorka
D: Andrew Edge
D: Ricky Cristante
D: Ryan Yazel
D: Marcin Sliwinski
MF: Oscar Campos
MF: Jack Wruck
MF: Ryan Coughlin
MF Nick Langdon
F: Nikolas Getzinger
F: Brad Grabowski
Antioch
GK: Noah Boehm
D: Peter Boeh
D: Christian Ortiz
D: R.J. Vazquez
D: Jason Wood
MF: Michael Espitia
MF: Adam Lynn
MF: Bart Krumpos
MF: Alex Keeler
F: Krystian Nikolov
F: Gabe Tijerina
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Brad Grabowski, jr., F, CLS
Officials: Bob Crumrine (center), Scott Gassert, Harold Pletz
Scoring summary
First half
Grabowski (Langdon) 7th
Campos (Getzinger) 12th
Campos (Canfield) 34th
2nd Half
Grabowski (unassisted) 45th
Langdon, (spot kick) 49th
Grabowski (Langdon) 68th
Grabowski (unassisted) 69th
Junior Brad continues family legacy, Gators remain undefeated
By Matt Misiek
CRYSTAL LAKE -- Last fall, Crystal Lake South’s Brad Grabowski got the opportunity to enjoy major minutes on the pitch with his brother, former Gator standout forward and current Aurora University player Andrew Grabowski. While big brother was up front tallying goals to become the school’s fourth all-time leading scorer, Brad played more as a starter on the wing in support.
Fast forward to Wednesday afternoon at the Gators’ Soccer Park. Brad, now a junior and donning his brother’s familiar number 23, made his presence felt early and often in the forward spot. Grabowski kept the family tradition alive up-front as he notched four goals for the Gators and sparked them to a 7-0 nonconference victory over Antioch and a 3-0-0 start to their 2017 campaign.
“It means a lot,” Grabowski said regarding the opportunity to play up-top. “Being on varsity the past few years has prepared me. The first year I was learning a lot from the older players, not getting a lot of minutes. Last year, I was starting more out wide in preparation to, more or less, be in his spot.”
Grabowski, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, kicked off the scoring in the seventh minute. After superb work from midfielder Nick Langdon moved the ball down the left wing to the end line, the junior cut in and dropped a short pass where Grabowski struck a left-footed drive from eight yards to the right of and past Antioch goalkeeper Noah Boehm.
His second goal came early in the second half. A Gator through-ball found Grabowski and Boehm both chasing the ball 25 yards from goal. Boehm won the race and tried to kick it upfield, but the ball caromed off of the Gator forward and bounded back behind the Sequoit keeper and into the net.
“When the goalie and Brad went head-to head and Brad won, it shows that he puts in the hard work,” said Langdon.
The third and fourth goals for Grabowski came in succession in the 68th and 69th minutes. The first of the pair saw the junior chip the ball over Boehm from 20 yards out.
Crystal Lake South also received a strong game from senior midfielder Oscar Campos. Campos provided the remaining first half finishes, volleying in a short cross from Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List midfielder Nik Getzinger in the 12th minute. The goal was heavily disputed by the Sequoits, who claimed that Getzinger was offside when receiving the ball, but the flag stayed down on the right.
Campos’ second goal came in the 34th minute as he finished off great service from sophomore forward Alex Canfield with a short tap-in for a 3-0 halftime lead.
“The first two games, the energy has been there even in practices,” Campos added. “Our mindset of not giving up and challenging every single time. Just going out and wanting to win games.
“Our middle of the field is our strength, and we are able to get the ball out wide,” he continued. “The middle of the field and the ability to get it to us, and we fought through the rest of the game and things came out very good for us.”
The fifth Crystal Lake South goal actually was a result of a rule change effective this season. Gator sophomore forward Sabien Raymond was in the clear but was pulled down outside of the eighteen by Antioch defender and captain R.J. Vazquez, who was shown a red card for the foul under the “last man” rule, and it opened up a debate between the officials and Antioch coaching staff.
The change for this season is if the “last man” foul occurred in the penalty area it is a yellow card and a penalty kick. If the foul occurs outside of the area, it is a straight red card. After talking with Antioch head coach Marni Polakow and Crystal Lake South assistant coach Tony Allen, who took over the coaching duties in the second half for head coach Brian Allen, the call was altered to show Vazquez yellow and a spot kick to the Gators. Langdon stepped up and converted the kick left of Boehm.
Antioch (1-1-0), was unable to get anything going in the offensive end against the Gators backline of Andrew Edge, Ricky Cristante, Ryan Yazel and Marcin Sliwinski.
Their closest chance of the match came in the 50th minute as senior defender Jason Wood ripped a drive from the top of the 18 to the right of Gator keeper Brandon Gorka, but just wide of the near post.
Antioch coach Polakow praised Boehm and found some bright spots in the Sequoits early season performance.
“My goalie played like a man today,” Polakow added of her senior keeper. “My goalie thinks everything is his fault, in reality nothing was his fault. Things could have been a lot worse.”
“He was put in a lot of game-like situations,” she continued. “These situations you cannot manipulate like in practice. I was also able to get some of the younger players in and give them an opportunity to step in and get some minutes.”
Boehm gave his assessment of the afternoon.
“I know I can be more confident in these situations,” he said. “I hesitated on several occasions, and I just need to keep my confidence. Since this is the second game, our team is not yet a congealed unit and with this tournament (at Illinois Math and Science Academy) coming up this weekend, our team can take shape.”
Antioch will compete against Aurora Central and Joliet Catholic and the hosts at the event.
For Crystal Lake South, the opening three wins (including an 8-1 count over Hononegah and 1-0 versus Streamwood) have made a statement that this team can make some noise beyond the Fox Valley Conference.
“We were familiar with each other last year,” said Cristante. “However, we played with each other over the summer and we have been really working well together and have found out how to connect.”
“The mentality of this team is different from last year,” said coach Tony Allen. “They like coming out and playing all the time. They like to be together, and they have a good time.”
Allen also noted that the conditioning and physical state of the team has dramatically improved.
“Last year I don’t know if Grabowski could go 65 minutes,” he added. “I asked him (today) if he was OK with fifteen minutes left and he said he was, even coming off an injury in the spring. Jack (Wruck) is just a horse out there, and if he plays well, so do we.”
Crystal Lake South will play in the Johnsburg Tournament this weekend which includes Jefferson, Hampshire, and the host Skyhawks.
“This is a good test for us,” said Allen. “Three games in two days. Different styles, Rockford Jefferson is probably a bit more possession-based. Hampshire has a new coach, and it’s been a few years since we faced Johnsburg. If we do what we need to do, then we should do well.”
Starting lineups
Crystal Lake South
GK: Brandon Gorka
D: Andrew Edge
D: Ricky Cristante
D: Ryan Yazel
D: Marcin Sliwinski
MF: Oscar Campos
MF: Jack Wruck
MF: Ryan Coughlin
MF Nick Langdon
F: Nikolas Getzinger
F: Brad Grabowski
Antioch
GK: Noah Boehm
D: Peter Boeh
D: Christian Ortiz
D: R.J. Vazquez
D: Jason Wood
MF: Michael Espitia
MF: Adam Lynn
MF: Bart Krumpos
MF: Alex Keeler
F: Krystian Nikolov
F: Gabe Tijerina
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Brad Grabowski, jr., F, CLS
Officials: Bob Crumrine (center), Scott Gassert, Harold Pletz
Scoring summary
First half
Grabowski (Langdon) 7th
Campos (Getzinger) 12th
Campos (Canfield) 34th
2nd Half
Grabowski (unassisted) 45th
Langdon, (spot kick) 49th
Grabowski (Langdon) 68th
Grabowski (unassisted) 69th