York scores early, often vs. Addison Trail
Dukes win 6-0 over Blazers in season finale
By Gary Larsen
ELMHURST — Senior Nights across Illinois were unique in a pandemic-altered season. A final game for seniors on their home field brings closure every year but usually comes with the anticipation of an upcoming regional game.
The cancellation of an IHSA postseason tournament eliminated that possibility.
“It's bittersweet,” York senior Chase McNeill said after his side’s 6-0 win Thursday over visiting Addison Trail. “It was great to get a season, but we still wished we could've played in the playoffs.
“Even though it was a season where there wasn't really an end-goal outside of the conference, everyone came to work every day. We didn't have any off practices or practices we were just kind of messing around. We were always there to compete and get better.”
Addison Trail senior Anthony Hernandez echoed that sentiment, after the three-year varsity player saw the clock run down on the final game of his high school career. Hernandez spoke as his teammates milled around the visitors’ bench, gathering their gear together for one last time in 2021.
“I’ll miss these times right here, playing under the lights,” Hernandez said. “We’ve had some great times in the four years that I’ve played here.
“We definitely did enjoy this year even though it was so different than a usual year. It was a one-in-a-billion season, because I don't think this will ever happen again. But I think we'll look back at this and enjoy it in the future.”
After the season-ending West Suburban Conference crossover game for both teams, the crossbars of both goals at York might need a new coat of paint.
During an adrenaline-fueled opening, York did its best to chip away some of that paint, rattling the crossbar multiple times in each half on a day when the Dukes had no qualms about putting balls on frame from all over their attacking third.
“We had some good hits from long range today,” York coach Jordan Stopka said. “That was some of the best shooting I've seen from us, and we were just playing simple. Sometimes we over complicate things but not today.”
An early three-goal flurry keyed the outcome. York (6-3-1) got goals from Ryan Woolfe at 8 minutes, Sam Musial at 11 minutes and Kevin Gliatis at 12 minutes to stun Addison Trail (6-5-2).
“They're a really good team, and they gave it to us right away,” Addison Trail coach Ryan Dini said. “It's hard to come back when you're facing a good team like that.”
After falling behind 3-0, Addison Trail rallied to out-attack York to halftime, but Dukes keeper Mario Aguilar-Garcia and his backline kept the Blazers out of net on their way to the team’s second shutout of the season.
“We hadn't had a shutout since our first game so to get a clean-sheet on Senior Night with a senior goalie is always special,” Stopka said.
Woolfe scored from 10 yards on a right-side cross to the far side from Jose Herrera. Boyd Puckett sent in a shot from distance that Addison Trail keeper Jesus Bolivar tipped off the crossbar, and Musial was there to bury the rebound.
When Gliatis scored one minute later, York seemingly had firm command of the game. Addison Trail wasn’t about to check out for the night however.
“After those first 12 minutes I'd say the next 28 were mostly (Addison Trail),” Stopka said. “They looked much better than us, and they were much more dangerous. We told our guys at halftime they were kind of coasting. And we didn’t feel better until after we got that fourth goal.”
York keeper Aguilar-Garcia tipped a free kick taken by Addison Trail’s Uriel Bibiano over the bar at 14 minutes, and Hernandez fought his way behind two defenders to force an Aguilar-Garcia save at 17 minutes.
Addison Trail’s Alex Sandoval had a shot blocked by a defender in the box at 30 minutes, and at 37 minutes Aguilar-Garcia charged off his line to beat the Blazers’ Adrian Guzman to a ball near the the top of the box.
McNeill sent a shot off the crossbar at 38 minutes, and Gliatis saw a shot tipped over the crossbar just before halftime to end a wild first half of play.
“We had a lot of early chances today, and we were able to finish them,” McNeill said.
“Then they started bringing their backs up, and it felt like we were getting complacent and letting them dribble through us.
“Fortunately, Mario made some great saves. We definitely could've come out of that half 3-3 but luckily we made it out of that half and were able to come out strong in the second half.”
Play swung back and forth to start the second half to the 61st minute. That’s when York’s Joe Hernandez rattled a shot off the crossbar and teammate Herrera was there to finish on it after a failed clearing attempt.
A pair of Woolfe corner kicks came at 74 minutes. Timur Turkoglu got on the end of the second one to give York a 5-0 lead. McNeill ended the day’s scoring by converting a penalty kick with 32 seconds left in the game.
“We got a little complacent in the first half, but we stuck to our game plan in the second half,” Musial said. We moved the ball around, had some through-balls, got some chances, and we converted. It was a great group of guys this year, and it was a great send-off for all of our seniors, that's for sure.”
Stopka was pleased with the barrage of goals his side managed but was even happier to keep a dangerous Addison Trail team from scoring.
“Kids were making runs, and they wanted the score at the end but I was saying ‘Let’s get Mario the clean sheet!’” Stopka said. “We were all thinking ‘score’ but what about keeping the zero for your boy in goal? To be honest, the clean-sheet is probably what I'm most proud of tonight.”
Addison Trail will lose seven seniors from this year’s team to graduation. The season highlight came in a March 27 1-0 upset win at Lyons that knocked the Lions off of the top perch of the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The defeat was the undefeated West Suburban Conference Silver Division champion's sole blemish against 11 wins.
“It was an up-and-down season,” Dini said. “We had some good wins, and we had some bad losses. But in a year like this we finished above .500, and I’ll take that.
“Anthony Hernandez has been with us for three years and probably has 35 goals in his career. So we're going to have to replace his scoring, and we’ll have to replace Angel Gomez in the back as well. Those are a couple big guys to replace, but I really like our junior class and our sophomore class only has one loss.”
The Blazers also bid farewell to seniors Sandoval, Bolivar, Guzman, Eric Garcia and Mert Ahmed.
Dini’s program now annually produces a rock-solid team in Addison, and Hernandez sees a continuation of that tradition next year.
“Addison just has a lot of soccer players and when they come in as freshman they stay together and build chemistry as a freshman team and then a sophomore team,” Hernandez said. “They build chemistry and by the time they get to senior year they can really play.
“We have a lot of young guys who I think are going to play really well next year. I'm excited to see how they do next year, and I'm proud of those guys for stepping up this year.”
Stopka had eight seniors on the roster in his first year as York’s head coach. He’s grateful to them for helping facilitate a smooth coaching transition.
Seniors Puckett, McNeill, Turkoglu, Aguilar-Garcia, Woolfe, Wilson Giron, Anthony Flores and Will Heuer all helped guide the Dukes this season.
“We got contributions from everyone tonight,” Stopka said. “(Woolfe) was playing with a tough achilles injury, but he still came out and scored a goal. To start 3-0 in the first 12 minutes, I mean, what else can you ask for?
“This was my first year as head coach, and I didn't know how the year would go. I want to give kudos first to (Woolfe) for kind of bringing us together. We have some native Spanish-speaking players and a couple kids with families from Guatemala and at the beginning of the year they were practicing over here, and our other guys were practicing over there; and there wasn’t any cohesion.
“(Woolfe) was the one who kind of brought us together and from there we kind of became one big family. It was a wonderful group of seniors, and I couldn't have asked for a better group to coach in my first season. I wish them the best of luck in everything they do.”
Starting lineups
Addison Trail
GK Jesus Bolivar
D Angel Gomez
D David Peters
D Moises Hernandez
D Uriel Bibiano
M Mert Ahmed
M Nico Parente
M Alex Sandoval
M Eric Garcia
F Adrian Guzman
F Anthony Hernandez
York
GK Mario Aguilar-Garcia
D Boyd Puckett
D Anthony Flores
D Timur Turkoglu
D Wilson Giron
M Sam Musial
M Joe Hernandez
M Chase McNeill
M Ryan Woolfe
M Kevin Gliatis
F Jose Herrera
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match — Ryan Woolfe, sr., MF, York
Scoring summary
First half
York — Woolfe (Herrera) 8 minutes
York — Musial (Puckett) 11 minutes
York — Gliatis (UA) 12 minutes
Second half
York — Herrera (Hernandez) 61 minutes
York — Turkoglu (Woolfe) 74 minutes
York — McNeill (PK) 80 minutes
Dukes win 6-0 over Blazers in season finale
By Gary Larsen
ELMHURST — Senior Nights across Illinois were unique in a pandemic-altered season. A final game for seniors on their home field brings closure every year but usually comes with the anticipation of an upcoming regional game.
The cancellation of an IHSA postseason tournament eliminated that possibility.
“It's bittersweet,” York senior Chase McNeill said after his side’s 6-0 win Thursday over visiting Addison Trail. “It was great to get a season, but we still wished we could've played in the playoffs.
“Even though it was a season where there wasn't really an end-goal outside of the conference, everyone came to work every day. We didn't have any off practices or practices we were just kind of messing around. We were always there to compete and get better.”
Addison Trail senior Anthony Hernandez echoed that sentiment, after the three-year varsity player saw the clock run down on the final game of his high school career. Hernandez spoke as his teammates milled around the visitors’ bench, gathering their gear together for one last time in 2021.
“I’ll miss these times right here, playing under the lights,” Hernandez said. “We’ve had some great times in the four years that I’ve played here.
“We definitely did enjoy this year even though it was so different than a usual year. It was a one-in-a-billion season, because I don't think this will ever happen again. But I think we'll look back at this and enjoy it in the future.”
After the season-ending West Suburban Conference crossover game for both teams, the crossbars of both goals at York might need a new coat of paint.
During an adrenaline-fueled opening, York did its best to chip away some of that paint, rattling the crossbar multiple times in each half on a day when the Dukes had no qualms about putting balls on frame from all over their attacking third.
“We had some good hits from long range today,” York coach Jordan Stopka said. “That was some of the best shooting I've seen from us, and we were just playing simple. Sometimes we over complicate things but not today.”
An early three-goal flurry keyed the outcome. York (6-3-1) got goals from Ryan Woolfe at 8 minutes, Sam Musial at 11 minutes and Kevin Gliatis at 12 minutes to stun Addison Trail (6-5-2).
“They're a really good team, and they gave it to us right away,” Addison Trail coach Ryan Dini said. “It's hard to come back when you're facing a good team like that.”
After falling behind 3-0, Addison Trail rallied to out-attack York to halftime, but Dukes keeper Mario Aguilar-Garcia and his backline kept the Blazers out of net on their way to the team’s second shutout of the season.
“We hadn't had a shutout since our first game so to get a clean-sheet on Senior Night with a senior goalie is always special,” Stopka said.
Woolfe scored from 10 yards on a right-side cross to the far side from Jose Herrera. Boyd Puckett sent in a shot from distance that Addison Trail keeper Jesus Bolivar tipped off the crossbar, and Musial was there to bury the rebound.
When Gliatis scored one minute later, York seemingly had firm command of the game. Addison Trail wasn’t about to check out for the night however.
“After those first 12 minutes I'd say the next 28 were mostly (Addison Trail),” Stopka said. “They looked much better than us, and they were much more dangerous. We told our guys at halftime they were kind of coasting. And we didn’t feel better until after we got that fourth goal.”
York keeper Aguilar-Garcia tipped a free kick taken by Addison Trail’s Uriel Bibiano over the bar at 14 minutes, and Hernandez fought his way behind two defenders to force an Aguilar-Garcia save at 17 minutes.
Addison Trail’s Alex Sandoval had a shot blocked by a defender in the box at 30 minutes, and at 37 minutes Aguilar-Garcia charged off his line to beat the Blazers’ Adrian Guzman to a ball near the the top of the box.
McNeill sent a shot off the crossbar at 38 minutes, and Gliatis saw a shot tipped over the crossbar just before halftime to end a wild first half of play.
“We had a lot of early chances today, and we were able to finish them,” McNeill said.
“Then they started bringing their backs up, and it felt like we were getting complacent and letting them dribble through us.
“Fortunately, Mario made some great saves. We definitely could've come out of that half 3-3 but luckily we made it out of that half and were able to come out strong in the second half.”
Play swung back and forth to start the second half to the 61st minute. That’s when York’s Joe Hernandez rattled a shot off the crossbar and teammate Herrera was there to finish on it after a failed clearing attempt.
A pair of Woolfe corner kicks came at 74 minutes. Timur Turkoglu got on the end of the second one to give York a 5-0 lead. McNeill ended the day’s scoring by converting a penalty kick with 32 seconds left in the game.
“We got a little complacent in the first half, but we stuck to our game plan in the second half,” Musial said. We moved the ball around, had some through-balls, got some chances, and we converted. It was a great group of guys this year, and it was a great send-off for all of our seniors, that's for sure.”
Stopka was pleased with the barrage of goals his side managed but was even happier to keep a dangerous Addison Trail team from scoring.
“Kids were making runs, and they wanted the score at the end but I was saying ‘Let’s get Mario the clean sheet!’” Stopka said. “We were all thinking ‘score’ but what about keeping the zero for your boy in goal? To be honest, the clean-sheet is probably what I'm most proud of tonight.”
Addison Trail will lose seven seniors from this year’s team to graduation. The season highlight came in a March 27 1-0 upset win at Lyons that knocked the Lions off of the top perch of the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The defeat was the undefeated West Suburban Conference Silver Division champion's sole blemish against 11 wins.
“It was an up-and-down season,” Dini said. “We had some good wins, and we had some bad losses. But in a year like this we finished above .500, and I’ll take that.
“Anthony Hernandez has been with us for three years and probably has 35 goals in his career. So we're going to have to replace his scoring, and we’ll have to replace Angel Gomez in the back as well. Those are a couple big guys to replace, but I really like our junior class and our sophomore class only has one loss.”
The Blazers also bid farewell to seniors Sandoval, Bolivar, Guzman, Eric Garcia and Mert Ahmed.
Dini’s program now annually produces a rock-solid team in Addison, and Hernandez sees a continuation of that tradition next year.
“Addison just has a lot of soccer players and when they come in as freshman they stay together and build chemistry as a freshman team and then a sophomore team,” Hernandez said. “They build chemistry and by the time they get to senior year they can really play.
“We have a lot of young guys who I think are going to play really well next year. I'm excited to see how they do next year, and I'm proud of those guys for stepping up this year.”
Stopka had eight seniors on the roster in his first year as York’s head coach. He’s grateful to them for helping facilitate a smooth coaching transition.
Seniors Puckett, McNeill, Turkoglu, Aguilar-Garcia, Woolfe, Wilson Giron, Anthony Flores and Will Heuer all helped guide the Dukes this season.
“We got contributions from everyone tonight,” Stopka said. “(Woolfe) was playing with a tough achilles injury, but he still came out and scored a goal. To start 3-0 in the first 12 minutes, I mean, what else can you ask for?
“This was my first year as head coach, and I didn't know how the year would go. I want to give kudos first to (Woolfe) for kind of bringing us together. We have some native Spanish-speaking players and a couple kids with families from Guatemala and at the beginning of the year they were practicing over here, and our other guys were practicing over there; and there wasn’t any cohesion.
“(Woolfe) was the one who kind of brought us together and from there we kind of became one big family. It was a wonderful group of seniors, and I couldn't have asked for a better group to coach in my first season. I wish them the best of luck in everything they do.”
Starting lineups
Addison Trail
GK Jesus Bolivar
D Angel Gomez
D David Peters
D Moises Hernandez
D Uriel Bibiano
M Mert Ahmed
M Nico Parente
M Alex Sandoval
M Eric Garcia
F Adrian Guzman
F Anthony Hernandez
York
GK Mario Aguilar-Garcia
D Boyd Puckett
D Anthony Flores
D Timur Turkoglu
D Wilson Giron
M Sam Musial
M Joe Hernandez
M Chase McNeill
M Ryan Woolfe
M Kevin Gliatis
F Jose Herrera
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match — Ryan Woolfe, sr., MF, York
Scoring summary
First half
York — Woolfe (Herrera) 8 minutes
York — Musial (Puckett) 11 minutes
York — Gliatis (UA) 12 minutes
Second half
York — Herrera (Hernandez) 61 minutes
York — Turkoglu (Woolfe) 74 minutes
York — McNeill (PK) 80 minutes