Lake Park GK Harmon
saves draw vs. Bartlett
Senior preserves scoreless tie in final seconds
By Patrick Z. McGavin
ROSELLE -- With time running out, Lake Park keeper Jake Harmon was confronting a scarcity of options.
He could stay back and try to protect the goal or he could move quickly off his line and force the action and try to deny the advantage.
After Bartlett’s Gianluca Traversa got behind him, the midfielder had the apparent dramatic game-winner in his sights.
But Harmon has the size of a prep basketball center, and he used his length and agility to throw Traversa off balance as the ball took an unusual hop.
A seemingly apparent Bartlett goal ended with a game-ending goal kick.
“I use my height to my advantage, and I am able to step up more than other keepers,” Harmon said. “I am very protective of my box, and I have to step up and keep the other team from getting there.
“I am taller than anyone, and I can get the ball in the air.”
Harmon recorded eight saves and earned the Lancers’ first shutout of the season in the 0-0 tie at Lake Park’s East Campus on Saturday morning.
The 6-foot-5 Harmon loomed large and earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction for his play.
“It felt like a win,” Lake Park coach Sean Crosby said.
“It was our first shutout of the season. Jake is a player who hasn’t gotten a lot of playing time. We are really proud of his effort on Senior Day.”
Harmon preserved the shutout with a sharp save at the far post on a ball from Alex Moncau.
Lake Park seemed unsettled by the chaotic nature of the closing seconds. Off a free kick, Traversa ran untouched to the front of the goal.
“Jake stood on his head today. He had a lot of shots on net, and he had to make dangerous plays with players running right at him, and he had to do that without getting cracked,” Crosby said.
“He stepped up big time today. The last six seconds, they could have put one away, and he had to stand on his head. He deserves all the credit for today’s result.”
Bartlett (4-12-1) did end a four-game slide, but the team also felt a winnable game slipped away.
“We go through peaks and valleys with our offense,” Bartlett coach Vince Revak said. “Some games, we are putting up three or four goals, and then today, we just couldn’t find the back of the net.”
Bartlett had the superior play. Their sharper attack that broke down the Lancers’ in the final third. The game illustrated the complexity of the game -- how every goal requires an unbroken and seemingly perfect chain of events.
Neither team got the sequence just right.
“We hit a couple right at the keeper today,” Revak said. “He did a really nice job of not allowing any rebounds as well. We had that last-gasp effort.
“I think sometimes we get ahead of ourselves. We’re already thinking about the celebration rather than the finish. The good news is we are finding those opportunities, and we have had games this year without those chances.”
Bartlett sophomore forward Benjamin Sulma generated the best scoring chance of the first half with a rocket ball from the right wing from about 12 yards in the 34th minute.
In a bang-bang sequence, Harmon again used his length to deny the shot.
“We definitely played really well today,” Sulma said. “It was unfortunate that we could not get as many chances to finish.
“We dominated on the field. We got a lot of passes in, and we were tiring them out. We made the ball do the work, and they were running after it and getting tired.”
Forward Sean Cox also had two solid shots on goal for the Hawks.
Harmon was the equalizer for the Lancers (5-8-3), who entered the game after a 3-2 victory over Batavia on Thursday.
The keeper took part in a special halftime ceremony honoring the seniors, walking out with his family and joining his teammates with their families.
It made the day even more memorable.
“I haven’t played much this season,” he said. “This is my first full game.
“It is something I was looking for. The team stepped up, and we were able to keep a shutout, which is something we have looked forward to the entire season.”
Crosby also credited the backline of Eric Reyes, Erdet Agaj, Oscar Sagan and Aidan Killmer. They provided a cohesive foundation.
Bartlett was dangerous throughout the game. Lake Park shut them off at the final point of attack.
“I think we are starting to get more of a rhythm defensively,” Crosby said. “I think we really defended as a team from front to back. Our midfield line worked to win the balls in our middle rather than trying to win them in the backfield.
“For the first half, I think we won the ball in the midfield a little bit more. In the second half, as the game opened up, both teams were trying to score and it’s natural it was going box to box. We had to defend more inside our box.”
In any game that ends in a draw, especially one where neither team scored, players tend to look back and wonder what might have been.
Lake Park midfielder Frankie Caira, the team’s leading scorer with 12 goals, felt the Lancers failed to capitalize on some early strong offensive activity.
“We should have scored in the first 10 minutes,” Caira said. “I thought it was our game. We couldn’t find the ball in the back of the net, but our defense did a good job of saving us.”
Lake Park forward Raim Ramani, a big and physical presence at the top of the formation, also provided a release valve to create open seams in the Hawks’ back.
Working in the middle, Caira and Edgar Villagran created some temporary actions that appeared dangerous. Like Bartlett, Lake Park could not find a goal.
Positives were drawn from the match.
“I do commend our effort,” Revak said. “I think we played a really nice game today. Our defense was strong. We really limited Lake Park’s chances.
“Everybody on that field was working from line to line. I wish it would have been a winning result, but I was happy with the effort.
A late season out-of-conference game like this can provide necessary perspective. It creates its own series of jolts: it emphasizes to the players what they need to do; it gives the coaches a chance to zoom out and survey the larger picture.
“For us it’s about finding a full roster by the time we play those really important end-of-the-year and state playoff games that matter,” Revak said.
“Right now, it’s about fixing the small mistakes and keeping the guys on the field. That is a positive sign. We just have to find the net.”
Starting lineups
Bartlett
GK: Alex Brown
D: Andrew Nava
D: Arav Patel
D: Riley Medendorp
D: Joel Perez
MF: Giovanni Palid
MF: Gianluca Traversa
MF: Leonardo Colin
MF: Diego Rebollar-Cortez
F: Sean Cox
F: Oscar Medina
Lake Park
GK: Jake Harmon
D: Eric Reyes
D: Erdet Agaj
D: Oscar Sagan
D: Aidan Killmer
MF: Shane Donnelly
MF: Frankie Caira
MF: Edgar Villagran
MF: Jason Salwach
F: Jose Maldonado
F: Raim Ramani
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jake Harmon, sr., GK, Lake Park
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
saves draw vs. Bartlett
Senior preserves scoreless tie in final seconds
By Patrick Z. McGavin
ROSELLE -- With time running out, Lake Park keeper Jake Harmon was confronting a scarcity of options.
He could stay back and try to protect the goal or he could move quickly off his line and force the action and try to deny the advantage.
After Bartlett’s Gianluca Traversa got behind him, the midfielder had the apparent dramatic game-winner in his sights.
But Harmon has the size of a prep basketball center, and he used his length and agility to throw Traversa off balance as the ball took an unusual hop.
A seemingly apparent Bartlett goal ended with a game-ending goal kick.
“I use my height to my advantage, and I am able to step up more than other keepers,” Harmon said. “I am very protective of my box, and I have to step up and keep the other team from getting there.
“I am taller than anyone, and I can get the ball in the air.”
Harmon recorded eight saves and earned the Lancers’ first shutout of the season in the 0-0 tie at Lake Park’s East Campus on Saturday morning.
The 6-foot-5 Harmon loomed large and earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction for his play.
“It felt like a win,” Lake Park coach Sean Crosby said.
“It was our first shutout of the season. Jake is a player who hasn’t gotten a lot of playing time. We are really proud of his effort on Senior Day.”
Harmon preserved the shutout with a sharp save at the far post on a ball from Alex Moncau.
Lake Park seemed unsettled by the chaotic nature of the closing seconds. Off a free kick, Traversa ran untouched to the front of the goal.
“Jake stood on his head today. He had a lot of shots on net, and he had to make dangerous plays with players running right at him, and he had to do that without getting cracked,” Crosby said.
“He stepped up big time today. The last six seconds, they could have put one away, and he had to stand on his head. He deserves all the credit for today’s result.”
Bartlett (4-12-1) did end a four-game slide, but the team also felt a winnable game slipped away.
“We go through peaks and valleys with our offense,” Bartlett coach Vince Revak said. “Some games, we are putting up three or four goals, and then today, we just couldn’t find the back of the net.”
Bartlett had the superior play. Their sharper attack that broke down the Lancers’ in the final third. The game illustrated the complexity of the game -- how every goal requires an unbroken and seemingly perfect chain of events.
Neither team got the sequence just right.
“We hit a couple right at the keeper today,” Revak said. “He did a really nice job of not allowing any rebounds as well. We had that last-gasp effort.
“I think sometimes we get ahead of ourselves. We’re already thinking about the celebration rather than the finish. The good news is we are finding those opportunities, and we have had games this year without those chances.”
Bartlett sophomore forward Benjamin Sulma generated the best scoring chance of the first half with a rocket ball from the right wing from about 12 yards in the 34th minute.
In a bang-bang sequence, Harmon again used his length to deny the shot.
“We definitely played really well today,” Sulma said. “It was unfortunate that we could not get as many chances to finish.
“We dominated on the field. We got a lot of passes in, and we were tiring them out. We made the ball do the work, and they were running after it and getting tired.”
Forward Sean Cox also had two solid shots on goal for the Hawks.
Harmon was the equalizer for the Lancers (5-8-3), who entered the game after a 3-2 victory over Batavia on Thursday.
The keeper took part in a special halftime ceremony honoring the seniors, walking out with his family and joining his teammates with their families.
It made the day even more memorable.
“I haven’t played much this season,” he said. “This is my first full game.
“It is something I was looking for. The team stepped up, and we were able to keep a shutout, which is something we have looked forward to the entire season.”
Crosby also credited the backline of Eric Reyes, Erdet Agaj, Oscar Sagan and Aidan Killmer. They provided a cohesive foundation.
Bartlett was dangerous throughout the game. Lake Park shut them off at the final point of attack.
“I think we are starting to get more of a rhythm defensively,” Crosby said. “I think we really defended as a team from front to back. Our midfield line worked to win the balls in our middle rather than trying to win them in the backfield.
“For the first half, I think we won the ball in the midfield a little bit more. In the second half, as the game opened up, both teams were trying to score and it’s natural it was going box to box. We had to defend more inside our box.”
In any game that ends in a draw, especially one where neither team scored, players tend to look back and wonder what might have been.
Lake Park midfielder Frankie Caira, the team’s leading scorer with 12 goals, felt the Lancers failed to capitalize on some early strong offensive activity.
“We should have scored in the first 10 minutes,” Caira said. “I thought it was our game. We couldn’t find the ball in the back of the net, but our defense did a good job of saving us.”
Lake Park forward Raim Ramani, a big and physical presence at the top of the formation, also provided a release valve to create open seams in the Hawks’ back.
Working in the middle, Caira and Edgar Villagran created some temporary actions that appeared dangerous. Like Bartlett, Lake Park could not find a goal.
Positives were drawn from the match.
“I do commend our effort,” Revak said. “I think we played a really nice game today. Our defense was strong. We really limited Lake Park’s chances.
“Everybody on that field was working from line to line. I wish it would have been a winning result, but I was happy with the effort.
A late season out-of-conference game like this can provide necessary perspective. It creates its own series of jolts: it emphasizes to the players what they need to do; it gives the coaches a chance to zoom out and survey the larger picture.
“For us it’s about finding a full roster by the time we play those really important end-of-the-year and state playoff games that matter,” Revak said.
“Right now, it’s about fixing the small mistakes and keeping the guys on the field. That is a positive sign. We just have to find the net.”
Starting lineups
Bartlett
GK: Alex Brown
D: Andrew Nava
D: Arav Patel
D: Riley Medendorp
D: Joel Perez
MF: Giovanni Palid
MF: Gianluca Traversa
MF: Leonardo Colin
MF: Diego Rebollar-Cortez
F: Sean Cox
F: Oscar Medina
Lake Park
GK: Jake Harmon
D: Eric Reyes
D: Erdet Agaj
D: Oscar Sagan
D: Aidan Killmer
MF: Shane Donnelly
MF: Frankie Caira
MF: Edgar Villagran
MF: Jason Salwach
F: Jose Maldonado
F: Raim Ramani
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jake Harmon, sr., GK, Lake Park
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring