South Elgin tourney title
wrapped with tie vs. Bartlett
Storm claim Hampshire Invitational after 0-0 draw
By Steve Nemeth
HAMPSHIRE --- Whether the idea of déjà vu is a good thing or not necessarily welcome depends on one’s point of view.
That’s certainly the case following Saturday’s rematch that featured South Elgin versus Bartlett. It essentially decided this year’s trophy recipient for the 11th annual Hampshire Invitational despite a 0-0 deadlock.
First-year South Elgin coach Jerzy Skowron has revamped the Storm so dramatically that the players were clearly disappointed not to get a victory over a fellow District U-46 program despite two major positives.
Number one: South Elgin’s current unbeaten streak remains intact at eight straight (7-0-1).
Number two: with wins in both tourney matches the previous Saturday, the Storm’s 2-0-1 showing for the round-robin event gave South the 2019 crown.
Consider the above and the current 10-6-4 record as reasons to argue that South Elgin's turnaround may be the best in the state. In 2018 the Storm opened with a 2-1 victory over a St. Charles East side that made it to a sectional semi before losing a shootout to a Lake Park program that finished fourth in Class 3A.
However, the Storm then didn’t get a win in the next 15 matches (0-13-2). After notching their one and only shutout in the regular-season finale (2-0 versus Glenbard South), South Elgin surprised regional host Huntley 3-1 loss before its year ended in a regional semifinal loss to Elgin that ended a 3-14-2 campaign.
In other words, not only have the Storm increased their win total more than 200 percent, add the four ties to the triumphs and that figure is four times greater than their 2018 win total.
While South Elgin and Bartlett tore up Hampshire's rain-soaked Hampshire JV field, the decision was made to preserve the host’s varsity pitch and postpone the other tourney match pitting Romeoville against the Whip-Purs. That match will now take place on Oct. 12.
A Hampshire loss would enable Romeoville to take the tiebreaker advantage over Bartlett for second place officially. However, a Hampshire win would make the Hawks the tourney runner-up for a third-straight year.
Going back to that mixed déjà vu feeling; if being the bridesmaid is disappointing, then remember that Bartlett had a 2-2 draw early in September during an Upstate Eight Conference visit to South. And now this scoreless outing marked the Hawks’ seventh tie for 2019.
“Quite honestly it’s to the point where we’d prefer a result one way or the other,” Bartlett coach Vince Revak admitted. “I suppose there might be some notoriety to leading the state in this category.”
Assuming every program is posting results as the IHSA mandates through MaxPreps, then the Hawks are indeed the state leader.
Actually when pressed for a positive view, Revak had no trouble finding one.
“Of all the ties, four of them are 0-0 which proves our defense is very stingy.”
Lending credence to that viewpoint was the statistical breakdown by half. Whereas Bartlett had a 7-4 edge in overall attempts and 5-1 lead for shots on goal in the opening 40 minutes, the second half was dominated by the Storm. South Elgin compiled a 10-3 advantage for overall attempts plus a 3-1 edge in shots on goal; so the Hawks defense did indeed step up when called upon.
The South Elgin leader put his team's second half and tournament placement in perspective.
“We didn’t quite challenge their keeper as well as I would have liked in the second half,” Skowron said. “But two ties against a rival, having a strong defensive effort and going unbeaten (2-0-1) for the tourney, I’d say the boys deserved the trophy they got.”
Obviously a match this tight had more than its fair share of notable close calls. In the eighth minute, Bartlett’s Sean Cox served a corner kick into the box only to have Ethan Sproule’s header sail wide left.
A few minutes later it was South Elgin’s Edwin Ayala earning his teammates’ gasps with a blast from the right that missed the far left post’s upper 90.
Storm starting goalie Christian Andrew timed a leap perfectly to grab the ball out of the air before Bartlett’s Kamil Jarzabek could potentially head-flick it home.
South Elgin's Angel Garcia-Resendiz boomed an attempt to break the ice that Hawks keeper Jeremy Taylor firmly caught.
Approximately around the 27th minute produced Bartlett’s best back-to-back opportunities. Andrew blocked a sizzling shot that led to an immediate put-back try for Bartlett, however, Ayala was stationed on the goal line and kicked the ball clear. Late in the first half, South Elgin’s Nick Flores drove a 31-yard direct kick that dipped onto the top of the netting.
The Storm junior opened the second half with a similar chance which sailed wide left. At the opposite end, Edgar Leon got to a loose ball for Bartlett but his shot soared high. Taylor came off his line to make a kick save on a right-side rocket from South Elgin’s Andres Rivera.
Midway through the second half, Sproule sent a high-arching kick that created a combination service-shot that Storm second half goalie Zack Juszko snagged out of the air with a leap.
South Elgin’s Danny Quintana got a chance from right of center only to have his shot curve wide left. The Storm’s Flores bent a direct kick over a Bartlett defensive wall, but the attempt didn’t dip enough and went above the crossbar. With time running out, the Hawks made several offensive attacks, but couldn’t get shots through South’s maze of defenders.
Such an evenly contested battle put the spotlight on stellar defensive play and both sides had a deserving player for Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match status. For Bartlett that was Zander Zamora.
“Once again he was at the forefront of another solid defensive showing,” Revak said of Zamora. “Having eight shutouts speaks volumes about our defense. Of course, the bad news is that we’re not putting up enough goals. We need to figure out how to finish opportunities and find a way to do that with consistency.”
The clean-sheet was Taylor’s fourth for the season matching him with goalie teammate Israel Cuautle.
While acknowledging it would be great to have more wins, Zamora himself took a positive view of things.
“If we keep the defensive end up to this level, keeping every game close, I’m still convinced we can find the offense and surprise people,” Zamora said.
Somewhat surprisingly, this was only South Elgin’s second clean-sheet with Andrew and Juszko combining for the shutout. Juszko had a solo shutout in the Romeoville triumph.
Bartlett earned the 11th seed among the 18 programs in the St. Charles East Sectional. The Hawks open with a regional semi against Glenbard West in the Conant Regional.
South Elgin’s Man of the Match centered on the versatility of Lucas Reutimann. In addition to accounting for both goals in the critical 2-0 win over Romeoville earlier in the tourney, Reutimann not only accepted but shined in taking on more of a defensive role for the Bartlett match.
“We moved him into more of a holding midfielder to shore up our defense,” Skowron noted. “We needed his IQ and athleticism in back even though he’s our leading scorer (team-high 10 goals). He has the ability to win balls in the air, and that was important today.”
The Storm have been without senior co-captain Anthony Sisler, a previous Man of the Match honoree.
“On the plus side, today continued the fact we haven’t been able to have the same starting lineup at any time this season,” Skowron said. “That flexibility makes us better. The last three weeks Alex (Wano) has been a monster, and he’s allowed us to put Nick (Flores) into more of an attacking role.
“Danny’s (Quintana) work rate has been great. We’ve really been able to create a more dynamic offense thanks to being able to interchange Lucas, Nick, Angel (Garcia-Resendiz) and Ryan (Doherty).”
The Storm’s advancement this year hasn’t gone without notice as South Elgin earned the number three seed among the 17 schools placed within the DeKalb Sectional. The Storm aim to capture the Huntley Regional.
“It’s okay if some people are still overlooking us,” Wano said. “We just keep grinding away and picking up wins. Today we gained a tourney title and moved our unbeaten streak forward. Our ability to use each other’s style is a key, plus I believe 100 percent of the team is really skilled in terms of possession, and that’s crucial for success.”
An example illustrating Wano’s reference to utilizing individual strengths is the play of Elijah Patrick. An all-conference performer in track and field, the junior’s speed and tenacity is quite visible.
“Much of our success is based on how these guys are accountable to each other,” Skowron explained. “Despite many of them coming from clubs with different philosophies, they’ve accepted and adapted to what we’re trying to do with this program. It’s a mentality that also starts in the classroom which is why I’m so proud of this group.”
Starting lineups
Bartlett
GK Jeremy Taylor
D Zander Zamora
D Nico Gomez
D Ethan Sproule
D Sebastian Gonzalez
M Cesar Palomares
M Amine Medmoun
M Hernan Garcia
M Sean Cox
F Kamil Jarzabek
F Mauricio Vigil
South Elgin
GK Christian Andrew
D Alex Wano
D Edwin Ayala
D Andres Rivera
D Jose Rangel
DM Elija Patrick
DM Lucas Reutimann
DM Angel Garcia-Resendiz
OM Alex Wano
OM Grayson Downing
F Ethan Cup
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Lucas Reutimann, sr. DM, South Elgin
Zander Zamora, sr. D, Bartlett
Referees: Gerry Hund (center), Steve Uhl, Dan Mitchell
Game summary
South Elgin 0, Bartlett 0
Bartlett 0 0 --- 0 (7-3-7)
S Elgin 0 0 --- 0 (10-6-4)
Scoring
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
Shots
SE 4 – 10 --- 14
B 7 – 3 --- 10
Shots on goal
SE 1 – 3 --- 4
B 5 – 1 --- 6
Saves (player):
SE (Andrew 4/Ayala 1) 5 – (Andrew 1) 1 --- 6
B (Taylor) 1 – 3 --- 4
Corner kicks
SE 1 – 1 --- 2
B 4 – 4 --- 8
Offsides
SE 1 – 1 --- 2
B 1 – 1 --- 2
wrapped with tie vs. Bartlett
Storm claim Hampshire Invitational after 0-0 draw
By Steve Nemeth
HAMPSHIRE --- Whether the idea of déjà vu is a good thing or not necessarily welcome depends on one’s point of view.
That’s certainly the case following Saturday’s rematch that featured South Elgin versus Bartlett. It essentially decided this year’s trophy recipient for the 11th annual Hampshire Invitational despite a 0-0 deadlock.
First-year South Elgin coach Jerzy Skowron has revamped the Storm so dramatically that the players were clearly disappointed not to get a victory over a fellow District U-46 program despite two major positives.
Number one: South Elgin’s current unbeaten streak remains intact at eight straight (7-0-1).
Number two: with wins in both tourney matches the previous Saturday, the Storm’s 2-0-1 showing for the round-robin event gave South the 2019 crown.
Consider the above and the current 10-6-4 record as reasons to argue that South Elgin's turnaround may be the best in the state. In 2018 the Storm opened with a 2-1 victory over a St. Charles East side that made it to a sectional semi before losing a shootout to a Lake Park program that finished fourth in Class 3A.
However, the Storm then didn’t get a win in the next 15 matches (0-13-2). After notching their one and only shutout in the regular-season finale (2-0 versus Glenbard South), South Elgin surprised regional host Huntley 3-1 loss before its year ended in a regional semifinal loss to Elgin that ended a 3-14-2 campaign.
In other words, not only have the Storm increased their win total more than 200 percent, add the four ties to the triumphs and that figure is four times greater than their 2018 win total.
While South Elgin and Bartlett tore up Hampshire's rain-soaked Hampshire JV field, the decision was made to preserve the host’s varsity pitch and postpone the other tourney match pitting Romeoville against the Whip-Purs. That match will now take place on Oct. 12.
A Hampshire loss would enable Romeoville to take the tiebreaker advantage over Bartlett for second place officially. However, a Hampshire win would make the Hawks the tourney runner-up for a third-straight year.
Going back to that mixed déjà vu feeling; if being the bridesmaid is disappointing, then remember that Bartlett had a 2-2 draw early in September during an Upstate Eight Conference visit to South. And now this scoreless outing marked the Hawks’ seventh tie for 2019.
“Quite honestly it’s to the point where we’d prefer a result one way or the other,” Bartlett coach Vince Revak admitted. “I suppose there might be some notoriety to leading the state in this category.”
Assuming every program is posting results as the IHSA mandates through MaxPreps, then the Hawks are indeed the state leader.
Actually when pressed for a positive view, Revak had no trouble finding one.
“Of all the ties, four of them are 0-0 which proves our defense is very stingy.”
Lending credence to that viewpoint was the statistical breakdown by half. Whereas Bartlett had a 7-4 edge in overall attempts and 5-1 lead for shots on goal in the opening 40 minutes, the second half was dominated by the Storm. South Elgin compiled a 10-3 advantage for overall attempts plus a 3-1 edge in shots on goal; so the Hawks defense did indeed step up when called upon.
The South Elgin leader put his team's second half and tournament placement in perspective.
“We didn’t quite challenge their keeper as well as I would have liked in the second half,” Skowron said. “But two ties against a rival, having a strong defensive effort and going unbeaten (2-0-1) for the tourney, I’d say the boys deserved the trophy they got.”
Obviously a match this tight had more than its fair share of notable close calls. In the eighth minute, Bartlett’s Sean Cox served a corner kick into the box only to have Ethan Sproule’s header sail wide left.
A few minutes later it was South Elgin’s Edwin Ayala earning his teammates’ gasps with a blast from the right that missed the far left post’s upper 90.
Storm starting goalie Christian Andrew timed a leap perfectly to grab the ball out of the air before Bartlett’s Kamil Jarzabek could potentially head-flick it home.
South Elgin's Angel Garcia-Resendiz boomed an attempt to break the ice that Hawks keeper Jeremy Taylor firmly caught.
Approximately around the 27th minute produced Bartlett’s best back-to-back opportunities. Andrew blocked a sizzling shot that led to an immediate put-back try for Bartlett, however, Ayala was stationed on the goal line and kicked the ball clear. Late in the first half, South Elgin’s Nick Flores drove a 31-yard direct kick that dipped onto the top of the netting.
The Storm junior opened the second half with a similar chance which sailed wide left. At the opposite end, Edgar Leon got to a loose ball for Bartlett but his shot soared high. Taylor came off his line to make a kick save on a right-side rocket from South Elgin’s Andres Rivera.
Midway through the second half, Sproule sent a high-arching kick that created a combination service-shot that Storm second half goalie Zack Juszko snagged out of the air with a leap.
South Elgin’s Danny Quintana got a chance from right of center only to have his shot curve wide left. The Storm’s Flores bent a direct kick over a Bartlett defensive wall, but the attempt didn’t dip enough and went above the crossbar. With time running out, the Hawks made several offensive attacks, but couldn’t get shots through South’s maze of defenders.
Such an evenly contested battle put the spotlight on stellar defensive play and both sides had a deserving player for Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match status. For Bartlett that was Zander Zamora.
“Once again he was at the forefront of another solid defensive showing,” Revak said of Zamora. “Having eight shutouts speaks volumes about our defense. Of course, the bad news is that we’re not putting up enough goals. We need to figure out how to finish opportunities and find a way to do that with consistency.”
The clean-sheet was Taylor’s fourth for the season matching him with goalie teammate Israel Cuautle.
While acknowledging it would be great to have more wins, Zamora himself took a positive view of things.
“If we keep the defensive end up to this level, keeping every game close, I’m still convinced we can find the offense and surprise people,” Zamora said.
Somewhat surprisingly, this was only South Elgin’s second clean-sheet with Andrew and Juszko combining for the shutout. Juszko had a solo shutout in the Romeoville triumph.
Bartlett earned the 11th seed among the 18 programs in the St. Charles East Sectional. The Hawks open with a regional semi against Glenbard West in the Conant Regional.
South Elgin’s Man of the Match centered on the versatility of Lucas Reutimann. In addition to accounting for both goals in the critical 2-0 win over Romeoville earlier in the tourney, Reutimann not only accepted but shined in taking on more of a defensive role for the Bartlett match.
“We moved him into more of a holding midfielder to shore up our defense,” Skowron noted. “We needed his IQ and athleticism in back even though he’s our leading scorer (team-high 10 goals). He has the ability to win balls in the air, and that was important today.”
The Storm have been without senior co-captain Anthony Sisler, a previous Man of the Match honoree.
“On the plus side, today continued the fact we haven’t been able to have the same starting lineup at any time this season,” Skowron said. “That flexibility makes us better. The last three weeks Alex (Wano) has been a monster, and he’s allowed us to put Nick (Flores) into more of an attacking role.
“Danny’s (Quintana) work rate has been great. We’ve really been able to create a more dynamic offense thanks to being able to interchange Lucas, Nick, Angel (Garcia-Resendiz) and Ryan (Doherty).”
The Storm’s advancement this year hasn’t gone without notice as South Elgin earned the number three seed among the 17 schools placed within the DeKalb Sectional. The Storm aim to capture the Huntley Regional.
“It’s okay if some people are still overlooking us,” Wano said. “We just keep grinding away and picking up wins. Today we gained a tourney title and moved our unbeaten streak forward. Our ability to use each other’s style is a key, plus I believe 100 percent of the team is really skilled in terms of possession, and that’s crucial for success.”
An example illustrating Wano’s reference to utilizing individual strengths is the play of Elijah Patrick. An all-conference performer in track and field, the junior’s speed and tenacity is quite visible.
“Much of our success is based on how these guys are accountable to each other,” Skowron explained. “Despite many of them coming from clubs with different philosophies, they’ve accepted and adapted to what we’re trying to do with this program. It’s a mentality that also starts in the classroom which is why I’m so proud of this group.”
Starting lineups
Bartlett
GK Jeremy Taylor
D Zander Zamora
D Nico Gomez
D Ethan Sproule
D Sebastian Gonzalez
M Cesar Palomares
M Amine Medmoun
M Hernan Garcia
M Sean Cox
F Kamil Jarzabek
F Mauricio Vigil
South Elgin
GK Christian Andrew
D Alex Wano
D Edwin Ayala
D Andres Rivera
D Jose Rangel
DM Elija Patrick
DM Lucas Reutimann
DM Angel Garcia-Resendiz
OM Alex Wano
OM Grayson Downing
F Ethan Cup
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Lucas Reutimann, sr. DM, South Elgin
Zander Zamora, sr. D, Bartlett
Referees: Gerry Hund (center), Steve Uhl, Dan Mitchell
Game summary
South Elgin 0, Bartlett 0
Bartlett 0 0 --- 0 (7-3-7)
S Elgin 0 0 --- 0 (10-6-4)
Scoring
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
Shots
SE 4 – 10 --- 14
B 7 – 3 --- 10
Shots on goal
SE 1 – 3 --- 4
B 5 – 1 --- 6
Saves (player):
SE (Andrew 4/Ayala 1) 5 – (Andrew 1) 1 --- 6
B (Taylor) 1 – 3 --- 4
Corner kicks
SE 1 – 1 --- 2
B 4 – 4 --- 8
Offsides
SE 1 – 1 --- 2
B 1 – 1 --- 2