Hot start drives Lake Park past Batavia
4-1 win in conference bow extends unbeaten streak to 4
By Ken Keenan
ROSELLE -- Suddenly surging Lake Park upped its unbeaten streak to four in a row with a decisive 4-1 victory over visiting Batavia in the DuKane Conference opener for both squads Tuesday night.
After starting the season with three-straight losses, the Lancers left the pitch standing at 3-3-1 overall.
"We graduated 14 (players) from last year's team, so we have a lot of new faces," said Lake Park head coach Sean Crosby. "We were not firing on all cylinders at first, but the wheel is turning in the right direction. This 3-0-1 stretch ... it's great to get results, but I'm really happy with our play on the field. We're getting there, and I'm excited."
The Lancers were consistently solid in all aspects of the game against the Bulldogs, using long balls to attack with speed up-front, controlling the midfield to slow things down when needed, and maintaining their shape in the back to keep Batavia's chances to a minimum.
That was especially true in the first half, when Lake Park jumped out to a 2-0 lead and tallied twice more to take a 4-1 bulge into the break.
"They were very fast and physical," said busy Batavia senior defender Ethan Wright. "We weren't expecting that, and it hit us hard."
Sophomore midfielder Edgar Villagran got the Lake Park scoring party started in the 15th minute. After settling a pass from impressive senior forward Grayden McClellan, Villagran popped in a 10-yard shot from the right side past charging Batavia sophomore goalkeeper Brody Seitzinger.
With 11:29 to go in the first half, McClellan made it 2-0 when he wiggled through three Bulldogs defenders on the right side before firing a low strike inside the left post. Shifty senior midfielder Max Armas, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match, earned the assist.
Less than two minutes later, Batavia (1-6-0, 0-1-0) capitalized on one of its few chances in the early going to cut the lead in half. Bulldogs junior forward Mark Lillig started the play, sending a long ball to senior forward Isaac Hager. Hager then returned the ball to Lillig, who cut to the middle from the right side and finished with a hard, left-footed shot to the right of Lancers junior keeper Kyle Czeremuga.
Armas then potted a pair of goals to give Lake Park its three-goal halftime cushion. In the 33rd minute, McClellan dished a ball to junior midfielder Abel Campuzano, who quickly sent a sweet cross from a wide angle on the left side to Armas for the finishing touch: a sharp one-timer that zoomed into the back of the net.
Armas struck again with 2:23 left in the opening stanza, sneaking along the goal line on the right side and scoring on a shot to the far side. The tally was unassisted.
"We were making runs and switching off, crashing the middle on long balls and deep runs," Armas said.
McClellan said, "Going up against their 'D' line, we were catching them off-guard, and we took advantage of it."
Added Villagran: "It felt good. We kept attacking ... possessed the ball a lot. We worked as a team and won as a team."
The Bulldogs collected themselves during the break and came out with more determination in the second half, going toe-to-toe with the Lancers in a scoreless second session.
Batavia senior defender Austin Saenz had a solid try on a 40-yard free kick in the 52nd minute, but Czeremuga foiled it with a leaping save. Saenz had a similar look with 15 minutes left that Czeremuga also snuffed.
Lake Park's keeper had the answer for a blast by Hager in the 68th minute as well.
"At halftime, we talked about just having pride and winning the second half," said Bulldogs skipper Mark Gianfrancesco. "If we get a couple (goals), maybe it's a little different. But I like the way the boys responded."
Gianfrancesco continued: "In the first half, we were letting (Lake Park) get too deep in the 'six.' In the second half, we were better -- no clean opportunities given up. Lake Park, in the first half, they did what they had to do. They finished their chances, no doubt."
Hager said, "It took us a little too long to figure out their playing style. As the game went on, we played more to our strengths. We switched up the formation at halftime, and then we focused more and played with more intensity."
Lake Park created a few chances in the second half, including a chip shot by McClellan that missed wide-left in the 42nd minute, and a 35-yard McClellan strike that Seitzinger handled in the 71st minute. But the Lancers' main focus in the second 40 minutes was to keep Batavia from denting the net again.
"Since we had the lead, we wanted to keep them at one (goal)," Armas said. "So we were more defensive in the second half."
Building a big lead and then holding the fort was just exactly what Crosby had in mind, and he offered plenty of praise after watching his Lancers follow the blueprint.
"To see (Armas), what a jump he's had for us up-front," Crosby said. "He's active and plugged in. He worked hard for his goals (Tuesday night). Plus, Edgar (Villagran), he does so much in the midfield. He does everything well ... very composed and anticipates plays very well.
"And Grayden (McClellan), he's a calm runner -- speed but not wild. He's smooth bringing the ball in, kind of a playmaker in there. He's really been great ... starting to show a lot."
With the season-opening losing streak behind them, McClellan and Co. believe the Lancers have plenty more to show.
"We're starting to hit our stride," McClellan said. "The first conference win, it's a big one. Now we want to go as far as we can."
Added Armas: "We'll really work off this and get even more hungry as we go. We want to show teams we're for real, it's not a joke."
Starting lineups
Batavia
G: Brody Seitzinger
D: Quinn Carlson
D: Will Chandler
D: Ethan Wright
M: Austin Saenz
M: Conor Kelly
M: Rodrigo Maldonado
M: Ryan Kahley
F: Isaac Hager
F: Ian Palos
F: Mark Lillig
Lake Park
G: Kyle Czeremuga
D: Max Panek
D: Konrad Sagan
D: Logan Pobloske
D: Anthony Magner
M: Jakub Zych
M: Max Armas
M: Edgar Villagran
M: Abel Campuzano
M: Riccardo Ciaccio
F: Grayden McClellan
Officials: Don Hodgkinson, Richard Andrews, Euzebiusz Napierala
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Max Armas, sr., M, Lake Park
Scoring summary
First half
Lake Park: Edgar Villagran (assisted by Grayden McClellan) in 15th minute
Lake Park: McClellan (assisted by Max Armas) in 29th minute
Batavia: Mark Lillig (assisted by Isaac Hager) in 31st minute
Lake Park: Armas (assisted by Abel Campuzano) in 33rd minute
Lake Park: Armas (unassisted) in 38th minute
Second half
No scoring
4-1 win in conference bow extends unbeaten streak to 4
By Ken Keenan
ROSELLE -- Suddenly surging Lake Park upped its unbeaten streak to four in a row with a decisive 4-1 victory over visiting Batavia in the DuKane Conference opener for both squads Tuesday night.
After starting the season with three-straight losses, the Lancers left the pitch standing at 3-3-1 overall.
"We graduated 14 (players) from last year's team, so we have a lot of new faces," said Lake Park head coach Sean Crosby. "We were not firing on all cylinders at first, but the wheel is turning in the right direction. This 3-0-1 stretch ... it's great to get results, but I'm really happy with our play on the field. We're getting there, and I'm excited."
The Lancers were consistently solid in all aspects of the game against the Bulldogs, using long balls to attack with speed up-front, controlling the midfield to slow things down when needed, and maintaining their shape in the back to keep Batavia's chances to a minimum.
That was especially true in the first half, when Lake Park jumped out to a 2-0 lead and tallied twice more to take a 4-1 bulge into the break.
"They were very fast and physical," said busy Batavia senior defender Ethan Wright. "We weren't expecting that, and it hit us hard."
Sophomore midfielder Edgar Villagran got the Lake Park scoring party started in the 15th minute. After settling a pass from impressive senior forward Grayden McClellan, Villagran popped in a 10-yard shot from the right side past charging Batavia sophomore goalkeeper Brody Seitzinger.
With 11:29 to go in the first half, McClellan made it 2-0 when he wiggled through three Bulldogs defenders on the right side before firing a low strike inside the left post. Shifty senior midfielder Max Armas, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match, earned the assist.
Less than two minutes later, Batavia (1-6-0, 0-1-0) capitalized on one of its few chances in the early going to cut the lead in half. Bulldogs junior forward Mark Lillig started the play, sending a long ball to senior forward Isaac Hager. Hager then returned the ball to Lillig, who cut to the middle from the right side and finished with a hard, left-footed shot to the right of Lancers junior keeper Kyle Czeremuga.
Armas then potted a pair of goals to give Lake Park its three-goal halftime cushion. In the 33rd minute, McClellan dished a ball to junior midfielder Abel Campuzano, who quickly sent a sweet cross from a wide angle on the left side to Armas for the finishing touch: a sharp one-timer that zoomed into the back of the net.
Armas struck again with 2:23 left in the opening stanza, sneaking along the goal line on the right side and scoring on a shot to the far side. The tally was unassisted.
"We were making runs and switching off, crashing the middle on long balls and deep runs," Armas said.
McClellan said, "Going up against their 'D' line, we were catching them off-guard, and we took advantage of it."
Added Villagran: "It felt good. We kept attacking ... possessed the ball a lot. We worked as a team and won as a team."
The Bulldogs collected themselves during the break and came out with more determination in the second half, going toe-to-toe with the Lancers in a scoreless second session.
Batavia senior defender Austin Saenz had a solid try on a 40-yard free kick in the 52nd minute, but Czeremuga foiled it with a leaping save. Saenz had a similar look with 15 minutes left that Czeremuga also snuffed.
Lake Park's keeper had the answer for a blast by Hager in the 68th minute as well.
"At halftime, we talked about just having pride and winning the second half," said Bulldogs skipper Mark Gianfrancesco. "If we get a couple (goals), maybe it's a little different. But I like the way the boys responded."
Gianfrancesco continued: "In the first half, we were letting (Lake Park) get too deep in the 'six.' In the second half, we were better -- no clean opportunities given up. Lake Park, in the first half, they did what they had to do. They finished their chances, no doubt."
Hager said, "It took us a little too long to figure out their playing style. As the game went on, we played more to our strengths. We switched up the formation at halftime, and then we focused more and played with more intensity."
Lake Park created a few chances in the second half, including a chip shot by McClellan that missed wide-left in the 42nd minute, and a 35-yard McClellan strike that Seitzinger handled in the 71st minute. But the Lancers' main focus in the second 40 minutes was to keep Batavia from denting the net again.
"Since we had the lead, we wanted to keep them at one (goal)," Armas said. "So we were more defensive in the second half."
Building a big lead and then holding the fort was just exactly what Crosby had in mind, and he offered plenty of praise after watching his Lancers follow the blueprint.
"To see (Armas), what a jump he's had for us up-front," Crosby said. "He's active and plugged in. He worked hard for his goals (Tuesday night). Plus, Edgar (Villagran), he does so much in the midfield. He does everything well ... very composed and anticipates plays very well.
"And Grayden (McClellan), he's a calm runner -- speed but not wild. He's smooth bringing the ball in, kind of a playmaker in there. He's really been great ... starting to show a lot."
With the season-opening losing streak behind them, McClellan and Co. believe the Lancers have plenty more to show.
"We're starting to hit our stride," McClellan said. "The first conference win, it's a big one. Now we want to go as far as we can."
Added Armas: "We'll really work off this and get even more hungry as we go. We want to show teams we're for real, it's not a joke."
Starting lineups
Batavia
G: Brody Seitzinger
D: Quinn Carlson
D: Will Chandler
D: Ethan Wright
M: Austin Saenz
M: Conor Kelly
M: Rodrigo Maldonado
M: Ryan Kahley
F: Isaac Hager
F: Ian Palos
F: Mark Lillig
Lake Park
G: Kyle Czeremuga
D: Max Panek
D: Konrad Sagan
D: Logan Pobloske
D: Anthony Magner
M: Jakub Zych
M: Max Armas
M: Edgar Villagran
M: Abel Campuzano
M: Riccardo Ciaccio
F: Grayden McClellan
Officials: Don Hodgkinson, Richard Andrews, Euzebiusz Napierala
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Max Armas, sr., M, Lake Park
Scoring summary
First half
Lake Park: Edgar Villagran (assisted by Grayden McClellan) in 15th minute
Lake Park: McClellan (assisted by Max Armas) in 29th minute
Batavia: Mark Lillig (assisted by Isaac Hager) in 31st minute
Lake Park: Armas (assisted by Abel Campuzano) in 33rd minute
Lake Park: Armas (unassisted) in 38th minute
Second half
No scoring