St. Patrick shocks Benet
Shamocks take ‘most important game of the year’ 3-0
By Bella Nordman
CHICAGO -- St. Patrick did what it needed to do, and how, against Benet on Saturday at Read-Dunning Park on the Northwest Side.
The Shamrocks (,9-7-4, 6-1-0) kept their East Suburban Catholic Conference championship hopes alive with a stunning 3-0 win over the Redwings (10-4-0, 5-1-0), who ranked 14th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
The first half of the game was an intense battle. While there were multiple attempts to score, starting goalies Jaden Calderon, from St. Patrick, and Evan Lucas, from Benet, were rock solid, and the game went to the break 0-0.
“I thought we started the game pretty well and didn't capitalize on those opportunities,” said Benet coach Sean Wesley. “Just kind of put us behind, chasing the game. They're a good team.”
St. Patrick broke though in the 49th minute. Shamrocks junior midfielder Sergio Barron scored from 30 yards after a pass from senior Nicolas Leon midfielder. The goal came after a corner kick where St. Patrick's maintained possession.
Benet changed tactics to equalize, and St. Patrick used that to its advantage.
“We are obviously pressing guys forward in the second half of the game against a good team. They're gonna create opportunities on the counterattack,” Wesley said. “That's pretty boring soccer. We hope to fix that next week."
The fierce battle continued. Tough defending from both sides made possession difficult. When something did slip through both keepers were up to the task.
Junior midfielder Jorge Parra created some breathing room for St. Patrick after he finished a breakaway in the 67th minute.
“Daniel (Carrera) passed the ball to me. As soon as I got that first touch, I was on go,” he said. “I knew I was going to score. I was pretty confident about that.”
St. Patrick didn’t stop its quest for more goals, while Benet scratched and clawed to cut its deficit.
“We started off really strong throughout the first half. We were on them the whole game. I think we played really well, and then especially after that first goal after we didn’t lay off,” Parra said. “We kept attacking, attacking. I was pretty sure we were going to come out on top. After the second goal, I think we just stole the game.”
As the clock wound down, St. Patrick senior defensive midfielder Gael Quinonez was tripped from behind the box. He took the penalty try and knocked it home to end the scoring in the 78th minute. The win ended a four-game Benet winning streak.
Shamrocks coach Kyle McClure had nothing but praise for his team.
“It was outstanding, not many teams beat Benet with a score like 3-0,” he said. “I mean, you have to play outstanding soccer to do that.”
McClure had a point. The only previous time Benet lost by more than a goal this season came in a 2-0 defeat against no. 5 Morton on Sept,16. The team also has one-goal losses to no. 7 Naperville North (2-1 Sept. 3) and Plainfield East (1-0 Sept. 8.)
The St. Patrick coach quickly turned his focus to the conference standings. His team hopes to hold a piece of the league crown.
“We do have one more conference game, which will be really important against Marian,” he said. “And then if we win that, we'll have a really good chance to share the conference championship.”
The Shamrocks will need help to take that final step to the top. They may require Benet to top undefeated and defending league champion Notre Dame (11-5-0, 6-0-0) on the road Saturday.
The Dons took a seven-game win streak into their nonconference match at Glenbrook South on Monday night. They will put their 15-match conference victory streak on the line when they host Carmel on Wednesday.
Wesley lamented that his Red Wings could have done more in the second half.
“I thought there were opportunities in this game that we chose to pass or we chose to go wide or we chose to go sideways and backwards, where really we need to be ruthless in the final third,” he said. “And three shots on goal is not ruthless.”
St. Patrick won its fifth-straight game in Illinois and in conference. The streak was interrupted by two losses at the River Region Rumble tournament in late September in Paducah, Ky.
Late regular-season success breeds hope for the middle of October and hopefully far beyond.
“It gives me a lot of confidence going into the playoffs,” McClure said. “We knew how important this game was. We knew it was our most important game of the year, and our guys stepped up.
“When we get to those playoff games now we know our guys step up and when we play like this, we can beat anybody in the state. So, we're gonna have a lot of confidence going into those games.”
Starting lineups
Saint Patrick
GK: Jaden Calderon
D: Daniel Carrera
D: Gael Quinonez
MF: Sergio Barron
MF: Rafael Rios
F: Chriz Perez
MF: Jorge Parra
D: Nicolas Leon
D: Nathan Davila
D: Rafael Ramirez
MF: Christian Medina
Benet Academy
GK: Evan Lucas
M: Danny Boyle
F: Brayden Fagbemi
M: Nico Picha
M: Peter Hepburn
F: Drew Fieldman
D: Jack Kuelthau
D: Owen McGarry
F: Ryan Augustyn
D: Nick Nirtaut
D: Nick Roe
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Jorge Parra, jr, MF, St. Patrick;
Nicolas Leon, sr, D, St. Patrick;
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
St. Patrick: Barron (Leon), 49th minute
St. Patrick: Parra (Carrera), 67th minute
St. Patrick: Quinonez (PK), 78th minute
Shamocks take ‘most important game of the year’ 3-0
By Bella Nordman
CHICAGO -- St. Patrick did what it needed to do, and how, against Benet on Saturday at Read-Dunning Park on the Northwest Side.
The Shamrocks (,9-7-4, 6-1-0) kept their East Suburban Catholic Conference championship hopes alive with a stunning 3-0 win over the Redwings (10-4-0, 5-1-0), who ranked 14th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
The first half of the game was an intense battle. While there were multiple attempts to score, starting goalies Jaden Calderon, from St. Patrick, and Evan Lucas, from Benet, were rock solid, and the game went to the break 0-0.
“I thought we started the game pretty well and didn't capitalize on those opportunities,” said Benet coach Sean Wesley. “Just kind of put us behind, chasing the game. They're a good team.”
St. Patrick broke though in the 49th minute. Shamrocks junior midfielder Sergio Barron scored from 30 yards after a pass from senior Nicolas Leon midfielder. The goal came after a corner kick where St. Patrick's maintained possession.
Benet changed tactics to equalize, and St. Patrick used that to its advantage.
“We are obviously pressing guys forward in the second half of the game against a good team. They're gonna create opportunities on the counterattack,” Wesley said. “That's pretty boring soccer. We hope to fix that next week."
The fierce battle continued. Tough defending from both sides made possession difficult. When something did slip through both keepers were up to the task.
Junior midfielder Jorge Parra created some breathing room for St. Patrick after he finished a breakaway in the 67th minute.
“Daniel (Carrera) passed the ball to me. As soon as I got that first touch, I was on go,” he said. “I knew I was going to score. I was pretty confident about that.”
St. Patrick didn’t stop its quest for more goals, while Benet scratched and clawed to cut its deficit.
“We started off really strong throughout the first half. We were on them the whole game. I think we played really well, and then especially after that first goal after we didn’t lay off,” Parra said. “We kept attacking, attacking. I was pretty sure we were going to come out on top. After the second goal, I think we just stole the game.”
As the clock wound down, St. Patrick senior defensive midfielder Gael Quinonez was tripped from behind the box. He took the penalty try and knocked it home to end the scoring in the 78th minute. The win ended a four-game Benet winning streak.
Shamrocks coach Kyle McClure had nothing but praise for his team.
“It was outstanding, not many teams beat Benet with a score like 3-0,” he said. “I mean, you have to play outstanding soccer to do that.”
McClure had a point. The only previous time Benet lost by more than a goal this season came in a 2-0 defeat against no. 5 Morton on Sept,16. The team also has one-goal losses to no. 7 Naperville North (2-1 Sept. 3) and Plainfield East (1-0 Sept. 8.)
The St. Patrick coach quickly turned his focus to the conference standings. His team hopes to hold a piece of the league crown.
“We do have one more conference game, which will be really important against Marian,” he said. “And then if we win that, we'll have a really good chance to share the conference championship.”
The Shamrocks will need help to take that final step to the top. They may require Benet to top undefeated and defending league champion Notre Dame (11-5-0, 6-0-0) on the road Saturday.
The Dons took a seven-game win streak into their nonconference match at Glenbrook South on Monday night. They will put their 15-match conference victory streak on the line when they host Carmel on Wednesday.
Wesley lamented that his Red Wings could have done more in the second half.
“I thought there were opportunities in this game that we chose to pass or we chose to go wide or we chose to go sideways and backwards, where really we need to be ruthless in the final third,” he said. “And three shots on goal is not ruthless.”
St. Patrick won its fifth-straight game in Illinois and in conference. The streak was interrupted by two losses at the River Region Rumble tournament in late September in Paducah, Ky.
Late regular-season success breeds hope for the middle of October and hopefully far beyond.
“It gives me a lot of confidence going into the playoffs,” McClure said. “We knew how important this game was. We knew it was our most important game of the year, and our guys stepped up.
“When we get to those playoff games now we know our guys step up and when we play like this, we can beat anybody in the state. So, we're gonna have a lot of confidence going into those games.”
Starting lineups
Saint Patrick
GK: Jaden Calderon
D: Daniel Carrera
D: Gael Quinonez
MF: Sergio Barron
MF: Rafael Rios
F: Chriz Perez
MF: Jorge Parra
D: Nicolas Leon
D: Nathan Davila
D: Rafael Ramirez
MF: Christian Medina
Benet Academy
GK: Evan Lucas
M: Danny Boyle
F: Brayden Fagbemi
M: Nico Picha
M: Peter Hepburn
F: Drew Fieldman
D: Jack Kuelthau
D: Owen McGarry
F: Ryan Augustyn
D: Nick Nirtaut
D: Nick Roe
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Jorge Parra, jr, MF, St. Patrick;
Nicolas Leon, sr, D, St. Patrick;
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
St. Patrick: Barron (Leon), 49th minute
St. Patrick: Parra (Carrera), 67th minute
St. Patrick: Quinonez (PK), 78th minute