Naperville C. takes care of business
Nate Zain lifts Redhawks to 1-0 regional final win vs. Bolingbrook
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Naperville Central changed the script Tuesday night.
The old sports saw about how it is not how you start but how you finish was turned on its head by the regional host. The Redhawks started strong and stayed that way in a 1-0 victory over Bolingbrook in the Naperville Cenat Memorial Stadium.
The regional semifinal victory by no. 2 seed Naperville Central reversed its misfortune of 2016, when the Redhawks were similarly seeded but got upset 1-0 in the same round by 15th-seed Plainfield Central.
While 15th-seed Bolingbrook, which came into the match with a 12-9-3 record, gave the Redhawks a good battle, the hosts had learned their lesson.
“Oh yeah, it was definitely on our mind a little because I feel like last year we were a little too cocky,” Naperville Central midfielder Nate Zain said. “We were like, ‘Oh, we’re the 2 seed; they’re the 15 seed. They can’t be that good.’
“Obviously they showed us wrong.”
So Zain and his teammates knew what to expect and how to guard against overconfidence.
“(The key was) just not having the same mindset as we did last year and just coming out fighting, battling for every ball and just putting them in the back of the net,” Zain said. “So I thought we did really good with battling and staying mentally focused the entire game.
“We’ve just got to finish the ball a little more on our chances. But goals will come.”
Zain got the only goal of the game in the sixth minute, heading home a corner kick from Rohan Bhargava. The serve from the left corner went over the crowd in front to the far post, where Zain was waiting and willing.
“Rohan placed it perfectly to my head, right where coach (Troy Adams) wants us to place a corner kick, and I just finished my chance,” Zain said. “It was a wide-open net. It was an easy goal.”
As everyone knows, victories rarely come easily in the playoffs, so Zain’s strike took some of the pressure off the favorites.
“We worked on restarts last weekend because we know that in the playoffs you’ve got to get goals any way you can and restarts are a great way to get them,” Bhargava said. “So I just looked for that same spot, and Nate finished it well.”
The early lead gave the Redhawks (13-4-3) some breathing room.
“I think (scoring first) is really important because as the game goes on in the playoffs, the underdog team usually gains confidence as time goes on if we don’t capitalize early,” Bhargava said. “So it was good that we finished one.”
The Redhawks, ranked 12th in the final regular season Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, didn’t finish any more, though it wasn’t for lack of trying. Bolingbrook goalkeeper Oscar Leon made six saves, including three outstanding stops.
Leon denied Ivan Dosen twice with diving saves in the first half and turned a hard shot from Naperville Central scoring leader Zack Kokes around the right post early in the second half.
“The keeper made three very nice saves,” Adams said. “He had the pop over the top. He had one that he dove out to push away.
“But you keep trying. That’s all you can do. Eventually the goalie will make a mistake, or you’ll catch a break.”
Leon didn’t and neither did the Redhawks, who had a couple crosses through the crease go untouched in the second half. That has been a consistent struggle for the Redhawks, who have scored just twice in their last three matches and 35 times overall in 20 games.
“We put ourselves in positions to score goals but couldn’t score goals,” Adams said. “We have some very nice players, but we haven’t had anyone that’s consistently put the ball in the net.
“That’s a struggle when you don’t have one or two guys who can consistently score and you’re in trouble.”
But the Redhawks never were in trouble against the Raiders, who never seriously threatened to score. Bolingbrook was outshot 13-3, with all three shots coming from distance off the foot of midfielder Mauricio Bahena.
Naperville Central goalkeeper Ethan Conners had an easy job, making two routine saves. It was the Redhawks’ third-straight shutout and 11th of the season.
“The defense played really solid tonight,” Zain said. “Cam (Strang) and Tanner (Greenhagen), both are really good center backs.
“They hold it down well, just not letting them get turned facing our goal. That’s probably the biggest plus for us.”
Another plus for the Redhawks was the lesson learned from last year’s upset loss to Plainfield Central.
“I think that you can learn lessons from the past,” Adams said. “I didn’t do it this year because I didn’t need to, but every year I pull up the past couple years and (tell them) this team, two-seed, loses, this team, one-seed, loses.
“There is no entitlement. There is no, we’re the one-seed, we have to advance. Right now everybody is in the same boat. They’re all 0-0 and a lot of teams are like us.
“At this point it’s about advancing. That’s all you worry about. We’ll keep working on being better but some games you’ve got to gut out.
“Every game could be your last. That’s what I told the kids.”
The message was received, though Zain seems to think that last game could be a ways off.
“I’m confident in our team,” Zain said. “I think we’ve got all-around great players.
“Defense, midfield and forwards, we all combine well together and play well together. As long as we’re putting the ball in the back of the net, we should be fine.”
Starting lineups
Bolingbrook
GK Oscar Leon
D Jaidyn Myrick
D Keegan Wahlgren
D Esteban Castro-Alvarez
M Joseph Balas
M Angel Terrazas
M Mauricio Bahena
M Juan Guzman-Contreras
F Cristian Guzman-Contreras
F Ajay Vohra
F Alejandro Franco
Naperville Central
GK Ethan Conners
D Tanner Greenhagen
D Cameron Strang
D Rokas Stadalninkas
M Nico Couropmitree
M Owen Jarrell
M Nate Zain
M Rohan Bhargava
F Ryan Coleman
F Zack Kokes
F Jimmy Kalkofen
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Nate Zain, sr., M, Naperville Central
Scoring summary
1st Half
Naperville Central – Nate Zain (Rohan Bhargava) 34:26
Nate Zain lifts Redhawks to 1-0 regional final win vs. Bolingbrook
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Naperville Central changed the script Tuesday night.
The old sports saw about how it is not how you start but how you finish was turned on its head by the regional host. The Redhawks started strong and stayed that way in a 1-0 victory over Bolingbrook in the Naperville Cenat Memorial Stadium.
The regional semifinal victory by no. 2 seed Naperville Central reversed its misfortune of 2016, when the Redhawks were similarly seeded but got upset 1-0 in the same round by 15th-seed Plainfield Central.
While 15th-seed Bolingbrook, which came into the match with a 12-9-3 record, gave the Redhawks a good battle, the hosts had learned their lesson.
“Oh yeah, it was definitely on our mind a little because I feel like last year we were a little too cocky,” Naperville Central midfielder Nate Zain said. “We were like, ‘Oh, we’re the 2 seed; they’re the 15 seed. They can’t be that good.’
“Obviously they showed us wrong.”
So Zain and his teammates knew what to expect and how to guard against overconfidence.
“(The key was) just not having the same mindset as we did last year and just coming out fighting, battling for every ball and just putting them in the back of the net,” Zain said. “So I thought we did really good with battling and staying mentally focused the entire game.
“We’ve just got to finish the ball a little more on our chances. But goals will come.”
Zain got the only goal of the game in the sixth minute, heading home a corner kick from Rohan Bhargava. The serve from the left corner went over the crowd in front to the far post, where Zain was waiting and willing.
“Rohan placed it perfectly to my head, right where coach (Troy Adams) wants us to place a corner kick, and I just finished my chance,” Zain said. “It was a wide-open net. It was an easy goal.”
As everyone knows, victories rarely come easily in the playoffs, so Zain’s strike took some of the pressure off the favorites.
“We worked on restarts last weekend because we know that in the playoffs you’ve got to get goals any way you can and restarts are a great way to get them,” Bhargava said. “So I just looked for that same spot, and Nate finished it well.”
The early lead gave the Redhawks (13-4-3) some breathing room.
“I think (scoring first) is really important because as the game goes on in the playoffs, the underdog team usually gains confidence as time goes on if we don’t capitalize early,” Bhargava said. “So it was good that we finished one.”
The Redhawks, ranked 12th in the final regular season Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, didn’t finish any more, though it wasn’t for lack of trying. Bolingbrook goalkeeper Oscar Leon made six saves, including three outstanding stops.
Leon denied Ivan Dosen twice with diving saves in the first half and turned a hard shot from Naperville Central scoring leader Zack Kokes around the right post early in the second half.
“The keeper made three very nice saves,” Adams said. “He had the pop over the top. He had one that he dove out to push away.
“But you keep trying. That’s all you can do. Eventually the goalie will make a mistake, or you’ll catch a break.”
Leon didn’t and neither did the Redhawks, who had a couple crosses through the crease go untouched in the second half. That has been a consistent struggle for the Redhawks, who have scored just twice in their last three matches and 35 times overall in 20 games.
“We put ourselves in positions to score goals but couldn’t score goals,” Adams said. “We have some very nice players, but we haven’t had anyone that’s consistently put the ball in the net.
“That’s a struggle when you don’t have one or two guys who can consistently score and you’re in trouble.”
But the Redhawks never were in trouble against the Raiders, who never seriously threatened to score. Bolingbrook was outshot 13-3, with all three shots coming from distance off the foot of midfielder Mauricio Bahena.
Naperville Central goalkeeper Ethan Conners had an easy job, making two routine saves. It was the Redhawks’ third-straight shutout and 11th of the season.
“The defense played really solid tonight,” Zain said. “Cam (Strang) and Tanner (Greenhagen), both are really good center backs.
“They hold it down well, just not letting them get turned facing our goal. That’s probably the biggest plus for us.”
Another plus for the Redhawks was the lesson learned from last year’s upset loss to Plainfield Central.
“I think that you can learn lessons from the past,” Adams said. “I didn’t do it this year because I didn’t need to, but every year I pull up the past couple years and (tell them) this team, two-seed, loses, this team, one-seed, loses.
“There is no entitlement. There is no, we’re the one-seed, we have to advance. Right now everybody is in the same boat. They’re all 0-0 and a lot of teams are like us.
“At this point it’s about advancing. That’s all you worry about. We’ll keep working on being better but some games you’ve got to gut out.
“Every game could be your last. That’s what I told the kids.”
The message was received, though Zain seems to think that last game could be a ways off.
“I’m confident in our team,” Zain said. “I think we’ve got all-around great players.
“Defense, midfield and forwards, we all combine well together and play well together. As long as we’re putting the ball in the back of the net, we should be fine.”
Starting lineups
Bolingbrook
GK Oscar Leon
D Jaidyn Myrick
D Keegan Wahlgren
D Esteban Castro-Alvarez
M Joseph Balas
M Angel Terrazas
M Mauricio Bahena
M Juan Guzman-Contreras
F Cristian Guzman-Contreras
F Ajay Vohra
F Alejandro Franco
Naperville Central
GK Ethan Conners
D Tanner Greenhagen
D Cameron Strang
D Rokas Stadalninkas
M Nico Couropmitree
M Owen Jarrell
M Nate Zain
M Rohan Bhargava
F Ryan Coleman
F Zack Kokes
F Jimmy Kalkofen
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Nate Zain, sr., M, Naperville Central
Scoring summary
1st Half
Naperville Central – Nate Zain (Rohan Bhargava) 34:26