Marmion early goals pace win
4-1 victory over Brother Rice is Cadets' 3rd win in last 4 outings
By Steve Nemeth
NORTH AURORA --- While Marmion had the good fortune to score early, the Cadets were even more fortunate on defense.
That combination was the foundation for Tuesday’s 4-1 Senior Night triumph over Brother Rice in a Chicago Catholic League Green Division matchup.
Two weeks prior when Marmion last played a home match (a 4-0 loss to St. Ignatius), coach Jimmy Romano was lamenting his team’s early struggles that perpetually put the Cadets in comeback mode.
This time Marmion scored just 3:40 into the match but twice dodged serious Brother Rice opportunities in the opening nine minutes for a 1-0 halftime lead. Then the hosts not only scored 1:22 into the second half, but tallied three goals in less than nine minutes.
The win marked Marmion’s first back-to-back triumphs of the season and its third win within the last four outings to improve to 4-11-1 overall.
Although the result was the Cadets’ second win versus CCL Green Division opponents, Marmion finished second to St. Laurence in the standings. While the basis for conference protocol in the Chicago Catholic League seems to be a point of debate, it won't affect where the top teams finish in the four-team Green Division. The Cadets are 2-1-0 vs. division foes and 2-5-0 when adding results from cross-over matches with Blue Division teams, which was the standard last season. St. Laurence’s final cross-over with Fenwick will have no bearing -- the Vikings locked up the league crown in either fashion with a 3-0-0 intra-division or 4-1-0 tally when combined with Blue Division results. In 2016, Marmion and St. Laurence shared the Green Division crown with identical 2-5-0 ledgers.
Marmion got off on the right foot in the win after Matt Lagman worked down the right side of the field. He angled in enough to draw more attention from the Crusaders defense before a textbook cross found C.J. Sowers waiting in the middle for a 14-yard blast.
“Matt does a great job possessing the ball, and we all know to look for a lay-off pass,” Sowers explained. “All I had to do was work it past the keeper. Seriously, all credit needs to go to Matt, especially it being Senior Night.
‘Getting that first goal has always been important for us this season,” Sowers added. “We did that against St. Charles North and held our own (in a 1-1 tie on August 31). Aside from the confidence boost, I think scoring early gives us more incentive and courage to keep pushing the attack.”
In addition to halftime recognition with their parents, all four Cadet seniors ultimately had spotlight moments including two fortuitous defensive efforts that allowed goal number one to stand up for a 1-0 halftime lead.
There was 5:54 gone when Brother Rice’s Jack Finnegan raced shoulder to shoulder on a fastbreak with Cadets senior Johan Muscutt into a three-way collision with outrushing Marmion sophomore goalie Jason Baker. Finnegan got back up in time to boot a shot from left of center only to have senior Luke Salamon save the ball off the goal line.
Another four minutes went by before Finnegan was attacking from the right and had a second potential equalizer denied at the goal line, this time by senior Robert Quintana.
“It’s just a matter of reacting to what’s happening,” Quintana said. “I saw the ball loose and an opponent cutting in toward so the reaction was go cover the goal and make sure the shot doesn’t go in. I stuck my foot out enough to clear it.”
“That’s the bounces of the game,” Brother Rice coach Kevin McAlinden shrugged. “For golden opportunities like that, (Finnegan) is the guy you’d want in that position. But maybe he doesn’t hit it quite hard enough or a little more to one side and there’s no tie, so you simply have to play on.”
While both teams had opportunities miss high or wide, Finnegan might have created a tie just 4:49 before intermission, but Baker came up big for Marmion with a tip save that the sophomore keeper then caught.
Immediately after the restart, the hosts were on the attack. Crusaders goalie Neil Sloyan won a foot race to the ball for a cover before Ian Swindle could get an attempt. However, Marmion cut off a pass upfield and was back knocking on the door. This time T.J. Laurich teamed up with James Serrano for a combination assist on Swindle’s fourth goal of the season. Ironically, the duo both picked up their fifth assists on the play that hit paydirt 1:22 into the second half.
A mere 5:43 after halftime, James Lawinger not only made a maximum vertical leap, but timed it perfectly for a sharp 10-yard header off Aidan Reynolds’ cross. The tally matched brother David on the Marmion season goal chart with one.
After Sloyan tipped a long direct free kick over the crossbar, he wasn’t so lucky moments later.
Muscutt became the fifth Cadet with one goal on the season as he pounced on a putback off a block of a Reynolds blast. For Reynolds it bumped his assist total to three and for Marmion, the lead ballooned to four just eight minutes and 28 seconds after the Cadets had taken a 2-1 edge.
With four different scorers and field players stepping up big on defense, the effort that consistently had to be noticed belonged to Laurich, as did the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match selection.
“T.J. is the machine that makes everything run smoothly on offense or defense,” Romano stated. “Offensively he starts so many attacks from the midfield; defensively he stops counterattacks. He’s the main reason other guys ultimately get stats. If this were hockey, he’d have almost as many assists as everyone else put together. Not only does he win headers in midfield, he’s been huge getting defensive headers on opponent corners and crosses. We haven’t given up an air ball goal in our last four games thanks to him, and that’s huge.”
The compliments and game MVP honor humbled Laurich, who is concerned with outcomes more than statistics.
“I truly don’t think or care about stats other than the score. My job is to help the flow of the game in our favor,” Laurich said. “We’re starting to play our game with more confidence and with that good mental attitude. I believe we’re building momentum for the rest of this season and beyond.”
If the Crusaders had hopes for a spark to start a huge comeback, it was thwarted with 21:53 left in regulation when Finnegan had a 17-yard cracker that became a Baker highlight-worthy save. At the opposite end, Sloyan prevented a cannon volley by Marmion’s James Lawinger.
The Cadets hopes for a second clean sheet ended with 8:59 still to play. That’s when Finnegan chalked up his 16th goal off a 19-yard direct kick that curved past a Marmion defensive wall. Although Baker dove to his right and snared the ball, the game official and assistant referee agreed the ball did cross inside the goal line.
For Brother Rice, McAlinden also had praise for Luke Harris, one of five seniors on the field for the Crusaders.
“Defensively he kept us in the game in the first half,” McAlinden said. “On offense he played a lot of nice balls forward and had some strong free kicks. Defensively he blunted their attack. Being down one at the half, our hope was that we’d sustain Luke’s efforts as a team in the second half.”
In the same context of consistency, Romano pointed to Serrano’s performance.
“He’s always creative and gives us a spark on offense. He’s not afraid to go at defenders and has a nose for the goal,” Romano noted. “Whether it’s scoring or earning an assist, we can count on him for chances to get us on the scoreboard.”
That will certainly be a challenge on Friday when Marmion visits Wheaton Academy, ranked one team off the board in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. In addition to boasting a 16-4-0 record, the Warriors completed their undefeated Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division championship earlier in the day with an 8-0 thumping of Illiana Christian.
Marmion is scheduled to host Bartlett on Oct. 10 as a final tune-up for the playoffs. As a no. 10 seed for the Class AA tourney, the Cadets have a prelim date yet to be determined at no. 7 seed Burlington Central. The winner advances to an Oct. 17 4:30 p.m. semifinal against regional host Kaneland, the no. 2 seed among 10 assigned to the upper portion of the Wheaton Academy Sectional.
For Brother Rice, it was a seventh-straight loss dropping the season record to 2-13-0. The Crusaders are winless against three Green Division foes and an aggregate 0-6-0 with a crossover left versus St. Ignatius.
Starting lineups
Brother Rice
GK Neil Sloyan
D Lewis Conn
D Damian Ovale
D Luke Harris
D Matt Reidy
DM Michael Tinley
M Matt Murnane
M Patrick McAuliffe
M Joe Kresic
M Jordan Harris
F Jack Finnegan
Marmion
GK Jason Baker
SW Johan Muscutt
D Aidan Reynolds
D Luke Salamon
D C.J. Sowers
D Robert Quintana
M T.J. Laurich
M Ian Swindle
M James Serrano
M James Lawinger
F Matt Lagman
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: T.J. Laurich, so. MF, Marmion
Referees: Tomasz Zajaczkowski (center), Carlos Herrera, John Elenbaas
Game summary
Marmion 4, Brother Rice 1
Brother Rice 0 1 ---- 1 2-12-0 (CCL-G: 0-6)
Marmion 1 3 ---- 4 4-11-1 (CCL-G: 2-5)
Scoring
M – Sowers 14-yard blast from middle off cross (Lagman assist), 4:40 gone
M – Swindle seven-yard finish from middle from combination assist (Laurich, Serrano assists), 41:22 gone
M – J. Lawinger 10-yard header from right of center off cross (Reynolds assist), 44:27 gone
M – Muscutt 14-yard putback on right off a deflection (Reynolds assist), 49:50 gone
BR – Finnegan 19-yard direct free kick from force of kick inside right post (unassisted), 71:01 gone
Shots
BR 6 – 6 --- 12
M 6 – 9 --- 15
Shots on goal
BR 4 – 3 --- 7
M 2 – 7 --- 9
Saves (goalie/player)
BR 5 (Sloyan, 1/4)
M 6 (Baker, 2/2; Salamon 1, Quintana, 1)
Corner kicks
BR 1 – 0 --- 1
M 1 – 1 --- 2
Offsides
BR 0 – 0 --- 0
M 2 – 1 --- 3
4-1 victory over Brother Rice is Cadets' 3rd win in last 4 outings
By Steve Nemeth
NORTH AURORA --- While Marmion had the good fortune to score early, the Cadets were even more fortunate on defense.
That combination was the foundation for Tuesday’s 4-1 Senior Night triumph over Brother Rice in a Chicago Catholic League Green Division matchup.
Two weeks prior when Marmion last played a home match (a 4-0 loss to St. Ignatius), coach Jimmy Romano was lamenting his team’s early struggles that perpetually put the Cadets in comeback mode.
This time Marmion scored just 3:40 into the match but twice dodged serious Brother Rice opportunities in the opening nine minutes for a 1-0 halftime lead. Then the hosts not only scored 1:22 into the second half, but tallied three goals in less than nine minutes.
The win marked Marmion’s first back-to-back triumphs of the season and its third win within the last four outings to improve to 4-11-1 overall.
Although the result was the Cadets’ second win versus CCL Green Division opponents, Marmion finished second to St. Laurence in the standings. While the basis for conference protocol in the Chicago Catholic League seems to be a point of debate, it won't affect where the top teams finish in the four-team Green Division. The Cadets are 2-1-0 vs. division foes and 2-5-0 when adding results from cross-over matches with Blue Division teams, which was the standard last season. St. Laurence’s final cross-over with Fenwick will have no bearing -- the Vikings locked up the league crown in either fashion with a 3-0-0 intra-division or 4-1-0 tally when combined with Blue Division results. In 2016, Marmion and St. Laurence shared the Green Division crown with identical 2-5-0 ledgers.
Marmion got off on the right foot in the win after Matt Lagman worked down the right side of the field. He angled in enough to draw more attention from the Crusaders defense before a textbook cross found C.J. Sowers waiting in the middle for a 14-yard blast.
“Matt does a great job possessing the ball, and we all know to look for a lay-off pass,” Sowers explained. “All I had to do was work it past the keeper. Seriously, all credit needs to go to Matt, especially it being Senior Night.
‘Getting that first goal has always been important for us this season,” Sowers added. “We did that against St. Charles North and held our own (in a 1-1 tie on August 31). Aside from the confidence boost, I think scoring early gives us more incentive and courage to keep pushing the attack.”
In addition to halftime recognition with their parents, all four Cadet seniors ultimately had spotlight moments including two fortuitous defensive efforts that allowed goal number one to stand up for a 1-0 halftime lead.
There was 5:54 gone when Brother Rice’s Jack Finnegan raced shoulder to shoulder on a fastbreak with Cadets senior Johan Muscutt into a three-way collision with outrushing Marmion sophomore goalie Jason Baker. Finnegan got back up in time to boot a shot from left of center only to have senior Luke Salamon save the ball off the goal line.
Another four minutes went by before Finnegan was attacking from the right and had a second potential equalizer denied at the goal line, this time by senior Robert Quintana.
“It’s just a matter of reacting to what’s happening,” Quintana said. “I saw the ball loose and an opponent cutting in toward so the reaction was go cover the goal and make sure the shot doesn’t go in. I stuck my foot out enough to clear it.”
“That’s the bounces of the game,” Brother Rice coach Kevin McAlinden shrugged. “For golden opportunities like that, (Finnegan) is the guy you’d want in that position. But maybe he doesn’t hit it quite hard enough or a little more to one side and there’s no tie, so you simply have to play on.”
While both teams had opportunities miss high or wide, Finnegan might have created a tie just 4:49 before intermission, but Baker came up big for Marmion with a tip save that the sophomore keeper then caught.
Immediately after the restart, the hosts were on the attack. Crusaders goalie Neil Sloyan won a foot race to the ball for a cover before Ian Swindle could get an attempt. However, Marmion cut off a pass upfield and was back knocking on the door. This time T.J. Laurich teamed up with James Serrano for a combination assist on Swindle’s fourth goal of the season. Ironically, the duo both picked up their fifth assists on the play that hit paydirt 1:22 into the second half.
A mere 5:43 after halftime, James Lawinger not only made a maximum vertical leap, but timed it perfectly for a sharp 10-yard header off Aidan Reynolds’ cross. The tally matched brother David on the Marmion season goal chart with one.
After Sloyan tipped a long direct free kick over the crossbar, he wasn’t so lucky moments later.
Muscutt became the fifth Cadet with one goal on the season as he pounced on a putback off a block of a Reynolds blast. For Reynolds it bumped his assist total to three and for Marmion, the lead ballooned to four just eight minutes and 28 seconds after the Cadets had taken a 2-1 edge.
With four different scorers and field players stepping up big on defense, the effort that consistently had to be noticed belonged to Laurich, as did the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match selection.
“T.J. is the machine that makes everything run smoothly on offense or defense,” Romano stated. “Offensively he starts so many attacks from the midfield; defensively he stops counterattacks. He’s the main reason other guys ultimately get stats. If this were hockey, he’d have almost as many assists as everyone else put together. Not only does he win headers in midfield, he’s been huge getting defensive headers on opponent corners and crosses. We haven’t given up an air ball goal in our last four games thanks to him, and that’s huge.”
The compliments and game MVP honor humbled Laurich, who is concerned with outcomes more than statistics.
“I truly don’t think or care about stats other than the score. My job is to help the flow of the game in our favor,” Laurich said. “We’re starting to play our game with more confidence and with that good mental attitude. I believe we’re building momentum for the rest of this season and beyond.”
If the Crusaders had hopes for a spark to start a huge comeback, it was thwarted with 21:53 left in regulation when Finnegan had a 17-yard cracker that became a Baker highlight-worthy save. At the opposite end, Sloyan prevented a cannon volley by Marmion’s James Lawinger.
The Cadets hopes for a second clean sheet ended with 8:59 still to play. That’s when Finnegan chalked up his 16th goal off a 19-yard direct kick that curved past a Marmion defensive wall. Although Baker dove to his right and snared the ball, the game official and assistant referee agreed the ball did cross inside the goal line.
For Brother Rice, McAlinden also had praise for Luke Harris, one of five seniors on the field for the Crusaders.
“Defensively he kept us in the game in the first half,” McAlinden said. “On offense he played a lot of nice balls forward and had some strong free kicks. Defensively he blunted their attack. Being down one at the half, our hope was that we’d sustain Luke’s efforts as a team in the second half.”
In the same context of consistency, Romano pointed to Serrano’s performance.
“He’s always creative and gives us a spark on offense. He’s not afraid to go at defenders and has a nose for the goal,” Romano noted. “Whether it’s scoring or earning an assist, we can count on him for chances to get us on the scoreboard.”
That will certainly be a challenge on Friday when Marmion visits Wheaton Academy, ranked one team off the board in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. In addition to boasting a 16-4-0 record, the Warriors completed their undefeated Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division championship earlier in the day with an 8-0 thumping of Illiana Christian.
Marmion is scheduled to host Bartlett on Oct. 10 as a final tune-up for the playoffs. As a no. 10 seed for the Class AA tourney, the Cadets have a prelim date yet to be determined at no. 7 seed Burlington Central. The winner advances to an Oct. 17 4:30 p.m. semifinal against regional host Kaneland, the no. 2 seed among 10 assigned to the upper portion of the Wheaton Academy Sectional.
For Brother Rice, it was a seventh-straight loss dropping the season record to 2-13-0. The Crusaders are winless against three Green Division foes and an aggregate 0-6-0 with a crossover left versus St. Ignatius.
Starting lineups
Brother Rice
GK Neil Sloyan
D Lewis Conn
D Damian Ovale
D Luke Harris
D Matt Reidy
DM Michael Tinley
M Matt Murnane
M Patrick McAuliffe
M Joe Kresic
M Jordan Harris
F Jack Finnegan
Marmion
GK Jason Baker
SW Johan Muscutt
D Aidan Reynolds
D Luke Salamon
D C.J. Sowers
D Robert Quintana
M T.J. Laurich
M Ian Swindle
M James Serrano
M James Lawinger
F Matt Lagman
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: T.J. Laurich, so. MF, Marmion
Referees: Tomasz Zajaczkowski (center), Carlos Herrera, John Elenbaas
Game summary
Marmion 4, Brother Rice 1
Brother Rice 0 1 ---- 1 2-12-0 (CCL-G: 0-6)
Marmion 1 3 ---- 4 4-11-1 (CCL-G: 2-5)
Scoring
M – Sowers 14-yard blast from middle off cross (Lagman assist), 4:40 gone
M – Swindle seven-yard finish from middle from combination assist (Laurich, Serrano assists), 41:22 gone
M – J. Lawinger 10-yard header from right of center off cross (Reynolds assist), 44:27 gone
M – Muscutt 14-yard putback on right off a deflection (Reynolds assist), 49:50 gone
BR – Finnegan 19-yard direct free kick from force of kick inside right post (unassisted), 71:01 gone
Shots
BR 6 – 6 --- 12
M 6 – 9 --- 15
Shots on goal
BR 4 – 3 --- 7
M 2 – 7 --- 9
Saves (goalie/player)
BR 5 (Sloyan, 1/4)
M 6 (Baker, 2/2; Salamon 1, Quintana, 1)
Corner kicks
BR 1 – 0 --- 1
M 1 – 1 --- 2
Offsides
BR 0 – 0 --- 0
M 2 – 1 --- 3