Shamrocks shake off weather, Carmel
New-look St. Patrick posts 2-1 victory in season-opener
By Mike Garofola
CHICAGO -- The uniform numbers may be the same, but the names have changed.
Few teams in the area could boast the attacking firepower of the St. Patrick soccer club during the past couple of seasons as it rolled its way to its first ever Class 3A state trophies.
The numbers associated with the names of Illinois-Chicago recruit Joshua Torres, and graduates Jonathan Rodriugez, Aaron Moreno-Lopez, LuisAngel Salcedo, Sebastian Modrzejewski, Angel Adame and others struck fear into each and every defending unit.
However, these gifted players have left the field and a brand-spanking new group has joined the Shamrocks roster to make a name for themselves.
"Although it's time for the few of us who are back from last year's team to take over and lead by example, I can honestly say that I am really excited about the new players we have here at Pat's," said senior Sebastian Estrada. "There's some really amazing talent here, and I really feel like they can be better than the last group we had here if they continue to work as hard as they have."
The forward bagged the first goal of the season for the Shamrocks (1-0-0, 1-0-0) on Wednesday night at Read-Dunning Stadium on the northwest side of Chicago, where St. Patrick's took a 2-1 victory over East Suburban Catholic Conference for Carmel (0-1-1, 0-1-0).
On an evening best suited for amphibious animals instead of young men in soccer kits, both clubs battled cold, gusty winds, accompanied by a pounding rain for 80 minutes. They played a pretty decent brand of soccer until the later stages when the elements began to take control of the players both mentally and physically.
"It wasn't too bad at the start, but when the wind and rain really began to pick up, it had all of our bodies just numb," said Estrada, who, like a handful of others succumbed to leg cramps in the later stages of the match.
"We've all played in really bad weather, but (that) game was about as bad as I've every played in," added Shamrocks captain Narcizo Ibarra, who was a full-time starter along Pat's backline a year ago. In 2021, the upper classmen are outnumbered (six freshmen, seven sophomores) on the varsity roster.
Estrada gave the home side an early lead when he converted his spot kick in the 10th minute after he earned the chance following a strong run up the right side that brought him into the Corsairs box.
"I always know the way I am going with my PK attempt. I never even think twice about switching the way I'll take my shot," said Estrada, who was careful not to give away his shot selection.
As the conditions worsened, the Corsairs stormed back with a fierce wind behind them. Carmel fought back to even on the right foot of Ryan Cawley.
The senior calmly stepped up and unloaded a 20-yard missile into the back of the net with his free kick attempt in the 16th minute.
"I knew I had to hit the ball hard enough to beat the wall, but low enough to sneak under the bar. I was fortunate to finish from a great spot," said a modest Cawley, whose strike was near perfect.
Cawley is just one of a few back from a 2019 Corsairs roster that finished at 3-5-1 in league play.
"We lost eight of our previous starters, so the biggest adjustment for us has been to find a way to fill the major gaps they left behind," continued Cawley, who has been accepted to both Clemson and the University of San Diego. He plans to study business.
St. Patrick junior Bryant Alvarez, who served as the backup to Jorge Cebrero between the sticks last season, made a handful of difficult saves in the wind and rain during the first 40 minutes. His workload included two during a sequence of deep throws from Connor Nettesheim that forced Alvarez to fight through a crowd to collect the ball.
After the break, the home side fans got a chance to see the future of the Shamrocks attack. With the winds at their back, the talented feet of Estrada, along with freshmen Rafael Rios, Jorge Parra, Sergio Barron, sophomore Jake Lane and senior Jaden Buelvas showed their collected soccer acumen.
"The young guys on this team are fun to be around and to see them put in 100 percent when we're training, then watching them play, is very exciting," said Estrada, who plans on playing in Mexico after high school. He wants to follow in the footsteps of his father who was a professional player in his home land in the third division.
"As the captain, and the guy who will help our young players through this season, I can say we have some unbelievable talent. I cannot wait to see how good of a team they become in the next couple of years," said Ibarra, who made a favorable impression on the coaches at Dominican University, where he will play in the fall of 2021.
Ibarra, who was later named Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match, plans to study accounting there.
Corsairs keeper Tim Harvey, who himself did well protecting the back of his neck throughout a dreadful second half of weather, turned away a pair of well-struck corners from Ivan Guerrero near the hour mark. Later he redirected a header inside the six-yard box from Rios.
The game-winner came 10 minutes from time when Parra, on the turn, fired low into the net from 25 yards after a Daniel Carrera helper.
"We played with a lot more confidence in the second half, and even though it was the first game ever on the varsity for most of our guys, you saw them playing the way I know they can," said Ibarra.
Carmel's Cawley liked what he saw, despite the result.
"I was really happy with the effort we put in. We still have a lot to work on, but the strength of our backline and quality we have in the midfield holds the promise of an extremely fun and successful season for us."
After a Saturday contest with Antioch, the Corsairs welcome league rival Marian on Monday.
For Shamrocks manager Kyle McClure, the loss of so much elite talent hasn't dashed the hopes of the St. Patrick faithful or his staff with the season about to get into full swing for his young men.
"We have 13 of our 24 players on the varsity either freshmen or sophomores, plus we're playing without Joshua (Torres) our All-American forward, because he's going full remote at school and is unable to play due to school protocol," began McClure.
"(But) as you saw, the young players are very strong. We started two freshmen, while several others gave us significant minutes off the bench.
"Narcizo is a great leader for us in the back, and Xavi Gamez, another newcomer, did a very good job all night long as our centerback."
McClure will lean on Buelvas and Estrada to provide the scoring punch while his youngsters get up to speed. He will play a more conservative defensive posture during the breaking-in period.
"There's still a lot for us to be better at -- it's important that we stay healthy," he said. "But overall, I was very happy with our performance and look forward to the coming weeks to see how we improve and prepare for a normal season next fall."
The players are ready to write a new chapter in St. Patrick soccer history.
"Even though soccer here at Pat's is going in a different direction from where its been, I see a really bright future for this next group of players," Ibarra said.
"I came here because of friendships that I had with guys who played here the last 3-4 years, and I hope this current group of players bring another wave of new players here for the same reason to help continue our tradition of great soccer."
The Shamrocks will host Marist on Monday evening.
Starting lineups
Carmel (4-4-2)
G- Tim Harvey
D- Riley Pierson
D- Erik Miller
D- Ben LaMora
D- Henry Dziechiarz
M- Aidan Fendel
M- Ryan Cawley
M- Kyle Snyder
M- Sandro Pineda
F- Nate Cordova
F- Diego Luna
St. Patrick (4-4-2)
G- Bryant Alvarez
D- Daniel Carrera
D- Xavi Gamez
D- Narcizo Ibarra
D- Remy Stafford
M- Nicholas Leon
M- Ivan Guerrero
M- Rafael Rios
M- Jake Lane
F- Jaden Buelvas
F- Sebastian Estrada
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Narcizo Ibarra, SR., d, St. Patrick
Scoring summary
First half
St. Patrick: Estrada (PK) 10'
Carmel: Cawley (FK) 16'
Second half
St. Patrick: Parra (Carrera) 70'
New-look St. Patrick posts 2-1 victory in season-opener
By Mike Garofola
CHICAGO -- The uniform numbers may be the same, but the names have changed.
Few teams in the area could boast the attacking firepower of the St. Patrick soccer club during the past couple of seasons as it rolled its way to its first ever Class 3A state trophies.
The numbers associated with the names of Illinois-Chicago recruit Joshua Torres, and graduates Jonathan Rodriugez, Aaron Moreno-Lopez, LuisAngel Salcedo, Sebastian Modrzejewski, Angel Adame and others struck fear into each and every defending unit.
However, these gifted players have left the field and a brand-spanking new group has joined the Shamrocks roster to make a name for themselves.
"Although it's time for the few of us who are back from last year's team to take over and lead by example, I can honestly say that I am really excited about the new players we have here at Pat's," said senior Sebastian Estrada. "There's some really amazing talent here, and I really feel like they can be better than the last group we had here if they continue to work as hard as they have."
The forward bagged the first goal of the season for the Shamrocks (1-0-0, 1-0-0) on Wednesday night at Read-Dunning Stadium on the northwest side of Chicago, where St. Patrick's took a 2-1 victory over East Suburban Catholic Conference for Carmel (0-1-1, 0-1-0).
On an evening best suited for amphibious animals instead of young men in soccer kits, both clubs battled cold, gusty winds, accompanied by a pounding rain for 80 minutes. They played a pretty decent brand of soccer until the later stages when the elements began to take control of the players both mentally and physically.
"It wasn't too bad at the start, but when the wind and rain really began to pick up, it had all of our bodies just numb," said Estrada, who, like a handful of others succumbed to leg cramps in the later stages of the match.
"We've all played in really bad weather, but (that) game was about as bad as I've every played in," added Shamrocks captain Narcizo Ibarra, who was a full-time starter along Pat's backline a year ago. In 2021, the upper classmen are outnumbered (six freshmen, seven sophomores) on the varsity roster.
Estrada gave the home side an early lead when he converted his spot kick in the 10th minute after he earned the chance following a strong run up the right side that brought him into the Corsairs box.
"I always know the way I am going with my PK attempt. I never even think twice about switching the way I'll take my shot," said Estrada, who was careful not to give away his shot selection.
As the conditions worsened, the Corsairs stormed back with a fierce wind behind them. Carmel fought back to even on the right foot of Ryan Cawley.
The senior calmly stepped up and unloaded a 20-yard missile into the back of the net with his free kick attempt in the 16th minute.
"I knew I had to hit the ball hard enough to beat the wall, but low enough to sneak under the bar. I was fortunate to finish from a great spot," said a modest Cawley, whose strike was near perfect.
Cawley is just one of a few back from a 2019 Corsairs roster that finished at 3-5-1 in league play.
"We lost eight of our previous starters, so the biggest adjustment for us has been to find a way to fill the major gaps they left behind," continued Cawley, who has been accepted to both Clemson and the University of San Diego. He plans to study business.
St. Patrick junior Bryant Alvarez, who served as the backup to Jorge Cebrero between the sticks last season, made a handful of difficult saves in the wind and rain during the first 40 minutes. His workload included two during a sequence of deep throws from Connor Nettesheim that forced Alvarez to fight through a crowd to collect the ball.
After the break, the home side fans got a chance to see the future of the Shamrocks attack. With the winds at their back, the talented feet of Estrada, along with freshmen Rafael Rios, Jorge Parra, Sergio Barron, sophomore Jake Lane and senior Jaden Buelvas showed their collected soccer acumen.
"The young guys on this team are fun to be around and to see them put in 100 percent when we're training, then watching them play, is very exciting," said Estrada, who plans on playing in Mexico after high school. He wants to follow in the footsteps of his father who was a professional player in his home land in the third division.
"As the captain, and the guy who will help our young players through this season, I can say we have some unbelievable talent. I cannot wait to see how good of a team they become in the next couple of years," said Ibarra, who made a favorable impression on the coaches at Dominican University, where he will play in the fall of 2021.
Ibarra, who was later named Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match, plans to study accounting there.
Corsairs keeper Tim Harvey, who himself did well protecting the back of his neck throughout a dreadful second half of weather, turned away a pair of well-struck corners from Ivan Guerrero near the hour mark. Later he redirected a header inside the six-yard box from Rios.
The game-winner came 10 minutes from time when Parra, on the turn, fired low into the net from 25 yards after a Daniel Carrera helper.
"We played with a lot more confidence in the second half, and even though it was the first game ever on the varsity for most of our guys, you saw them playing the way I know they can," said Ibarra.
Carmel's Cawley liked what he saw, despite the result.
"I was really happy with the effort we put in. We still have a lot to work on, but the strength of our backline and quality we have in the midfield holds the promise of an extremely fun and successful season for us."
After a Saturday contest with Antioch, the Corsairs welcome league rival Marian on Monday.
For Shamrocks manager Kyle McClure, the loss of so much elite talent hasn't dashed the hopes of the St. Patrick faithful or his staff with the season about to get into full swing for his young men.
"We have 13 of our 24 players on the varsity either freshmen or sophomores, plus we're playing without Joshua (Torres) our All-American forward, because he's going full remote at school and is unable to play due to school protocol," began McClure.
"(But) as you saw, the young players are very strong. We started two freshmen, while several others gave us significant minutes off the bench.
"Narcizo is a great leader for us in the back, and Xavi Gamez, another newcomer, did a very good job all night long as our centerback."
McClure will lean on Buelvas and Estrada to provide the scoring punch while his youngsters get up to speed. He will play a more conservative defensive posture during the breaking-in period.
"There's still a lot for us to be better at -- it's important that we stay healthy," he said. "But overall, I was very happy with our performance and look forward to the coming weeks to see how we improve and prepare for a normal season next fall."
The players are ready to write a new chapter in St. Patrick soccer history.
"Even though soccer here at Pat's is going in a different direction from where its been, I see a really bright future for this next group of players," Ibarra said.
"I came here because of friendships that I had with guys who played here the last 3-4 years, and I hope this current group of players bring another wave of new players here for the same reason to help continue our tradition of great soccer."
The Shamrocks will host Marist on Monday evening.
Starting lineups
Carmel (4-4-2)
G- Tim Harvey
D- Riley Pierson
D- Erik Miller
D- Ben LaMora
D- Henry Dziechiarz
M- Aidan Fendel
M- Ryan Cawley
M- Kyle Snyder
M- Sandro Pineda
F- Nate Cordova
F- Diego Luna
St. Patrick (4-4-2)
G- Bryant Alvarez
D- Daniel Carrera
D- Xavi Gamez
D- Narcizo Ibarra
D- Remy Stafford
M- Nicholas Leon
M- Ivan Guerrero
M- Rafael Rios
M- Jake Lane
F- Jaden Buelvas
F- Sebastian Estrada
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Narcizo Ibarra, SR., d, St. Patrick
Scoring summary
First half
St. Patrick: Estrada (PK) 10'
Carmel: Cawley (FK) 16'
Second half
St. Patrick: Parra (Carrera) 70'