South, Central need Crystal Lake win
to buoy conference hopes
By Bobby Narang
CRYSTAL LAKE — Crystal Lake South was riding a hot streak earlier this month.
A few miles away, Crystal Lake Central also was on a memorable run.
Both teams ran into the same Fox Valley Conference buzzsaw that ended those successes— Dundee-Crown.
Now the cross-town foes get to gauge themselves against each other Thursday. Crystal Lake South (7-3-2, 3-1-0) hosts the Tigers (8-5-2, 2-1-1) at 4:30 p.m.
The Gators started the season with a few question marks following a 6-0 win over Woodstock North. They entered play against Class 3A teams and dropped a 2-0 decision to Hersey to go with a scoreless draw versus Zion-Benton and a 1-0 loss to Palatine.
Crystal Lake South’s success ramped up when the calendar turned to September. The Gators reeled off five wins in a row before the double overtime 2-1 loss at Dundee-Crown on Sept. 22. Since then, the Gators have returned to form, securing a 0-0 tie against a talented Class 3A Taft team and beating Burlington Central 6-1 in league play on Tuesday for a 6-1-1 record in September.
Crystal Lake Central saw a three-game win streak snapped by Dundee-Crown’s 1-0 decision Tuesday. Prior to that the Tigers found no success against tough 3A competition in the Streamwood Fall Classic.
The past performances of each team suggest an evenly matched battled on Thursday afternoon.
Crystal Lake South coach Brian Allen said the Tigers, who are coached by Jay Schwarzrock, are a formidable opponent.
“Crystal Lake Central is having a great year and is well-coached and will be organized,” Allen said. “Jay and I joked at our preseason meeting that this is the first time in three or four years that we will be playing the game on our soccer-specific fields. Each of us has hosted each other on our football stadium fields under the lights for Senior Day games the past three seasons, so that should be a fun twist.
“Really, it comes down to being mentally tough and putting the distractions aside that come with playing your cross-town rival.”
Schwarzrock said the Crystal Lake South is always a tough team. The Gators won both matches between the teams last season, including a 2-0 decision in a Class AA regional semifinal win. Crystal Lake Central would like nothing better than to hand the Gators a loss on their vaunted grass field.
“We were playing together as a team and believing that we can win,” Schwarzrock said of the three-game victory streak. “After a four-game losing streak, you need a little affirmation. This is a rivalry game, so emotion will be high and containing our own emotions and focusing them into what we want to do will win the game.”
Allen said his team is confident and motivated heading into the key conference matchup. The Gators come off a 6-1 win over Burlington Central powered by a hat-trick from Nolan Getzinger.
“Tuesday’s victory over Burlington Central helped get some newer guys some more valuable minutes in conference play that you can never simulate in practice,” Allen said. “That was a big plus for us moving forward to allow our bench to become deeper and deeper with experience and minutes.
“It also hopefully brought our confidence back up in terms of scoring goals. We had been in a little bit of a rut there following the Dundee Crown controversial ending and then battling a very stout and tough Taft team Saturday.
“Taft was a great tune-up for the home stretch against conference teams, because they are so talented in so many areas. To be able to test ourselves against one of the best from the Chicago Public League and on top of that hold our own gave us a good deal of confidence and belief again as we got back to training on Monday.
“That carried over, even after conceding the first goal against Burlington Central. I felt our demeanor and confidence level never really wavered too much. We knew we would eventually get a goal and then hopefully build off of that, which we obviously were able to do.”
Schwarzrock said his team is looking to establish some momentum late in the season. The Tigers have been a streaky team all season.
“We’ve not had a consistent starting lineup all year,” he said. “There has always been an injury, illness or something to impede us from having 11 consistent starters.”
Allen said he’s been pleased with the play by several players, notably junior midfielder Brendan Lewis.
“Brendan Lewis has really started to round back into form after battling a few nagging injuries earlier in the year,” he said. “Being a third-year varsity guy, he’s also one of the few players who has started almost every game for us on last year's sectional final squad.
“We’ve been anxiously anticipating that return to form. He allows us some more flexibility in other areas of the midfield, knowing that center is beginning to be locked down on a more regular basis with him.
“Being a defensive midfielder, it's often not a glamorous position. He does what we ask of him and embraces his role in our system very well to help us be the best team we can.”d
to buoy conference hopes
By Bobby Narang
CRYSTAL LAKE — Crystal Lake South was riding a hot streak earlier this month.
A few miles away, Crystal Lake Central also was on a memorable run.
Both teams ran into the same Fox Valley Conference buzzsaw that ended those successes— Dundee-Crown.
Now the cross-town foes get to gauge themselves against each other Thursday. Crystal Lake South (7-3-2, 3-1-0) hosts the Tigers (8-5-2, 2-1-1) at 4:30 p.m.
The Gators started the season with a few question marks following a 6-0 win over Woodstock North. They entered play against Class 3A teams and dropped a 2-0 decision to Hersey to go with a scoreless draw versus Zion-Benton and a 1-0 loss to Palatine.
Crystal Lake South’s success ramped up when the calendar turned to September. The Gators reeled off five wins in a row before the double overtime 2-1 loss at Dundee-Crown on Sept. 22. Since then, the Gators have returned to form, securing a 0-0 tie against a talented Class 3A Taft team and beating Burlington Central 6-1 in league play on Tuesday for a 6-1-1 record in September.
Crystal Lake Central saw a three-game win streak snapped by Dundee-Crown’s 1-0 decision Tuesday. Prior to that the Tigers found no success against tough 3A competition in the Streamwood Fall Classic.
The past performances of each team suggest an evenly matched battled on Thursday afternoon.
Crystal Lake South coach Brian Allen said the Tigers, who are coached by Jay Schwarzrock, are a formidable opponent.
“Crystal Lake Central is having a great year and is well-coached and will be organized,” Allen said. “Jay and I joked at our preseason meeting that this is the first time in three or four years that we will be playing the game on our soccer-specific fields. Each of us has hosted each other on our football stadium fields under the lights for Senior Day games the past three seasons, so that should be a fun twist.
“Really, it comes down to being mentally tough and putting the distractions aside that come with playing your cross-town rival.”
Schwarzrock said the Crystal Lake South is always a tough team. The Gators won both matches between the teams last season, including a 2-0 decision in a Class AA regional semifinal win. Crystal Lake Central would like nothing better than to hand the Gators a loss on their vaunted grass field.
“We were playing together as a team and believing that we can win,” Schwarzrock said of the three-game victory streak. “After a four-game losing streak, you need a little affirmation. This is a rivalry game, so emotion will be high and containing our own emotions and focusing them into what we want to do will win the game.”
Allen said his team is confident and motivated heading into the key conference matchup. The Gators come off a 6-1 win over Burlington Central powered by a hat-trick from Nolan Getzinger.
“Tuesday’s victory over Burlington Central helped get some newer guys some more valuable minutes in conference play that you can never simulate in practice,” Allen said. “That was a big plus for us moving forward to allow our bench to become deeper and deeper with experience and minutes.
“It also hopefully brought our confidence back up in terms of scoring goals. We had been in a little bit of a rut there following the Dundee Crown controversial ending and then battling a very stout and tough Taft team Saturday.
“Taft was a great tune-up for the home stretch against conference teams, because they are so talented in so many areas. To be able to test ourselves against one of the best from the Chicago Public League and on top of that hold our own gave us a good deal of confidence and belief again as we got back to training on Monday.
“That carried over, even after conceding the first goal against Burlington Central. I felt our demeanor and confidence level never really wavered too much. We knew we would eventually get a goal and then hopefully build off of that, which we obviously were able to do.”
Schwarzrock said his team is looking to establish some momentum late in the season. The Tigers have been a streaky team all season.
“We’ve not had a consistent starting lineup all year,” he said. “There has always been an injury, illness or something to impede us from having 11 consistent starters.”
Allen said he’s been pleased with the play by several players, notably junior midfielder Brendan Lewis.
“Brendan Lewis has really started to round back into form after battling a few nagging injuries earlier in the year,” he said. “Being a third-year varsity guy, he’s also one of the few players who has started almost every game for us on last year's sectional final squad.
“We’ve been anxiously anticipating that return to form. He allows us some more flexibility in other areas of the midfield, knowing that center is beginning to be locked down on a more regular basis with him.
“Being a defensive midfielder, it's often not a glamorous position. He does what we ask of him and embraces his role in our system very well to help us be the best team we can.”d