Crystal Lake South rediscovers
scoring touch at Cary-Grove
Gators punch in 5, stay unbeaten in early Fox Valley race
By Bobby Narang
CARY — After a low-scoring victory over Jacobs, Crystal Lake South started on a similar path Thursday night.
In their Fox Valley Conference opener Tuesday, the host Gators were aggressive on the attack but couldn’t put away a goal in the first half against the Golden Eagles. It wasn’t until the 64th minute that the Gators punched across a goal that sparked a comeback victory.
The same formula nearly happened in balmy temperatures two evenings later.
Once again, the Gators didn't capitalize on countless quality shots until Nolan Getzinger broke the ice with a 27th-minute header.
The goal opened the spigot and Crystal Lake South went on to a 5-1 conference win over Cary-Grove at Al Buhrer Field.
The Gators (6-2-1, 2-0-0) scored three goals in the second half to put the game out of reach. The Gators have won five-straight games by an impressive 21-2 count.
“It was a different environment, but we like to play in as many different environments as possible,” Crystal Lake South coach Brian Allen said. “It’s a different type of field, but the guys put their heads down and tried to play our brand. That’s what I was most impressed with, that the guys played our style, even though the field is smaller than we’re used to.
"We were able to utilize some set pieces, and in the run of play we were creating chances even when our shots were hitting the post or their keeper was making saves.
“We were patient and the goals started to fall, which was good to see. It’s a good start to conference. It’s a long season and a lot of good teams are left.
“I think we were better today than against Jacobs. I thought the midfield started to sort it out early on. The wingers brought great energy out wide, and Ali (Ahmed) set the tone up-top with his pace. We kept our heads up. We showed some growth.”
Sophomore reserve midfielder Mason Ross closed out the game with consecutive goals to end any hope of a Cary-Grove comeback. Ross, who has four goals this season, nearly had a hat-trick but drilled a close shot off the post in the 70th minute.
“I had the motivation to get those goals and knew what I wanted,” Ross said. “The team was working hard. … I was motivated to get that second goal after hitting the crossbar. I’m trying to support our team. We’re a young team with a lot of potential.”
Sophomore forward Ahmed, a second-year varsity player, doubled Crystal Lake South’s cushion with a goal from 17 yards inside the far post with 1:43 remaining until halftime.
Ahmed is happy to be a bigger contributor for the Gators this season.
“It’s a huge change for me. I’m more of a main player up-top,” he said. “The ball played over, and I was pressing him (the defender). It landed perfect, and I hit it one-touch,”
It was the sixth goal of the season for Ahmed.
Cary-Grove senior midfielder Tyler Seda raised the decibel level in the small stadium for a few seconds. He woke up the large, mostly student crowd with a goal off an assist from Ian Frangiamore to cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 44th minute.
As one of the few seniors on the roster, Seda said the new-look Trojans (1-5-0, 0-1-0) are a work in progress. He took a small consolation prize scoring his second goal of the season.
“I got the ball somehow and shot it to the left side of the goal,” Seda said. “That goal felt good, especially since it was against Crystal Lake South.
"We’re a really young team. I’m one of the few seniors on the team. It’s strange because last year’s team was basically all seniors, but now it’s a bunch of young people.”
Crystal Lake South was happy with the win.
“Road wins are always nice, especially against our rival Cary-Grove,” junior midfielder Garrett Hess said. “We held our own and almost got the zero. We’ll take this win."
The smaller pitch didn't affect the Gators shooting. The team clanged shots off the cross bar and post before the late goals.
“I saw a lot of energy from our teammates,” Crystal Lake South senior defender Josh Washington said. “It was unique with a smaller field, but we trained for it yesterday. We had the mental image and handled it well.
“We have to trust each other and work through adversities. We have a good group of guys. We just need to take it one game at a time and grind it out from there.”
Junior midfielder Brendan Lewis liked his team’s fight.
“We pushed through it and got (two) goals in the first half, and that was good growth,” Lewis said. “We had a good effort throughout the whole team. It was a good win.”
Cary-Grove coach Mark Olson said he witnessed some positives and a few negatives for his team in the match, The Trojans struggled to piece together passes to generate offense against the Gators’ solid back line.
“I was really happy with the way we battled and competed,” Olson said. “Crystal Lake South is a very good team. They made the most of their chances. We have to get better at certain situations.
“I was happy with the way we competed, just not happy with the 5-1 result. But we’re learning as we’re going on. They didn’t give up.
“When you get an opportunity, you have to make the most our of it. That was nice when we scored to make it 2-1, but the next five minutes is the most dangerous time.
“They were able to key in on a few of our mistakes, but that’s what good teams do. It’s a long season. We’re working on trying to get better and having the right players in the right situations. We have a lot of young players, and are working through that.”
Starting lineups
Crystal Lake South
GK: Logan Vargas
D: Andrew Smart
D: Blake Marunde
D: Pierce Johnson
D: Josh Washington
MF: Nick Prus
MF: Kevin Cardoso
MF: Nico Velasco
MF: Nolan Getzinger
F: Ali Ahmed
F: Brendan Lewis
Cary-Grove
GK: Logan Kemp
D: Brach Skof
D: Caleb Ramirez
D: Cooper Motz
D: Ian Frangiamore
MF: Kyle Nordengren
MF: Tyler Seda
MF: Evan Frangiamore
MF: Angel Apaez
F: Landon Nawracaj
F: Cole Waddell
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Mason Ross, so., MF, Crystal Lake South
Scoring summary
First half
Crystal Lake South: Getzinger (Smart), 27’
Crystal Lake South: Ahmed (Smart), 38’
Second half
Cary-Grove: Tyler Seda (Nordengren), 44’
Crystal Lake South: Cardoso (unassisted), 46’
Crystal Lake South: Ross (Getzinger), 65’
Crystal Lake South: Ross (unassisted), 73’
scoring touch at Cary-Grove
Gators punch in 5, stay unbeaten in early Fox Valley race
By Bobby Narang
CARY — After a low-scoring victory over Jacobs, Crystal Lake South started on a similar path Thursday night.
In their Fox Valley Conference opener Tuesday, the host Gators were aggressive on the attack but couldn’t put away a goal in the first half against the Golden Eagles. It wasn’t until the 64th minute that the Gators punched across a goal that sparked a comeback victory.
The same formula nearly happened in balmy temperatures two evenings later.
Once again, the Gators didn't capitalize on countless quality shots until Nolan Getzinger broke the ice with a 27th-minute header.
The goal opened the spigot and Crystal Lake South went on to a 5-1 conference win over Cary-Grove at Al Buhrer Field.
The Gators (6-2-1, 2-0-0) scored three goals in the second half to put the game out of reach. The Gators have won five-straight games by an impressive 21-2 count.
“It was a different environment, but we like to play in as many different environments as possible,” Crystal Lake South coach Brian Allen said. “It’s a different type of field, but the guys put their heads down and tried to play our brand. That’s what I was most impressed with, that the guys played our style, even though the field is smaller than we’re used to.
"We were able to utilize some set pieces, and in the run of play we were creating chances even when our shots were hitting the post or their keeper was making saves.
“We were patient and the goals started to fall, which was good to see. It’s a good start to conference. It’s a long season and a lot of good teams are left.
“I think we were better today than against Jacobs. I thought the midfield started to sort it out early on. The wingers brought great energy out wide, and Ali (Ahmed) set the tone up-top with his pace. We kept our heads up. We showed some growth.”
Sophomore reserve midfielder Mason Ross closed out the game with consecutive goals to end any hope of a Cary-Grove comeback. Ross, who has four goals this season, nearly had a hat-trick but drilled a close shot off the post in the 70th minute.
“I had the motivation to get those goals and knew what I wanted,” Ross said. “The team was working hard. … I was motivated to get that second goal after hitting the crossbar. I’m trying to support our team. We’re a young team with a lot of potential.”
Sophomore forward Ahmed, a second-year varsity player, doubled Crystal Lake South’s cushion with a goal from 17 yards inside the far post with 1:43 remaining until halftime.
Ahmed is happy to be a bigger contributor for the Gators this season.
“It’s a huge change for me. I’m more of a main player up-top,” he said. “The ball played over, and I was pressing him (the defender). It landed perfect, and I hit it one-touch,”
It was the sixth goal of the season for Ahmed.
Cary-Grove senior midfielder Tyler Seda raised the decibel level in the small stadium for a few seconds. He woke up the large, mostly student crowd with a goal off an assist from Ian Frangiamore to cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 44th minute.
As one of the few seniors on the roster, Seda said the new-look Trojans (1-5-0, 0-1-0) are a work in progress. He took a small consolation prize scoring his second goal of the season.
“I got the ball somehow and shot it to the left side of the goal,” Seda said. “That goal felt good, especially since it was against Crystal Lake South.
"We’re a really young team. I’m one of the few seniors on the team. It’s strange because last year’s team was basically all seniors, but now it’s a bunch of young people.”
Crystal Lake South was happy with the win.
“Road wins are always nice, especially against our rival Cary-Grove,” junior midfielder Garrett Hess said. “We held our own and almost got the zero. We’ll take this win."
The smaller pitch didn't affect the Gators shooting. The team clanged shots off the cross bar and post before the late goals.
“I saw a lot of energy from our teammates,” Crystal Lake South senior defender Josh Washington said. “It was unique with a smaller field, but we trained for it yesterday. We had the mental image and handled it well.
“We have to trust each other and work through adversities. We have a good group of guys. We just need to take it one game at a time and grind it out from there.”
Junior midfielder Brendan Lewis liked his team’s fight.
“We pushed through it and got (two) goals in the first half, and that was good growth,” Lewis said. “We had a good effort throughout the whole team. It was a good win.”
Cary-Grove coach Mark Olson said he witnessed some positives and a few negatives for his team in the match, The Trojans struggled to piece together passes to generate offense against the Gators’ solid back line.
“I was really happy with the way we battled and competed,” Olson said. “Crystal Lake South is a very good team. They made the most of their chances. We have to get better at certain situations.
“I was happy with the way we competed, just not happy with the 5-1 result. But we’re learning as we’re going on. They didn’t give up.
“When you get an opportunity, you have to make the most our of it. That was nice when we scored to make it 2-1, but the next five minutes is the most dangerous time.
“They were able to key in on a few of our mistakes, but that’s what good teams do. It’s a long season. We’re working on trying to get better and having the right players in the right situations. We have a lot of young players, and are working through that.”
Starting lineups
Crystal Lake South
GK: Logan Vargas
D: Andrew Smart
D: Blake Marunde
D: Pierce Johnson
D: Josh Washington
MF: Nick Prus
MF: Kevin Cardoso
MF: Nico Velasco
MF: Nolan Getzinger
F: Ali Ahmed
F: Brendan Lewis
Cary-Grove
GK: Logan Kemp
D: Brach Skof
D: Caleb Ramirez
D: Cooper Motz
D: Ian Frangiamore
MF: Kyle Nordengren
MF: Tyler Seda
MF: Evan Frangiamore
MF: Angel Apaez
F: Landon Nawracaj
F: Cole Waddell
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Mason Ross, so., MF, Crystal Lake South
Scoring summary
First half
Crystal Lake South: Getzinger (Smart), 27’
Crystal Lake South: Ahmed (Smart), 38’
Second half
Cary-Grove: Tyler Seda (Nordengren), 44’
Crystal Lake South: Cardoso (unassisted), 46’
Crystal Lake South: Ross (Getzinger), 65’
Crystal Lake South: Ross (unassisted), 73’