CLS scores in nick of time to top Hersey
Coughlin goal with 1.5 seconds left delivers 2-1 road win
By Mike Garofola
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS -- As any manager, player, and fan knows, no game is over until the final whistle is blown.
Friday afternoon saw Crystal Lake South play at Hersey’s Roland Goins Stadium and a draw looked all but done and dusted in the books when Tom Coughlin’s wonder strike in the 80th minute gave the visiting Gators a dramatic 2-1 victory.
Coughlin collected a brilliant early ball from Sam Bahnfleth, then with the touch of a fine jeweler moved past keeper Joe Lens and finished with 1.5 seconds left to stun the home crowd.
"Sometimes you have to learn to grind out a victory here and there," said happy senior Tomasz Slawek, who saw it all unfold from his spot from his spot along the Gators backline. “Although we were not at our best today, that's exactly what we did, just a great win for us today.”
Crystal Lake South manager Brian Allen agreed.
"We obviously have a lot of things to continue to work on, but we're thrilled with the effort and ability to stay in the game despite giving up that early goal - and eventually watching Coughlin score the game-winner in the closing moments of the game" said the coach, who has started his 15th year in charge of the program.
Allen will enter Tuesday's opener of the Adam Sanchez Memorial Tournament at Wauconda against Zion-Benton with 199 career victories.
"As a side note, it was also nice to get a win against a MSL (Mid-Suburban League) team for a change," continued Allen, who starred at Rolling Meadows and earned all-state honors as the Mustangs keeper before going on to play at DePaul University.
"We have not beaten anyone from the MSL since 2014 when we beat my alma mater (3-0) which led to five-straight draws, and this one look like we were destined for no. 6."
Hersey (0-1-1) came out on its front foot with more of an attacking approach that Allen’s lads and showed more purpose, pace, energy and adventure when going forward. Alex Ganekov, Simon Hemenway and Anthony Scafidi led the charge.
"We had a great start today, came out really strong, played quick and kept them under pressure. The goal from Alex was big for us," said Hemenway, who did well in 50/50 challenges, distribution and when tasked with dropping deep to defend or redirect the attack in support of his front line.
"To get that early lead was really good for us, but when they got back even just after the break the game turned around more in their favor."
Ganekov, who shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor, finished his near-perfect back-post run by redirecting a sensational helper from Shiffman into an open net just 5 minutes into this nonconference affair.
The tall came while Crystal Lake South adjusted to the turf.
"We've been training and playing on grass since the start of the season, so we really struggled in the first 15-20 minutes today,” said Slawek. “Hersey just pounced on us in the first five minutes of the game, and really put us under a lot of pressure after that by winning first and second balls, and by staying organized."
The Gators finally got into the game against the air-tight bunch from Hersey by creating a couple of deep throws and a trio of attempts on frame just before the half hour.
Bahnfleth, who bagged three in the Gators 7-0 win in its opener against Woodstock North forced Lens into action, as did Nolan Getzinger, whose effort came from 15 yards.
But the Gators could not forget to defend. Hemenway and Ganekov, dangerous all throughout the first period, kept Slawek and his backline mates on high alert, as did Szumski, who helped the home side win the battle in the middle of the park.
"Anytime you play a team from the MSL, you have to be ready to deal with the physical play and pressure (they) bring, which is something we will not see too often," began Allen.
"We struggled with it at times in the first half, as well as with the ball at our feet. (We) just were not clean enough at times, but I was proud of the way we battled and handled it all so early in the season."
Bahnfleth rattled the bar in the 31st minute to nearly bring the visitors back level before the break. Then he went over moments later after Coughlin set him free.
Bahnfleth's fourth goal of the season was a testament to his sharp thinking, movement and composure after Michael Dejworek set him free with a marvelous ball which allowed his teammate to steer in his one-timer from in-close with pin-point accuracy.
"Mikey gave Sam just a great ball," said a proud Allen. “(That) was seasoned four-year veterans who are confident, savvy and ultra-competitive, who know how to bring out the best in each other while helping elevate the rest of the team around them.”
While stuck in their euphoric state of celebration, which likely caught the Gators ball watching, Ganekov was allowed to freely roar up the left side and unleash a left-footed missile that exploded off the bar.
The near-miss go-ahead strike proved to be a wake-up call that brought the Gators back down to earth.
"Alex had a great game for us all afternoon (creating) a couple of great chances for himself, as did Charlie Schiffman along the back," said Hemenway.
Getzinger forced Lens off his line to collect a ball into his box, before Slawek's 25-yard free kick sailed just over the bar.
The action swung just after the hour in favor of the home side with a trio of corners coming off the foot of Reese Stengren and a timely block by the Gators backline.
Then Crystal Lake South flipped the script with an attempt from Matt Horvath after Dejworek helped him through.
"I think fatigue played a factor in that second half," said Huskies manager Mike Rusniak. "The guys will never use that as an excuse when we're not at our best, but after CLS scored the equalizer, we seemed to struggle in regaining that nice rhythm we had going in the first half."
The Huskies faithful endured a nervous moment three minutes from time when a ball played back to Lens by one of his teammates lacked enough pace and caused confusion between the senior keeper and one of his defenders.
The ever-opportunistic Bahnfleth, who shared Man of the Match honors, looked to poach and strike but ran into Lens and his teammate for a foul call.
Lens was deem fit to return to action after coming off briefly to be checked out by the medical staff.
Lens could do nothing when Bahnfleth pried open the Huskies in their own end with a lovely early ball to his right inside the box.
Coughlin's back-post darting run to catch up to the ball would free up the crafty senior long enough to finish with a sublime low effort.
"It was such a terrible way to lose this game," said a dejected Hemenway long after the game was concluded.
"We did so many things so much better today compared to our first game of the year against Maine West (a 0-0 draw in the Central Suburban League/Mid-Suburban League Challenge) and a 1-1 result would have been a good one for us, but this one was so tough to take."
"(Rusniak) told all of us to let all of our disappointment and anger out for the next 30 minutes (then) put this game behind us for good."
"Obviously today is not the best way to have a learning experience,” said Rusniak. “But it definitely gave us an opportunity to touch upon how important our focus needs to be from beginning to end.
"We made better decisions with the ball, our defense played better as a unit, and there was a level of calmness on the ball today that we did not show in our first game with Maine West. That's something we will build on going forward."
The Huskies open league play on Tuesday when they host MSL East Division rival Wheeling.
Crystal Lake South will carry the momentum from the win to the Sanchez Memorial.
"I am really proud of how we fought back from that early goal we allowed and fought hard the rest of the way - never giving up - and finally getting into the game with good work on both sides of the ball," said Slawek.
"Nice to see the guys hard work in the heat and humidity pay off at the end," said Allen.
"I am very happy for the guys and love that they still felt that it could have been much better, and that they know there's plenty to work on, which means they have the proper mindset for what will be a much different year and season."
Starting lineups
Crystal Lake South (4-3-3)
G- Chris Slawek
D- Andrew Smart
D- Josh Washington
D- Tomasz Slawek
D- Dayton Murphy
M- Deven Tinajero
M- Tom Coughlin
M- Brendan Lewis
F- Nolan Getzinger
F- Sam Bahnfleth
F- Michael Dejworek
Hersey (4-4-2)
G- Joe Lens
D- Matt Carlson
D- Charlie Schiffman
D- Mike Enz
D- Andrew Hamilton
M- Charlie Seig
M- Adrian Szumski
M- Simon Hemenway
M- Elliot Suto
F- Alex Ganekov
F- Anthony Scafidi
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Sam Bahnfleth, sr., F, Crystal Lake South;
Alex Ganekov, jr., F, Hersey
Referee: John Martelin
Scoring summary
First half
Hersey: Gankov (Shiffman) 5'
Second half
Crystal Lake South: Bahnfleth (Dejworek) 41'
Crystal Lake South: Coughlin (Bahnfleth) 80'
Coughlin goal with 1.5 seconds left delivers 2-1 road win
By Mike Garofola
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS -- As any manager, player, and fan knows, no game is over until the final whistle is blown.
Friday afternoon saw Crystal Lake South play at Hersey’s Roland Goins Stadium and a draw looked all but done and dusted in the books when Tom Coughlin’s wonder strike in the 80th minute gave the visiting Gators a dramatic 2-1 victory.
Coughlin collected a brilliant early ball from Sam Bahnfleth, then with the touch of a fine jeweler moved past keeper Joe Lens and finished with 1.5 seconds left to stun the home crowd.
"Sometimes you have to learn to grind out a victory here and there," said happy senior Tomasz Slawek, who saw it all unfold from his spot from his spot along the Gators backline. “Although we were not at our best today, that's exactly what we did, just a great win for us today.”
Crystal Lake South manager Brian Allen agreed.
"We obviously have a lot of things to continue to work on, but we're thrilled with the effort and ability to stay in the game despite giving up that early goal - and eventually watching Coughlin score the game-winner in the closing moments of the game" said the coach, who has started his 15th year in charge of the program.
Allen will enter Tuesday's opener of the Adam Sanchez Memorial Tournament at Wauconda against Zion-Benton with 199 career victories.
"As a side note, it was also nice to get a win against a MSL (Mid-Suburban League) team for a change," continued Allen, who starred at Rolling Meadows and earned all-state honors as the Mustangs keeper before going on to play at DePaul University.
"We have not beaten anyone from the MSL since 2014 when we beat my alma mater (3-0) which led to five-straight draws, and this one look like we were destined for no. 6."
Hersey (0-1-1) came out on its front foot with more of an attacking approach that Allen’s lads and showed more purpose, pace, energy and adventure when going forward. Alex Ganekov, Simon Hemenway and Anthony Scafidi led the charge.
"We had a great start today, came out really strong, played quick and kept them under pressure. The goal from Alex was big for us," said Hemenway, who did well in 50/50 challenges, distribution and when tasked with dropping deep to defend or redirect the attack in support of his front line.
"To get that early lead was really good for us, but when they got back even just after the break the game turned around more in their favor."
Ganekov, who shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor, finished his near-perfect back-post run by redirecting a sensational helper from Shiffman into an open net just 5 minutes into this nonconference affair.
The tall came while Crystal Lake South adjusted to the turf.
"We've been training and playing on grass since the start of the season, so we really struggled in the first 15-20 minutes today,” said Slawek. “Hersey just pounced on us in the first five minutes of the game, and really put us under a lot of pressure after that by winning first and second balls, and by staying organized."
The Gators finally got into the game against the air-tight bunch from Hersey by creating a couple of deep throws and a trio of attempts on frame just before the half hour.
Bahnfleth, who bagged three in the Gators 7-0 win in its opener against Woodstock North forced Lens into action, as did Nolan Getzinger, whose effort came from 15 yards.
But the Gators could not forget to defend. Hemenway and Ganekov, dangerous all throughout the first period, kept Slawek and his backline mates on high alert, as did Szumski, who helped the home side win the battle in the middle of the park.
"Anytime you play a team from the MSL, you have to be ready to deal with the physical play and pressure (they) bring, which is something we will not see too often," began Allen.
"We struggled with it at times in the first half, as well as with the ball at our feet. (We) just were not clean enough at times, but I was proud of the way we battled and handled it all so early in the season."
Bahnfleth rattled the bar in the 31st minute to nearly bring the visitors back level before the break. Then he went over moments later after Coughlin set him free.
Bahnfleth's fourth goal of the season was a testament to his sharp thinking, movement and composure after Michael Dejworek set him free with a marvelous ball which allowed his teammate to steer in his one-timer from in-close with pin-point accuracy.
"Mikey gave Sam just a great ball," said a proud Allen. “(That) was seasoned four-year veterans who are confident, savvy and ultra-competitive, who know how to bring out the best in each other while helping elevate the rest of the team around them.”
While stuck in their euphoric state of celebration, which likely caught the Gators ball watching, Ganekov was allowed to freely roar up the left side and unleash a left-footed missile that exploded off the bar.
The near-miss go-ahead strike proved to be a wake-up call that brought the Gators back down to earth.
"Alex had a great game for us all afternoon (creating) a couple of great chances for himself, as did Charlie Schiffman along the back," said Hemenway.
Getzinger forced Lens off his line to collect a ball into his box, before Slawek's 25-yard free kick sailed just over the bar.
The action swung just after the hour in favor of the home side with a trio of corners coming off the foot of Reese Stengren and a timely block by the Gators backline.
Then Crystal Lake South flipped the script with an attempt from Matt Horvath after Dejworek helped him through.
"I think fatigue played a factor in that second half," said Huskies manager Mike Rusniak. "The guys will never use that as an excuse when we're not at our best, but after CLS scored the equalizer, we seemed to struggle in regaining that nice rhythm we had going in the first half."
The Huskies faithful endured a nervous moment three minutes from time when a ball played back to Lens by one of his teammates lacked enough pace and caused confusion between the senior keeper and one of his defenders.
The ever-opportunistic Bahnfleth, who shared Man of the Match honors, looked to poach and strike but ran into Lens and his teammate for a foul call.
Lens was deem fit to return to action after coming off briefly to be checked out by the medical staff.
Lens could do nothing when Bahnfleth pried open the Huskies in their own end with a lovely early ball to his right inside the box.
Coughlin's back-post darting run to catch up to the ball would free up the crafty senior long enough to finish with a sublime low effort.
"It was such a terrible way to lose this game," said a dejected Hemenway long after the game was concluded.
"We did so many things so much better today compared to our first game of the year against Maine West (a 0-0 draw in the Central Suburban League/Mid-Suburban League Challenge) and a 1-1 result would have been a good one for us, but this one was so tough to take."
"(Rusniak) told all of us to let all of our disappointment and anger out for the next 30 minutes (then) put this game behind us for good."
"Obviously today is not the best way to have a learning experience,” said Rusniak. “But it definitely gave us an opportunity to touch upon how important our focus needs to be from beginning to end.
"We made better decisions with the ball, our defense played better as a unit, and there was a level of calmness on the ball today that we did not show in our first game with Maine West. That's something we will build on going forward."
The Huskies open league play on Tuesday when they host MSL East Division rival Wheeling.
Crystal Lake South will carry the momentum from the win to the Sanchez Memorial.
"I am really proud of how we fought back from that early goal we allowed and fought hard the rest of the way - never giving up - and finally getting into the game with good work on both sides of the ball," said Slawek.
"Nice to see the guys hard work in the heat and humidity pay off at the end," said Allen.
"I am very happy for the guys and love that they still felt that it could have been much better, and that they know there's plenty to work on, which means they have the proper mindset for what will be a much different year and season."
Starting lineups
Crystal Lake South (4-3-3)
G- Chris Slawek
D- Andrew Smart
D- Josh Washington
D- Tomasz Slawek
D- Dayton Murphy
M- Deven Tinajero
M- Tom Coughlin
M- Brendan Lewis
F- Nolan Getzinger
F- Sam Bahnfleth
F- Michael Dejworek
Hersey (4-4-2)
G- Joe Lens
D- Matt Carlson
D- Charlie Schiffman
D- Mike Enz
D- Andrew Hamilton
M- Charlie Seig
M- Adrian Szumski
M- Simon Hemenway
M- Elliot Suto
F- Alex Ganekov
F- Anthony Scafidi
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Sam Bahnfleth, sr., F, Crystal Lake South;
Alex Ganekov, jr., F, Hersey
Referee: John Martelin
Scoring summary
First half
Hersey: Gankov (Shiffman) 5'
Second half
Crystal Lake South: Bahnfleth (Dejworek) 41'
Crystal Lake South: Coughlin (Bahnfleth) 80'