Carlson's 1st goal leads CLS past Jacobs
Defender’s goal caps comeback, Gators stay in FVC title chase
ALGONQUIN -- Previously in his entire career at Crystal Lake South, junior defender Evan Carlson has had only one goal.
That was to force the Gators opponents to a zero on their side of the scoreboard every game.
Under the lights Tuesday night at Jacobs High School, he decided to showcase a hidden offensive talent.
With the game tied 1-1 in the 68th minute, Carlson was summoned forward into the six-yard box as the Gators prepared to take a corner kick from the right.
Stationed perfectly in front of the far post, Carlson was able to get his head on fellow defender Andrew Edge’s delivery and find the back of the net. The goal secured the Gators' come-from-behind 2-1 victory over their fellow Fox Valley Conference rivals.
However, more importantly for Crystal Lake South (14-2-3, 6-0-1), ranked 20th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, it kept their Fox Valley title hopes alive. The Gators leapfrogged Jacobs to second place in the conference standings with 19 points, 1 point behind leader Dundee-Crown. The Chargers concluded their Fox Valley Conference campaign with a 6-0-2 record and 20 points, by defeating Hampshire 2-1 in overtime Tuesday evening.
A win for the Gators at home over Hampshire Thursday afternoon clinches the Fox Valley title outright.
“We all have put in so much work for conference play this year,” said Carlson. “It’s been two or three years since we have won it last. A lot of the guys here, myself included, have not won it yet. We are going to put our best game out there on Thursday.”
Carlson earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his new-found offensive exploits.
“That was my first goal of my high school career, in the three years so far,” Carlson added. “It felt great, it was great to get the win and some revenge from last year.”
Last year, Jacobs defeated Crystal Lake South in a Class 3A Streamwood Sectional semifinal.
The real important question is what did his teammates think of his celebration?
“It was perfect,” said senior midfielder Ricky Cristante, recalling Carlson’s pure excitement after the goal. “It showed exactly how he was feeling.”
“This was a big goal for the backline,” said Crystal Lake South coach Brian Allen. “They have done such a great job all year of preventing goals. To see them contribute towards the go-ahead goal was very fulfilling.”
Seventeen minutes earlier, the Gators grabbed their first goal to equalize the match.
After Jacobs (8-7-4, 5-1-2) took the lead behind forward Austin Snobel’s corner kick that deflected off Gators keeper Matt McCaleb and into the net, senior forward Ryan Coughlin worked his way into the right side of the 18. He got the ball on his left foot and sweetly struck the ball into the bottom right corner of the net past Golden Eagles keeper Preston Krahl.
“He (Coughlin) has been with me since freshman year,” said senior defender Nick Langdon. “We wanted to come out this year and have as much fun as we could in our senior year. To contribute however we could, and Ryan got his left foot to that one. It was big.”
Coach Allen noted the consistency that Ryan Coughlin has shown all year.
“A total team player for these past four years,” Allen said. “Earlier in his career, he came up and understood his role and contributed that way. Now, he has taken on those additional leadership roles.
“When he is healthy, he is as good as they get out-wide. He can change the game, and we saw that today as his goal changed the entire momentum of the game.”
Despite coming up short, Jacobs showed why the Golden Eagles were a team consistently in the hunt for the Fox Valley Conference title race.
“Crystal Lake South, they like to play direct,” said Jacobs coach Colin Brice. “We did a good job of possessing the ball, keeping it on the ground, not playing to their style of just dumping it forward.”
Besides Snobel, Krahl was a standout for Jacobs despite not starting -- that Senior Night honor went to Class of 2019 fellow goalie Anthony Riportella, who played the first 20 minutes. Before a knee injury sidelined Krahl for the last 20 minutes of the match, the junior keeper made some fantastic saves. The most notable was in the 30th minute when Gators forward Colton Weidner unleashed a drive from the top of the 18. Krahl lunged to his left and got his finger tips to the ball and punched it out of play.
“Preston has kept us in a lot of games,” said Brice. “He’s a very technical keeper. Much like previous games, he made a lot of big saves tonight.”
The Gators are relishing the opportunity to close out Fox Valley and regular season play at home Thursday afternoon.
“It will be comforting,” said Cristante of protecting “The Swamp” one last time. “To have all of the people, our fans there is always big for us.”
“Finishing the season at home is really special,” said Langdon. “We are able to control our own destiny, which is what everyone really wants. We are going to go out on Thursday and give our best effort, get the result and celebrate with our fans afterward.”
Coach Allen remembered how Hampshire handled the Gators last season, which included a loss in the championship game of the 2017 Rigby tournament in Johnsburg.
“This Hampshire team, we know they can be super dangerous,” Allen added. “They have had a really solid season. They had our number last year. We know it’s going to be a battle.
“This was very much a playoff-like game today, and I expect the same on Thursday.”
Jacobs
GK: Anthony Riportella
D: Aaron Henning
D: Joseph Wyslak
D: Christopher Loizzi
D: Benjamin Mesina
MF: Tarek Shah
MF: Abraham M. Gomez
MF: James Kool
F: Sam Rainer
F: Austin Snobel
F: John O’Connor
Crystal Lake South
GK: Matt McCaleb
D: Nick Langdon
D: Brandon Wilson
D: Evan Carlson
D: Andrew Edge
MF: Tom Coughlin
MF: Ricky Cristante
MF: Jack Wruck
F: Brad Grabowski
F: Ryan Coughlin
F: Alex Canfield
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Evan Carlson, jr. , D, Crystal Lake South
Referees: Dave Ganshaw (center), Tim Jackson, Rick Blaisdell
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Jacobs – Snobel (unassisted) - 40:34
CLS – R. Coughlin (unassisted) – 50:58
CLS – Carlson (Edge) – 67:46
Defender’s goal caps comeback, Gators stay in FVC title chase
ALGONQUIN -- Previously in his entire career at Crystal Lake South, junior defender Evan Carlson has had only one goal.
That was to force the Gators opponents to a zero on their side of the scoreboard every game.
Under the lights Tuesday night at Jacobs High School, he decided to showcase a hidden offensive talent.
With the game tied 1-1 in the 68th minute, Carlson was summoned forward into the six-yard box as the Gators prepared to take a corner kick from the right.
Stationed perfectly in front of the far post, Carlson was able to get his head on fellow defender Andrew Edge’s delivery and find the back of the net. The goal secured the Gators' come-from-behind 2-1 victory over their fellow Fox Valley Conference rivals.
However, more importantly for Crystal Lake South (14-2-3, 6-0-1), ranked 20th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, it kept their Fox Valley title hopes alive. The Gators leapfrogged Jacobs to second place in the conference standings with 19 points, 1 point behind leader Dundee-Crown. The Chargers concluded their Fox Valley Conference campaign with a 6-0-2 record and 20 points, by defeating Hampshire 2-1 in overtime Tuesday evening.
A win for the Gators at home over Hampshire Thursday afternoon clinches the Fox Valley title outright.
“We all have put in so much work for conference play this year,” said Carlson. “It’s been two or three years since we have won it last. A lot of the guys here, myself included, have not won it yet. We are going to put our best game out there on Thursday.”
Carlson earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his new-found offensive exploits.
“That was my first goal of my high school career, in the three years so far,” Carlson added. “It felt great, it was great to get the win and some revenge from last year.”
Last year, Jacobs defeated Crystal Lake South in a Class 3A Streamwood Sectional semifinal.
The real important question is what did his teammates think of his celebration?
“It was perfect,” said senior midfielder Ricky Cristante, recalling Carlson’s pure excitement after the goal. “It showed exactly how he was feeling.”
“This was a big goal for the backline,” said Crystal Lake South coach Brian Allen. “They have done such a great job all year of preventing goals. To see them contribute towards the go-ahead goal was very fulfilling.”
Seventeen minutes earlier, the Gators grabbed their first goal to equalize the match.
After Jacobs (8-7-4, 5-1-2) took the lead behind forward Austin Snobel’s corner kick that deflected off Gators keeper Matt McCaleb and into the net, senior forward Ryan Coughlin worked his way into the right side of the 18. He got the ball on his left foot and sweetly struck the ball into the bottom right corner of the net past Golden Eagles keeper Preston Krahl.
“He (Coughlin) has been with me since freshman year,” said senior defender Nick Langdon. “We wanted to come out this year and have as much fun as we could in our senior year. To contribute however we could, and Ryan got his left foot to that one. It was big.”
Coach Allen noted the consistency that Ryan Coughlin has shown all year.
“A total team player for these past four years,” Allen said. “Earlier in his career, he came up and understood his role and contributed that way. Now, he has taken on those additional leadership roles.
“When he is healthy, he is as good as they get out-wide. He can change the game, and we saw that today as his goal changed the entire momentum of the game.”
Despite coming up short, Jacobs showed why the Golden Eagles were a team consistently in the hunt for the Fox Valley Conference title race.
“Crystal Lake South, they like to play direct,” said Jacobs coach Colin Brice. “We did a good job of possessing the ball, keeping it on the ground, not playing to their style of just dumping it forward.”
Besides Snobel, Krahl was a standout for Jacobs despite not starting -- that Senior Night honor went to Class of 2019 fellow goalie Anthony Riportella, who played the first 20 minutes. Before a knee injury sidelined Krahl for the last 20 minutes of the match, the junior keeper made some fantastic saves. The most notable was in the 30th minute when Gators forward Colton Weidner unleashed a drive from the top of the 18. Krahl lunged to his left and got his finger tips to the ball and punched it out of play.
“Preston has kept us in a lot of games,” said Brice. “He’s a very technical keeper. Much like previous games, he made a lot of big saves tonight.”
The Gators are relishing the opportunity to close out Fox Valley and regular season play at home Thursday afternoon.
“It will be comforting,” said Cristante of protecting “The Swamp” one last time. “To have all of the people, our fans there is always big for us.”
“Finishing the season at home is really special,” said Langdon. “We are able to control our own destiny, which is what everyone really wants. We are going to go out on Thursday and give our best effort, get the result and celebrate with our fans afterward.”
Coach Allen remembered how Hampshire handled the Gators last season, which included a loss in the championship game of the 2017 Rigby tournament in Johnsburg.
“This Hampshire team, we know they can be super dangerous,” Allen added. “They have had a really solid season. They had our number last year. We know it’s going to be a battle.
“This was very much a playoff-like game today, and I expect the same on Thursday.”
Jacobs
GK: Anthony Riportella
D: Aaron Henning
D: Joseph Wyslak
D: Christopher Loizzi
D: Benjamin Mesina
MF: Tarek Shah
MF: Abraham M. Gomez
MF: James Kool
F: Sam Rainer
F: Austin Snobel
F: John O’Connor
Crystal Lake South
GK: Matt McCaleb
D: Nick Langdon
D: Brandon Wilson
D: Evan Carlson
D: Andrew Edge
MF: Tom Coughlin
MF: Ricky Cristante
MF: Jack Wruck
F: Brad Grabowski
F: Ryan Coughlin
F: Alex Canfield
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Evan Carlson, jr. , D, Crystal Lake South
Referees: Dave Ganshaw (center), Tim Jackson, Rick Blaisdell
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Jacobs – Snobel (unassisted) - 40:34
CLS – R. Coughlin (unassisted) – 50:58
CLS – Carlson (Edge) – 67:46