Hampshire springs to victory over CLS
Super sub Colin keys second half surge for Whip-Purs
By Matt Misiek
CRYSTAL LAKE – Diego Colin is listed at five feet-five inches on the Hampshire roster, the shortest player on the team.
But after entering Saturday’s game against Crystal Lake South at the MAC Center, the junior made a giant impact in the second half. He notched a brace and boosted his side to an efficient 3-0 victory.
“My goal was to get open,” Colin said. “I was brought into the game to change the chemistry.”
With Hampshire (2-0-1 overall and in the Fox Valley Conference) already up by one goal at the 53rd minute mark, Colin fought two Gators defenders for a rebound opportunity inside the center of the 18 and slotted it past Crystal Lake South keeper Dominic Timberlake.
“I was going toward the goal for a rebound, was able to look up, locate the ball, go to the center and score.” Colin said of his first goal-scoring effort.
The midfielder sealed the win for the Whip-Purs and Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors nearly three minutes later after sprinting down the central attacking third. He got on the end of a cross from junior forward Juan Alva, slid was inside the 18 and directed the ball past Timberlake.
“He’s really good coming off the bench,” Hampshire forward Kobe Frenette said of Colin. “I think he should be brought up to a starting position; he has played really well the past few games. He really brought us a lot of energy when he came on the field.”
Hampshire, which will next travel to Crystal Lake Central to play at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, dominated possession and the pace of play in the first half, earning seven corner kicks and spending 75 percent of the time on their offensive half of the field.
However, their first goal did not come until the 49th minute. Sophomore forward J.P. Serra was able to break free on the right side of the 18 and cross a low pass to Nathan Ludwig. Ludwig, who is listed as a forward on the roster but started as a defender, got back to familiar territory and fired a great shot to the top left corner.
“We didn’t have the first that we were expecting, we came out a little slow.” Ludwig noted. “Like Kobe (Frenette) said we had to change the game plan for the second half, put more pressure on them, open up some more chances for others.”
“I saw J.P. (Serra) from the wing, he crossed it and I just wanted to make sure I was a presence in the box for my team. I was able to tap it in with my right foot. It was a good starter for our team to really boost our motivation to play out the rest of the game.”
Crystal Lake South (2-1-1 overall, 1-1-1 in Fox Valley Conference) came into the game severely shorthanded, with eight starters and impact players unavailable due to injury or COVID-19 protocol.
In his pregame talk, Gators coach Brian Allen asked his team to give a full 80 minutes in the face of this adversity.
“We controlled two things today, attitude and effort,” Allen explained. “About 75 of the 80 minutes we were giving the max effort, and it was a real awakening for some of our younger players playing those important minutes.”
“If you uncheck, even for 30 seconds, dangerous players can continue to punish you, and it is a very good growth experience for us for later on in the year.”
The return dates for the inactive players are fluid.
“We still have the sort out the dates and the injuries,” Allen said. “We will get a couple back slowly but surely. We are working out what we can do with who is available now and keeping in contact with everyone the best we can.”
“We still look to stay unified as a family, and we’re excited to give these players the experience.”
The Gators, ranked 11th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 poll, had really only two quality chances to trouble Hampshire goalkeeper Kyle Schultz. In the 36th minute, junior midfielder Deven Tinajero skyed in the air to head a quality corner effort from Nico Velasco. However, Tinajero’s header went just wide of the left post. Tinajero loved that effort from Velasco and the work of his teammates all game long.
“We set it up perfectly,” Tinajero explained. “We were talking and communicating. That is how it worked so well. If we were not organized, it would not have been that good of a chance.
“We lost a couple of our starters, but that really shouldn’t matter because players stepped up, and they showed that they can play at the competitive level. They can play at the varsity level with these older players. I believe in them, and I am very proud of them.”
The second quality chance for Crystal Lake South was late in the second half in the 77th minute. A kick went off the back of one of the Hampshire defenders at the top of the 18 and fell to junior midfielder Matt Horvath. Horvath drove right at Schultz, who answered with a diving save on the low shot.
“When we get the rest of the crew back, we will be able to fire on all cylinders,” Allen said. “It’s one of the things that has never changed for us. We always want to be playing our best soccer at the end of the year.”
“Dev (Tinajero) has done what he can in controlling things. We’re still very dangerous on set pieces. We pride ourselves on that, and that is a very positive aspect to see that we can still create from those opportunities.
“I’m pleased with the work rate, pleased with the attitude. We are taking the long approach in that all experience will pay off not just for this spring season and the Fox Valley Conference Tournament, but also next fall.”
Crystal Lake South’s next matchup is a road contest against Huntley at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Starting Lineups
Crystal Lake South
GK Dominic Timberlake
D Blake Marunde
D Tyler Aldridge
D Josh Washington
D Dayton Murphy
MF Matt Horvath
MF Deven Tinajero
MF Wiliam Garcia
MF Brendan Lewis
MF Adam Rainey
F Ari Chingakham
Hampshire
GK Kyle Schultz
D Gustavo Perez
D Nathan Ludwig
D Evan Korabik
MF Jesse Brown
MF Gerardo Marquez
MF Mark Schuster
MF Alex Rojas
F Juan Alva
F Kobe Frenette
F JP Serra
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Diego Colin, jr., MF, Hampshire
Officials: Mike Schmick (center); Jim Flynn; Tim Jackson
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Hampshire – Ludwig (Serra) -48:32
Hampshire – Colin (unassisted) – 54:01
Hampshire – Colin (Alva) – 55:57
Super sub Colin keys second half surge for Whip-Purs
By Matt Misiek
CRYSTAL LAKE – Diego Colin is listed at five feet-five inches on the Hampshire roster, the shortest player on the team.
But after entering Saturday’s game against Crystal Lake South at the MAC Center, the junior made a giant impact in the second half. He notched a brace and boosted his side to an efficient 3-0 victory.
“My goal was to get open,” Colin said. “I was brought into the game to change the chemistry.”
With Hampshire (2-0-1 overall and in the Fox Valley Conference) already up by one goal at the 53rd minute mark, Colin fought two Gators defenders for a rebound opportunity inside the center of the 18 and slotted it past Crystal Lake South keeper Dominic Timberlake.
“I was going toward the goal for a rebound, was able to look up, locate the ball, go to the center and score.” Colin said of his first goal-scoring effort.
The midfielder sealed the win for the Whip-Purs and Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors nearly three minutes later after sprinting down the central attacking third. He got on the end of a cross from junior forward Juan Alva, slid was inside the 18 and directed the ball past Timberlake.
“He’s really good coming off the bench,” Hampshire forward Kobe Frenette said of Colin. “I think he should be brought up to a starting position; he has played really well the past few games. He really brought us a lot of energy when he came on the field.”
Hampshire, which will next travel to Crystal Lake Central to play at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, dominated possession and the pace of play in the first half, earning seven corner kicks and spending 75 percent of the time on their offensive half of the field.
However, their first goal did not come until the 49th minute. Sophomore forward J.P. Serra was able to break free on the right side of the 18 and cross a low pass to Nathan Ludwig. Ludwig, who is listed as a forward on the roster but started as a defender, got back to familiar territory and fired a great shot to the top left corner.
“We didn’t have the first that we were expecting, we came out a little slow.” Ludwig noted. “Like Kobe (Frenette) said we had to change the game plan for the second half, put more pressure on them, open up some more chances for others.”
“I saw J.P. (Serra) from the wing, he crossed it and I just wanted to make sure I was a presence in the box for my team. I was able to tap it in with my right foot. It was a good starter for our team to really boost our motivation to play out the rest of the game.”
Crystal Lake South (2-1-1 overall, 1-1-1 in Fox Valley Conference) came into the game severely shorthanded, with eight starters and impact players unavailable due to injury or COVID-19 protocol.
In his pregame talk, Gators coach Brian Allen asked his team to give a full 80 minutes in the face of this adversity.
“We controlled two things today, attitude and effort,” Allen explained. “About 75 of the 80 minutes we were giving the max effort, and it was a real awakening for some of our younger players playing those important minutes.”
“If you uncheck, even for 30 seconds, dangerous players can continue to punish you, and it is a very good growth experience for us for later on in the year.”
The return dates for the inactive players are fluid.
“We still have the sort out the dates and the injuries,” Allen said. “We will get a couple back slowly but surely. We are working out what we can do with who is available now and keeping in contact with everyone the best we can.”
“We still look to stay unified as a family, and we’re excited to give these players the experience.”
The Gators, ranked 11th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 poll, had really only two quality chances to trouble Hampshire goalkeeper Kyle Schultz. In the 36th minute, junior midfielder Deven Tinajero skyed in the air to head a quality corner effort from Nico Velasco. However, Tinajero’s header went just wide of the left post. Tinajero loved that effort from Velasco and the work of his teammates all game long.
“We set it up perfectly,” Tinajero explained. “We were talking and communicating. That is how it worked so well. If we were not organized, it would not have been that good of a chance.
“We lost a couple of our starters, but that really shouldn’t matter because players stepped up, and they showed that they can play at the competitive level. They can play at the varsity level with these older players. I believe in them, and I am very proud of them.”
The second quality chance for Crystal Lake South was late in the second half in the 77th minute. A kick went off the back of one of the Hampshire defenders at the top of the 18 and fell to junior midfielder Matt Horvath. Horvath drove right at Schultz, who answered with a diving save on the low shot.
“When we get the rest of the crew back, we will be able to fire on all cylinders,” Allen said. “It’s one of the things that has never changed for us. We always want to be playing our best soccer at the end of the year.”
“Dev (Tinajero) has done what he can in controlling things. We’re still very dangerous on set pieces. We pride ourselves on that, and that is a very positive aspect to see that we can still create from those opportunities.
“I’m pleased with the work rate, pleased with the attitude. We are taking the long approach in that all experience will pay off not just for this spring season and the Fox Valley Conference Tournament, but also next fall.”
Crystal Lake South’s next matchup is a road contest against Huntley at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Starting Lineups
Crystal Lake South
GK Dominic Timberlake
D Blake Marunde
D Tyler Aldridge
D Josh Washington
D Dayton Murphy
MF Matt Horvath
MF Deven Tinajero
MF Wiliam Garcia
MF Brendan Lewis
MF Adam Rainey
F Ari Chingakham
Hampshire
GK Kyle Schultz
D Gustavo Perez
D Nathan Ludwig
D Evan Korabik
MF Jesse Brown
MF Gerardo Marquez
MF Mark Schuster
MF Alex Rojas
F Juan Alva
F Kobe Frenette
F JP Serra
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Diego Colin, jr., MF, Hampshire
Officials: Mike Schmick (center); Jim Flynn; Tim Jackson
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Hampshire – Ludwig (Serra) -48:32
Hampshire – Colin (unassisted) – 54:01
Hampshire – Colin (Alva) – 55:57