Grayslake Central presents
grand opening vs. Deerfield
Marynevych scores 4 in impressive season debut
By Bobby Narang
GRAYSLAKE — A few minutes before the start of Thursday’s season opener, Daniel Marynevych strolled out to the center of the field.
The Grayslake Central senior forward looked toward the main grandstand, which was filled with fans from corner to corner. He suddenly broke out with an ear-to-ear smile, and then raised both of his hands slightly up in the air.
After serving as the engine behind the Rams’ first-ever trip to the Class AA state tournament last fall, Marynevych plans to make an even bigger splash this season.
To accentuate his higher goals, the returning Chicagoland Soccer all-stater opted for a new look to perhaps symbolize a fresh start for himself this season. He changed his hair color from brown to blond — not that he needed a reason to stand out among his teammates.
Just then, as the crowd started perking up, the referee signaled for the game to start. Marynevych slightly tapped the ball forward to teammate Alan Alonso and the promising season for the Rams, who are ranked 17th in the First 50 poll, began.
Before a crowd of 400-plus fans, Marynevych put on an exhibition. When he wasn’t smashing shots toward the net or scoring goals, he delighted the crowd with his colorful theatrics.
The senior has a habit of attracting attention when he steps onto the pitch and Thursday night’s nonconference match against Deerfield certainly fit that bill.
And Marynevych wasn’t going to disappoint the big crowd. He scored all four goals to lead the Rams to a convincing 4-1 victory over Deerfield.
“Everything was pretty unexpected,” Marynevych said in the postgame before suddenly jittered a few steps to his right, away from the interview, to get a video of Grayslake Central coach Keith Andersson getting an unexpected Gatorade bath.
A few seconds later, Marynevych, smiling and content with his video, showed his veteran poise by finishing up his answer to a question about his team’s play.
“I came into the game and told the boys we need to play at a high level,” Marynevych said. “We tried to bring it today. Last year I was brown (hair). I went blond right when school started. I wanted a change, maybe to throw off some coaches. It worked. I haven’t scored four goals in a high school game since North Chicago last year.”
The Rams (1-0-0) entered the season with high expectations -- eight starters return from last season’s fourth place team.
Marynevych, who has yet to commit to a college, said his favorite goal was his final one, when he flicked the shot with his foot. He scored three second half goals, including two goals within 18 seconds of each other late to thrill the large crowd.
“I think we made a name for ourselves last year, so we got more people to pop out to games this year,” he said. “I’m so happy to see this many people come out. This big crowd makes it 10 times better. This year I won’t accept anything but winning state. We have the talent and mentality. We just have to show up every game.”
There was no doubt that Marynevych was the main attraction. Constantly lifting up his shirt throughout the match, he maintained a banter up with a referee for most of his 70 minutes of playing time and even received a few stern words from the official following Marynevych’s long and varied celebration from the opening goal scored in the 22nd minute.
Marynevych, who scored a team-high 20 goals last season, waved toward the crowd several times.
His coach said it was all part of the Marynevych show.
“Daniel is Daniel,” Andersson said. “He’s like a stallion. You really can’t break him, so you kind of work with him and let him have his freedom.”
Besides gaining some strength and improving his conditioning, Marynevych added a few new elements to his game.
Andersson added the forward is the total package this season.
“We made him a captain this year,” he said. “It changed his demeanor and attitude. Every practice he comes and works hard, and he’s supporting the younger kids. He’s going out of his way to be a leader.”
Andersson said the season opening win was a good start for the program.
“The whole teams wants it this year,” he said. “We couldn’t ask for better support from our fans for this game. I’m so grateful to have this many fans. It shows the program is finally making the turn.
“I’m realistic this year. We had a gift last year. We had a great group of guys and only lost three starters. We have the same core coming back, with Alan Alonso showing the potential to be an All-American.”
The senior midfielder said the three-goal victory was the ideal way to open up the season.
“It felt pretty good to get the win, especially giving those two assists to Daniel and contributing that way,” Alonso said. “We have great potential. We might be better than last year. We have to keep training and working hard.”
Grayslake Central senior defender Eric Garcia-Perez said the entire team was involved in the victory.
“This win felt amazing,” Garcia-Perez said. “I was waiting for this a long time. I think we can win state. The community really supported us. I’m really glad we got so many people out here. We got a great win.”
The Rams scored four goals, but missed numerous chances for early goals due to missed crosses, a little bad luck and some errant shot attempts.
Busy Deerfield fell to 0-3-0 on the fourth day of the season. The Warriors’ lone goal came in the final minute thanks to a nice finish from Ryder Coleman.
Deerfield sophomore goalie Xander Yang displayed tremendous grit and determination in the net while showing his potential. He made several highlight-reel saves in his 12 stops, which included several hard-hit shots from Marynevych.
“I’ve seen guys like (Marynevych) before. He got a lot of nice goals tonight, but I stopped a few of them, too,” Yang said. “I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a very good player. I just relied on my instincts and training. It was a lot of shot volume, but I knew I could take it.”
Deerfield first-year coach Ryan Crane credited his players for fighting until the final whistle. The Warriors bring back five starters from last season’s nine-win team.
“It was a great consolation for the guys to see that they didn’t get shut out,” Crane said. “(Grayslake Central) is a great team. They’re coming off a great state performance.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game. They were playing their first game of the season and came out with a ton of energy, and the crowd was great. You have to give them a ton of credit. They’re a very skilled team and are physical and fast and can put the ball in the back of the net.
“I’m really proud of Xander Yang tonight. He had some unbelievable saves in the first half to keep us in the game. He was playing in just his second varsity game. I’m so proud of his composure in this game.”
Starting lineups
Deerfield
GK Xander Yang
D Justin Blumenthal
D James Weiner
D Ethan Helfand
D Matthew Neumann
M Nathan Garcia
M Addison Simon
M Cristian Carani
M Jason Nieder
F Ryder Coleman
F Ari Shamberg
Grayslake Central
GK Uriel Garcia Perez
D Damion Sereno
D Lucas Veenstra
D Jose Chavez
D Eric Garcia-Perez
M Alan Alonso
M Mitchell Fein
M Nick Molochikov
M Anderson Chevier
F Cameron Paul
F Daniel Marynevych
Chicagoland Man of the Match: Daniel Marynevych, sr, F, Grayslake Central
Scoring summary
First half
Grayslake Central — Marynevych (Lucas Veenstra ) 22’
Second half
Grayslake Central — Marynevych (penalty kick) 48’
Grayslake Central — Marynevych (Alonso), 68’
Grayslake Central — Marynevych (Alonso), 68’
Deerfield — Ryder Coleman (Helfand) 79’
grand opening vs. Deerfield
Marynevych scores 4 in impressive season debut
By Bobby Narang
GRAYSLAKE — A few minutes before the start of Thursday’s season opener, Daniel Marynevych strolled out to the center of the field.
The Grayslake Central senior forward looked toward the main grandstand, which was filled with fans from corner to corner. He suddenly broke out with an ear-to-ear smile, and then raised both of his hands slightly up in the air.
After serving as the engine behind the Rams’ first-ever trip to the Class AA state tournament last fall, Marynevych plans to make an even bigger splash this season.
To accentuate his higher goals, the returning Chicagoland Soccer all-stater opted for a new look to perhaps symbolize a fresh start for himself this season. He changed his hair color from brown to blond — not that he needed a reason to stand out among his teammates.
Just then, as the crowd started perking up, the referee signaled for the game to start. Marynevych slightly tapped the ball forward to teammate Alan Alonso and the promising season for the Rams, who are ranked 17th in the First 50 poll, began.
Before a crowd of 400-plus fans, Marynevych put on an exhibition. When he wasn’t smashing shots toward the net or scoring goals, he delighted the crowd with his colorful theatrics.
The senior has a habit of attracting attention when he steps onto the pitch and Thursday night’s nonconference match against Deerfield certainly fit that bill.
And Marynevych wasn’t going to disappoint the big crowd. He scored all four goals to lead the Rams to a convincing 4-1 victory over Deerfield.
“Everything was pretty unexpected,” Marynevych said in the postgame before suddenly jittered a few steps to his right, away from the interview, to get a video of Grayslake Central coach Keith Andersson getting an unexpected Gatorade bath.
A few seconds later, Marynevych, smiling and content with his video, showed his veteran poise by finishing up his answer to a question about his team’s play.
“I came into the game and told the boys we need to play at a high level,” Marynevych said. “We tried to bring it today. Last year I was brown (hair). I went blond right when school started. I wanted a change, maybe to throw off some coaches. It worked. I haven’t scored four goals in a high school game since North Chicago last year.”
The Rams (1-0-0) entered the season with high expectations -- eight starters return from last season’s fourth place team.
Marynevych, who has yet to commit to a college, said his favorite goal was his final one, when he flicked the shot with his foot. He scored three second half goals, including two goals within 18 seconds of each other late to thrill the large crowd.
“I think we made a name for ourselves last year, so we got more people to pop out to games this year,” he said. “I’m so happy to see this many people come out. This big crowd makes it 10 times better. This year I won’t accept anything but winning state. We have the talent and mentality. We just have to show up every game.”
There was no doubt that Marynevych was the main attraction. Constantly lifting up his shirt throughout the match, he maintained a banter up with a referee for most of his 70 minutes of playing time and even received a few stern words from the official following Marynevych’s long and varied celebration from the opening goal scored in the 22nd minute.
Marynevych, who scored a team-high 20 goals last season, waved toward the crowd several times.
His coach said it was all part of the Marynevych show.
“Daniel is Daniel,” Andersson said. “He’s like a stallion. You really can’t break him, so you kind of work with him and let him have his freedom.”
Besides gaining some strength and improving his conditioning, Marynevych added a few new elements to his game.
Andersson added the forward is the total package this season.
“We made him a captain this year,” he said. “It changed his demeanor and attitude. Every practice he comes and works hard, and he’s supporting the younger kids. He’s going out of his way to be a leader.”
Andersson said the season opening win was a good start for the program.
“The whole teams wants it this year,” he said. “We couldn’t ask for better support from our fans for this game. I’m so grateful to have this many fans. It shows the program is finally making the turn.
“I’m realistic this year. We had a gift last year. We had a great group of guys and only lost three starters. We have the same core coming back, with Alan Alonso showing the potential to be an All-American.”
The senior midfielder said the three-goal victory was the ideal way to open up the season.
“It felt pretty good to get the win, especially giving those two assists to Daniel and contributing that way,” Alonso said. “We have great potential. We might be better than last year. We have to keep training and working hard.”
Grayslake Central senior defender Eric Garcia-Perez said the entire team was involved in the victory.
“This win felt amazing,” Garcia-Perez said. “I was waiting for this a long time. I think we can win state. The community really supported us. I’m really glad we got so many people out here. We got a great win.”
The Rams scored four goals, but missed numerous chances for early goals due to missed crosses, a little bad luck and some errant shot attempts.
Busy Deerfield fell to 0-3-0 on the fourth day of the season. The Warriors’ lone goal came in the final minute thanks to a nice finish from Ryder Coleman.
Deerfield sophomore goalie Xander Yang displayed tremendous grit and determination in the net while showing his potential. He made several highlight-reel saves in his 12 stops, which included several hard-hit shots from Marynevych.
“I’ve seen guys like (Marynevych) before. He got a lot of nice goals tonight, but I stopped a few of them, too,” Yang said. “I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a very good player. I just relied on my instincts and training. It was a lot of shot volume, but I knew I could take it.”
Deerfield first-year coach Ryan Crane credited his players for fighting until the final whistle. The Warriors bring back five starters from last season’s nine-win team.
“It was a great consolation for the guys to see that they didn’t get shut out,” Crane said. “(Grayslake Central) is a great team. They’re coming off a great state performance.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game. They were playing their first game of the season and came out with a ton of energy, and the crowd was great. You have to give them a ton of credit. They’re a very skilled team and are physical and fast and can put the ball in the back of the net.
“I’m really proud of Xander Yang tonight. He had some unbelievable saves in the first half to keep us in the game. He was playing in just his second varsity game. I’m so proud of his composure in this game.”
Starting lineups
Deerfield
GK Xander Yang
D Justin Blumenthal
D James Weiner
D Ethan Helfand
D Matthew Neumann
M Nathan Garcia
M Addison Simon
M Cristian Carani
M Jason Nieder
F Ryder Coleman
F Ari Shamberg
Grayslake Central
GK Uriel Garcia Perez
D Damion Sereno
D Lucas Veenstra
D Jose Chavez
D Eric Garcia-Perez
M Alan Alonso
M Mitchell Fein
M Nick Molochikov
M Anderson Chevier
F Cameron Paul
F Daniel Marynevych
Chicagoland Man of the Match: Daniel Marynevych, sr, F, Grayslake Central
Scoring summary
First half
Grayslake Central — Marynevych (Lucas Veenstra ) 22’
Second half
Grayslake Central — Marynevych (penalty kick) 48’
Grayslake Central — Marynevych (Alonso), 68’
Grayslake Central — Marynevych (Alonso), 68’
Deerfield — Ryder Coleman (Helfand) 79’