Deerfield stays in league title hunt
after draw vs. Highland Park
After 2-week break, 0-0 tie maintains share of CSL North lead
By A.J. Schmitz
HIGHLAND PARK - As Central Suburban League North Division rivals Deerfield and Highland Park took to Wolters Field on Wednesday, both teams had something extra to play for. In an unheard of situation, both teams celebrated their Senior Night at the game.
Deerfield (4-3-3, 2-0-1) came off a two-week hiatus for COVID-19 protocol. As a result, numerous games were postponed or canceled. The Warriors were able to reschedule their remaining league games this final week of the season but were left without a home date to play. So, the team had to reschedule Senior Night to coincide with Highland Park’s celebration of its Class of 2021.
With none of the future graduates willing to lose on thei night, the game ended in a 0-0 tie.
That’s not to say that one team didn’t have the upper hand. Deerfield dominated possession but was unable to finish.
“We’ve been out for 12 days, and the guys came out,” Deerfield head coach Elliott Hurtig said. “I thought the guys played with extreme passion and what we call ganas. I was very pleased with the effort and disappointed we didn’t finish. At one point I think we were outshooting them 10 to nothing.”
Ganas is one of Hurtig’s favorite words. Meaning desire, it is a word used to describe a team that leaves it all out on the pitch and plays until the last whistle, no matter what.
Senior midfielder Ari Wainer was a player who embodied this perfectly. Wainer repeatedly caused problems for the Highland Park back four and often looked as though he would score. In the 28th minute, Wainer received a pinpoint cross in the box on a fast break from sophomore forward Matthew Neumann, but his shot went wide past the far post as the defense recovered to contest it.
Wainer was not just a threat on the scoring front. His mastery of ball movement helped his team slow play down, bring the ball back to supporting defenders and open the field for better opportunities. His soccer IQ can be credited, in part, for Deerfield’s unwillingness to give up possession.
Wainer could also go at it alone. In the 66th minute, he found himself hotly contested by three defenders. While most players would lose possession, Wainer pushed through the triple-team defense and worked the ball into the center of the field to lead an attack.
“I think we played pretty well,” Wainer said in light of his team’s break. “I was dying toward the end of the game. I don’t know about the other guys, but I cramped a few times with five minutes left.”
In Deerfield’s backfield, senior defender Ko Vandeneijkhoff played a lights-out game. Absolutely nothing got by the defender and the vast majority of Highland Park’s shots were taken under pressure from long range. That led to easy saves for Deerfield’s senior keeper and captain Josh Berman.
“I don’t think they had one shot that worried Josh, really,” Vandeneijkhoff said. “At the end we were a little tired, and I think that kept Highland Park in the game.”
Vandeneijkhoff is the kind of player the Warriors look to in special circumstances.
His throw-ins and free kicks were nerve-wracking for Highland Park keeper and captain Ethan Fineman, who consistently had to come out and attack them in the air as he would a corner kick.
Vandeneijkhoff also gave Deerfield their best scoring chance of the night. In the 55th minute, Vandeneijkhoff received a corner kick on the far post and immediately turned to fire a shot into the top right corner. Somehow, Fineman managed to leap just in time to smack the ball away and protect his clean-sheet.
The play was particularly impressive given that Fineman has struggled with injuries this year. Unfortunately, it might be the last time fans see him on the field.
“He’s been a starter since sophomore year and would’ve been this year, but he’s really hurt,” said Giants head coach Black Novotny. “He said, ‘Coach, I’m going to retire from high school soccer when this game’s over.’ He hasn’t played in two weeks and just told me he was saving himself for this game.”
“Their keeper played amazing,” Berman said of his counterpart and fellow captain-in-net. “We can’t take that away from them.”
Fineman was not the only player for Highland Park whose defensive performance kept the Giants (2-8-2, 1-2-2) in the game.
Sophomore center back Matthew Klujian commanded his end. In the 31st minute, Deerfield midfielder Ryder Coleman found himself home free and it looked as though the Warriors might score. Unfortunately for them, Klujian made a stunning recovery to catch up with Coleman, and once inside the box, executed a textbook slide tackle that broke up the play.
“We played pretty good defense against them, and it helped us stay in the game the whole time. We didn’t give up and kept fighting 'til the end,” noted Klujian.
Though Berman was never given the opportunity to display the full extent of his abilities through traditional saves, he was nevertheless one of the most active players on Deerfield’s side and earned his fifth shutout of the season. Berman’s play style can be summed up in one word: aggressive.
Not one to hang back in his own box, Berman played high up in the backfield, ready to attack any through-balls that came his way. As good with his feet as he is with his hands, Berman’s prowess in goal ensured that the Giants were unable to take advantage of a single fast break.
In the 58th minute, Berman made his best play of the night. As the Giants found themselves free of defenders, Berman was not going to let them get any closer to the net. He charged from his box to meet the ball carrier 20 yards from goal, cut off any angle that might provide a scoring opportunity and landed a beautiful slide tackle to knock the ball out of play.
“I was completely confident,” Berman said. “The only thing I had to do was play a little sweeper-keeper, but we dominated. Two weeks off -that’s kind of hard to come back from, but we came back strong, and we are going to win conference.”
Deerfield will have to beat the top of the North Division table to win the title. They play Maine East (2-0-1 in league play) at 7 p.m. Thursday and Vernon Hills (1-0-2) at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Highland Park closes out its season with two matches: at 7 p.m. Thursday at Glenbrook North; and a home date vs. Maine West at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Starting lineups
Deerfield
GK: Josh Berman
D: Ben Seed
D: James Weiner
D: Ko Vandeneijkhoff
D: Noah Weil
M: Ryder Coleman
M: Nicholas Prus
M: David Jotkus
M: Ari Wainer
F: Peter Straus
F: Matthew Covaci
Highland Park
GK: Ethan Fineman
D: Jack Illes
D: Ben Kaden
D: Matthew Klujian
D: Jose Flores
M: Aaron Bach
M: Hugo Bollas
M: Joseph Khader
M: Jerry Leyva
M: Mariano Membreno
F: Jacob Derfel
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Josh Berman, sr., GK, Deerfield
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
after draw vs. Highland Park
After 2-week break, 0-0 tie maintains share of CSL North lead
By A.J. Schmitz
HIGHLAND PARK - As Central Suburban League North Division rivals Deerfield and Highland Park took to Wolters Field on Wednesday, both teams had something extra to play for. In an unheard of situation, both teams celebrated their Senior Night at the game.
Deerfield (4-3-3, 2-0-1) came off a two-week hiatus for COVID-19 protocol. As a result, numerous games were postponed or canceled. The Warriors were able to reschedule their remaining league games this final week of the season but were left without a home date to play. So, the team had to reschedule Senior Night to coincide with Highland Park’s celebration of its Class of 2021.
With none of the future graduates willing to lose on thei night, the game ended in a 0-0 tie.
That’s not to say that one team didn’t have the upper hand. Deerfield dominated possession but was unable to finish.
“We’ve been out for 12 days, and the guys came out,” Deerfield head coach Elliott Hurtig said. “I thought the guys played with extreme passion and what we call ganas. I was very pleased with the effort and disappointed we didn’t finish. At one point I think we were outshooting them 10 to nothing.”
Ganas is one of Hurtig’s favorite words. Meaning desire, it is a word used to describe a team that leaves it all out on the pitch and plays until the last whistle, no matter what.
Senior midfielder Ari Wainer was a player who embodied this perfectly. Wainer repeatedly caused problems for the Highland Park back four and often looked as though he would score. In the 28th minute, Wainer received a pinpoint cross in the box on a fast break from sophomore forward Matthew Neumann, but his shot went wide past the far post as the defense recovered to contest it.
Wainer was not just a threat on the scoring front. His mastery of ball movement helped his team slow play down, bring the ball back to supporting defenders and open the field for better opportunities. His soccer IQ can be credited, in part, for Deerfield’s unwillingness to give up possession.
Wainer could also go at it alone. In the 66th minute, he found himself hotly contested by three defenders. While most players would lose possession, Wainer pushed through the triple-team defense and worked the ball into the center of the field to lead an attack.
“I think we played pretty well,” Wainer said in light of his team’s break. “I was dying toward the end of the game. I don’t know about the other guys, but I cramped a few times with five minutes left.”
In Deerfield’s backfield, senior defender Ko Vandeneijkhoff played a lights-out game. Absolutely nothing got by the defender and the vast majority of Highland Park’s shots were taken under pressure from long range. That led to easy saves for Deerfield’s senior keeper and captain Josh Berman.
“I don’t think they had one shot that worried Josh, really,” Vandeneijkhoff said. “At the end we were a little tired, and I think that kept Highland Park in the game.”
Vandeneijkhoff is the kind of player the Warriors look to in special circumstances.
His throw-ins and free kicks were nerve-wracking for Highland Park keeper and captain Ethan Fineman, who consistently had to come out and attack them in the air as he would a corner kick.
Vandeneijkhoff also gave Deerfield their best scoring chance of the night. In the 55th minute, Vandeneijkhoff received a corner kick on the far post and immediately turned to fire a shot into the top right corner. Somehow, Fineman managed to leap just in time to smack the ball away and protect his clean-sheet.
The play was particularly impressive given that Fineman has struggled with injuries this year. Unfortunately, it might be the last time fans see him on the field.
“He’s been a starter since sophomore year and would’ve been this year, but he’s really hurt,” said Giants head coach Black Novotny. “He said, ‘Coach, I’m going to retire from high school soccer when this game’s over.’ He hasn’t played in two weeks and just told me he was saving himself for this game.”
“Their keeper played amazing,” Berman said of his counterpart and fellow captain-in-net. “We can’t take that away from them.”
Fineman was not the only player for Highland Park whose defensive performance kept the Giants (2-8-2, 1-2-2) in the game.
Sophomore center back Matthew Klujian commanded his end. In the 31st minute, Deerfield midfielder Ryder Coleman found himself home free and it looked as though the Warriors might score. Unfortunately for them, Klujian made a stunning recovery to catch up with Coleman, and once inside the box, executed a textbook slide tackle that broke up the play.
“We played pretty good defense against them, and it helped us stay in the game the whole time. We didn’t give up and kept fighting 'til the end,” noted Klujian.
Though Berman was never given the opportunity to display the full extent of his abilities through traditional saves, he was nevertheless one of the most active players on Deerfield’s side and earned his fifth shutout of the season. Berman’s play style can be summed up in one word: aggressive.
Not one to hang back in his own box, Berman played high up in the backfield, ready to attack any through-balls that came his way. As good with his feet as he is with his hands, Berman’s prowess in goal ensured that the Giants were unable to take advantage of a single fast break.
In the 58th minute, Berman made his best play of the night. As the Giants found themselves free of defenders, Berman was not going to let them get any closer to the net. He charged from his box to meet the ball carrier 20 yards from goal, cut off any angle that might provide a scoring opportunity and landed a beautiful slide tackle to knock the ball out of play.
“I was completely confident,” Berman said. “The only thing I had to do was play a little sweeper-keeper, but we dominated. Two weeks off -that’s kind of hard to come back from, but we came back strong, and we are going to win conference.”
Deerfield will have to beat the top of the North Division table to win the title. They play Maine East (2-0-1 in league play) at 7 p.m. Thursday and Vernon Hills (1-0-2) at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Highland Park closes out its season with two matches: at 7 p.m. Thursday at Glenbrook North; and a home date vs. Maine West at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Starting lineups
Deerfield
GK: Josh Berman
D: Ben Seed
D: James Weiner
D: Ko Vandeneijkhoff
D: Noah Weil
M: Ryder Coleman
M: Nicholas Prus
M: David Jotkus
M: Ari Wainer
F: Peter Straus
F: Matthew Covaci
Highland Park
GK: Ethan Fineman
D: Jack Illes
D: Ben Kaden
D: Matthew Klujian
D: Jose Flores
M: Aaron Bach
M: Hugo Bollas
M: Joseph Khader
M: Jerry Leyva
M: Mariano Membreno
F: Jacob Derfel
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Josh Berman, sr., GK, Deerfield
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring