Undermanned Deerfield topped by Maine S.
Hawks put away pair in 1st half for 2-0 win
By Ken Keenan
PARK RIDGE -- Deerfield earned high grades for effort and intensity against host Maine South Tuesday night, but the Warriors didn't have the correct answer to find the back of the net and fell to the Hawks by a 2-0 count.
Playing without injured senior starting goalkeeper Ryan Grady and senior back-up keeper Adam Odzer, the Warriors took the field with sophomore goalie Josh Berman between the pipes. Deerfield was missing junior midfielder Ryan Gomez and junior defender Jeff Lehrman to injuries as well.
"We were undermanned, but we played with a lot of passion," said Deerfield head coach Elliott Hurtig, whose squad fell to 2-4-0 with the loss. "We never gave up ... always kept fighting. But it was tough. We were missing some people."
Maine South used speed to beat Berman and Co. on both tallies, with senior forward Alex Olson -- Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match -- assisting on the first goal and scoring the second. After settling a goal kick at midfield, Olson sent a long ball down the left side that found junior forward Giuliano Corazzina, who fired a low, left-footed shot past Berman from a sharp angle that zipped inside the right post with 33:33 remaining in the first half to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
"I saw the ball coming toward me, and I saw (Corazzina) make a run," Olson said. "I took my time, led 'G' on a through-ball, and he trapped it and scored."
Added Corazzina: "I saw (Deerfield's) 'D' was flat -- they were all on the same side. So I tried to take advantage of that. I kept calm, dribbled and kept an outside shot -- and I got it in bottom-right."
Olson increased the lead 2-0 lead with 10:45 to go before the break, banging in a low one-timer from the right side after tracking a well-placed free kick by senior defender Michael Byron.
"No one was guarding me on the second goal," Olson said. "I saw the ball come in toward my right foot, and I got it past the goalkeeper."
Hurtig admitted that his team got caught flat-footed on Olson's marker, and said the same was true on the initial goal as well.
"I thought we were down 2-0 on mental mistakes," Hurtig said. "Especially with the second goal, that was a breakdown on a dead ball. We weren't marking."
The Warriors weren't finishing their chances, either. Working hard to draw throw-ins and corner kicks, Deerfield had a handful of good opportunities in the opening 40 minutes.
A corner try in the eighth minute was headed wide left by junior defender Nolan Horgan, and a corner by sophomore midfielder Logan Wallis resulted in a wide attempt by senior mid Eric Kenney in the 12th minute. Less than two minutes later, Deerfield senior forward Nikita Bankevich sent a drifting, 25-yard free kick just over the crossbar.
With 25:12 left before halftime, Warriors sophomore defender Ko Vandeneijkhoff sent a free kick to junior defender Nolan Horgan, who quickly headed the ball to junior mid Jude Tatham for a quick strike that was stopped nicely by Maine South senior keeper Vito Abbinanti.
Deerfield regrouped during the break and came out with more jump in the second half.
"Coach (Hurtig) was intense at halftime," Kenney said. "We had to pick it up. We have to make sure we maintain consistent energy throughout the game."
Vandeneijkhoff, who sent a free kick in the 48th minute that sophomore mid Ari Wainer headed just high, and had another freebie from 35 yards that sailed over the bar with 14:50 left, added: "Guys got the message at halftime. But we couldn't capitalize on our chances in the final third. We weren't connecting on crosses or final passes. I think we could've done better."
Hurtig said his halftime message centered on one of the team's "key values," namely accountability.
"We said, 'You have to go strong to the box and defend. Be accountable,'" Hurtig said. "We played with a lot more energy in the second half ... had a lot of solid individual efforts. But we need to be able to connect to our forwards more. We need to connect in the box to create more chances."
Meanwhile, Maine South created a few chances of its own while holding the 2-0 advantage. With 37:45 remaining, Hawks senior midfielder Will Burgis unleashed a quick, left-footed shot that Berman handled, and senior forward Alex Walega missed wide-right from 10 yards on the right side with 29:20 to go.
In the 55th minute, Corazzina nabbed a loose ball in-close following a free kick, but Deerfield's defense collectively held the fort and cleared the area as the ball trickled toward the goal line past a prone Berman. With 13:30 showing, a lengthy Hawks possession begun by Olson resulted in a 15-yard try by Corazzina that scooted wide-left.
"We have some players who can go in transition," said Hawks skipper Dan States, whose team upped its mark to 2-3-2 with the victory."Offensively, we had some nice exchanges."
Olson said, "(Corazzina) and I have that unspoken connection. We have a feel for each other, and we can work together and connect. And even when we have the lead, we try to keep our feet and create connections."
Hurtig said said, "We noticed (Olson and Corazzina) -- a lot of speed. For the most part, we contained 'em."
Added Vandeneijkhoff: "If we play like we did in the second half ... if we keep doing that, we'll get a better result."
States said, "It was a tough game. Deerfield presses hard. It's always a battle. I was pleased our guys maintained their poise, and pleased with keeping the slate blank."
Starting lineups
Deerfield
G: Josh Berman
D: Ko Vandeneijkhoff
D: Jack Hammontree
D: Ben Taxman
D: Nolan Horgan
M: Logan Wallis
M: Eric Kenney
M: Jude Tatham
M: Ari Wainer
F: Tim Frenkel
F: Nikita Bankevich
Maine South
G: Vito Abbinanti
D: John Rozynek
D: Charlie Ryan
D: Michael Byron
D: Neil Lewis
M: Will Burgis
M: Sam McGinnis
M: Alex Melcher
F: Alex Walega
F: Giuliano Corazzina
F: Alex Olson
Officials: John Jakobze, Mohamed Abdel Rahim, John Guild
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Olson, sr., M, Maine South
Scoring summary
First half
Maine South: Giuliano Corazzina (assisted by Alex Olson) in 7th minute;
Maine South: Olson (assisted by Michael Byron) in 30th minute
Second half
None
Hawks put away pair in 1st half for 2-0 win
By Ken Keenan
PARK RIDGE -- Deerfield earned high grades for effort and intensity against host Maine South Tuesday night, but the Warriors didn't have the correct answer to find the back of the net and fell to the Hawks by a 2-0 count.
Playing without injured senior starting goalkeeper Ryan Grady and senior back-up keeper Adam Odzer, the Warriors took the field with sophomore goalie Josh Berman between the pipes. Deerfield was missing junior midfielder Ryan Gomez and junior defender Jeff Lehrman to injuries as well.
"We were undermanned, but we played with a lot of passion," said Deerfield head coach Elliott Hurtig, whose squad fell to 2-4-0 with the loss. "We never gave up ... always kept fighting. But it was tough. We were missing some people."
Maine South used speed to beat Berman and Co. on both tallies, with senior forward Alex Olson -- Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match -- assisting on the first goal and scoring the second. After settling a goal kick at midfield, Olson sent a long ball down the left side that found junior forward Giuliano Corazzina, who fired a low, left-footed shot past Berman from a sharp angle that zipped inside the right post with 33:33 remaining in the first half to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
"I saw the ball coming toward me, and I saw (Corazzina) make a run," Olson said. "I took my time, led 'G' on a through-ball, and he trapped it and scored."
Added Corazzina: "I saw (Deerfield's) 'D' was flat -- they were all on the same side. So I tried to take advantage of that. I kept calm, dribbled and kept an outside shot -- and I got it in bottom-right."
Olson increased the lead 2-0 lead with 10:45 to go before the break, banging in a low one-timer from the right side after tracking a well-placed free kick by senior defender Michael Byron.
"No one was guarding me on the second goal," Olson said. "I saw the ball come in toward my right foot, and I got it past the goalkeeper."
Hurtig admitted that his team got caught flat-footed on Olson's marker, and said the same was true on the initial goal as well.
"I thought we were down 2-0 on mental mistakes," Hurtig said. "Especially with the second goal, that was a breakdown on a dead ball. We weren't marking."
The Warriors weren't finishing their chances, either. Working hard to draw throw-ins and corner kicks, Deerfield had a handful of good opportunities in the opening 40 minutes.
A corner try in the eighth minute was headed wide left by junior defender Nolan Horgan, and a corner by sophomore midfielder Logan Wallis resulted in a wide attempt by senior mid Eric Kenney in the 12th minute. Less than two minutes later, Deerfield senior forward Nikita Bankevich sent a drifting, 25-yard free kick just over the crossbar.
With 25:12 left before halftime, Warriors sophomore defender Ko Vandeneijkhoff sent a free kick to junior defender Nolan Horgan, who quickly headed the ball to junior mid Jude Tatham for a quick strike that was stopped nicely by Maine South senior keeper Vito Abbinanti.
Deerfield regrouped during the break and came out with more jump in the second half.
"Coach (Hurtig) was intense at halftime," Kenney said. "We had to pick it up. We have to make sure we maintain consistent energy throughout the game."
Vandeneijkhoff, who sent a free kick in the 48th minute that sophomore mid Ari Wainer headed just high, and had another freebie from 35 yards that sailed over the bar with 14:50 left, added: "Guys got the message at halftime. But we couldn't capitalize on our chances in the final third. We weren't connecting on crosses or final passes. I think we could've done better."
Hurtig said his halftime message centered on one of the team's "key values," namely accountability.
"We said, 'You have to go strong to the box and defend. Be accountable,'" Hurtig said. "We played with a lot more energy in the second half ... had a lot of solid individual efforts. But we need to be able to connect to our forwards more. We need to connect in the box to create more chances."
Meanwhile, Maine South created a few chances of its own while holding the 2-0 advantage. With 37:45 remaining, Hawks senior midfielder Will Burgis unleashed a quick, left-footed shot that Berman handled, and senior forward Alex Walega missed wide-right from 10 yards on the right side with 29:20 to go.
In the 55th minute, Corazzina nabbed a loose ball in-close following a free kick, but Deerfield's defense collectively held the fort and cleared the area as the ball trickled toward the goal line past a prone Berman. With 13:30 showing, a lengthy Hawks possession begun by Olson resulted in a 15-yard try by Corazzina that scooted wide-left.
"We have some players who can go in transition," said Hawks skipper Dan States, whose team upped its mark to 2-3-2 with the victory."Offensively, we had some nice exchanges."
Olson said, "(Corazzina) and I have that unspoken connection. We have a feel for each other, and we can work together and connect. And even when we have the lead, we try to keep our feet and create connections."
Hurtig said said, "We noticed (Olson and Corazzina) -- a lot of speed. For the most part, we contained 'em."
Added Vandeneijkhoff: "If we play like we did in the second half ... if we keep doing that, we'll get a better result."
States said, "It was a tough game. Deerfield presses hard. It's always a battle. I was pleased our guys maintained their poise, and pleased with keeping the slate blank."
Starting lineups
Deerfield
G: Josh Berman
D: Ko Vandeneijkhoff
D: Jack Hammontree
D: Ben Taxman
D: Nolan Horgan
M: Logan Wallis
M: Eric Kenney
M: Jude Tatham
M: Ari Wainer
F: Tim Frenkel
F: Nikita Bankevich
Maine South
G: Vito Abbinanti
D: John Rozynek
D: Charlie Ryan
D: Michael Byron
D: Neil Lewis
M: Will Burgis
M: Sam McGinnis
M: Alex Melcher
F: Alex Walega
F: Giuliano Corazzina
F: Alex Olson
Officials: John Jakobze, Mohamed Abdel Rahim, John Guild
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Olson, sr., M, Maine South
Scoring summary
First half
Maine South: Giuliano Corazzina (assisted by Alex Olson) in 7th minute;
Maine South: Olson (assisted by Michael Byron) in 30th minute
Second half
None