Deerfield, Niles North
come up empty in shortened match
Teams leave field 0-0 after Mother Nature ends things early
By Bobby Narang
SKOKIE — One by one, the Deerfield players and coaches walked out of Niles North’s stadium with their heads down early Friday evening.
Sure, the Warriors were dejected, frustrated -- add any other emotion pertaining to anger — about leaving without a win against the highly regarded Vikings.
But then again, the Warriors didn’t exit with a loss, either. The Warriors fell victim to Mother Nature with lightning delays not allowing the Central Suburban League North Division game to be completed. With 27:31 left in the second half, the Warriors and Vikings game was suspended due to lightning in a scoreless tie. At this time, it’s not been determined if the game will be resumed or not.
Still, Deerfield senior defender Noah Weil said there were several positives in the scoreless game for his team. The Vikings (10-1-0, 2-0-0) entered the game with 38 goals scored but Deerfield goalie Ryan Toback needed only two saves — both in the first half — to earn a partial shutout.
“The second half even though it got canceled, we came out in the first 10 minutes so much stronger than in the first half,” Weil said, while talking amid a rapidly increasing downpour. “We were pressing and winning balls and definitely possessed it a lot better, keeping it on their half of the field and created a lot more chances in.
“Niles North is a really good team. The two guys they had playing upfront, think Alejandro Bucaro and Colin Graham, were small but fast and were very technical on the ball. I think a big thing was we used our bodies against them. We are all pretty big. We defended in the middle, so they couldn’t break us down.
“Even though this game ended early, we can build off the success of beating Maine East (1-0 Tuesday) and keep it going and rolling. We have to try and get at least three more wins in conference and at least tie with Niles North."
Deerfield coach Elliott Hurtig said his team missed a golden opportunity to earn a signature victory.
“I thought early in the game we were struggling to find our rhythm and part of that had to do with Niles North playing well, and we were not composed on the ball," Hurtig said. "It was like we were feeling out the game and not being calm on our touch and just finding feet.”
Niles North senior defender Ian McNulty said his team played uninspired for most of the game. The Vikings rarely threatened outside of a pair of headers in the first half.
“I was really disappointed by this game,” McNulty said. “The lightning took us out, but we really weren’t in this game from the beginning. We weren’t focused from the get-go, even in warmups or in the first five minutes. We didn’t get any shots on target. We just weren’t all there today. I don't know what happened.
“We have to focus and bring it. We have the potential to go to state. We have the camaraderie, the players and the talent. We just have to bring it."
Deerfield nearly scored a goal 13 seconds into the game, and Coleman banged a long shot off the post in the 3rd minute.
“Ryder did have an amazing shot from 25 yards out that beat the keeper. I thought it was in, but it hit the inside post, and we got unlucky,” Hurtig said. “We had another chance in front of the goal and Peter (Straus) struggled to get his shot off, but the pressure at times was really effective.”
The Warriors have made a big improvement since their struggles early in the season, posting a 4-1-1 record in their last six games if the Niles North game goes down as a tie.
“Ryder and Addison Simon played really strong defensively in the midfield. We needed that from them, because Niles North has a talented midfield,” Hurtig said. “I told the guys that we need to start games with more confidence and embrace the success we are having on the field as we strive to get even better.”
Niles West coach Filip Cejovic said it was a tough game for his team, mainly because of their slow start and missing captain and top player, sophomore midfielder Trey Zakeri.
“When you play a quality program like Deerfield, it’s always like a heavyweight fight,” he said. “For one reason or another, we didn’t come out with full focus. Deerfield did, and they almost got a goal early. With every passing minute, we regained control of our senses and managed to get back in the game.
"But full credit to the Deerfield team. They wanted to win. We have a solid team, and the kids had an undefeated and wonderful summer.
“We’ve had quite an impressive start this season. We're winning games we should. We’re taking care of teams we feel we’re better than. This is consistently being done for the first time this year.
“As a program, Niles North is in a great place because we're unhappy with a 0-0 against Deerfield, which is a historically wonderful program.”
Niles North junior midfielder Anthony Sticlaru, the Vikings’ top goal scorer, said Friday's game was frustrating because of the sudden ending.
“Our defense was solid in the first 20 minutes, but we couldn’t get anything going in the offensive third, which really showed in the result,” he said. “We’re usually a team that goes up very early, but we got shut down early and couldn’t create many (chances).”
Starting lineups
Deerfield
GK Ryan Toback
D Justin Blumenthal
D James Weiner
D Ethan Helfand
D Noah Weil
M Ryder Coleman
M Ari Shamberg
M Addison Simon
M Nathan Garcia
F Peter Straus
F Cole Gawin
Niles North
GK Colin Schnabel
D Gustavo Cardenas
D Vasilis Callas
D Ian McNulty
D Chris Araujo
M Kyle Pham
M Victor Ore
M Alejandro Bucaro
M Peter Chavez
F Anthony Sticlaru
F Colin Graham
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ryder Coleman, jr., MF, Deerfield
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring, game was stopped with 27:31 left in regulation due to weather
come up empty in shortened match
Teams leave field 0-0 after Mother Nature ends things early
By Bobby Narang
SKOKIE — One by one, the Deerfield players and coaches walked out of Niles North’s stadium with their heads down early Friday evening.
Sure, the Warriors were dejected, frustrated -- add any other emotion pertaining to anger — about leaving without a win against the highly regarded Vikings.
But then again, the Warriors didn’t exit with a loss, either. The Warriors fell victim to Mother Nature with lightning delays not allowing the Central Suburban League North Division game to be completed. With 27:31 left in the second half, the Warriors and Vikings game was suspended due to lightning in a scoreless tie. At this time, it’s not been determined if the game will be resumed or not.
Still, Deerfield senior defender Noah Weil said there were several positives in the scoreless game for his team. The Vikings (10-1-0, 2-0-0) entered the game with 38 goals scored but Deerfield goalie Ryan Toback needed only two saves — both in the first half — to earn a partial shutout.
“The second half even though it got canceled, we came out in the first 10 minutes so much stronger than in the first half,” Weil said, while talking amid a rapidly increasing downpour. “We were pressing and winning balls and definitely possessed it a lot better, keeping it on their half of the field and created a lot more chances in.
“Niles North is a really good team. The two guys they had playing upfront, think Alejandro Bucaro and Colin Graham, were small but fast and were very technical on the ball. I think a big thing was we used our bodies against them. We are all pretty big. We defended in the middle, so they couldn’t break us down.
“Even though this game ended early, we can build off the success of beating Maine East (1-0 Tuesday) and keep it going and rolling. We have to try and get at least three more wins in conference and at least tie with Niles North."
Deerfield coach Elliott Hurtig said his team missed a golden opportunity to earn a signature victory.
“I thought early in the game we were struggling to find our rhythm and part of that had to do with Niles North playing well, and we were not composed on the ball," Hurtig said. "It was like we were feeling out the game and not being calm on our touch and just finding feet.”
Niles North senior defender Ian McNulty said his team played uninspired for most of the game. The Vikings rarely threatened outside of a pair of headers in the first half.
“I was really disappointed by this game,” McNulty said. “The lightning took us out, but we really weren’t in this game from the beginning. We weren’t focused from the get-go, even in warmups or in the first five minutes. We didn’t get any shots on target. We just weren’t all there today. I don't know what happened.
“We have to focus and bring it. We have the potential to go to state. We have the camaraderie, the players and the talent. We just have to bring it."
Deerfield nearly scored a goal 13 seconds into the game, and Coleman banged a long shot off the post in the 3rd minute.
“Ryder did have an amazing shot from 25 yards out that beat the keeper. I thought it was in, but it hit the inside post, and we got unlucky,” Hurtig said. “We had another chance in front of the goal and Peter (Straus) struggled to get his shot off, but the pressure at times was really effective.”
The Warriors have made a big improvement since their struggles early in the season, posting a 4-1-1 record in their last six games if the Niles North game goes down as a tie.
“Ryder and Addison Simon played really strong defensively in the midfield. We needed that from them, because Niles North has a talented midfield,” Hurtig said. “I told the guys that we need to start games with more confidence and embrace the success we are having on the field as we strive to get even better.”
Niles West coach Filip Cejovic said it was a tough game for his team, mainly because of their slow start and missing captain and top player, sophomore midfielder Trey Zakeri.
“When you play a quality program like Deerfield, it’s always like a heavyweight fight,” he said. “For one reason or another, we didn’t come out with full focus. Deerfield did, and they almost got a goal early. With every passing minute, we regained control of our senses and managed to get back in the game.
"But full credit to the Deerfield team. They wanted to win. We have a solid team, and the kids had an undefeated and wonderful summer.
“We’ve had quite an impressive start this season. We're winning games we should. We’re taking care of teams we feel we’re better than. This is consistently being done for the first time this year.
“As a program, Niles North is in a great place because we're unhappy with a 0-0 against Deerfield, which is a historically wonderful program.”
Niles North junior midfielder Anthony Sticlaru, the Vikings’ top goal scorer, said Friday's game was frustrating because of the sudden ending.
“Our defense was solid in the first 20 minutes, but we couldn’t get anything going in the offensive third, which really showed in the result,” he said. “We’re usually a team that goes up very early, but we got shut down early and couldn’t create many (chances).”
Starting lineups
Deerfield
GK Ryan Toback
D Justin Blumenthal
D James Weiner
D Ethan Helfand
D Noah Weil
M Ryder Coleman
M Ari Shamberg
M Addison Simon
M Nathan Garcia
F Peter Straus
F Cole Gawin
Niles North
GK Colin Schnabel
D Gustavo Cardenas
D Vasilis Callas
D Ian McNulty
D Chris Araujo
M Kyle Pham
M Victor Ore
M Alejandro Bucaro
M Peter Chavez
F Anthony Sticlaru
F Colin Graham
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ryder Coleman, jr., MF, Deerfield
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring, game was stopped with 27:31 left in regulation due to weather