Deerfield suffers 2nd-straight setback
Warriors fall 2-0 to Zion-Benton in Shootout opener
By Rusty Silber
LAKE FOREST -- Deerfield didn't want to see another soccer season start slow, but ...
The Warriors opened the season with a 4-2 defeat against Prospect in the Centrat Suburban League/Mid-Suburban League Challenge on Monday. Unfortunately, they followed it with a 2-0 openeing rounder loss to Zion-Benton in the annual North Shore Shootout on Tuesday afternoon at the Lake Forest athletic campus.
The effort has been there for Deerfield (0-2-0), but the gears have not yet started to turn. The Warriors knew going in they had a tough assignment against the Zee-Bees, who finished second in the event in 2018.
"A big part of it, we played (Monday night) and our legs were tired. You can see that," Deerfield coach Elliott Hurtig said. "You can see it in the warmup, and we weren't focused. We weren't in the flow, and it showed. We were slow to respond to the ball. We were not communicating, and Zion-Benton was on. They were more physical; they wanted it more than us. I give them a lot of credit, and I think we got stretched out a little bit defensively. That's what hurt us."
The Warriors saw the Zion-Benton attack control the pace of play early and through most of the first half.
"After the first 15 minutes, we did rebound and started to play better in the first half to get some possession," Hurtig said. "That's something we have to do when we're struggling. Be able to find feet and knock it around a little bit. But we didn't do that enough today. Playing two games in a row was very difficult."
Warriors senior defender and co-captain Jack Hammontree would've liked to have seen more improvement, but it will take more work to make that happen in upcoming games.
"This was our second game and our second loss, it was rough," Hammontree said. "We just didn't play that good in the back, and it didn't look like we were that ready. We didn't have enough energy and (Zion-Benton) beat us out wide. They were an aggressive good team, big and just beat us. We just have to keep working and move on from the two losses."
From the middle of the field, Deerfield's Ari Wainer knows what his team can do. It's a matter of the team finding the best way to play and coming together.
"I think we're really solid on the ball and have a lot of skill," Wainer said. "But, (Zion-Benton) was bigger and stronger than us. We just have to fix some things for our next game, and we will be good. It's not a good thing to lose two games, but we had a rough start last season. We came back from it and played well the rest of the season with a good record."
On Tuesday, Zion-Benton was the aggressor. Outside of hitting the crossbar three times, the Zee-Bees entered the final third of the field numerous times in the first half and put the Warriors defense on its heels. There's a good reason why this team has some confidence riding off of last season.
The Zee-Bees have been an up-and-coming team out of the North Suburban Conference the last couple of years. They made some history last year with 14 victories and moved up in the NSC In last year's North Shore Shootout, they beat Deerfield 2-0 in the semifinals before losing by the same score to Highland Park in the championship match.
"It was the best record in school history," said Zion-Benton coach Cliff Pontillo, who only lost 3 starters. "We have a lot of depth if everyone is healthy. We do have a nice team.
"We have a lot of individual skill with the possession of the ball and can move the ball quickly. We do have pretty good speed and strength in the back with our defenders and goalkeeper. We're well-rounded that way. We're not relying on a superstar. We just have a lot of very good players that play well together.
"The guys will give 100 percent, and there's never going to be a lack of effort."
Zach Paxton was involved in both goals for Zion-Benton (1-0-0).
"He plays with a passion with an edge, and that's fun," said Pontillo of his three-year starter. "He really took a leadership role in the offseason. He keeps improving -- not afraid of any situation and the pressure doesn't get to him."
Paxton was also named the Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match for his goal and assist.
"Personally, I've been working on my own every day in the mornings," Paxton said. "Then, head to practice and work on my game as much as I can. Just go as hard as I can in practice. My goal is to be All-Sectional and MVP for this team, ust want to help this team go as far as it can."
Paxton set up the first Zee-Bees goal with a pass to Miguel Solis in the 20th minute.
Then in the second half, Paxton was positioned near the post when the ball deflected off a Warriors' defender. He touched the ball into the back of the net to end the scoring in the 45th minute.
Zion-Benton keeper Roberto Colin made seven stops for the clean-sheet.
Deerfield will next play in the consolation semifinals against Dundee-Crown, while Zion-Benton goes against Round Lake in the winners' bracket semifinals. Both geames will be played at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Lake Forest's athletic campus.
Starting lineups
Zion-Benton
GK-Roberto Colin
D-Luis Flores
D-Hez Brown
D-Anthony Crespo
D-Jared Melchor
MF-Carlos Avilez
MF-Osmar Barajas
MF-Oscar Montejano
F-Miguel Solis
F-Zach Paxton
F-Isaac Sotelo
Deerfield
GK-Josh Berman
D-Ben Taxman
D-Jack Hammontree
D-Albert Covaci
D-David Jotkus
MF-Logan Wallis
MF-Ari Wainer
MF-Nicolus Prus
MF-Matthew Covaci
F-Nicolas Compisi
F-Ko Vandeneijkhoff
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Zach Paxton, sr., F, Zion-Benton
Scoring summary
Zion-Benton 1 1 -- 2
Deerfield 0 0 -- 0
First half
ZB-Miguel Solis (Zach Paxton) 20'
Second half
ZB-Zach Paxton (unassisted) 45'
Keepers: ZB-Roberto Colin (7 saves); D-Josh Berman (5 saves)
Warriors fall 2-0 to Zion-Benton in Shootout opener
By Rusty Silber
LAKE FOREST -- Deerfield didn't want to see another soccer season start slow, but ...
The Warriors opened the season with a 4-2 defeat against Prospect in the Centrat Suburban League/Mid-Suburban League Challenge on Monday. Unfortunately, they followed it with a 2-0 openeing rounder loss to Zion-Benton in the annual North Shore Shootout on Tuesday afternoon at the Lake Forest athletic campus.
The effort has been there for Deerfield (0-2-0), but the gears have not yet started to turn. The Warriors knew going in they had a tough assignment against the Zee-Bees, who finished second in the event in 2018.
"A big part of it, we played (Monday night) and our legs were tired. You can see that," Deerfield coach Elliott Hurtig said. "You can see it in the warmup, and we weren't focused. We weren't in the flow, and it showed. We were slow to respond to the ball. We were not communicating, and Zion-Benton was on. They were more physical; they wanted it more than us. I give them a lot of credit, and I think we got stretched out a little bit defensively. That's what hurt us."
The Warriors saw the Zion-Benton attack control the pace of play early and through most of the first half.
"After the first 15 minutes, we did rebound and started to play better in the first half to get some possession," Hurtig said. "That's something we have to do when we're struggling. Be able to find feet and knock it around a little bit. But we didn't do that enough today. Playing two games in a row was very difficult."
Warriors senior defender and co-captain Jack Hammontree would've liked to have seen more improvement, but it will take more work to make that happen in upcoming games.
"This was our second game and our second loss, it was rough," Hammontree said. "We just didn't play that good in the back, and it didn't look like we were that ready. We didn't have enough energy and (Zion-Benton) beat us out wide. They were an aggressive good team, big and just beat us. We just have to keep working and move on from the two losses."
From the middle of the field, Deerfield's Ari Wainer knows what his team can do. It's a matter of the team finding the best way to play and coming together.
"I think we're really solid on the ball and have a lot of skill," Wainer said. "But, (Zion-Benton) was bigger and stronger than us. We just have to fix some things for our next game, and we will be good. It's not a good thing to lose two games, but we had a rough start last season. We came back from it and played well the rest of the season with a good record."
On Tuesday, Zion-Benton was the aggressor. Outside of hitting the crossbar three times, the Zee-Bees entered the final third of the field numerous times in the first half and put the Warriors defense on its heels. There's a good reason why this team has some confidence riding off of last season.
The Zee-Bees have been an up-and-coming team out of the North Suburban Conference the last couple of years. They made some history last year with 14 victories and moved up in the NSC In last year's North Shore Shootout, they beat Deerfield 2-0 in the semifinals before losing by the same score to Highland Park in the championship match.
"It was the best record in school history," said Zion-Benton coach Cliff Pontillo, who only lost 3 starters. "We have a lot of depth if everyone is healthy. We do have a nice team.
"We have a lot of individual skill with the possession of the ball and can move the ball quickly. We do have pretty good speed and strength in the back with our defenders and goalkeeper. We're well-rounded that way. We're not relying on a superstar. We just have a lot of very good players that play well together.
"The guys will give 100 percent, and there's never going to be a lack of effort."
Zach Paxton was involved in both goals for Zion-Benton (1-0-0).
"He plays with a passion with an edge, and that's fun," said Pontillo of his three-year starter. "He really took a leadership role in the offseason. He keeps improving -- not afraid of any situation and the pressure doesn't get to him."
Paxton was also named the Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match for his goal and assist.
"Personally, I've been working on my own every day in the mornings," Paxton said. "Then, head to practice and work on my game as much as I can. Just go as hard as I can in practice. My goal is to be All-Sectional and MVP for this team, ust want to help this team go as far as it can."
Paxton set up the first Zee-Bees goal with a pass to Miguel Solis in the 20th minute.
Then in the second half, Paxton was positioned near the post when the ball deflected off a Warriors' defender. He touched the ball into the back of the net to end the scoring in the 45th minute.
Zion-Benton keeper Roberto Colin made seven stops for the clean-sheet.
Deerfield will next play in the consolation semifinals against Dundee-Crown, while Zion-Benton goes against Round Lake in the winners' bracket semifinals. Both geames will be played at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Lake Forest's athletic campus.
Starting lineups
Zion-Benton
GK-Roberto Colin
D-Luis Flores
D-Hez Brown
D-Anthony Crespo
D-Jared Melchor
MF-Carlos Avilez
MF-Osmar Barajas
MF-Oscar Montejano
F-Miguel Solis
F-Zach Paxton
F-Isaac Sotelo
Deerfield
GK-Josh Berman
D-Ben Taxman
D-Jack Hammontree
D-Albert Covaci
D-David Jotkus
MF-Logan Wallis
MF-Ari Wainer
MF-Nicolus Prus
MF-Matthew Covaci
F-Nicolas Compisi
F-Ko Vandeneijkhoff
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Zach Paxton, sr., F, Zion-Benton
Scoring summary
Zion-Benton 1 1 -- 2
Deerfield 0 0 -- 0
First half
ZB-Miguel Solis (Zach Paxton) 20'
Second half
ZB-Zach Paxton (unassisted) 45'
Keepers: ZB-Roberto Colin (7 saves); D-Josh Berman (5 saves)