Downers Grove North can't counter
Argo's early offense
Trojans continue struggle to find goals in 3-0 loss
By Curt Herron
SUMMIT -- After being shut out in its last three matches and held scoreless in four of its last five, Downers Grove North hoped to generate good scoring opportunities when it played a nonconference match at Argo on Tuesday.
But even though the Argonauts had gone 1-3-1 in their last five matches, which included its worst defensive performance of the season in Monday's 6-1 South Suburban Conference Red Division loss at Shepard, the hosts dug in to defend their home pitch.
Sophomore Hubert Grele scored goals in the 17th and 19th minutes, and senior Simon Cicha knocked one home in the 39th minute to douse their visitor's hopes.
Downers Grove North didn't find a goal until a 79th-minute PK conversion from junior Ben Llewellyn that averted a shutout at Argo Memorial Stadium.
The game was a matchup of the seventh- and eighth-seeds in the upcoming Class 3A Hinsdale Central Sectional. Downers Grove North (4-12-1), the seventh-seed, faces 10-seed Jones at regional host Morton on Oct. 18. The winner will almost certainly get the unenviable task of meeting the fifth-ranked and second-seeded Mustangs in the title match.
Argo (8-7-2) hosts ninth-seed Riverside-Brookfield in its first playoff match Oct. 18. The winner has a probability of meeting top-seeded and fourth-ranked Lyons in the final.
Before then, things don't get much for easier for the Trojans, who close out the regular-season with a match at Hinsdale Central on Thursday, a home contest against St. Francis on Saturday and their final West Suburban Conference Silver Division match at defending Class 3A champion York on Oct. 11.
"We're lacking a bit of confidence in the final third," Trojans coach Mike Schmitt said. "Our build of play is alright. Once we get to the final third, we don't either have an idea of what we're doing or we're just a little bit off.
“We just have to find some confidence to find the back of the net. We have three tough games to help us prepare for the playoffs, and I think that we need to find a way to be competitive in those games. Hopefully we can find our form in the next few games.
"Credit to them. They were the better team for 80 minutes, and they outplayed us in almost every facet. They're a very good team that moves the ball really well, and they have a lot of chemistry.
“They're young, but they're a good young. That's a very talented team that will be good for the next few years."
Downers Grove North competes in one of the state's toughest conferences, the West Suburban Conference Silver Division, which is topped by York, Lyons, and Oak Park and River Forest. The trio rank among the first 15 teams in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
The South Suburban Conference is experiencing one of its best seasons in recent memory with eight of the 12 teams sporting winning records. Red Division squads Oak Lawn, Shepard and Richards all have 13 or more victories.
Argo’s roster has 12 seniors to go along with a combined nine freshmen and sophomores, and four juniors. Although there's a lot of youth on his team, coach Carlos Marquez likes how his squad has competed against their challenging schedule.
"Even last year I was seeing that the conference was getting better and teams were becoming more equal," Marquez said. "I told the kids that we usually were the kings of this conference, like the Yankees or Real Madrid of the conference. But it's changing now and teams are getting better, so we need to bring our 'A' game.
“We kind of have a new group, and I think we only have two returning starters. We have a lot of guys who hadn't played and didn't have varsity experience. But we knew we had talent. Every game that we've played this year has been close in conference, except for yesterday.
"It's always great getting games against Downers Grove North since we know that they play in a tough conference. We know that they're organized and going to be disciplined and a lot of their players are technically good. We knew that we had to test outside of the conference and play teams that are experienced and historically good.
“I thought that we had a good game, especially in the first half. I thought that our biggest issue this year is that we haven't been able to put two good halves together. But as I told the kids tonight after the game, if we can put two good halves together, even though we're young, that we can play with anybody."
Argo had several good chances in the early going but Trojans junior goalkeeper Adi Zaveri turned away shots from sophomore Jose Perez, Grele and Cicha in the first 15 minutes. Argonauts sophomore keeper Xavier Brant denied tries by Downers Grove North senior Max Prince and junior Kerlos Tawadrous.
The hosts took control in the 17th minute when Zaveri came out to try to stop Grele, who placed one in an open net from 30 yards. Just 1 minute, 39 seconds later in the 19th minute, Grele was at it again when he fired off an attempt from 20 yards on a counter attack to quickly give Argo a 2-0 advantage.
"Competition is the number one thing in our conference. Even outside of conference, we always have to play our hearts out on the field," Grele said. "Almost everyone in our conference is equal, and it's whoever wants it more. You always want to be pressuring the ball and do your best on the field. I like our teamwork."
As the first half wound down, the Argonauts continued to apply pressure with Grele sent a header opportunity to Zaveri. But there was little that the Trojans keeper could do in the 39th minute when Cicha received a long pass and then drove toward the net and connected from 25 yards to put the hosts up 3-0 at the break.
Despite trailing by three goals, Downers Grove North came out strong at the start of the final half with Llewellyn, junior Riley Botha and Wilson all applying pressure on Brant. The sides traded good chances over the next stretch as freshman Erber Flores-Fuentes lined a corner kick to the new Trojans goalie, junior Will Barnett. Wilson tried for Downers Grove North’s opener with a free kick that he placed around the wall, but it was topped by a diving save.
After Cicha had a try deflected by a defender and Barnett made a stop on a close shot by Grele, the Trojans had a good opportunity with a free kick from just beyond the top of the box but Botha's effort went a bit high. Argo replied with threatening attempts from senior Luca Guzman, Cicha and Grele, while the Trojans had another good attempt from Danny Graham, whose shot from the side was hauled in.
Just as it looked like the Trojans might go without a goal for a third-straight match, Graham got fouled in the box in the 79th minute, and Llewellyn put in the subsequent penalty. Sophomore Alejandro Alcantara tried to pull Downers Grove North to within a goal in the 80th minute but his shot was headed away by a defender.
"Last year I felt that there was less competition," Argonauts senior Michael Gacek said of the South Suburban Conference. "But now almost every team is equal, so you go into a game and you don't know what to expect. When we face a better team, we always get pumped up so we can beat them.
“I like our teamwork and how we all talk to each other, and not just about soccer, and also outside of school. We're like a family."
Starting lineups
Downers Grove North
GK: Adi Zaveri
D: Sean Eber
D: Will Beatty
D: Bradley Szydlowski
D: Tomislaw Petkovski
MF: Aldo Velazquez
MF: Ryan Wilson
MF: Max Prince
MF: James Harkness
F: Kerlos Tawadrous
F: Ben Llewellyn
Argo
GK: Xavier Brant
D: Jose Pepe Orozco
D: Mohammad Hasan
D: Michael Gacek
D: Andy Fonseca
MF: David Soria
MF: Krystof Cicha
MF: Luca Guzman
MF: Jose Perez
F: Simon Cicha
F: Hubert Grele
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Hubert Grele, so., F, Argo
Scoring summary
First half
Argo: Hubert Grele, 17'
Argo: Grele, 19'
Argo: Simon Cicha, 39'
Second half
Downers Grove North: Ben Llewellyn (PK), 79'
Argo's early offense
Trojans continue struggle to find goals in 3-0 loss
By Curt Herron
SUMMIT -- After being shut out in its last three matches and held scoreless in four of its last five, Downers Grove North hoped to generate good scoring opportunities when it played a nonconference match at Argo on Tuesday.
But even though the Argonauts had gone 1-3-1 in their last five matches, which included its worst defensive performance of the season in Monday's 6-1 South Suburban Conference Red Division loss at Shepard, the hosts dug in to defend their home pitch.
Sophomore Hubert Grele scored goals in the 17th and 19th minutes, and senior Simon Cicha knocked one home in the 39th minute to douse their visitor's hopes.
Downers Grove North didn't find a goal until a 79th-minute PK conversion from junior Ben Llewellyn that averted a shutout at Argo Memorial Stadium.
The game was a matchup of the seventh- and eighth-seeds in the upcoming Class 3A Hinsdale Central Sectional. Downers Grove North (4-12-1), the seventh-seed, faces 10-seed Jones at regional host Morton on Oct. 18. The winner will almost certainly get the unenviable task of meeting the fifth-ranked and second-seeded Mustangs in the title match.
Argo (8-7-2) hosts ninth-seed Riverside-Brookfield in its first playoff match Oct. 18. The winner has a probability of meeting top-seeded and fourth-ranked Lyons in the final.
Before then, things don't get much for easier for the Trojans, who close out the regular-season with a match at Hinsdale Central on Thursday, a home contest against St. Francis on Saturday and their final West Suburban Conference Silver Division match at defending Class 3A champion York on Oct. 11.
"We're lacking a bit of confidence in the final third," Trojans coach Mike Schmitt said. "Our build of play is alright. Once we get to the final third, we don't either have an idea of what we're doing or we're just a little bit off.
“We just have to find some confidence to find the back of the net. We have three tough games to help us prepare for the playoffs, and I think that we need to find a way to be competitive in those games. Hopefully we can find our form in the next few games.
"Credit to them. They were the better team for 80 minutes, and they outplayed us in almost every facet. They're a very good team that moves the ball really well, and they have a lot of chemistry.
“They're young, but they're a good young. That's a very talented team that will be good for the next few years."
Downers Grove North competes in one of the state's toughest conferences, the West Suburban Conference Silver Division, which is topped by York, Lyons, and Oak Park and River Forest. The trio rank among the first 15 teams in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
The South Suburban Conference is experiencing one of its best seasons in recent memory with eight of the 12 teams sporting winning records. Red Division squads Oak Lawn, Shepard and Richards all have 13 or more victories.
Argo’s roster has 12 seniors to go along with a combined nine freshmen and sophomores, and four juniors. Although there's a lot of youth on his team, coach Carlos Marquez likes how his squad has competed against their challenging schedule.
"Even last year I was seeing that the conference was getting better and teams were becoming more equal," Marquez said. "I told the kids that we usually were the kings of this conference, like the Yankees or Real Madrid of the conference. But it's changing now and teams are getting better, so we need to bring our 'A' game.
“We kind of have a new group, and I think we only have two returning starters. We have a lot of guys who hadn't played and didn't have varsity experience. But we knew we had talent. Every game that we've played this year has been close in conference, except for yesterday.
"It's always great getting games against Downers Grove North since we know that they play in a tough conference. We know that they're organized and going to be disciplined and a lot of their players are technically good. We knew that we had to test outside of the conference and play teams that are experienced and historically good.
“I thought that we had a good game, especially in the first half. I thought that our biggest issue this year is that we haven't been able to put two good halves together. But as I told the kids tonight after the game, if we can put two good halves together, even though we're young, that we can play with anybody."
Argo had several good chances in the early going but Trojans junior goalkeeper Adi Zaveri turned away shots from sophomore Jose Perez, Grele and Cicha in the first 15 minutes. Argonauts sophomore keeper Xavier Brant denied tries by Downers Grove North senior Max Prince and junior Kerlos Tawadrous.
The hosts took control in the 17th minute when Zaveri came out to try to stop Grele, who placed one in an open net from 30 yards. Just 1 minute, 39 seconds later in the 19th minute, Grele was at it again when he fired off an attempt from 20 yards on a counter attack to quickly give Argo a 2-0 advantage.
"Competition is the number one thing in our conference. Even outside of conference, we always have to play our hearts out on the field," Grele said. "Almost everyone in our conference is equal, and it's whoever wants it more. You always want to be pressuring the ball and do your best on the field. I like our teamwork."
As the first half wound down, the Argonauts continued to apply pressure with Grele sent a header opportunity to Zaveri. But there was little that the Trojans keeper could do in the 39th minute when Cicha received a long pass and then drove toward the net and connected from 25 yards to put the hosts up 3-0 at the break.
Despite trailing by three goals, Downers Grove North came out strong at the start of the final half with Llewellyn, junior Riley Botha and Wilson all applying pressure on Brant. The sides traded good chances over the next stretch as freshman Erber Flores-Fuentes lined a corner kick to the new Trojans goalie, junior Will Barnett. Wilson tried for Downers Grove North’s opener with a free kick that he placed around the wall, but it was topped by a diving save.
After Cicha had a try deflected by a defender and Barnett made a stop on a close shot by Grele, the Trojans had a good opportunity with a free kick from just beyond the top of the box but Botha's effort went a bit high. Argo replied with threatening attempts from senior Luca Guzman, Cicha and Grele, while the Trojans had another good attempt from Danny Graham, whose shot from the side was hauled in.
Just as it looked like the Trojans might go without a goal for a third-straight match, Graham got fouled in the box in the 79th minute, and Llewellyn put in the subsequent penalty. Sophomore Alejandro Alcantara tried to pull Downers Grove North to within a goal in the 80th minute but his shot was headed away by a defender.
"Last year I felt that there was less competition," Argonauts senior Michael Gacek said of the South Suburban Conference. "But now almost every team is equal, so you go into a game and you don't know what to expect. When we face a better team, we always get pumped up so we can beat them.
“I like our teamwork and how we all talk to each other, and not just about soccer, and also outside of school. We're like a family."
Starting lineups
Downers Grove North
GK: Adi Zaveri
D: Sean Eber
D: Will Beatty
D: Bradley Szydlowski
D: Tomislaw Petkovski
MF: Aldo Velazquez
MF: Ryan Wilson
MF: Max Prince
MF: James Harkness
F: Kerlos Tawadrous
F: Ben Llewellyn
Argo
GK: Xavier Brant
D: Jose Pepe Orozco
D: Mohammad Hasan
D: Michael Gacek
D: Andy Fonseca
MF: David Soria
MF: Krystof Cicha
MF: Luca Guzman
MF: Jose Perez
F: Simon Cicha
F: Hubert Grele
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Hubert Grele, so., F, Argo
Scoring summary
First half
Argo: Hubert Grele, 17'
Argo: Grele, 19'
Argo: Simon Cicha, 39'
Second half
Downers Grove North: Ben Llewellyn (PK), 79'