Downers Grove North tops
East Aurora for 3rd-straight win
Bednar, Karrow goals lift Trojans to 2-0 score
By Matt Le Cren
PLAINFIELD – Goalkeeper Gavin Crowson and his Downers Grove North teammates didn’t open their season until Labor Day, a full week later than many teams began play.
After a slow start, the Trojans have worked their way back to the .500 mark in their sixth game. The weather has remained warm well into September and now they are heating up, too.
Crowson stopped a pair of breakaways to record his first full-game shutout of the season, and Peter Bednar and Alessandro Karrow both scored on rebounds Saturday to power Downers North past East Aurora 2-0 in the opening pool play round at the Plainfield Classic.
The Trojans (3-3-0) are gaining confidence.
“(The win) raises it a ton,” Bednar said. “We’ve got three wins in a row, so it looks like we’re turning it around.
“We started off 0-3-0, obviously. This is kind of our turning point.”
What has been the key? Game experience, for one. Another is some crafty lineup changes by Downers North coach Mike Schmitt.
“We’ve moved a couple people around into different positions to kind of shore up our defensive play,” Schmitt said. “Our first couple games were against really tough teams – St. Charles North and Leyden.
“(We faced) a lot of offensive pressure, so I think we’ve been focusing on defense. I think we’re moving in the right direction.”
Junior Sam Bull, a three-year starter, has moved from forward to the backline, where he played at left back two years ago.
“We needed something a little more solid in the back because we’d been giving away too many goals,” Schmitt said. “He’s been doing a really good job for us the last few games.”
Bull joined with Ryan Padovani, Owen Lesley and Brian Benton to stifle East Aurora’s attack. The Tomcats (1-5-2) feature some quick players up-top, but they weren’t able to sustain much offense.
“We’re doing a lot better at playing for each other and blocking shots,” Crowson said. “They probably only had one or two actual shots, besides breakaways.
“Then our dead-ball tracking has gotten a lot better. I think they only got one header off of a cross or a corner. Other than that, everything was (cleared) out.”
Crowson came up big in a pair of hair-rising moments. The breakaways were East Aurora’s best chances and came with the Trojans leading 1-0 in the 28th minute.
Tomcats captain Giovanni Villegas sprung fellow senior Adrian Ferrer into space with a perfectly played pass up the middle. But Crowson reacted quickly, rushing out to cut down the angle and blocking Ferrer’s attempt from just beyond the penalty spot.
The ball was partially cleared before Villegas sent the rebound wide of the left post from 20 yards.
“Gavin played a fantastic game today, really saved us on those breakaways,” Schmitt said. “He was probably the guy who saved our backs for most of this game.”
Crowson gets a thrill from facing a breakaway. He’s particularly confident when the play is coming straight at him, as it was with Ferrer’s attempt.
“A lot of it was the angle,” Crowson said. “Whenever there is a breakaway, that’s one of my favorite angles.
“I just try to bait them to try to go far post and then just make myself as big as possible and then hope for the best.”
Conversely, Downers North’s offensive-minded players realize that hope is not a strategy and that even set pieces require mental fortitude as well as physical toughness.
The Trojans demonstrated that by scoring both of their goals after the Tomcats initially rejected their restarts.
Bednar got the first goal, his second of the year. His corner kick from the left side was booted out of the box by a defender, but the ball came right back to him near the top left corner of the box. From there he ripped a right-footed shot from 16 yards through traffic and inside the right post past diving goalkeeper Gustavo Lazcano. After just 2:39, Downers Grove North had the lead.
It was the first shot of the game and set the tone for what was to come.
North began the second half in similar fashion, doubling the lead 3:29 after intermission. This time Trygve Hansen teed up a 27-yard free kick that was ticketed for the upper left corner before Lazcano made a great leaping save.
But Lazcano was unable to catch the ball, and it bounced out to Karrow, who beat Lazcano on the rebound.
“We put a little bit more into the game, and we’re playing a little bit more heads-up, finding those opportunities that we don’t normally find if we’re not playing with our heads in the game,” Schmitt noted. “Those were two really good opportunities that forced a save on the keeper, it popped out, and we were able to recover it.”
Bednar said that’s been a point of emphasis.
“When we get those opportunities we really try to (focus) and make sure we get something out of it, especially on the pop-outs,” Bednar said. “We know there will be chances, so we were able to follow up today and get those goals today without the run of play. So that was important.”
Now the Trojans’ fitness level will get a stern test. North plays four games in six days next week – three more games at the Plainfield Classic, starting with Monday’s match against St. Francis, and a West Suburban Conference Silver Division game at Glenbard West on Tuesday.
“Initially it was pretty hard because other teams had a lot of games in, so we were missing (that match experience),” Bednar said. “Now we’ve got to make sure we keep our legs healthy, make sure we can end the games quickly so we don’t have to be too tired, and go from there.”
Starting lineups
Downers Grove North
GK Gavin Crowson
D Ryan Padovani
D Owen Lesley
D Sam Bull
D Brian Benton
M Peter Bednar
M Alessandro Karrow
M Trygve Hansen
F Mason Roberts
F Eddie Ursulica
F Aidan Flores
East Aurora
GK Gustavo Lazcano
D Jesus Nicacio
D Ulysses Cepeda
D Gabriel Gutierrez
M Yahir Gonzalez
M Frede Suarez
M Josmar Ramirez
M Roman Hernandez
F Jose Sanchez
F Giovanni Villegas
F Giovanny Perez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Gavin Crowson, jr., GK, Downers Grove North
Scoring summary
First half
Downers North – Peter Bednar 37:21
Second half
Downers North – Alessandro Karrow 36:31
East Aurora for 3rd-straight win
Bednar, Karrow goals lift Trojans to 2-0 score
By Matt Le Cren
PLAINFIELD – Goalkeeper Gavin Crowson and his Downers Grove North teammates didn’t open their season until Labor Day, a full week later than many teams began play.
After a slow start, the Trojans have worked their way back to the .500 mark in their sixth game. The weather has remained warm well into September and now they are heating up, too.
Crowson stopped a pair of breakaways to record his first full-game shutout of the season, and Peter Bednar and Alessandro Karrow both scored on rebounds Saturday to power Downers North past East Aurora 2-0 in the opening pool play round at the Plainfield Classic.
The Trojans (3-3-0) are gaining confidence.
“(The win) raises it a ton,” Bednar said. “We’ve got three wins in a row, so it looks like we’re turning it around.
“We started off 0-3-0, obviously. This is kind of our turning point.”
What has been the key? Game experience, for one. Another is some crafty lineup changes by Downers North coach Mike Schmitt.
“We’ve moved a couple people around into different positions to kind of shore up our defensive play,” Schmitt said. “Our first couple games were against really tough teams – St. Charles North and Leyden.
“(We faced) a lot of offensive pressure, so I think we’ve been focusing on defense. I think we’re moving in the right direction.”
Junior Sam Bull, a three-year starter, has moved from forward to the backline, where he played at left back two years ago.
“We needed something a little more solid in the back because we’d been giving away too many goals,” Schmitt said. “He’s been doing a really good job for us the last few games.”
Bull joined with Ryan Padovani, Owen Lesley and Brian Benton to stifle East Aurora’s attack. The Tomcats (1-5-2) feature some quick players up-top, but they weren’t able to sustain much offense.
“We’re doing a lot better at playing for each other and blocking shots,” Crowson said. “They probably only had one or two actual shots, besides breakaways.
“Then our dead-ball tracking has gotten a lot better. I think they only got one header off of a cross or a corner. Other than that, everything was (cleared) out.”
Crowson came up big in a pair of hair-rising moments. The breakaways were East Aurora’s best chances and came with the Trojans leading 1-0 in the 28th minute.
Tomcats captain Giovanni Villegas sprung fellow senior Adrian Ferrer into space with a perfectly played pass up the middle. But Crowson reacted quickly, rushing out to cut down the angle and blocking Ferrer’s attempt from just beyond the penalty spot.
The ball was partially cleared before Villegas sent the rebound wide of the left post from 20 yards.
“Gavin played a fantastic game today, really saved us on those breakaways,” Schmitt said. “He was probably the guy who saved our backs for most of this game.”
Crowson gets a thrill from facing a breakaway. He’s particularly confident when the play is coming straight at him, as it was with Ferrer’s attempt.
“A lot of it was the angle,” Crowson said. “Whenever there is a breakaway, that’s one of my favorite angles.
“I just try to bait them to try to go far post and then just make myself as big as possible and then hope for the best.”
Conversely, Downers North’s offensive-minded players realize that hope is not a strategy and that even set pieces require mental fortitude as well as physical toughness.
The Trojans demonstrated that by scoring both of their goals after the Tomcats initially rejected their restarts.
Bednar got the first goal, his second of the year. His corner kick from the left side was booted out of the box by a defender, but the ball came right back to him near the top left corner of the box. From there he ripped a right-footed shot from 16 yards through traffic and inside the right post past diving goalkeeper Gustavo Lazcano. After just 2:39, Downers Grove North had the lead.
It was the first shot of the game and set the tone for what was to come.
North began the second half in similar fashion, doubling the lead 3:29 after intermission. This time Trygve Hansen teed up a 27-yard free kick that was ticketed for the upper left corner before Lazcano made a great leaping save.
But Lazcano was unable to catch the ball, and it bounced out to Karrow, who beat Lazcano on the rebound.
“We put a little bit more into the game, and we’re playing a little bit more heads-up, finding those opportunities that we don’t normally find if we’re not playing with our heads in the game,” Schmitt noted. “Those were two really good opportunities that forced a save on the keeper, it popped out, and we were able to recover it.”
Bednar said that’s been a point of emphasis.
“When we get those opportunities we really try to (focus) and make sure we get something out of it, especially on the pop-outs,” Bednar said. “We know there will be chances, so we were able to follow up today and get those goals today without the run of play. So that was important.”
Now the Trojans’ fitness level will get a stern test. North plays four games in six days next week – three more games at the Plainfield Classic, starting with Monday’s match against St. Francis, and a West Suburban Conference Silver Division game at Glenbard West on Tuesday.
“Initially it was pretty hard because other teams had a lot of games in, so we were missing (that match experience),” Bednar said. “Now we’ve got to make sure we keep our legs healthy, make sure we can end the games quickly so we don’t have to be too tired, and go from there.”
Starting lineups
Downers Grove North
GK Gavin Crowson
D Ryan Padovani
D Owen Lesley
D Sam Bull
D Brian Benton
M Peter Bednar
M Alessandro Karrow
M Trygve Hansen
F Mason Roberts
F Eddie Ursulica
F Aidan Flores
East Aurora
GK Gustavo Lazcano
D Jesus Nicacio
D Ulysses Cepeda
D Gabriel Gutierrez
M Yahir Gonzalez
M Frede Suarez
M Josmar Ramirez
M Roman Hernandez
F Jose Sanchez
F Giovanni Villegas
F Giovanny Perez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Gavin Crowson, jr., GK, Downers Grove North
Scoring summary
First half
Downers North – Peter Bednar 37:21
Second half
Downers North – Alessandro Karrow 36:31