Metea Valley doesn't mind
the wait, tops Downers Grove North
Mustangs earn chance to defend St. Charles Inv. title with 2-1 win
By Jared Birchfield
ST. CHARLES – Officials at the St. Charles Invitational match between Downers Grove North and Metea Valley did their best to keep the game on schedule Thursday at St. Charles North.
The final pool play contest between the two teams was set to start at 5 p.m. followed by a 7 p.m. match between the tournament co-host North Stars and Leyden.
Due to bus issues, Downers Grove North did not pull into St. Charles North’s parking lot until 5 p.m. The Trojans warmup was cut to 15 minutes, no starting lineup introductions were made and the teams only had a five-minute break between the halves in an effort to end the match on time.
Despite the time-saving efforts, it appeared the contest might end in a shootout that would delay the next match. Metea Valley and North were locked in a 1-1 tie from the 19th minute into the 72nd minute.
But with only eight minutes left on the clock, Metea Valley lifted the schedule-maker’s mood when Colin Bastianoni found the back of the net for his fourth goal of the tournament for a 2-1 win.
With the result, unranked Metea Valley (3-0-0) earned the right to defend its title Saturday against St. Charles East (5-0-0), which is listed second in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The match is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Charles North.
The Mustangs repelled several Downers Grove North attempts on set pieces to tie the game late. The best opportunity came on a free kick from just outside the penalty box at the 3:26 mark of the half. The attempt cleared the wall of Metea Valley defenders but went wide of the goal.
The Mustangs needed double overtime to win the 2019 tournament title 2-1 over St. Charles North. Due to COVID-19, last year’s tournament was not held.
Downers Grove North (1-2-0) squares off with Wheaton Academy (1-2-0) in the fifth place match at 2 p.m. Saturday at St. Chares East.
Mustang coach Josh Robinson summed up his team’s play in one word – “gritty.”
“We didn't play our best soccer today. Credit to Downers Grove (North coach) Mike (Schmitt), who's a dear friend of mine, who instills the hard work in the team.,” Robinson said. “Credit to them. I don't think we played bad, I think they made it difficult for us to play the way we wanted to play.
“It’s not fair to say we didn't play well. They played hard, and it caused some fits. There was little flow to the game.”
The Mustangs coach also believed the match’s importance impacted the players.
“When there's a final on the line, the kids are a little more cautious, a little more nervous,” he said.
Downers Grove North was left to wonder “What If” after the game.
“We played pretty well with them. They are pretty technical and hardworking,” Schmitt said. “We tried to match that intensity, and that worked great.
“We were pretty unlucky on the last goal. We had chances to clear the ball, and we couldn't get it out. It's just an unfortunate way to lose the game after battling for so long and staying level with them.”
The Trojans took a 1-0 lead at the 25:55 mark of the first half. Junior forward Jack Ryan’s shot from the right side of the penalty box got past both goalkeeper Oscar Mejia and defender Julian Ordaz, hit the left post and rolled to the back of the net.
The lead held for four minutes.
After a feed from Bastianoni, Metea Valley junior Daniel Wilkinson got past the defense and booted the ball to the right of keeper Drew Matune for the tie.
Downers Grove North just missed a chance to retake the lead halfway through the first half on a Jose Perez corner kick. The senior’s skyed the boot which was caught by Mejia.
Metea Valley’s play improved in the second half.
“Second half, our midfielders started getting through and getting behind North’s defense, which I think changed the dynamic of the game and made it more intense.” Robinson said. “First half we weren't doing a really good job of getting guys through. Second half, our mids did a really good job getting through, and that opened up the game.
“(Midfielder) Riley (McCann) had a great game today. He organized the midfield. He was the one kid who actually organized and distributed the ball.”
The junior, playing his first varsity season, earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his midfield management.
He was blunt in his post-game assessment.
“It's probably the worst soccer we played the season, but we got the win,” said the junior. “After the halftime talk, I thought we started playing better. “We started finding our target forward and dropping it in the back.”.
Metea Valley’s defense also stepped it up in the final 40 minutes.
“Defensively, our first half was a little flat. In the second half we got a lot more organized and played like we did in the first couple of games,” said Robinson. “Our guys worked really hard to win some balls defensively.
“(Defender) Aiden (Pufundt) played great today.”
The senior first-year varsity player concurred with his coach’s first half review.
“The first half was a little flat. We definitely could work on that,” said Pufundt. “When the second half came around, we did better. We adjusted mid game. The coaches suggested that we really should talk to each other in the backline, so we concentrated on our communication.”
Bastianoni broke away from a scrum of players in front of the net to score the game-winning goal.
“We handled everything that they thew at us, and we were kind of pushing for a late winner,” said Schmitt. “We got caught out and couldn't get the ball out of our own box.”
“Offensively I think we're just missing that final ball. Instead of taking an extra touch, we are shooting or instead of taking an extra touch we are crossing.
“We're trying to do a little too much in the final third instead of finding that end product in the net.”
“Midfield, I thought we did a pretty decent job of winning challenges. It's just a matter of keeping possession which I think we could have done a better job of doing. Defensively, we matched up with them pretty well.”
Schmitt also had to deal with the area-wide shortage of bus drivers.
“It's definitely an issue. We had a lot of teams today, sitting around waiting for buses,” said Schmitt. “The bus didn't show up until 4 p.m., and it's a 50-minute drive to here.”
Starting lineups
Downers Grove North
GK: Drew Matune
D: Kyle Miller
D: Jose Perez
D: Owen Lesley
D: Bradley Szydlowski
M: Jackson Irby
M: Ryan Wilson
M: Nicholas O’Shea
M: Ben Llewellyn
F: Max Prince
F: Jack Ryan
Metea Valley
G: Oscar Mejia
D: Aiden Pufundt
D: Julian Ordaz
D: Tyler Grosskopf
D: Luke Strepacki
M: Bartosz Chmielewski
M: Riley McCann
M: Alex Palacios
F: Daniel Wilkinson
F: Ethan Danehl
F: Colin Bastianoni
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Riley McCann, jr., MF, Metea Valley
Scoring summary
First half
DGN – Jack Ryan (unassisted), 15th minute
MV – Daniel Wilkinson (Bastianoni), 19th minute
Second half
MV – Colin Bastianoni (unassisted), 72nd minute
the wait, tops Downers Grove North
Mustangs earn chance to defend St. Charles Inv. title with 2-1 win
By Jared Birchfield
ST. CHARLES – Officials at the St. Charles Invitational match between Downers Grove North and Metea Valley did their best to keep the game on schedule Thursday at St. Charles North.
The final pool play contest between the two teams was set to start at 5 p.m. followed by a 7 p.m. match between the tournament co-host North Stars and Leyden.
Due to bus issues, Downers Grove North did not pull into St. Charles North’s parking lot until 5 p.m. The Trojans warmup was cut to 15 minutes, no starting lineup introductions were made and the teams only had a five-minute break between the halves in an effort to end the match on time.
Despite the time-saving efforts, it appeared the contest might end in a shootout that would delay the next match. Metea Valley and North were locked in a 1-1 tie from the 19th minute into the 72nd minute.
But with only eight minutes left on the clock, Metea Valley lifted the schedule-maker’s mood when Colin Bastianoni found the back of the net for his fourth goal of the tournament for a 2-1 win.
With the result, unranked Metea Valley (3-0-0) earned the right to defend its title Saturday against St. Charles East (5-0-0), which is listed second in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The match is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Charles North.
The Mustangs repelled several Downers Grove North attempts on set pieces to tie the game late. The best opportunity came on a free kick from just outside the penalty box at the 3:26 mark of the half. The attempt cleared the wall of Metea Valley defenders but went wide of the goal.
The Mustangs needed double overtime to win the 2019 tournament title 2-1 over St. Charles North. Due to COVID-19, last year’s tournament was not held.
Downers Grove North (1-2-0) squares off with Wheaton Academy (1-2-0) in the fifth place match at 2 p.m. Saturday at St. Chares East.
Mustang coach Josh Robinson summed up his team’s play in one word – “gritty.”
“We didn't play our best soccer today. Credit to Downers Grove (North coach) Mike (Schmitt), who's a dear friend of mine, who instills the hard work in the team.,” Robinson said. “Credit to them. I don't think we played bad, I think they made it difficult for us to play the way we wanted to play.
“It’s not fair to say we didn't play well. They played hard, and it caused some fits. There was little flow to the game.”
The Mustangs coach also believed the match’s importance impacted the players.
“When there's a final on the line, the kids are a little more cautious, a little more nervous,” he said.
Downers Grove North was left to wonder “What If” after the game.
“We played pretty well with them. They are pretty technical and hardworking,” Schmitt said. “We tried to match that intensity, and that worked great.
“We were pretty unlucky on the last goal. We had chances to clear the ball, and we couldn't get it out. It's just an unfortunate way to lose the game after battling for so long and staying level with them.”
The Trojans took a 1-0 lead at the 25:55 mark of the first half. Junior forward Jack Ryan’s shot from the right side of the penalty box got past both goalkeeper Oscar Mejia and defender Julian Ordaz, hit the left post and rolled to the back of the net.
The lead held for four minutes.
After a feed from Bastianoni, Metea Valley junior Daniel Wilkinson got past the defense and booted the ball to the right of keeper Drew Matune for the tie.
Downers Grove North just missed a chance to retake the lead halfway through the first half on a Jose Perez corner kick. The senior’s skyed the boot which was caught by Mejia.
Metea Valley’s play improved in the second half.
“Second half, our midfielders started getting through and getting behind North’s defense, which I think changed the dynamic of the game and made it more intense.” Robinson said. “First half we weren't doing a really good job of getting guys through. Second half, our mids did a really good job getting through, and that opened up the game.
“(Midfielder) Riley (McCann) had a great game today. He organized the midfield. He was the one kid who actually organized and distributed the ball.”
The junior, playing his first varsity season, earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his midfield management.
He was blunt in his post-game assessment.
“It's probably the worst soccer we played the season, but we got the win,” said the junior. “After the halftime talk, I thought we started playing better. “We started finding our target forward and dropping it in the back.”.
Metea Valley’s defense also stepped it up in the final 40 minutes.
“Defensively, our first half was a little flat. In the second half we got a lot more organized and played like we did in the first couple of games,” said Robinson. “Our guys worked really hard to win some balls defensively.
“(Defender) Aiden (Pufundt) played great today.”
The senior first-year varsity player concurred with his coach’s first half review.
“The first half was a little flat. We definitely could work on that,” said Pufundt. “When the second half came around, we did better. We adjusted mid game. The coaches suggested that we really should talk to each other in the backline, so we concentrated on our communication.”
Bastianoni broke away from a scrum of players in front of the net to score the game-winning goal.
“We handled everything that they thew at us, and we were kind of pushing for a late winner,” said Schmitt. “We got caught out and couldn't get the ball out of our own box.”
“Offensively I think we're just missing that final ball. Instead of taking an extra touch, we are shooting or instead of taking an extra touch we are crossing.
“We're trying to do a little too much in the final third instead of finding that end product in the net.”
“Midfield, I thought we did a pretty decent job of winning challenges. It's just a matter of keeping possession which I think we could have done a better job of doing. Defensively, we matched up with them pretty well.”
Schmitt also had to deal with the area-wide shortage of bus drivers.
“It's definitely an issue. We had a lot of teams today, sitting around waiting for buses,” said Schmitt. “The bus didn't show up until 4 p.m., and it's a 50-minute drive to here.”
Starting lineups
Downers Grove North
GK: Drew Matune
D: Kyle Miller
D: Jose Perez
D: Owen Lesley
D: Bradley Szydlowski
M: Jackson Irby
M: Ryan Wilson
M: Nicholas O’Shea
M: Ben Llewellyn
F: Max Prince
F: Jack Ryan
Metea Valley
G: Oscar Mejia
D: Aiden Pufundt
D: Julian Ordaz
D: Tyler Grosskopf
D: Luke Strepacki
M: Bartosz Chmielewski
M: Riley McCann
M: Alex Palacios
F: Daniel Wilkinson
F: Ethan Danehl
F: Colin Bastianoni
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Riley McCann, jr., MF, Metea Valley
Scoring summary
First half
DGN – Jack Ryan (unassisted), 15th minute
MV – Daniel Wilkinson (Bastianoni), 19th minute
Second half
MV – Colin Bastianoni (unassisted), 72nd minute