Quick lead propels AT into regional semis
5-2 victory over Elk Grove sets up rematch with third-seeded York
By Mike Garofola
ADDISON -- Osbaldo Murillo scored twice, and David Zielinski helped 0n two others as 13th-seeded Addison Trail (6-11-4) secured a spot in Tuesday's Glenbard East Regional semifinal with a 5-2 victory Monday afternoon over Elk Grove at Blazers Stadium.
The Blazers quickly took control of the 19th-seeded Grenadiers (1-12-2). Brian Hernandez drove in the team's 4th-minute opener that gave the home side the exact type of start it had hoped for after waiting two days after rain washed away this play-in game's orginal date Saturday.
"I think we were all nervous at the start, and it showed in some very sloppy play from all of us, but once we scored that second one, we started to play much better soccer for the rest of the half, and after the break," said junior Melvin Mora, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match for his efforts.
"Yes, I agree (we) looked and played a little nervous at the start -- maybe because we had such a great warm-up on Saturday, and seemed really ready to go at the time (so) maybe the layoff kind of got into our heads. We just weren't very sharp from the opening whistle," said Blazers manager Ryan Dini.
The visitors gave up a tough early goal to the Blazers when Hernandez sent in a long-ball from near the mid-line that had enough height and pace to elude the outstretched gloves of Grens keeper Sean Martinez, who gave it a good effort but was unable to reach the attempt.
Elk Grove came back into the game nicely after the goal, thanks in part to its talented senior captain Misa Contreras, who was the engine in the Grens attack. He also provided plenty of pressure in the middle of the park and up-top, where Luis Godines and Brandon Lazcano-Llanos added pace and a nice work rate to trouble the Blazers in their own end.
"That's the thing about this team, (we're) very young, and have a lot of inexperience on the varsity level, but they never stop working (which) is something you saw here today when right up until the final whistle. The guys were still playing hard," said a proud Alex Stavropoulos, the Grens first-year manager.
Both clubs traded a handful of corners, deep throws and half-chances all throughout the first quarter hour, but it was the visitors who still enjoyed most of the play.
"Our touch and possession were really off in the first half," said Mora. "We fought our way through it until we got that second goal."
Free kick specialist Martin Juarez unloaded a wicked 30-yard blast on frame in the 19th minute, but on the way in it was redirected by the Grens sturdy wall making it easier for Martinez to save.
On the other end, Contreras' had the same opportunity, and almost from the same spot as his opponent. His curling effort bent around the Addison Trail wall and right into the hands of keeper Sam Sandoval, who split time with Jean Avila between the sticks for Dini.
Addison Trail answered when a nifty heal flick by Christian Garcia helped put Murillo through up the flank. He immediately connected with Luis Saucedo, who was on the tail end of his run.
The senior sent a lovely ball through the six-yard box -- unfortunately for the Blazers, not a player could be found on the other end.
Three minutes later the Blazers doubled their advantage.
That's when a terrific individual effort by Zielinski split the Grens box wide open. It started when the senior tricked his way past two defenders to the endline. From there he placed an inch-perfect ball onto the foot of Murillo, who was racing towards the near post.
The senior finished the other way with a marvelous first touch to make it 2-0 in the 27th minute.
"That was a bad first goal we conceded, but the second one was outstanding, and one that we couldn't do anything about," said Stavropoulos.
The Grens nearly halved the deficit on two occasions: once before the intermission on a well struck shot from Contreras which veered wide; the second came on a try from Paul Jonas after the break.
Moments later, Addison Trail extended its lead. Mora drove up the left side using his speed and brute strength, and played quickly to Saucedo, who did a fine job keeping the ball in the mix.
His effort saw the ball spill freely into the six-yard box, where an all-too-happy Alexis Delapaz slotted his shot under a helpless Martinez for a 3-0 lead.
"Once we picked up our play and pace, we began to play much like we did against Mt. Carmel two Saturday's ago (in an upset 1-0 win). So it was good to see us get back to that level for awhile today," offered Zielinski, who wore the captains armband for Dini on this day.
To the credit of Elk Grove, which supported its manager's words, the Grens did not fold up and close shop after the Blazers third goal. Instead the youthful side responded by pulling one back six minutes after the Delapaz goal.
"It's been the great senior leadership from players such as Contreras, Oscar Gonzalez and the three other seniors who have led the way for the young guys," said Stavropoulos.
"Although I am sorry to see them go, their effort and work rate will show the way for next year and beyond. Today they helped us fight our way back into the game."
Lazcano-Llanos reduced the Addison Trail lead to 3-1 in the 52nd minute when his side-footed one timer beat Avila, who watched Contreras' initial attempt graze the bar before falling to his Lazcano-LLanos in close.
A rather harsh decision to send Lazcano-Llanos off forced the Grens to play a man down for the final 21 minutes. With Dini's men now smelling blood, it was only a matter of time before they added to the scoreline.
"While it's true Brandon used bad language near the referee, he didn't direct it at our opponent, or at the officials, so we felt he could have been given a good talking to, and booked with a yellow, instead of that straight red," suggested Stavropoulos afterwards.
Zielinski was at it again with some outstanding preliminary work that forced Martinez off his line and was completed by Christian Garcia with a sublime touch past Martinez in the 63rd minute.
Elk Grove's Contreras made it 4-2 when he converted his spot-kick in the 73rd minute, before Addison Trail's Murillo put the icing on the victory cake two minutes from time.
"Now we get another chance at York," echoed both Mora and Zielinski of their game with the no. 3 seed, who late last month defeated the Blazers 2-1.
"When the state pairings came out, and we saw their was a chance to play them once again, we all knew if we continued to play well, we would have an opportunity for revenge against them," said Zielinski.
"I really feel that (knowing) we could play York tomorrow had some effect on the way we came out today. In the end, we got the result we needed, and now we have the chance to avenge that one-goal loss that we suffered (here) in our own stadium," said Dini.
The Blazers will meet the Dukes (12-8-0) at the Glenbard East Regional at 4:30 p.m. in Lombard.
"I'm not worried about us playing back-to-back games," Dini said. "(The) last time we did, we lost to state power Morton (2-1 Oct. 11) then came back the next day and drew with Hinsdale Central 2-2, and played great in both games. So I know we'll be fine tomorrow as long as we come out a little stronger than we did today." \
Starting lineups
Elk Grove (4-4-2 starting formation)
GK- Sean Martinez
D- Alex Pillath
D- Oscar Gonzalez
D- Hector Torrez
D- Alex Martinez
M- Nazar Peron
M- Misa Contreras
M- Adi Keserovic
M- Paul Jonas
F- Brandon Lazcano-Llanos
F- Luis Godines
Addison Trail (3-1-4-2)
GK- Sam Sandoval
D- Victor Rodriguez
D- Eduardo Huerta
D- Angel Flores
M- Matthew Moran
M- Christian Garcia
M- Martin Juarez
M- Luis Silva
M- David Zielinski
F- Osbaldo Murillo
F- Melvin Mora
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Melvin Mora, jr., MF/F, Addison Trail
Referee: Lon Saucier
Scoring Summary
Addison Trail
Hernandez (U/A) 4'
Murillo (Zielinski) 27'
Delapaz (Saucedo, Mora) 46'
Christian Garcia (Rodriguez, Zielinski) 63'
Murillo (Villegas) 78'
Elk Grove
Lazcano-Llanos (Contreras, Godines) 52'
Contreras (PK) 73'
5-2 victory over Elk Grove sets up rematch with third-seeded York
By Mike Garofola
ADDISON -- Osbaldo Murillo scored twice, and David Zielinski helped 0n two others as 13th-seeded Addison Trail (6-11-4) secured a spot in Tuesday's Glenbard East Regional semifinal with a 5-2 victory Monday afternoon over Elk Grove at Blazers Stadium.
The Blazers quickly took control of the 19th-seeded Grenadiers (1-12-2). Brian Hernandez drove in the team's 4th-minute opener that gave the home side the exact type of start it had hoped for after waiting two days after rain washed away this play-in game's orginal date Saturday.
"I think we were all nervous at the start, and it showed in some very sloppy play from all of us, but once we scored that second one, we started to play much better soccer for the rest of the half, and after the break," said junior Melvin Mora, who was named Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match for his efforts.
"Yes, I agree (we) looked and played a little nervous at the start -- maybe because we had such a great warm-up on Saturday, and seemed really ready to go at the time (so) maybe the layoff kind of got into our heads. We just weren't very sharp from the opening whistle," said Blazers manager Ryan Dini.
The visitors gave up a tough early goal to the Blazers when Hernandez sent in a long-ball from near the mid-line that had enough height and pace to elude the outstretched gloves of Grens keeper Sean Martinez, who gave it a good effort but was unable to reach the attempt.
Elk Grove came back into the game nicely after the goal, thanks in part to its talented senior captain Misa Contreras, who was the engine in the Grens attack. He also provided plenty of pressure in the middle of the park and up-top, where Luis Godines and Brandon Lazcano-Llanos added pace and a nice work rate to trouble the Blazers in their own end.
"That's the thing about this team, (we're) very young, and have a lot of inexperience on the varsity level, but they never stop working (which) is something you saw here today when right up until the final whistle. The guys were still playing hard," said a proud Alex Stavropoulos, the Grens first-year manager.
Both clubs traded a handful of corners, deep throws and half-chances all throughout the first quarter hour, but it was the visitors who still enjoyed most of the play.
"Our touch and possession were really off in the first half," said Mora. "We fought our way through it until we got that second goal."
Free kick specialist Martin Juarez unloaded a wicked 30-yard blast on frame in the 19th minute, but on the way in it was redirected by the Grens sturdy wall making it easier for Martinez to save.
On the other end, Contreras' had the same opportunity, and almost from the same spot as his opponent. His curling effort bent around the Addison Trail wall and right into the hands of keeper Sam Sandoval, who split time with Jean Avila between the sticks for Dini.
Addison Trail answered when a nifty heal flick by Christian Garcia helped put Murillo through up the flank. He immediately connected with Luis Saucedo, who was on the tail end of his run.
The senior sent a lovely ball through the six-yard box -- unfortunately for the Blazers, not a player could be found on the other end.
Three minutes later the Blazers doubled their advantage.
That's when a terrific individual effort by Zielinski split the Grens box wide open. It started when the senior tricked his way past two defenders to the endline. From there he placed an inch-perfect ball onto the foot of Murillo, who was racing towards the near post.
The senior finished the other way with a marvelous first touch to make it 2-0 in the 27th minute.
"That was a bad first goal we conceded, but the second one was outstanding, and one that we couldn't do anything about," said Stavropoulos.
The Grens nearly halved the deficit on two occasions: once before the intermission on a well struck shot from Contreras which veered wide; the second came on a try from Paul Jonas after the break.
Moments later, Addison Trail extended its lead. Mora drove up the left side using his speed and brute strength, and played quickly to Saucedo, who did a fine job keeping the ball in the mix.
His effort saw the ball spill freely into the six-yard box, where an all-too-happy Alexis Delapaz slotted his shot under a helpless Martinez for a 3-0 lead.
"Once we picked up our play and pace, we began to play much like we did against Mt. Carmel two Saturday's ago (in an upset 1-0 win). So it was good to see us get back to that level for awhile today," offered Zielinski, who wore the captains armband for Dini on this day.
To the credit of Elk Grove, which supported its manager's words, the Grens did not fold up and close shop after the Blazers third goal. Instead the youthful side responded by pulling one back six minutes after the Delapaz goal.
"It's been the great senior leadership from players such as Contreras, Oscar Gonzalez and the three other seniors who have led the way for the young guys," said Stavropoulos.
"Although I am sorry to see them go, their effort and work rate will show the way for next year and beyond. Today they helped us fight our way back into the game."
Lazcano-Llanos reduced the Addison Trail lead to 3-1 in the 52nd minute when his side-footed one timer beat Avila, who watched Contreras' initial attempt graze the bar before falling to his Lazcano-LLanos in close.
A rather harsh decision to send Lazcano-Llanos off forced the Grens to play a man down for the final 21 minutes. With Dini's men now smelling blood, it was only a matter of time before they added to the scoreline.
"While it's true Brandon used bad language near the referee, he didn't direct it at our opponent, or at the officials, so we felt he could have been given a good talking to, and booked with a yellow, instead of that straight red," suggested Stavropoulos afterwards.
Zielinski was at it again with some outstanding preliminary work that forced Martinez off his line and was completed by Christian Garcia with a sublime touch past Martinez in the 63rd minute.
Elk Grove's Contreras made it 4-2 when he converted his spot-kick in the 73rd minute, before Addison Trail's Murillo put the icing on the victory cake two minutes from time.
"Now we get another chance at York," echoed both Mora and Zielinski of their game with the no. 3 seed, who late last month defeated the Blazers 2-1.
"When the state pairings came out, and we saw their was a chance to play them once again, we all knew if we continued to play well, we would have an opportunity for revenge against them," said Zielinski.
"I really feel that (knowing) we could play York tomorrow had some effect on the way we came out today. In the end, we got the result we needed, and now we have the chance to avenge that one-goal loss that we suffered (here) in our own stadium," said Dini.
The Blazers will meet the Dukes (12-8-0) at the Glenbard East Regional at 4:30 p.m. in Lombard.
"I'm not worried about us playing back-to-back games," Dini said. "(The) last time we did, we lost to state power Morton (2-1 Oct. 11) then came back the next day and drew with Hinsdale Central 2-2, and played great in both games. So I know we'll be fine tomorrow as long as we come out a little stronger than we did today." \
Starting lineups
Elk Grove (4-4-2 starting formation)
GK- Sean Martinez
D- Alex Pillath
D- Oscar Gonzalez
D- Hector Torrez
D- Alex Martinez
M- Nazar Peron
M- Misa Contreras
M- Adi Keserovic
M- Paul Jonas
F- Brandon Lazcano-Llanos
F- Luis Godines
Addison Trail (3-1-4-2)
GK- Sam Sandoval
D- Victor Rodriguez
D- Eduardo Huerta
D- Angel Flores
M- Matthew Moran
M- Christian Garcia
M- Martin Juarez
M- Luis Silva
M- David Zielinski
F- Osbaldo Murillo
F- Melvin Mora
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Melvin Mora, jr., MF/F, Addison Trail
Referee: Lon Saucier
Scoring Summary
Addison Trail
Hernandez (U/A) 4'
Murillo (Zielinski) 27'
Delapaz (Saucedo, Mora) 46'
Christian Garcia (Rodriguez, Zielinski) 63'
Murillo (Villegas) 78'
Elk Grove
Lazcano-Llanos (Contreras, Godines) 52'
Contreras (PK) 73'