Szumski's 'world-class strike'
leads Hersey past EG, hot GK Mroz
Host Huskies earn 1-0 MSL win on 30-yard, 77th-minute shot
By Bobby Narang
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS — The Elk Grove-Hersey showdown on Thursday night turned into a battle of wills.
The Mid-Suburban League East Division battle was certainly entertaining with exciting action throughout the match and deserved a larger audience.
The early evening game kicked off in relative silence for the most part through the introductions and opening minutes. But the play soon became memorable in an 80-minute battle between two evenly matched teams.
Hersey goalie Joe Lens set the tone with a diving save in the 11th minute. Elk Grove’s Joey Blaszko nearly scored on an early header. Both teams dealt with an injury in a matter of 56 seconds.
Lens added to his highlight reel with several noteworthy saves in the first half. Then it was Elk Grove keeper Michal Mroz’s turn in the final 40 minutes to save shot after shot. Many came from the leg of Hersey midfielder Adrian Szumski.
Even a referee got into the action, when a ball smacked off his back in the second half.
Several Grenadiers, especially junior forward Patrick Mikina, showed off some fancy footwork that prompted some applause.
But there was one important aspect missing for the majority of the match — a goal.
In the 77th minute, Hersey junior midfielder Alex Ganekov fixed that flaw, sending in a 30-yard left-foot blast, off a corner kick, into the back of the net to lead the Huskies to a 1-0 victory over their visitors.
“It was an exciting game, both sides were really strong,” Hersey coach Michael Rusniak said. “It was a typical Mid-Suburban League matchup. Elk Grove has skill all over the field.
“They will be a completely different team in a couple of weeks. They played a really strong game. We didn’t match their movement in the first half. We gave them a lot of time on the ball. In the second half, the kids were getting frustrated and realized it was time to score. Ganekov has been solid for us.”
Elk Grove coach Alex Stavropoulos agreed with Rusniak’s assessment on the match. The Grens (3-2-0, 0-2-0) now head to Olympic Park in Schaumburg for Saturday’s game against Chicago Public League stalwart Washington at the PepsiCo Showdown.
“Hersey has a quality squad and played really tough and gave us trouble all day,” he said. “We like to knock the ball around and get a little rhythm going, but they made it tough to do that. I liked our energy. We stuck to the game plan and stay disciplined and composed, even when things weren’t going our way.
“We’ve had a couple of really tight games in terms of officiating, but this game the referee was letting it go. I prefer that style, but it seemed like we had a hard time adjusting to that style. (Hersey) played physical and really disrupted us.
“We did have opportunities and moving forward, I know this group will learn from this and break down film and make the most of it.”
In a season of transition, Ganekov took advantage of the situation to end the scoreless drought. With the frustration mounting for the Huskies (3-1-1, 2-0-0). After Mroz picked up two memorable saves off shots from Szumski between the 74th and 76th minutes, Ganekov’s goal a minute later came as a shock to the players and coaches.
As the ball rebounded out after the corner kick, Ganekov gained possession and took a few seconds to steady himself before blasting a shot past Mroz with 2:39 left in regulation.
“The corner came in and just came to me, and I took a touch and hit it,” Ganekov said of his third goal of the season. “Once it went it, I didn’t even know what happened.
“I wasn’t going to hit it the first time. I hit it in the top corner. It felt really good to score. We played a lot better in the second half and pressured the midfield and got way more chances.”
Rusniak said Ganekov’s scoring spree has been a boon for his team this season. Listed as a forward on the roster, he started the season on the backline. He was moved to the midfield following a rash of injuries.
“Alex started the season in the back for us,” Rusniak said. “But he never seemed to find any sort of rhythm.
“We moved him. He's a player who seems to be in the right place at the right time, because he reads the game so well. He's an incredible competitor. He’s a welcoming surprise. We weren’t sure where he would fit on the field if he wasn’t going to be a defender.
“Things just weren’t going well for him. We moved him just recently from defender. We knew we would struggle with our injuries that we would have a hard-time scoring goals. So it’s fun to see some of these individuals who have come out to be goal scorers. We didn’t really know where the goals were going to come from.”
Before the goal, Mroz was in the midst of filling up his personal highlight reel, stopping numerous shots with his agility, athleticism and anticipation skills. The junior, finished with seven saves, all in the second half.
Mroz credited Ganekov for his goal.
“That (goal) was a banger, a world-class strike,” he said. “That’s super hard for a keeper to save, especially since it was on the side where there were five or six men in front of me.
“I think I played well, but it's a team effort. The second half, it was a lot for me to take since it was a completely different game. We just have to pick each other up and focus on the next game.”
After the match ended, Szumski elected to wait a few minutes before celebrating with his teammates. Instead, he walked over to Mroz, shaking his hand and delivering a few words of praise. Szumski was an aggressive force all game, chasing down loose balls with speed to put pressure on Elk Grove’s backline.
Mroz, in particular, received the brunt of most of Szumski’s relentless approach. He stopped several shots by the highly skilled Hersey star.
“Their goalie did a stellar job,” Rusniak said. “I have so much respect for their defense and goalie. That was fun to watch.”
Szumski admitted he became frustrated late in the match following several missed chances,
“I was just knocking on the door the entire game,” Szumski said. “The whole team was trying to work together to try and win. I just couldn’t line one in.
“The goalie was unbelievable. We had so many chances. We finally got a lucky one in. It was great to win this, because it was a big game. We scored on a goal no one saw coming. We went back and forth the entire game. The attacks were knocking on the door, but not going in.”
And what did Szumski say to Mroz after the game?
“I told him I didn’t know how he got that one shot that I had inside the box,” he said. “I had some really good shots. He made a miracle save that I placed on the lower corner. I was about ready to celebrate it.”
Stavropoulos praised his keeper for his stellar play in the net.
“Michal is a stud,” he said. “He keeps us in games. I wish we gave him more support in the attacking end, but again a lot of that comes down to Hersey. They had a really strong defensive plan. They locked us down. They knew our strengths and did a good job of shutting them down.”
Hersey junior defender Charlie Shiffman said the second half was the difference in the match. Lens had an uneventful final 40 minutes, tallying just one of his six saves.
“We fought the whole time,” Shiffman said. “It was a battle the whole time. The (Elk Grove) keeper had some phenomenal saves. We had to lock down Patrick Mikina, stick to him. Our whole backline played really well. We talked a lot, which we definitely needed.
Starting lineups
Elk Grove
GK Michal Mroz
D Joey Martorano
D Jared Aguirre
D Chris Aparicio
D Aidan Medina
M Krzysztof Mróz
M Joey Blaszko
M Kuba Kubala
M Aaron Vazquez
F Patrick Mikina
F Cristian Diaz
Hersey
GK Joe Lens
D Charlie Seig
D Matt Carlson
D Alex Masztek
D Charlie Shiffman
M Adrian Szumski
M Simon Hemenway
M Elliott Suto
M Alex Ganekov
F Andrew Hamilton
F Danny Duray
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Ganekov, jr., MF, Hersey
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Hersey: Alex Ganekov (unassisted), 77th minute
leads Hersey past EG, hot GK Mroz
Host Huskies earn 1-0 MSL win on 30-yard, 77th-minute shot
By Bobby Narang
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS — The Elk Grove-Hersey showdown on Thursday night turned into a battle of wills.
The Mid-Suburban League East Division battle was certainly entertaining with exciting action throughout the match and deserved a larger audience.
The early evening game kicked off in relative silence for the most part through the introductions and opening minutes. But the play soon became memorable in an 80-minute battle between two evenly matched teams.
Hersey goalie Joe Lens set the tone with a diving save in the 11th minute. Elk Grove’s Joey Blaszko nearly scored on an early header. Both teams dealt with an injury in a matter of 56 seconds.
Lens added to his highlight reel with several noteworthy saves in the first half. Then it was Elk Grove keeper Michal Mroz’s turn in the final 40 minutes to save shot after shot. Many came from the leg of Hersey midfielder Adrian Szumski.
Even a referee got into the action, when a ball smacked off his back in the second half.
Several Grenadiers, especially junior forward Patrick Mikina, showed off some fancy footwork that prompted some applause.
But there was one important aspect missing for the majority of the match — a goal.
In the 77th minute, Hersey junior midfielder Alex Ganekov fixed that flaw, sending in a 30-yard left-foot blast, off a corner kick, into the back of the net to lead the Huskies to a 1-0 victory over their visitors.
“It was an exciting game, both sides were really strong,” Hersey coach Michael Rusniak said. “It was a typical Mid-Suburban League matchup. Elk Grove has skill all over the field.
“They will be a completely different team in a couple of weeks. They played a really strong game. We didn’t match their movement in the first half. We gave them a lot of time on the ball. In the second half, the kids were getting frustrated and realized it was time to score. Ganekov has been solid for us.”
Elk Grove coach Alex Stavropoulos agreed with Rusniak’s assessment on the match. The Grens (3-2-0, 0-2-0) now head to Olympic Park in Schaumburg for Saturday’s game against Chicago Public League stalwart Washington at the PepsiCo Showdown.
“Hersey has a quality squad and played really tough and gave us trouble all day,” he said. “We like to knock the ball around and get a little rhythm going, but they made it tough to do that. I liked our energy. We stuck to the game plan and stay disciplined and composed, even when things weren’t going our way.
“We’ve had a couple of really tight games in terms of officiating, but this game the referee was letting it go. I prefer that style, but it seemed like we had a hard time adjusting to that style. (Hersey) played physical and really disrupted us.
“We did have opportunities and moving forward, I know this group will learn from this and break down film and make the most of it.”
In a season of transition, Ganekov took advantage of the situation to end the scoreless drought. With the frustration mounting for the Huskies (3-1-1, 2-0-0). After Mroz picked up two memorable saves off shots from Szumski between the 74th and 76th minutes, Ganekov’s goal a minute later came as a shock to the players and coaches.
As the ball rebounded out after the corner kick, Ganekov gained possession and took a few seconds to steady himself before blasting a shot past Mroz with 2:39 left in regulation.
“The corner came in and just came to me, and I took a touch and hit it,” Ganekov said of his third goal of the season. “Once it went it, I didn’t even know what happened.
“I wasn’t going to hit it the first time. I hit it in the top corner. It felt really good to score. We played a lot better in the second half and pressured the midfield and got way more chances.”
Rusniak said Ganekov’s scoring spree has been a boon for his team this season. Listed as a forward on the roster, he started the season on the backline. He was moved to the midfield following a rash of injuries.
“Alex started the season in the back for us,” Rusniak said. “But he never seemed to find any sort of rhythm.
“We moved him. He's a player who seems to be in the right place at the right time, because he reads the game so well. He's an incredible competitor. He’s a welcoming surprise. We weren’t sure where he would fit on the field if he wasn’t going to be a defender.
“Things just weren’t going well for him. We moved him just recently from defender. We knew we would struggle with our injuries that we would have a hard-time scoring goals. So it’s fun to see some of these individuals who have come out to be goal scorers. We didn’t really know where the goals were going to come from.”
Before the goal, Mroz was in the midst of filling up his personal highlight reel, stopping numerous shots with his agility, athleticism and anticipation skills. The junior, finished with seven saves, all in the second half.
Mroz credited Ganekov for his goal.
“That (goal) was a banger, a world-class strike,” he said. “That’s super hard for a keeper to save, especially since it was on the side where there were five or six men in front of me.
“I think I played well, but it's a team effort. The second half, it was a lot for me to take since it was a completely different game. We just have to pick each other up and focus on the next game.”
After the match ended, Szumski elected to wait a few minutes before celebrating with his teammates. Instead, he walked over to Mroz, shaking his hand and delivering a few words of praise. Szumski was an aggressive force all game, chasing down loose balls with speed to put pressure on Elk Grove’s backline.
Mroz, in particular, received the brunt of most of Szumski’s relentless approach. He stopped several shots by the highly skilled Hersey star.
“Their goalie did a stellar job,” Rusniak said. “I have so much respect for their defense and goalie. That was fun to watch.”
Szumski admitted he became frustrated late in the match following several missed chances,
“I was just knocking on the door the entire game,” Szumski said. “The whole team was trying to work together to try and win. I just couldn’t line one in.
“The goalie was unbelievable. We had so many chances. We finally got a lucky one in. It was great to win this, because it was a big game. We scored on a goal no one saw coming. We went back and forth the entire game. The attacks were knocking on the door, but not going in.”
And what did Szumski say to Mroz after the game?
“I told him I didn’t know how he got that one shot that I had inside the box,” he said. “I had some really good shots. He made a miracle save that I placed on the lower corner. I was about ready to celebrate it.”
Stavropoulos praised his keeper for his stellar play in the net.
“Michal is a stud,” he said. “He keeps us in games. I wish we gave him more support in the attacking end, but again a lot of that comes down to Hersey. They had a really strong defensive plan. They locked us down. They knew our strengths and did a good job of shutting them down.”
Hersey junior defender Charlie Shiffman said the second half was the difference in the match. Lens had an uneventful final 40 minutes, tallying just one of his six saves.
“We fought the whole time,” Shiffman said. “It was a battle the whole time. The (Elk Grove) keeper had some phenomenal saves. We had to lock down Patrick Mikina, stick to him. Our whole backline played really well. We talked a lot, which we definitely needed.
Starting lineups
Elk Grove
GK Michal Mroz
D Joey Martorano
D Jared Aguirre
D Chris Aparicio
D Aidan Medina
M Krzysztof Mróz
M Joey Blaszko
M Kuba Kubala
M Aaron Vazquez
F Patrick Mikina
F Cristian Diaz
Hersey
GK Joe Lens
D Charlie Seig
D Matt Carlson
D Alex Masztek
D Charlie Shiffman
M Adrian Szumski
M Simon Hemenway
M Elliott Suto
M Alex Ganekov
F Andrew Hamilton
F Danny Duray
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Ganekov, jr., MF, Hersey
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Hersey: Alex Ganekov (unassisted), 77th minute