Bero hat-trick caps Fenwick win over H-F
Friars collect 3-2 OT consolation win in Windy City Classic
By Curt Herron
BURBANK - After seeing a late lead slip away against Homewood-Flossmoor in Saturday's Windy City Classic consolation round match at Reavis, Fenwick was determined to bounce back from a loss to Bloom and complete its opening week with a 2-1-0 record instead of a 1-2-0 mark.
And thanks to Ryan Bero's third goal of the day, a 30-yard free kick that found the upper corner of the net in the 74th minute, the Friars were able to capture a 3-2 overtime victory over the Vikings.
The senior put his team up 1-0 in the second minute on an 18-yard attempt and gave his team a 2-1 lead in the 50th minute on a header following a throw-in by Zach Hernandez. After H-F tied it again in the 65th minute to force extra play after 70 minutes, Bero completed his three-goal effort in dramatic fashion late in the initial overtime period.
"We have a young team, and we grew a lot this week," said Bero, who earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors for his performance. "We brought a lot this week in our practices and games.
"It's going to be fun to have what you might say is a normal year instead of the COVID year last year since we're playing more games, more nonconference and more tournaments. We still have the whole season to go and have to take it game-by-game and practice-by-practice. I think everyone is willing to grow and put it together as a team."
Bero was one of only five seniors who coach Craig Blazer sent out as the first unit against Homewood-Flossmoor. He joined Will Jancewicz and Luigi Mollo in the midfield, Greg Price in goal and Hernandez on defense.
The Friars also went with juniors Frank Felice (forward) and Ian Martinello (defender). Four sophomores, midfielders Jake Brecknock and Lucas Garcia and defenders Evan Hickman and James Zimmer, filled out the starting lineup.
With a nice mix of veteran and younger players available, Fenwick's coaching staff hopes to find the right combinations to prepare them for a very competitive schedule, which includes six matches in Chicago Catholic League Blue Division play.
"We're a young team and a work in progress," Blazer said. "It's only been a couple of games and already we're starting to build some camaraderie, which we talked about before the game. We had a game plan and for the most part, the guys stuck with it. We really give the guys a lot of credit.
"We've got a bunch of great, smart kids who are very coachable. This is the level that they are at, in a sense, and we're just trying to get them to build on the experience day by day. If they do that, then we're going to get better. We're blessed with some outstanding families."
Not long after Bero gave the Friars the early lead, Homewood-Flossmoor had a great initial scoring chance on Ian Hoereth's header that was directed on goal but was tipped over by Price.
Shortly after a Friars attempt bounced off the post, Mollo was denied on a free kick. After Price halted a short try by Homewood-Flossmoor’s Jackson Greear, Fenwick countered with good attempts from Eric Kornowske and Ian MacKinnon. Price followed with a grab of a Hoereth free kick shortly before the break.
The final half got off to a similar start as the opening 35 minutes, except this time the roles were reversed. Homewood-Flossmoor evened things at 1-1 in the second minute of the half when Mark Gislason directed a throw-in to Darin Koprowski, who proceeded to put in a shot from close range.
Bero followed with two good scoring chances before converting on his next effort in the 50th minute -- heading in a goal inside the box following a throw-in by Hernandez.
After Bero had another good opportunity thwarted a few minutes later, the Friars hoped to run out the clock to come away with a victory in regulation play, but coach Jairo Garcia's Vikings had other ideas.
In the 65th minute, Ayinde Kidd placed a corner kick in front of the net and Hoereth connected from close range to even things at 2-2 and force a pair of overtime periods.
Not long after Bero completed his three-goal effort with the excellent free kick, Homewood-Flossmoor had a final good opportunity, but Price stopped it shortly before the end of the initial overtime and neither side seriously threatened after that.
With varsity newcomers filling more than half of Saturday's starting lineup, Fenwick hoped that their experienced players provide good leadership for their new teammates.
"It feels awesome for the team to come together toward the end and pull through," Zimmer said. "We've used all of the practices and training that we've done this week to come together as a team and win when we need to win the games that are important.
"This gives a lot of confidence to the team, and that is really important. I love the energy that everyone is bringing to the training, the games and the tournaments. Everybody is willing to compete and do the best that they can. This feels great, and I'm blessed to have this opportunity."
Starting lineups
Fenwick
GK - Greg Price
CB - James Zimmer
CB - Ian Martinello
LB - Zach Hernandez
RB - Evan Hickman
LM - Will Jancewicz
CM - Lucas Garcia
CM - Luigi Mollo
RM - Jake Brecknock
F - Frank Felice
F - Ryan Bero
Homewood-Flossmoor
G - Sebastian Rodriguez
D - Darin Koprowski
D - Mark Gislason
D - Jackson Greear
D - Ian Hoereth
M - Bryan Banuelos Ramirez
M - Jaylen Hill
M - Fawwaz Abayomi
M - Ayinde Kidd
F - Fernando Garcia
F - Rigoberto Yanez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Ryan Bero, sr., F, Fenwick
Scoring summary
First half
F- Ryan Bero, 2
Second half
H - Darin Koprowski (Mark Gislason), 37
F - Ryan Bero (Zach Hernandez), 50
H - Ian Hoereth (Ayinde Kidd), 65
First overtime
F - Ryan Bero, 74
Second overtime
No scoring
Friars collect 3-2 OT consolation win in Windy City Classic
By Curt Herron
BURBANK - After seeing a late lead slip away against Homewood-Flossmoor in Saturday's Windy City Classic consolation round match at Reavis, Fenwick was determined to bounce back from a loss to Bloom and complete its opening week with a 2-1-0 record instead of a 1-2-0 mark.
And thanks to Ryan Bero's third goal of the day, a 30-yard free kick that found the upper corner of the net in the 74th minute, the Friars were able to capture a 3-2 overtime victory over the Vikings.
The senior put his team up 1-0 in the second minute on an 18-yard attempt and gave his team a 2-1 lead in the 50th minute on a header following a throw-in by Zach Hernandez. After H-F tied it again in the 65th minute to force extra play after 70 minutes, Bero completed his three-goal effort in dramatic fashion late in the initial overtime period.
"We have a young team, and we grew a lot this week," said Bero, who earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors for his performance. "We brought a lot this week in our practices and games.
"It's going to be fun to have what you might say is a normal year instead of the COVID year last year since we're playing more games, more nonconference and more tournaments. We still have the whole season to go and have to take it game-by-game and practice-by-practice. I think everyone is willing to grow and put it together as a team."
Bero was one of only five seniors who coach Craig Blazer sent out as the first unit against Homewood-Flossmoor. He joined Will Jancewicz and Luigi Mollo in the midfield, Greg Price in goal and Hernandez on defense.
The Friars also went with juniors Frank Felice (forward) and Ian Martinello (defender). Four sophomores, midfielders Jake Brecknock and Lucas Garcia and defenders Evan Hickman and James Zimmer, filled out the starting lineup.
With a nice mix of veteran and younger players available, Fenwick's coaching staff hopes to find the right combinations to prepare them for a very competitive schedule, which includes six matches in Chicago Catholic League Blue Division play.
"We're a young team and a work in progress," Blazer said. "It's only been a couple of games and already we're starting to build some camaraderie, which we talked about before the game. We had a game plan and for the most part, the guys stuck with it. We really give the guys a lot of credit.
"We've got a bunch of great, smart kids who are very coachable. This is the level that they are at, in a sense, and we're just trying to get them to build on the experience day by day. If they do that, then we're going to get better. We're blessed with some outstanding families."
Not long after Bero gave the Friars the early lead, Homewood-Flossmoor had a great initial scoring chance on Ian Hoereth's header that was directed on goal but was tipped over by Price.
Shortly after a Friars attempt bounced off the post, Mollo was denied on a free kick. After Price halted a short try by Homewood-Flossmoor’s Jackson Greear, Fenwick countered with good attempts from Eric Kornowske and Ian MacKinnon. Price followed with a grab of a Hoereth free kick shortly before the break.
The final half got off to a similar start as the opening 35 minutes, except this time the roles were reversed. Homewood-Flossmoor evened things at 1-1 in the second minute of the half when Mark Gislason directed a throw-in to Darin Koprowski, who proceeded to put in a shot from close range.
Bero followed with two good scoring chances before converting on his next effort in the 50th minute -- heading in a goal inside the box following a throw-in by Hernandez.
After Bero had another good opportunity thwarted a few minutes later, the Friars hoped to run out the clock to come away with a victory in regulation play, but coach Jairo Garcia's Vikings had other ideas.
In the 65th minute, Ayinde Kidd placed a corner kick in front of the net and Hoereth connected from close range to even things at 2-2 and force a pair of overtime periods.
Not long after Bero completed his three-goal effort with the excellent free kick, Homewood-Flossmoor had a final good opportunity, but Price stopped it shortly before the end of the initial overtime and neither side seriously threatened after that.
With varsity newcomers filling more than half of Saturday's starting lineup, Fenwick hoped that their experienced players provide good leadership for their new teammates.
"It feels awesome for the team to come together toward the end and pull through," Zimmer said. "We've used all of the practices and training that we've done this week to come together as a team and win when we need to win the games that are important.
"This gives a lot of confidence to the team, and that is really important. I love the energy that everyone is bringing to the training, the games and the tournaments. Everybody is willing to compete and do the best that they can. This feels great, and I'm blessed to have this opportunity."
Starting lineups
Fenwick
GK - Greg Price
CB - James Zimmer
CB - Ian Martinello
LB - Zach Hernandez
RB - Evan Hickman
LM - Will Jancewicz
CM - Lucas Garcia
CM - Luigi Mollo
RM - Jake Brecknock
F - Frank Felice
F - Ryan Bero
Homewood-Flossmoor
G - Sebastian Rodriguez
D - Darin Koprowski
D - Mark Gislason
D - Jackson Greear
D - Ian Hoereth
M - Bryan Banuelos Ramirez
M - Jaylen Hill
M - Fawwaz Abayomi
M - Ayinde Kidd
F - Fernando Garcia
F - Rigoberto Yanez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Ryan Bero, sr., F, Fenwick
Scoring summary
First half
F- Ryan Bero, 2
Second half
H - Darin Koprowski (Mark Gislason), 37
F - Ryan Bero (Zach Hernandez), 50
H - Ian Hoereth (Ayinde Kidd), 65
First overtime
F - Ryan Bero, 74
Second overtime
No scoring