Maine South surges past Glenbrook North
Hawks earn 1st league win with 3-0 home triumph
By Mike Garofola
PARK RIDGE -- The first 15 minutes of soccer on Thursday night kind of had that deja vu feeling for Dan States' soccer club from Maine South.
It was exactly one week prior that the Hawks came out against Glenbrook South with the energy and pace of a slow-moving freight train and got hit by an express on non-stop run. Visiting Glenbrook South bagged two in the first half to force the Hawks to chase the game for the next 40 minutes in a 3-2 loss to the Titans on Sept. 19.
And it looked as though the Hawks were headed in that direction once again until goals from Guiliano Corazzina, Luciano Cale and Weston Bukar turned things around in favor of the home side.
That trio's scoring and a Hawks defense that conceded just a few tries on keeper Luke Lorenc led the hosts to a 3-0 victory over division rival Glenbrook North at Wilson Field.
"Yes, it did kind of feel like that GBS game for the first 15 minutes or so," agreed Corazzina, who was a constant pest up-top for the Hawks while his mates in the midfield picked up the pace after the opener and plagued the Spartans (5-7-1, 0-4-0) for long stretches in the first period.
"We had such a great second half against GBS but still fell short, then came out against Prairie Ridge two days later and won 4-1," continued Corazzina.
"Tuesday's loss (1-0) against New Trier was a tough one because we could have won that game, but I feel like we're finally coming around to the point where we can play and compete with everyone from here on out."
Glenbrook North manager Paul Vignocchi said leading up to this Central Suburban League South Division contest his men had been much better since the Northside College Classic played in early September but defensive lapses have been holding them back.
Unfortunately for Vignocchi and junior Tommy Henrickson, that's what did in the Spartans again after their bright start Thursday night.
"We've been working very hard during training on defending as a team and playing disciplined, smart soccer in our own end," said Henrickson, whom Vignocchi touted as his top all-around man in this match. "But that's what happened on that first goal, then, again on the next two to really hurt our chances of getting the result we wanted tonight.
"It's disappointing. We have the talent here this year, but there isn't always the feeling of everyone playing together, and being ready to go once our warm-up begins, and that's something we're going to need to change real soon."
It appeared from the opening whistle the Spartans had arrived to end their four-game losing streak (three in the CSL) as they played fast, quick and flashy soccer using width and quality combination work to pressure Maine South in its own end.
"We were in a little bit of trouble in the first 10-15 minutes, (we) couldn't get out of our own end at all," said Hawks midfielder Stefan Iricanin, who made his mark on the night after the home side got themselves up and running following the Bukar goal at 16 minutes.
Nico Adducci, one of the few bright spots in the Glenbrook North attack on this night, was the first to put something on frame in the 5th minute with a nice little side half-volley that Lorenc stopped.
Teammate Yusuf Shaaban went wide after latching onto a lovely diagonal ball from out of the back from Jan Bogdan two minutes later then Scott Phadnis went over the bar after Trotter Benson, Kyle Brown and Henrickson did all the preliminary work to set him free.
States brought on Iricanin and Jackson Wambach for a spark, and the sophomore Iricanin immediately contributed to the cause.
"We knew it might take some time for Stefan to get a feel for the speed of play at this level, but he's just about there," said States. "Lately, we're getting the type of contribution we expected from him. He had a lot to do with this win tonight."
Glenbrook North created an opportunity for themselves in the 15th minute with a free kick just outside the edge of the box. However, Bogdan's curling effort around the Hawks wall was easily collected by Lorenc.
Then things changed.
"It all happened so fast around the midline," recounted Corazzina. "When Luciano (Cale) played the ball to me in close, he yelled to let it go through. I dummied the ball, and it ran right onto Weston Bukar who put it in."
Then it was Glenbrook North's time to experience deja vu.
"The game changed so quickly after we didn't defend inside our box, and it was the same thing on their next two goals," bemoaned Henrickson.
The Spartans had a nice opportunity to equalize 10 minutes later on a corner whipped into the box from Adducci. Unfortunately for the visitors, David Schueler's close-range header went directly to an alert Lorenc for the save.
Slowly, Maine South began to control the middle of the park with its 50-50 and second ball victories, most of which were collected by the trio of Sam McGinnis, Iricanin and Wambach. After Glenbrook North's Adducci had a go on frame in the 35th minute the Hawks doubled their advantage.
Some sharp combination work in the attack from Corazzina and Wambach forced the Spartans to take a foul to stop the oncoming duo.
Iricanin stepped up to the ball just outside the box and delivered a brilliant free kick serve to Corazzina, whose ghost run from the left put him on the ball for an easy, but sublime finish past Glenbrook North keeper Nick Washelesky.
"I knew where I wanted to put the ball," said a modest Iricanin. "I knew where Giuliano was going to run. So I made sure it wasn't too heavy of a ball but with enough spin to find him inside the box."
Although now chasing two goals out of the intermission, the Glenbrook North fought with plenty of urgency and purpose to begin the second period.
Joey Martens, sporting a massive protective pad on his broken right wrist, gave his club some much needed pace and with hard runs at the Hawks backline.
The talented senior would be a part of change in formation by Vignocchi, who went to a 4-3-3 in the 50th minute, after opening with a 4-4-2.
Gabe Nayman and Trotter Benson joined up with Martens with the aforementioned Adducci now the Spartans no. 10.
The new look did create a succession of deep throws, but none concluded on frame which made the Hawks third and final goal of the night all the more painful for Glenbrook North.
McGinnis battled to keep possession near the midline, and when the Hawks captain broke free of his mark he quickly played to Corazzina, who in turn found Cale.
A masterful turn inside broke Cale free and with enough time to unload, the senior hit an unstoppable right-footed cracker from 24 yards.
"We told Luciano to be more aggressive when he had the chance, and that's what can happen when he does," said Hawks long-time assistant Tim Spiegel of the third goal netted just before the hour.
Corazzina nearly made it 4-0 moments later after McGinnis set him free.
At that point, States began to bring off a handful of his first 11 including a keeper change with Drew Burgis between the sticks for the final 20 minutes.
The junior insured both he and Lorenc shared the clean-sheet with a marvelous glove save on Adducci, who ran onto a ball out of the back.
"This was a good overall win over an always quality team that Paul has, and one that we'll look to use going forward when we play Naperville Central on Saturday (here). Then next week as we hope to build momentum heading into the playoffs," said States.
"Scoring three goals can make you overlook what we did defensively, but I really liked what our back four did today, and with the way we defended and pressured as a team as well."
Glenbrook South travels Lake Forest on Saturday, while the Hawks celebrate their annual BBQ game on Saturday with Naperville Central.
The long-time tradition, started by Spiegel, features play from levels. Donuts are served to start the day, before the grills are fired up for the later games.
"We wanted to bring the tradition of our terrific football program to soccer," Speigel said. "(They) have been doing that for years, and we thought it would be a great thing for us to do as well."
The former Hawks head coach is in his 27th year at Maine South. The first 15 were served in special education with the last 12 as a counselor. He has been coaching soccer since coming on board at the school.
Starting lineups
Glenbrook North (4-4-2)
G- Nick Washelesky
D- Quinn Crockford
D- David Schueler
D- Jan Bogdan
D- Scott Phadnis
M- Nico Adducci
M- Tommy Henrickson
M- Kyle Brown
M- Trotter Benson
F- Yusuf Shaaban
F- Gabe Nayman
Maine South (4-5-1)
G- Luke Lornec
D- Carlo Kwon
D- Charlie Ryan
D- Matt Skorupa
D- Milosz Dykiel
M-Peter Bahu
M- Luciano Cale
M- Sam McGinnis
M- Weston Bukar
M- John Cronnolly
F- Giuliano Corazzina
Chicagoland Men of the Match: Guiliano Corazzina, sr., F, Maine South
Stefan Iricanin, so., MF, Maine South
Referee: Kevin Parker
Scoring summary
First half
Maine South: Bukar (Cale) 16'
Maine South: Corazzina (Iricanin) 36'
Second half
Maine South: Cale (Corazzina, McGinnis) 56'
Hawks earn 1st league win with 3-0 home triumph
By Mike Garofola
PARK RIDGE -- The first 15 minutes of soccer on Thursday night kind of had that deja vu feeling for Dan States' soccer club from Maine South.
It was exactly one week prior that the Hawks came out against Glenbrook South with the energy and pace of a slow-moving freight train and got hit by an express on non-stop run. Visiting Glenbrook South bagged two in the first half to force the Hawks to chase the game for the next 40 minutes in a 3-2 loss to the Titans on Sept. 19.
And it looked as though the Hawks were headed in that direction once again until goals from Guiliano Corazzina, Luciano Cale and Weston Bukar turned things around in favor of the home side.
That trio's scoring and a Hawks defense that conceded just a few tries on keeper Luke Lorenc led the hosts to a 3-0 victory over division rival Glenbrook North at Wilson Field.
"Yes, it did kind of feel like that GBS game for the first 15 minutes or so," agreed Corazzina, who was a constant pest up-top for the Hawks while his mates in the midfield picked up the pace after the opener and plagued the Spartans (5-7-1, 0-4-0) for long stretches in the first period.
"We had such a great second half against GBS but still fell short, then came out against Prairie Ridge two days later and won 4-1," continued Corazzina.
"Tuesday's loss (1-0) against New Trier was a tough one because we could have won that game, but I feel like we're finally coming around to the point where we can play and compete with everyone from here on out."
Glenbrook North manager Paul Vignocchi said leading up to this Central Suburban League South Division contest his men had been much better since the Northside College Classic played in early September but defensive lapses have been holding them back.
Unfortunately for Vignocchi and junior Tommy Henrickson, that's what did in the Spartans again after their bright start Thursday night.
"We've been working very hard during training on defending as a team and playing disciplined, smart soccer in our own end," said Henrickson, whom Vignocchi touted as his top all-around man in this match. "But that's what happened on that first goal, then, again on the next two to really hurt our chances of getting the result we wanted tonight.
"It's disappointing. We have the talent here this year, but there isn't always the feeling of everyone playing together, and being ready to go once our warm-up begins, and that's something we're going to need to change real soon."
It appeared from the opening whistle the Spartans had arrived to end their four-game losing streak (three in the CSL) as they played fast, quick and flashy soccer using width and quality combination work to pressure Maine South in its own end.
"We were in a little bit of trouble in the first 10-15 minutes, (we) couldn't get out of our own end at all," said Hawks midfielder Stefan Iricanin, who made his mark on the night after the home side got themselves up and running following the Bukar goal at 16 minutes.
Nico Adducci, one of the few bright spots in the Glenbrook North attack on this night, was the first to put something on frame in the 5th minute with a nice little side half-volley that Lorenc stopped.
Teammate Yusuf Shaaban went wide after latching onto a lovely diagonal ball from out of the back from Jan Bogdan two minutes later then Scott Phadnis went over the bar after Trotter Benson, Kyle Brown and Henrickson did all the preliminary work to set him free.
States brought on Iricanin and Jackson Wambach for a spark, and the sophomore Iricanin immediately contributed to the cause.
"We knew it might take some time for Stefan to get a feel for the speed of play at this level, but he's just about there," said States. "Lately, we're getting the type of contribution we expected from him. He had a lot to do with this win tonight."
Glenbrook North created an opportunity for themselves in the 15th minute with a free kick just outside the edge of the box. However, Bogdan's curling effort around the Hawks wall was easily collected by Lorenc.
Then things changed.
"It all happened so fast around the midline," recounted Corazzina. "When Luciano (Cale) played the ball to me in close, he yelled to let it go through. I dummied the ball, and it ran right onto Weston Bukar who put it in."
Then it was Glenbrook North's time to experience deja vu.
"The game changed so quickly after we didn't defend inside our box, and it was the same thing on their next two goals," bemoaned Henrickson.
The Spartans had a nice opportunity to equalize 10 minutes later on a corner whipped into the box from Adducci. Unfortunately for the visitors, David Schueler's close-range header went directly to an alert Lorenc for the save.
Slowly, Maine South began to control the middle of the park with its 50-50 and second ball victories, most of which were collected by the trio of Sam McGinnis, Iricanin and Wambach. After Glenbrook North's Adducci had a go on frame in the 35th minute the Hawks doubled their advantage.
Some sharp combination work in the attack from Corazzina and Wambach forced the Spartans to take a foul to stop the oncoming duo.
Iricanin stepped up to the ball just outside the box and delivered a brilliant free kick serve to Corazzina, whose ghost run from the left put him on the ball for an easy, but sublime finish past Glenbrook North keeper Nick Washelesky.
"I knew where I wanted to put the ball," said a modest Iricanin. "I knew where Giuliano was going to run. So I made sure it wasn't too heavy of a ball but with enough spin to find him inside the box."
Although now chasing two goals out of the intermission, the Glenbrook North fought with plenty of urgency and purpose to begin the second period.
Joey Martens, sporting a massive protective pad on his broken right wrist, gave his club some much needed pace and with hard runs at the Hawks backline.
The talented senior would be a part of change in formation by Vignocchi, who went to a 4-3-3 in the 50th minute, after opening with a 4-4-2.
Gabe Nayman and Trotter Benson joined up with Martens with the aforementioned Adducci now the Spartans no. 10.
The new look did create a succession of deep throws, but none concluded on frame which made the Hawks third and final goal of the night all the more painful for Glenbrook North.
McGinnis battled to keep possession near the midline, and when the Hawks captain broke free of his mark he quickly played to Corazzina, who in turn found Cale.
A masterful turn inside broke Cale free and with enough time to unload, the senior hit an unstoppable right-footed cracker from 24 yards.
"We told Luciano to be more aggressive when he had the chance, and that's what can happen when he does," said Hawks long-time assistant Tim Spiegel of the third goal netted just before the hour.
Corazzina nearly made it 4-0 moments later after McGinnis set him free.
At that point, States began to bring off a handful of his first 11 including a keeper change with Drew Burgis between the sticks for the final 20 minutes.
The junior insured both he and Lorenc shared the clean-sheet with a marvelous glove save on Adducci, who ran onto a ball out of the back.
"This was a good overall win over an always quality team that Paul has, and one that we'll look to use going forward when we play Naperville Central on Saturday (here). Then next week as we hope to build momentum heading into the playoffs," said States.
"Scoring three goals can make you overlook what we did defensively, but I really liked what our back four did today, and with the way we defended and pressured as a team as well."
Glenbrook South travels Lake Forest on Saturday, while the Hawks celebrate their annual BBQ game on Saturday with Naperville Central.
The long-time tradition, started by Spiegel, features play from levels. Donuts are served to start the day, before the grills are fired up for the later games.
"We wanted to bring the tradition of our terrific football program to soccer," Speigel said. "(They) have been doing that for years, and we thought it would be a great thing for us to do as well."
The former Hawks head coach is in his 27th year at Maine South. The first 15 were served in special education with the last 12 as a counselor. He has been coaching soccer since coming on board at the school.
Starting lineups
Glenbrook North (4-4-2)
G- Nick Washelesky
D- Quinn Crockford
D- David Schueler
D- Jan Bogdan
D- Scott Phadnis
M- Nico Adducci
M- Tommy Henrickson
M- Kyle Brown
M- Trotter Benson
F- Yusuf Shaaban
F- Gabe Nayman
Maine South (4-5-1)
G- Luke Lornec
D- Carlo Kwon
D- Charlie Ryan
D- Matt Skorupa
D- Milosz Dykiel
M-Peter Bahu
M- Luciano Cale
M- Sam McGinnis
M- Weston Bukar
M- John Cronnolly
F- Giuliano Corazzina
Chicagoland Men of the Match: Guiliano Corazzina, sr., F, Maine South
Stefan Iricanin, so., MF, Maine South
Referee: Kevin Parker
Scoring summary
First half
Maine South: Bukar (Cale) 16'
Maine South: Corazzina (Iricanin) 36'
Second half
Maine South: Cale (Corazzina, McGinnis) 56'