Sizzling Warren dispatches Glenbrook N.
Blue Devils build early lead and cruise to 4-1 win
By Ken Keenan
GURNEE -- Red-hot Warren kept the fire burning with an impressive 4-1 victory over visiting nonconference foe Glenbrook North in the regular-season finale for both squads on Thursday night.
After honoring the team's 11 seniors during a festive Senior Night celebration, the Blue Devils took the field and took off with a four-goal explosion in the opening 29 minutes. Warren (ranked no. 17 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25) cruised from there, improving to 13-3-4 overall while extending its current unbeaten streak to seven (5-0-2).
The Spartans (8-9-2), who broke the shutout midway through the second half, fell for the first time after winning four straight.
"I'm very pleased. We came out focused and locked in," said Warren head coach Jason Ahonen. "We focused on finding the back of the net. When you put the ball in dangerous areas, things can happen."
Things started happening early for the Blue Devils. In the 3rd minute, Warren junior defender Edward Luna sent a corner kick into the box that was accidentally headed in by a Glenbrook North defender for an own-goal, giving the Devils a quick 1-0 lead.
Warren then kicked its up-tempo, multi-touch possession attack into high gear, relentlessly speeding around the Spartans to create chances at a dizzying pace the rest of the first half.
"The first goal, it gets our confidence up," said zippy Warren senior forward Brandon Medina, who had a trio of solid shots that narrowly missed in the opening session. "When we score, we want to score more."
The Blue Devils made it 2-0 when junior midfielder Max Floriani banged a short shot into the top right corner in the 12th minute after receiving a pass from junior forward Noe Martinez. Just over a minute later, the lead bulged to 3-0 on a goal by junior defender Alex Senko, who headed a deflected free kick off the hand of Glenbrook North junior goalkeeper Nick Washelesky and over the goal line.
Versatile senior defender Nolan Ehlers, a de facto field general for the Devils, started the next scoring play. Cutting in sharply on the left side, Ehlers (Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match) fired a shot that Washelesky stopped. But Warren junior mid Isaac Morales swiftly grabbed the rebound and delivered a quick cross to junior forward Ishaan Shah for an easy tap-in, and the rout was on at 4-0.
Asked to pinpoint the keys to his team's ability to maintain consistency in the heat of battle, Ehlers said, "We have a great group of guys. We have each other's backs ... all together as one unit. We're finally clicking on all cylinders. But we want to continue to get better, work on our craft and not worry about the opponent."
Ehlers continued: "If we play our game, I feel we can compete with anyone in the state. I feel we can run the table."
Added Ahonen: "We are a cohesive unit trying to play the game the right way. If one link doesn't show up, the chain breaks. As Nolan (Ehlers) said, we have to focus on what we do. And he provides a lot of vocal leadership with keeping our team organized. That allows other players to focus on their individual marks and other responsibilities."
With the Blue Devils holding a 4-0 lead after 40 minutes, Ahonen emptied his bench in the second half.
"Those bench guys, they're the ones who push the starters," Ahonen said. "They were able to play (Thursday night), so a tip of the cap to them for all their hard work."
Reacting to Warren's first half domination, Glenbrook North skipper Paul Vignocchi implored his troops to pick up the pace during the final 40 minutes.
"Obviously, a disappointing first half," Vignocchi said. "We went on a good streak (4-1-1) for a while, but the results won't happen just by showing up. The mindset has to change ... can't just come out and play.
Vignocchi continued: "Our goal for the second half was not to concede a goal. And we scored, too."
Steady Spartans junior mid Jan Bogdan tallied the marker, coming on a 25-yard free kick with 23 minutes left in the match. Bogdan fired a low blast that zoomed in to the left of Warren senior keeper Emmanuel Ocampo, who replaced starter Nicholas Diana after the break.
Less than a minute later, Glenbrook North senior forward Yusuf Shaaban had a good chance when he tracked a nice cross by sophomore call-up Devin Spiggos for an in-stride header attempt that was nabbed by Ocampo.
With 16:30 to go, Spartans senior defender Scott Phadnis unleashed a 30-yard strike that Ocampo snared. Bogdan also had a pair of long free kicks, rocketing one off a Warren defender's head in the 70th minute and soaring another just wide-left with 9:30 showing.
"The coaches challenged us to keep a shutout in the second half," Shaaban said. "They wanted us to run through a wall and work hard for each other. We can't be lazy out there. We have to work our butts off."
Added Phadnis: "We came out too slow in the first half ... came out not wanting it. It's really frustrating. We did contain our emotion better in the second half."
But Warren's total domination in the opening 40 minutes was too much for the Spartans to overcome.
"I thought we played really good," Medina said. "We're looking good ... looking confident."
Added Floriani: "We're very excited. It's great to get a good result. Now we're excited for next Tuesday (Oct. 22)."
The Blue Devils will face Hersey in the semifinals of the IHSA Class 3A Rolling Meadows Regional at 7 p.m. Oct. 22. A victory over the Huskies guarantees a shot at the regional crown three days later.
"Records are done. Everyone is 0-0 right now," Ahonen said. "It's gonna take a lot of hard work, some luck and a lot of skill to advance. But we'll be ready to leave it all on the field."
Glenbrook North will open postseason play against Loyola in the Class 3A Niles North Regional at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 22. The title match will be held at 5 p.m. Oct. 25.
Starting lineups
Glenbrook North
G: Nick Washelesky
D: Peyton Bernstein
D: David Schueler
D: George Luke
D: Scott Phadnis
M: Kyle Brown
M: Gabe Nayman
M: Nico Adducci
M: Jan Bogdan
F: Joey Martens
F: Yusuf Shaaban
Warren
G: Nicholas Diana
D: Cory Melchor
D: Nolan Ehlers
D: Edward Luna
D: Alex Senko
M: Max Floriani
M: Luke Schoenbrunn
M: Brandon Medina
M: Sebastian Rodriguez
M: Josh Segura
F: Ishaan Shah
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Nolan Ehlers, sr., D, Warren
Scoring summary
First half
Warren: Edward Luna (unassisted) in 3rd minute
Warren: Max Floriani (assisted by Noe Martinez) in 22nd minute
Warren: Alex Senko (unassisted) in 23rd minute
Warren: Ishaan Shah (assisted by Issac Morales) in 29th minute
Second half
Glenbrook North: Jan Bogdan (unassisted) in 57th minute
Blue Devils build early lead and cruise to 4-1 win
By Ken Keenan
GURNEE -- Red-hot Warren kept the fire burning with an impressive 4-1 victory over visiting nonconference foe Glenbrook North in the regular-season finale for both squads on Thursday night.
After honoring the team's 11 seniors during a festive Senior Night celebration, the Blue Devils took the field and took off with a four-goal explosion in the opening 29 minutes. Warren (ranked no. 17 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25) cruised from there, improving to 13-3-4 overall while extending its current unbeaten streak to seven (5-0-2).
The Spartans (8-9-2), who broke the shutout midway through the second half, fell for the first time after winning four straight.
"I'm very pleased. We came out focused and locked in," said Warren head coach Jason Ahonen. "We focused on finding the back of the net. When you put the ball in dangerous areas, things can happen."
Things started happening early for the Blue Devils. In the 3rd minute, Warren junior defender Edward Luna sent a corner kick into the box that was accidentally headed in by a Glenbrook North defender for an own-goal, giving the Devils a quick 1-0 lead.
Warren then kicked its up-tempo, multi-touch possession attack into high gear, relentlessly speeding around the Spartans to create chances at a dizzying pace the rest of the first half.
"The first goal, it gets our confidence up," said zippy Warren senior forward Brandon Medina, who had a trio of solid shots that narrowly missed in the opening session. "When we score, we want to score more."
The Blue Devils made it 2-0 when junior midfielder Max Floriani banged a short shot into the top right corner in the 12th minute after receiving a pass from junior forward Noe Martinez. Just over a minute later, the lead bulged to 3-0 on a goal by junior defender Alex Senko, who headed a deflected free kick off the hand of Glenbrook North junior goalkeeper Nick Washelesky and over the goal line.
Versatile senior defender Nolan Ehlers, a de facto field general for the Devils, started the next scoring play. Cutting in sharply on the left side, Ehlers (Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match) fired a shot that Washelesky stopped. But Warren junior mid Isaac Morales swiftly grabbed the rebound and delivered a quick cross to junior forward Ishaan Shah for an easy tap-in, and the rout was on at 4-0.
Asked to pinpoint the keys to his team's ability to maintain consistency in the heat of battle, Ehlers said, "We have a great group of guys. We have each other's backs ... all together as one unit. We're finally clicking on all cylinders. But we want to continue to get better, work on our craft and not worry about the opponent."
Ehlers continued: "If we play our game, I feel we can compete with anyone in the state. I feel we can run the table."
Added Ahonen: "We are a cohesive unit trying to play the game the right way. If one link doesn't show up, the chain breaks. As Nolan (Ehlers) said, we have to focus on what we do. And he provides a lot of vocal leadership with keeping our team organized. That allows other players to focus on their individual marks and other responsibilities."
With the Blue Devils holding a 4-0 lead after 40 minutes, Ahonen emptied his bench in the second half.
"Those bench guys, they're the ones who push the starters," Ahonen said. "They were able to play (Thursday night), so a tip of the cap to them for all their hard work."
Reacting to Warren's first half domination, Glenbrook North skipper Paul Vignocchi implored his troops to pick up the pace during the final 40 minutes.
"Obviously, a disappointing first half," Vignocchi said. "We went on a good streak (4-1-1) for a while, but the results won't happen just by showing up. The mindset has to change ... can't just come out and play.
Vignocchi continued: "Our goal for the second half was not to concede a goal. And we scored, too."
Steady Spartans junior mid Jan Bogdan tallied the marker, coming on a 25-yard free kick with 23 minutes left in the match. Bogdan fired a low blast that zoomed in to the left of Warren senior keeper Emmanuel Ocampo, who replaced starter Nicholas Diana after the break.
Less than a minute later, Glenbrook North senior forward Yusuf Shaaban had a good chance when he tracked a nice cross by sophomore call-up Devin Spiggos for an in-stride header attempt that was nabbed by Ocampo.
With 16:30 to go, Spartans senior defender Scott Phadnis unleashed a 30-yard strike that Ocampo snared. Bogdan also had a pair of long free kicks, rocketing one off a Warren defender's head in the 70th minute and soaring another just wide-left with 9:30 showing.
"The coaches challenged us to keep a shutout in the second half," Shaaban said. "They wanted us to run through a wall and work hard for each other. We can't be lazy out there. We have to work our butts off."
Added Phadnis: "We came out too slow in the first half ... came out not wanting it. It's really frustrating. We did contain our emotion better in the second half."
But Warren's total domination in the opening 40 minutes was too much for the Spartans to overcome.
"I thought we played really good," Medina said. "We're looking good ... looking confident."
Added Floriani: "We're very excited. It's great to get a good result. Now we're excited for next Tuesday (Oct. 22)."
The Blue Devils will face Hersey in the semifinals of the IHSA Class 3A Rolling Meadows Regional at 7 p.m. Oct. 22. A victory over the Huskies guarantees a shot at the regional crown three days later.
"Records are done. Everyone is 0-0 right now," Ahonen said. "It's gonna take a lot of hard work, some luck and a lot of skill to advance. But we'll be ready to leave it all on the field."
Glenbrook North will open postseason play against Loyola in the Class 3A Niles North Regional at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 22. The title match will be held at 5 p.m. Oct. 25.
Starting lineups
Glenbrook North
G: Nick Washelesky
D: Peyton Bernstein
D: David Schueler
D: George Luke
D: Scott Phadnis
M: Kyle Brown
M: Gabe Nayman
M: Nico Adducci
M: Jan Bogdan
F: Joey Martens
F: Yusuf Shaaban
Warren
G: Nicholas Diana
D: Cory Melchor
D: Nolan Ehlers
D: Edward Luna
D: Alex Senko
M: Max Floriani
M: Luke Schoenbrunn
M: Brandon Medina
M: Sebastian Rodriguez
M: Josh Segura
F: Ishaan Shah
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Nolan Ehlers, sr., D, Warren
Scoring summary
First half
Warren: Edward Luna (unassisted) in 3rd minute
Warren: Max Floriani (assisted by Noe Martinez) in 22nd minute
Warren: Alex Senko (unassisted) in 23rd minute
Warren: Ishaan Shah (assisted by Issac Morales) in 29th minute
Second half
Glenbrook North: Jan Bogdan (unassisted) in 57th minute