Glenbrook N upsets Loyola in regional semi
Martens leads fired-up Spartans to 3-1 win at Niles North
By Ken Keenan
SKOKIE -- Catapulted by stellar senior forward Joey Martens, a determined Glenbrook North crew defeated Loyola 3-1 in the IHSA Class 3A Niles North Regional semifinals on Tuesday night.
The Spartans, who improved to 9-9-2 overall with the win, entered the match as the 12th seed in the 16-team Glenbrook South Sectional. Loyola (12-6-2), ranked no. 20 in the latest Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, took the field at Niles North as the sectional's no. 5 seed.
"We talked about the 12-vs.-5 seed in the NCAA (tournament), how upsets can happen," said Glenbrook North head coach Paul Vignocchi, whose squad will face old rival Glenbrook South in the regional title match at 6:30 p.m. Friday. "We talked about being a team and coming together. The talent is there ... staying healthy, too. You just have to fight hard and believe you can do it."
Martens was the catalyst. Fearlessly driving deep in the attack zone to keep pressure on the Ramblers' defenders, Martens (Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match) etched his name in the scorebook on all three Glenbrook North tallies.
"Joey is a tremendous talent," Vignocchi said. "He's locked in right now. He believes in his teammates, and the guys did a great job around him."
Martens set the tone early, firing high from a wide angle on the left side in the 5th minute. He then magically cut through two defenders in the 11th minute before forcing Loyola sophomore goalkeeper Alex Ainsworth to make a diving save on a quick try from the right side.
After stealing a ball in the 35th minute, Martens set up junior midfielder Gabe Nayman for a try from the right side that was stopped by Ainsworth. Martens then lined up the ensuing corner kick and sent a perfectly placed ball to lanky senior defender George Luke, who finished with a strong header past Ainsworth to give the Spartans a 1-0 halftime lead.
Seven minutes into the second session, Martens stole a ball and spun past a pair of Ramblers in-close for a strike that Ainsworth kicked away before he smothered the rebound in traffic.
Martens' best move came next. Cutting from left to right, he hesitated briefly before unleashing a hard shot inside the far post, upping the Spartans' lead to 2-0 with 31:50 remaining in regulation.
"At halftime, we knew we had the lead, and we knew (the Ramblers) weren't going to quit," Martens said. "So I wanted to get in and get one in to keep us on a momentum roll."
Loyola cut the lead in half when junior defender Mario Hrvojevic boomed a 40-yard free kick to the box that was finished with a flick of the head by senior midfielder Nick Roscoe.
"We got that goal to get a little momentum," Roscoe said.
Hrvojevic said, "We needed to put in a good ball on a set piece. Set pieces were a good opportunity for us."
In the 66th minute, the same proved true for Glenbrook North. After the Spartans drew a corner kick, rock-steady senior mid Nico Adducci took the corner and found Martens, who crossed the ball back to Adducci for a drive from the left side that squeezed between Ainsworth and the near post and into the back of the net for the final 3-1 Spartans advantage.
"(Loyola) got one, but we weren't gonna let that stop us," defender David Schueler said. "Obviously, we didn't want it to be our last game. We were ready. We put our bodies on the line, and it paid off."
Added Martens: "There was nothing to hold back tonight. We had to leave everything out on the field and just go for it. Coach (Vignocchi) said it's gonna be a race to three (goals), and we got to three first."
Loyola did create a fair amount of opportunities throughout the match, including a 25-yard strike from the left side by junior mid Tommy Zipprich that Spartans senior keeper Nick Washelesky handled in the 19th minute. It was followed soon after by Zipprich's one-timer in front that missed wide-left. It was set up by a nice cross delivered by dangerous junior forward Dylan Gripman.
With 17:40 to go in the first half, Gripman sent a cross that hit a Spartans defender in the head and bounced off the crossbar. Just before the break, Zipprich took a shot that was stopped by a sliding Washelesky.
Zipprich had another good look early in the second half, but his 25-yard strike was grabbed by Washelesky. The Spartans keeper also dove to snuff a 30-yard free kick by Loyola junior defender Oscar Blazer in the 52nd minute.
"Credit to Glenbrook North. They competed hard and put away their chances," said Ramblers skipper Baer Fisher. "We didn't put away our chances. If we do, it's a different game. We didn't play great, but we could have gotten some results."
Fisher continued: "In the playoffs, can you make plays in both ends? Credit to GBN, they did that. I thought they were aggressive. They worked incredibly hard. In moments, we were the better team. But they worked harder. They made the plays.
"But I'm really proud of our guys. We'll learn from it and be better off for it moving forward."
Loyola senior mid Andrew Hoepfner offered no excuses, admitting that the Ramblers didn't quite match Glenbrook North's relentless approach.
"We created chances that we needed to, but we didn't capitalize," Hoepfner said. "But (the Spartans) had grit the whole game. And they buried their chances."
Glenbrook North will look to keep the ball rolling in the regional final against fellow Central Suburban League South Division foe Glenbrook South, a 2-0 winner over the host Vikings in the earlier regional semifinal Tuesday. The Spartans also will be looking to avenge a 2-1 loss to the Titans in the "Glenbrook Derby" on Oct. 1.
"A regional championship against GBS? It's gonna be a battle," Martens said. "I wouldn't want anything else."
Nodding his head in agreement, Schueler said, "We'll approach it the same way as last time. We want it; they want it; and whichever team plays better will get it."
Starting lineups
Loyola
G: Alex Ainsworth
D: Oscar Blazer
D: Mario Hrvojevic
D: John Wilson
D: Ryan Leider
M: Tommy Zipprich
M: Michael Sullivan
M: Colin Redmond
M: Nick Roscoe
M: Andrew Hoepfner
F: Dylan Gripman
Glenbrook North
G: Nick Washelesky
D: Quinn Crockford
D: Peyton Bernstein
D: David Schueler
D: George Luke
M: Kyle Brown
M: Gabe Nayman
M: Nico Adducci
M: Jan Bogdan
F: Joey Martens
F: Yusuf Shaaban
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Joey Martens, sr., F, Glenbrook North
Officials: Alex Mavrothalasitis, Brad Webster, David Columbe
Scoring summary
First half
Glenbrook North: David Schueler (assisted by Joey Martens) in 35th minute
Second half
Glenbrook North: Martens (unassisted) in 49th minute
Loyola: Nick Roscoe (assisted by Mario Hrvojevic) in 57th minute
Glenbrook North: Nico Adducci (assisted by Martens) in 66th minute
Martens leads fired-up Spartans to 3-1 win at Niles North
By Ken Keenan
SKOKIE -- Catapulted by stellar senior forward Joey Martens, a determined Glenbrook North crew defeated Loyola 3-1 in the IHSA Class 3A Niles North Regional semifinals on Tuesday night.
The Spartans, who improved to 9-9-2 overall with the win, entered the match as the 12th seed in the 16-team Glenbrook South Sectional. Loyola (12-6-2), ranked no. 20 in the latest Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, took the field at Niles North as the sectional's no. 5 seed.
"We talked about the 12-vs.-5 seed in the NCAA (tournament), how upsets can happen," said Glenbrook North head coach Paul Vignocchi, whose squad will face old rival Glenbrook South in the regional title match at 6:30 p.m. Friday. "We talked about being a team and coming together. The talent is there ... staying healthy, too. You just have to fight hard and believe you can do it."
Martens was the catalyst. Fearlessly driving deep in the attack zone to keep pressure on the Ramblers' defenders, Martens (Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match) etched his name in the scorebook on all three Glenbrook North tallies.
"Joey is a tremendous talent," Vignocchi said. "He's locked in right now. He believes in his teammates, and the guys did a great job around him."
Martens set the tone early, firing high from a wide angle on the left side in the 5th minute. He then magically cut through two defenders in the 11th minute before forcing Loyola sophomore goalkeeper Alex Ainsworth to make a diving save on a quick try from the right side.
After stealing a ball in the 35th minute, Martens set up junior midfielder Gabe Nayman for a try from the right side that was stopped by Ainsworth. Martens then lined up the ensuing corner kick and sent a perfectly placed ball to lanky senior defender George Luke, who finished with a strong header past Ainsworth to give the Spartans a 1-0 halftime lead.
Seven minutes into the second session, Martens stole a ball and spun past a pair of Ramblers in-close for a strike that Ainsworth kicked away before he smothered the rebound in traffic.
Martens' best move came next. Cutting from left to right, he hesitated briefly before unleashing a hard shot inside the far post, upping the Spartans' lead to 2-0 with 31:50 remaining in regulation.
"At halftime, we knew we had the lead, and we knew (the Ramblers) weren't going to quit," Martens said. "So I wanted to get in and get one in to keep us on a momentum roll."
Loyola cut the lead in half when junior defender Mario Hrvojevic boomed a 40-yard free kick to the box that was finished with a flick of the head by senior midfielder Nick Roscoe.
"We got that goal to get a little momentum," Roscoe said.
Hrvojevic said, "We needed to put in a good ball on a set piece. Set pieces were a good opportunity for us."
In the 66th minute, the same proved true for Glenbrook North. After the Spartans drew a corner kick, rock-steady senior mid Nico Adducci took the corner and found Martens, who crossed the ball back to Adducci for a drive from the left side that squeezed between Ainsworth and the near post and into the back of the net for the final 3-1 Spartans advantage.
"(Loyola) got one, but we weren't gonna let that stop us," defender David Schueler said. "Obviously, we didn't want it to be our last game. We were ready. We put our bodies on the line, and it paid off."
Added Martens: "There was nothing to hold back tonight. We had to leave everything out on the field and just go for it. Coach (Vignocchi) said it's gonna be a race to three (goals), and we got to three first."
Loyola did create a fair amount of opportunities throughout the match, including a 25-yard strike from the left side by junior mid Tommy Zipprich that Spartans senior keeper Nick Washelesky handled in the 19th minute. It was followed soon after by Zipprich's one-timer in front that missed wide-left. It was set up by a nice cross delivered by dangerous junior forward Dylan Gripman.
With 17:40 to go in the first half, Gripman sent a cross that hit a Spartans defender in the head and bounced off the crossbar. Just before the break, Zipprich took a shot that was stopped by a sliding Washelesky.
Zipprich had another good look early in the second half, but his 25-yard strike was grabbed by Washelesky. The Spartans keeper also dove to snuff a 30-yard free kick by Loyola junior defender Oscar Blazer in the 52nd minute.
"Credit to Glenbrook North. They competed hard and put away their chances," said Ramblers skipper Baer Fisher. "We didn't put away our chances. If we do, it's a different game. We didn't play great, but we could have gotten some results."
Fisher continued: "In the playoffs, can you make plays in both ends? Credit to GBN, they did that. I thought they were aggressive. They worked incredibly hard. In moments, we were the better team. But they worked harder. They made the plays.
"But I'm really proud of our guys. We'll learn from it and be better off for it moving forward."
Loyola senior mid Andrew Hoepfner offered no excuses, admitting that the Ramblers didn't quite match Glenbrook North's relentless approach.
"We created chances that we needed to, but we didn't capitalize," Hoepfner said. "But (the Spartans) had grit the whole game. And they buried their chances."
Glenbrook North will look to keep the ball rolling in the regional final against fellow Central Suburban League South Division foe Glenbrook South, a 2-0 winner over the host Vikings in the earlier regional semifinal Tuesday. The Spartans also will be looking to avenge a 2-1 loss to the Titans in the "Glenbrook Derby" on Oct. 1.
"A regional championship against GBS? It's gonna be a battle," Martens said. "I wouldn't want anything else."
Nodding his head in agreement, Schueler said, "We'll approach it the same way as last time. We want it; they want it; and whichever team plays better will get it."
Starting lineups
Loyola
G: Alex Ainsworth
D: Oscar Blazer
D: Mario Hrvojevic
D: John Wilson
D: Ryan Leider
M: Tommy Zipprich
M: Michael Sullivan
M: Colin Redmond
M: Nick Roscoe
M: Andrew Hoepfner
F: Dylan Gripman
Glenbrook North
G: Nick Washelesky
D: Quinn Crockford
D: Peyton Bernstein
D: David Schueler
D: George Luke
M: Kyle Brown
M: Gabe Nayman
M: Nico Adducci
M: Jan Bogdan
F: Joey Martens
F: Yusuf Shaaban
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Joey Martens, sr., F, Glenbrook North
Officials: Alex Mavrothalasitis, Brad Webster, David Columbe
Scoring summary
First half
Glenbrook North: David Schueler (assisted by Joey Martens) in 35th minute
Second half
Glenbrook North: Martens (unassisted) in 49th minute
Loyola: Nick Roscoe (assisted by Mario Hrvojevic) in 57th minute
Glenbrook North: Nico Adducci (assisted by Martens) in 66th minute