Warriors mentality drives
Deerfield past Glenbrook South
Senior Coleman’s brace buckles Titans in 3-1 win
By Bill McLean
DEERFIELD — First-year Deerfield coach Ryan Crane knew five years ago he’d succeed Elliott Hurtig this fall.
Patient man.
“I’d been thinking about this job for a long time,” the amiable Crane said.
He needed only two weeks at the helm to oversee a gratifying win.
His Warriors topped visiting Glenbrook South 3-1 Tuesday night behind a pair of Ryder Coleman goals, a feisty, fearless bunch of backs and sophomore goalkeeper Xander Yang’s 10 saves. The triumph in the Central Suburban League cross-over at Adams Field was Deerfield’s third straight and evened its record at 3-3-0.
“What often sets teams apart is winning when they don’t play their best,” Crane, a former Deerfield goalkeeper, said. “The second half tonight was not our best soccer, though a lot of that had to do with Glenbrook South’s constant energy.”
That vim led to the visiting Titans cutting the hosts lead to 2-1 in the 48th minute.
“But I’m proud of how we stayed in it mentally,” Crane said. “All in all I liked our game management, resiliency, intensity and team mentality.”
Line up each of the first letters in that string of strong points and you get the word grit.
First-year Chicago Bears boss Matt Eberflus (Mr. HITS principle) isn’t the only coach who likes acronyms.
“Scrappiness … you could say that described our style of play tonight and helped us get this win,” said Deerfield senior forward Cole Gawin, who played inspired soccer all over the pitch and used his noggin on a clear in the 75th minute, moments after Glenbrook South had earned yet another late corner kick.
Injury- and illness-plagued Glenbrook South (2-4-3), which started the season 2-0-1, cornered the market on the run of play for most of the first 20 minutes until Deerfield senior forward Max Izaks — a reserve — ran on to a short header from junior midfielder Jason Nieder and beat Titans senior goalkeeper Yash Ghai (four saves) from two yards in the 17th minute.
Izaks netted his first goal of the season in Deerfield’s 4-2 defeat of Grayslake North on Saturday morning.
“We dominated the first half from the 6 to the 6, being dangerous with our passing,” Glenbrook South coach Reggie Lara said. “It came down to what we didn’t do enough of near the goal at each end. We didn’t clear, and we weren’t aggressive enough in, and near, the box on offense.”
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match Coleman gathered a feed from sophomore Christian Castro and stunned the visitors in the 37th minute, bludgeoning an upper-90, near-post shot from 25 yards to fatten the hosts’ advantage to 2-0.
The forwards second tally — in the 71st minute, off another Nieder helper — was nearly as handsome. Planted just north of the 18, Coleman settled Nieder’s 20-yard chip, snap-turned 180 degrees and quickly unleashed another net-jostler.
Coleman’s brace on the pleasant night upped his goal total to a team-high seven.
“Ryder?” Gawin said. “Our goal-scorer.”
“Ryder,” Nieder added, “knows how to make space for himself, and then he usually does something well when he gets the ball in that spot.”
Crane essentially warned prep soccer fans to watch Coleman from here on out or risk missing something special.
“The goals Ryder scores, they’re … different, and they come in a variety of ways,” Crane said. “They’re the kind of goals you just don’t see from many others at this level.
“All of his teammates,” the coach continued, “admire him as a player and as a person.”
Glenbrook’s sense of urgency in the second half delighted Lara.
The fire blazing from the Titans’ collective hair wasn’t a 5-alarmer, but it could have charred burgers at a backyard barbecue.
A shot off the foot of senior back Jeffrey Podjasek led to South’s lone goal. Yang deflected the ball toward senior back Jimmy Aglikin, who cleaned up matters in the box to halve Deerfield’s edge.
The visitors from Glenview kept applying the heat, but Deerfield withstood attack after attack. Warriors junior midfielder Nathan Garcia — positioned a few yards to the left
of Yang following a GBS CK — came up with a huge play in the 61st minute, making a non-keeper save with his left thigh.
“We didn’t show enough discipline tonight,” Titans senior forward and co-captain Adrian Potoniec said. “And we need consistency, consistency, consistency. Grit — we need more of that, too.
“More grit will help us put the ball in the back of the net.”
The tenor of the game changed after Deerfield’s first goal. The Warriors’ confidence grew against their formidable, talent-laden foe.
And so did their composure.
“We began to settle down at that point,” Crane said. “We also identified Glenbrook South’s strengths and did all we could to take those away.”
Each squad battles in another CSL cross-over match Thursday.
Deerfield travels to New Trier at 7 p.m. The Trevians are ranked no. 6 in
The Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
Glenbrook South travels to Maine West at 7 p.m.
Footnotes
Three down, three up, and .500 has never felt so good. Crane
began his head coaching career at Deerfield with three-straight
losses.
Crane’s crew outscored Antioch, Grayslake North and
Glenbrook South by a combined 14-4 in the three-match
winning streak. … Lara deployed sophomore Jacob Ciszyk at
forward for the first time this season. … Nieder had entered
Tuesday’s match with zero assists in 2022. He exited the pitch
with two, three days after netting a goal in a 4-2 win at
Grayslake North. … Lara, on Potoniec, a third-year varsity
Titan: “He’s deceptively shifty and crafty. Potoniec, on his
leadership style: “I’m more of an example guy. If we’re losing, I
don’t want to see any of our heads down. If I do, I do what I can
to stay positive and hope my teammates notice.” … Right
before the second half kickoff Tuesday night, Deerfield junior
back Ethan Helfand jogged toward the midfield and shouted,
“Let’s get it!” What did the Warriors get? A big win.
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South
GK Yash Ghai
D Jeffrey Podjasek
D Chris Sanchez
D Jimmy Aglikin
D Alec Grenolds
MF Ben Baczewski
MF Daniel Cha
MF Conor Beach
F Adrian Potoniec
F Kevin Perez
F Jacob Ciszyk
Deerfield
GK Xander Yang
D Matthew Neumann
D James Weiner
D Ethan Helfand
D Justin Blumenthal
MF Nathan Garcia
MF Jason Nieder
MF Addison Simon
F Cole Gawin
F Ryder Coleman
F Christian Castro
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ryder Coleman, sr., F,
Deerfield
Scoring summary
First half
Deerfield — Max Izaks (Nieder), 17’
Deerfield — Coleman (Castro), 37’
Second half
Glenbrook South — Aglikin (Podjasek), 48’
Deerfield — Coleman (Nieder), 71’
Deerfield past Glenbrook South
Senior Coleman’s brace buckles Titans in 3-1 win
By Bill McLean
DEERFIELD — First-year Deerfield coach Ryan Crane knew five years ago he’d succeed Elliott Hurtig this fall.
Patient man.
“I’d been thinking about this job for a long time,” the amiable Crane said.
He needed only two weeks at the helm to oversee a gratifying win.
His Warriors topped visiting Glenbrook South 3-1 Tuesday night behind a pair of Ryder Coleman goals, a feisty, fearless bunch of backs and sophomore goalkeeper Xander Yang’s 10 saves. The triumph in the Central Suburban League cross-over at Adams Field was Deerfield’s third straight and evened its record at 3-3-0.
“What often sets teams apart is winning when they don’t play their best,” Crane, a former Deerfield goalkeeper, said. “The second half tonight was not our best soccer, though a lot of that had to do with Glenbrook South’s constant energy.”
That vim led to the visiting Titans cutting the hosts lead to 2-1 in the 48th minute.
“But I’m proud of how we stayed in it mentally,” Crane said. “All in all I liked our game management, resiliency, intensity and team mentality.”
Line up each of the first letters in that string of strong points and you get the word grit.
First-year Chicago Bears boss Matt Eberflus (Mr. HITS principle) isn’t the only coach who likes acronyms.
“Scrappiness … you could say that described our style of play tonight and helped us get this win,” said Deerfield senior forward Cole Gawin, who played inspired soccer all over the pitch and used his noggin on a clear in the 75th minute, moments after Glenbrook South had earned yet another late corner kick.
Injury- and illness-plagued Glenbrook South (2-4-3), which started the season 2-0-1, cornered the market on the run of play for most of the first 20 minutes until Deerfield senior forward Max Izaks — a reserve — ran on to a short header from junior midfielder Jason Nieder and beat Titans senior goalkeeper Yash Ghai (four saves) from two yards in the 17th minute.
Izaks netted his first goal of the season in Deerfield’s 4-2 defeat of Grayslake North on Saturday morning.
“We dominated the first half from the 6 to the 6, being dangerous with our passing,” Glenbrook South coach Reggie Lara said. “It came down to what we didn’t do enough of near the goal at each end. We didn’t clear, and we weren’t aggressive enough in, and near, the box on offense.”
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match Coleman gathered a feed from sophomore Christian Castro and stunned the visitors in the 37th minute, bludgeoning an upper-90, near-post shot from 25 yards to fatten the hosts’ advantage to 2-0.
The forwards second tally — in the 71st minute, off another Nieder helper — was nearly as handsome. Planted just north of the 18, Coleman settled Nieder’s 20-yard chip, snap-turned 180 degrees and quickly unleashed another net-jostler.
Coleman’s brace on the pleasant night upped his goal total to a team-high seven.
“Ryder?” Gawin said. “Our goal-scorer.”
“Ryder,” Nieder added, “knows how to make space for himself, and then he usually does something well when he gets the ball in that spot.”
Crane essentially warned prep soccer fans to watch Coleman from here on out or risk missing something special.
“The goals Ryder scores, they’re … different, and they come in a variety of ways,” Crane said. “They’re the kind of goals you just don’t see from many others at this level.
“All of his teammates,” the coach continued, “admire him as a player and as a person.”
Glenbrook’s sense of urgency in the second half delighted Lara.
The fire blazing from the Titans’ collective hair wasn’t a 5-alarmer, but it could have charred burgers at a backyard barbecue.
A shot off the foot of senior back Jeffrey Podjasek led to South’s lone goal. Yang deflected the ball toward senior back Jimmy Aglikin, who cleaned up matters in the box to halve Deerfield’s edge.
The visitors from Glenview kept applying the heat, but Deerfield withstood attack after attack. Warriors junior midfielder Nathan Garcia — positioned a few yards to the left
of Yang following a GBS CK — came up with a huge play in the 61st minute, making a non-keeper save with his left thigh.
“We didn’t show enough discipline tonight,” Titans senior forward and co-captain Adrian Potoniec said. “And we need consistency, consistency, consistency. Grit — we need more of that, too.
“More grit will help us put the ball in the back of the net.”
The tenor of the game changed after Deerfield’s first goal. The Warriors’ confidence grew against their formidable, talent-laden foe.
And so did their composure.
“We began to settle down at that point,” Crane said. “We also identified Glenbrook South’s strengths and did all we could to take those away.”
Each squad battles in another CSL cross-over match Thursday.
Deerfield travels to New Trier at 7 p.m. The Trevians are ranked no. 6 in
The Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
Glenbrook South travels to Maine West at 7 p.m.
Footnotes
Three down, three up, and .500 has never felt so good. Crane
began his head coaching career at Deerfield with three-straight
losses.
Crane’s crew outscored Antioch, Grayslake North and
Glenbrook South by a combined 14-4 in the three-match
winning streak. … Lara deployed sophomore Jacob Ciszyk at
forward for the first time this season. … Nieder had entered
Tuesday’s match with zero assists in 2022. He exited the pitch
with two, three days after netting a goal in a 4-2 win at
Grayslake North. … Lara, on Potoniec, a third-year varsity
Titan: “He’s deceptively shifty and crafty. Potoniec, on his
leadership style: “I’m more of an example guy. If we’re losing, I
don’t want to see any of our heads down. If I do, I do what I can
to stay positive and hope my teammates notice.” … Right
before the second half kickoff Tuesday night, Deerfield junior
back Ethan Helfand jogged toward the midfield and shouted,
“Let’s get it!” What did the Warriors get? A big win.
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South
GK Yash Ghai
D Jeffrey Podjasek
D Chris Sanchez
D Jimmy Aglikin
D Alec Grenolds
MF Ben Baczewski
MF Daniel Cha
MF Conor Beach
F Adrian Potoniec
F Kevin Perez
F Jacob Ciszyk
Deerfield
GK Xander Yang
D Matthew Neumann
D James Weiner
D Ethan Helfand
D Justin Blumenthal
MF Nathan Garcia
MF Jason Nieder
MF Addison Simon
F Cole Gawin
F Ryder Coleman
F Christian Castro
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ryder Coleman, sr., F,
Deerfield
Scoring summary
First half
Deerfield — Max Izaks (Nieder), 17’
Deerfield — Coleman (Castro), 37’
Second half
Glenbrook South — Aglikin (Podjasek), 48’
Deerfield — Coleman (Nieder), 71’