South tops North in 'Glenbrook Derby'
Titans nip rival Spartans 2-1 in annual clash
By Ken Keenan
NORTHBROOK -- As expected, the annual tussle between neighboring Glenbrook North and Glenbrook South -- dubbed the "Glenbrook Derby" by members of both teams -- was a fight to the finish Tuesday night, with the visiting Titans holding off a late Spartans charge to prevail 2-1.
Glenbrook South, ranked 22nd in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, improved to 9-4-3 overall and finished third in the Central Suburban League South Division with a 3-1-1 record. The defeat dropped scrappy Glenbrook North to 4-8-2, 0-5-0.
"The 'Derby,' we were very pumped," said Glenbrook South senior midfielder Julian Issar, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match. "This game has been circled on our schedule. It's a big confidence booster to get the win."
Rock-solid Glenbrook North senior midfielder Nico Adducci said, "With the big crowd, the 'Glenbrook Derby,' we all hate to lose it. We had the motivation but couldn't finish."
After a scoreless first half, featuring relentless marking on both sides that prevented either team from mounting much of an attack, Glenbrook South broke the ice in the 46th minute.
Steady senior midfielder Jhovany Guadarrama started the Titans' scoring play, feeding a sharp pass to Issar on the left side. Issar, a force across the pitch all night, quickly delivered a cross to gargantuan junior forward Justin Leszynski (6-foot-5, 220 pounds), who settled the ball with his chest before rifling a low blast into the left side of the net past Spartans sophomore goalkeeper Jakub Murzyn.
"It was a brilliant diagonal ball by Julian ... hit my chest just right, and then it goes, in and I can celebrate with my teammates," Leszynski said. "The intensity coming into the 'Derby' match, we knew it would physical and tight. In the second half, we got out in space a little more."
The Titans upped the advantage to 2-0 in the 69th minute on a 20-yard direct kick by senior forward Danny Sergiev after a Spartans foul just outside the top of the box. Sergiev lined up his free look and pounded home a head-high shot to the left.
Glenbrook North didn't fold, cutting the lead in half with 10:15 remaining in the second half. Gutty senior forward Joey Martens netted the goal with a quick strike from the right side after receiving a nifty tap pass from senior forward/mid Yusuf Shaaban.
Just two minutes prior, Spartans junior mid Kyle Brown squeaked in on the left side and booted a left-footed try that Titans senior keeper Christian Noordover stopped at the near post. A minute before that sequence, the ever-present Martens gathered a deep throw-in and sent a pop-up shot wide-left.
"The first half, it was definitely a lot of back and forth," said Glenbrook South head coach Reggie Lara. "Both sides were amped up, and then things settled down and we played our game: possess and get opportunities in the attacking third."
Lara continued: "Before the first goal, we thought we were getting quality chances. But we were too direct and trying to force things. We wanted to switch the point of attack. We've got some speed on the outside flanks, so we wanted to skip some balls in those seams and run onto it ... get the ball around their backline and find runners flashing across the middle."
Added Issar: "We knew they'd be pressuring us hard in the first half. The thing that helped out was switching (the attack) from the midfield to the outside. That helped us a lot."
Guadarrama agreed, adding, "We made the switch and moved the ball quicker. All we needed was one or two touches."
That approach worked to the tune of a 2-0 lead, but the "Glenbrook Derby" was far from finished.
"We play to the end of the whistle," said Glenbrook North skipper Paul Vignocchi. "You have to have the will to win the whole 80 minutes, and our team has shown the will to win these last two games (including a 1-1 tie against Lake Forest on Sept. 28.). I'm proud of the guys and happy with how we competed against a very athletic, skillful GBS team."
Vignocchi continued: "We're still making mistakes that we need to correct, but we defended well and solidified some things. But it was hard to win 50/50 balls (Tuesday night) -- not much time against GBS. They play hard, and you have to compete hard against them."
With the final seconds ticking away, Martens began a nearly 60-yard dash on the right side that ended when his rising rocket soared harmlessly over the crossbar. After catching their collective breath, the Titans shouted, huddled and jumped for joy in triumph.
"GBN showed a lot of resilience," Lara said. "They didn't get deflated and pumped things up. We have to close the door and prevent them from coming back ... put the nail in the coffin. Then, on our heels, we put a couple guys back in to stay calm and poised. You have to defend smart, not just hard."
Leszynski, who was stopped by Murzyn on a head attempt in front with 30:20 left in the second half, said that his team's occasional lapse in being aggressive, "is a common theme for us: lead early and then take the foot off the pedal. Then we've had to battle at the end instead of putting the game away."
Issar agreed, adding, "We have to work on that. Up by two or one (goals) is not a big enough lead. But our bench provided a lot of intensity and fresh legs."
The Spartans took advantage of Glenbrook South's mild drowsiness in pulling within 2-1, though Glenbrook North's sense of urgency can't be overlooked.
"We wanted to keep our will power ... keep that energy when they took the foot off the pedal," Adducci said. "At 2-1, we were right back in it."
Added Martens: "We were close. We got the one (goal) but not another. But the boys, they don't give up. We stayed strong and battled the full 80."
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South
G: Christian Noordover
D: Jose Santos-DeSoto
D: Michael Zenzola
D: Drew Maytum
D: Julian Issar
M: Danny Sergiev
M: Jhovany Guadarrama
M: Blake Shechtman
F: Zach Ochab
F: Sam Rogers
F: Justin Leszynski
Glenbrook South
G: Jakub Murzyn
D: Quinn Crockford
D: David Schueler
D: Jack Redland
D: Scott Phadnis
M: Kyle Brown
M: Gabe Nayman
M: Tommy Henrickson
M: Nico Adducci
M: Jan Bogdan
F: Joey Martens
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Julian Issar, sr., M, Glenbrook South
Officials: Rafal Zielinski, Amir Zahirovic, Lukasz Zielinski
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Glenbrook South: Justin Leszynski (assisted by Julian Issar) in 46th minute
Glenbrook South: Danny Sergiev (unassisted) in 62nd minute
Glenbrook North: Joey Martens (assisted by Gabe Nayman) in 69th minute
Titans nip rival Spartans 2-1 in annual clash
By Ken Keenan
NORTHBROOK -- As expected, the annual tussle between neighboring Glenbrook North and Glenbrook South -- dubbed the "Glenbrook Derby" by members of both teams -- was a fight to the finish Tuesday night, with the visiting Titans holding off a late Spartans charge to prevail 2-1.
Glenbrook South, ranked 22nd in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, improved to 9-4-3 overall and finished third in the Central Suburban League South Division with a 3-1-1 record. The defeat dropped scrappy Glenbrook North to 4-8-2, 0-5-0.
"The 'Derby,' we were very pumped," said Glenbrook South senior midfielder Julian Issar, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match. "This game has been circled on our schedule. It's a big confidence booster to get the win."
Rock-solid Glenbrook North senior midfielder Nico Adducci said, "With the big crowd, the 'Glenbrook Derby,' we all hate to lose it. We had the motivation but couldn't finish."
After a scoreless first half, featuring relentless marking on both sides that prevented either team from mounting much of an attack, Glenbrook South broke the ice in the 46th minute.
Steady senior midfielder Jhovany Guadarrama started the Titans' scoring play, feeding a sharp pass to Issar on the left side. Issar, a force across the pitch all night, quickly delivered a cross to gargantuan junior forward Justin Leszynski (6-foot-5, 220 pounds), who settled the ball with his chest before rifling a low blast into the left side of the net past Spartans sophomore goalkeeper Jakub Murzyn.
"It was a brilliant diagonal ball by Julian ... hit my chest just right, and then it goes, in and I can celebrate with my teammates," Leszynski said. "The intensity coming into the 'Derby' match, we knew it would physical and tight. In the second half, we got out in space a little more."
The Titans upped the advantage to 2-0 in the 69th minute on a 20-yard direct kick by senior forward Danny Sergiev after a Spartans foul just outside the top of the box. Sergiev lined up his free look and pounded home a head-high shot to the left.
Glenbrook North didn't fold, cutting the lead in half with 10:15 remaining in the second half. Gutty senior forward Joey Martens netted the goal with a quick strike from the right side after receiving a nifty tap pass from senior forward/mid Yusuf Shaaban.
Just two minutes prior, Spartans junior mid Kyle Brown squeaked in on the left side and booted a left-footed try that Titans senior keeper Christian Noordover stopped at the near post. A minute before that sequence, the ever-present Martens gathered a deep throw-in and sent a pop-up shot wide-left.
"The first half, it was definitely a lot of back and forth," said Glenbrook South head coach Reggie Lara. "Both sides were amped up, and then things settled down and we played our game: possess and get opportunities in the attacking third."
Lara continued: "Before the first goal, we thought we were getting quality chances. But we were too direct and trying to force things. We wanted to switch the point of attack. We've got some speed on the outside flanks, so we wanted to skip some balls in those seams and run onto it ... get the ball around their backline and find runners flashing across the middle."
Added Issar: "We knew they'd be pressuring us hard in the first half. The thing that helped out was switching (the attack) from the midfield to the outside. That helped us a lot."
Guadarrama agreed, adding, "We made the switch and moved the ball quicker. All we needed was one or two touches."
That approach worked to the tune of a 2-0 lead, but the "Glenbrook Derby" was far from finished.
"We play to the end of the whistle," said Glenbrook North skipper Paul Vignocchi. "You have to have the will to win the whole 80 minutes, and our team has shown the will to win these last two games (including a 1-1 tie against Lake Forest on Sept. 28.). I'm proud of the guys and happy with how we competed against a very athletic, skillful GBS team."
Vignocchi continued: "We're still making mistakes that we need to correct, but we defended well and solidified some things. But it was hard to win 50/50 balls (Tuesday night) -- not much time against GBS. They play hard, and you have to compete hard against them."
With the final seconds ticking away, Martens began a nearly 60-yard dash on the right side that ended when his rising rocket soared harmlessly over the crossbar. After catching their collective breath, the Titans shouted, huddled and jumped for joy in triumph.
"GBN showed a lot of resilience," Lara said. "They didn't get deflated and pumped things up. We have to close the door and prevent them from coming back ... put the nail in the coffin. Then, on our heels, we put a couple guys back in to stay calm and poised. You have to defend smart, not just hard."
Leszynski, who was stopped by Murzyn on a head attempt in front with 30:20 left in the second half, said that his team's occasional lapse in being aggressive, "is a common theme for us: lead early and then take the foot off the pedal. Then we've had to battle at the end instead of putting the game away."
Issar agreed, adding, "We have to work on that. Up by two or one (goals) is not a big enough lead. But our bench provided a lot of intensity and fresh legs."
The Spartans took advantage of Glenbrook South's mild drowsiness in pulling within 2-1, though Glenbrook North's sense of urgency can't be overlooked.
"We wanted to keep our will power ... keep that energy when they took the foot off the pedal," Adducci said. "At 2-1, we were right back in it."
Added Martens: "We were close. We got the one (goal) but not another. But the boys, they don't give up. We stayed strong and battled the full 80."
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South
G: Christian Noordover
D: Jose Santos-DeSoto
D: Michael Zenzola
D: Drew Maytum
D: Julian Issar
M: Danny Sergiev
M: Jhovany Guadarrama
M: Blake Shechtman
F: Zach Ochab
F: Sam Rogers
F: Justin Leszynski
Glenbrook South
G: Jakub Murzyn
D: Quinn Crockford
D: David Schueler
D: Jack Redland
D: Scott Phadnis
M: Kyle Brown
M: Gabe Nayman
M: Tommy Henrickson
M: Nico Adducci
M: Jan Bogdan
F: Joey Martens
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Julian Issar, sr., M, Glenbrook South
Officials: Rafal Zielinski, Amir Zahirovic, Lukasz Zielinski
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Glenbrook South: Justin Leszynski (assisted by Julian Issar) in 46th minute
Glenbrook South: Danny Sergiev (unassisted) in 62nd minute
Glenbrook North: Joey Martens (assisted by Gabe Nayman) in 69th minute