Shootout-sharp Cloutier,
Glenbrook South top Loyola
Titans take regional after 100 minutes of scoreless soccer
By Michael Wojtychiw
GLENVIEW -- To be successful in the state playoffs, it takes grit, dedication, emotion, a little bit of luck and some good scouting.
Glenbrook South used it all in its matchup with their fourth-seeded host in the title game of the Loyola Regional at the Ramblers' Munz Campus on Friday night.
The Titans, seeded sixth in the New Trier Sectional, advanced after taking the penalty kick round 4-1, but not before a lot of emotions and excitement flowed.
Before the Titans' 5-0 win over Maine South on Oct. 19, goalie Declan Cloutier watched Loyola in its 5-1 win over Lincoln Park. In that game, the senior keeper was able to witness a Loyola penalty kick he said was helpful when the shootout started Friday night.
"I'm just trying to think of things I can do to get in their heads," he said. "I'm a little nervous, but as a goalkeeper, you just try to save it. Even if it goes in, it's not really blamed on you. So, you go full out to save it.
"I had watched Loyola on Tuesday in their regional semifinal so I knew where one of their players was going. That penalty was going through my mind -- I know where he's going."
Standing in goal for a penalty kick in the regular-season is one thing, but it's a totally different animal when you're standing there in a win-or-go-home situation where a single goal or save can be the difference in a regional title or the end of a season.
"Declan, he's had a long history of winning PKs," Glenbrook South manager Reggie Lara said. "It started freshman year when these guys were at the CSL championship at New Trier. He won that championship there, and I know he's done it in club.
“He's got an edge in him. Most goalies are nervous in PKs, but he loves them and will face whatever shot comes his way."
Cloutier's big save played a major role in the shootout.
Bennett Steenbergen got the Titans (12-2-6) started by faking out Loyola keeper Alex Ainsworth. He went right while the goalkeeper dove left.
"As much as possible, I try to focus in on the shot," Steenbergen said. "We've shot it in practice; we've shot balls in the game. You just have to think of it as another shot.
"It's definitely been a process this season, especially after last season: it wasn't a full season; there wasn't a postseason. For most guys on the team, this is our first real playoff, so we were really excited for this environment.
"The game was long, so we had to buckle down and push through it."
The loss was just Loyola’s second against in-state competition. The Ramblers (12-3-3) are still looking to claim an overdue regional title. The last time they brought home a regional plaque was 2008.
The match wasn't what first-year manager Justin Dunn had hoped for his squad, but he was proud of his team and how it played regardless of the outcome.
There was some concern the match would get out of control halfway through the first half.
After an Oskar Duenkel slide tackle took out Glenbrook South's Owen Beumer with 21:56 until the half, a Glenbrook South player retaliated by pushing a Loyola player to the ground.
Less than a minute later, a parent ran onto the field to argue with the referees before being escorted off the field by security.
The slide tackle knocked Beumer out of the game with a knee injury.
Even before the dust-up, the game was a physical one and didn't become any less so. Or as multiple parents in the crowd said throughout the game, "This isn't rugby!"
"We knew Loyola was going to be a physical team," Steenbergen said. "We were expecting the physicality, but I think we tried to handle it the best we could because that's the nature of the game."
"We lost Owen Beumer today, and he's the engine and heart of our team," Lara said. "Suddenly as a team, when we feel we lose our heart, how do we respond?
"What the guys showed is that they've also got a ton of heart, are resilient, gritty and selfless. I'm so proud of their response to that adversity. The fact the guys dug deep, played 100 minutes and PKs, I couldn't be prouder."
Loyola wasn't able to get any true scoring opportunities in the first half, something the players knew would have to change in the second half if they wanted to win.
Dunn's halftime speech seemed to work. The Ramblers put a lot more pressure on Cloutier and took 10 shots, three of which required a save.
"Halftime, Justin reminded us to take a deep breath," Loyola senior Ryan Leider said. "Nerves will happen because of the intensity, and it's the playoffs. But in the second half, we started to play our game, making passes and opening them up.
"We also knew GBS would get tired, because they'd play a high press. So we decided to pay our game and relax. It worked, we broke them down and had many chances, but we couldn't finish."
"That's just how soccer works," Dunn said. "You think over and over it's going to happen, and then it doesn't.
"It sucks when you know you can do great things and look pretty while doing it, and then it just never ended up happening. I feel for all these guys, especially the seniors. It was frustrating to say the least. … We just couldn't put it in the back of the net."
Glenbrook South has done well this year limiting its opponents. The Titans defense has allowed only nine goals all season and has 11 clean-sheets to its credit.
"Individually, we have great defenders at every position," Cloutier said. "What really ties us together is our communication which we've improved on as the season has gone along … the movement we have as a unit, just us holding each other accountable for mistakes we make. But also giving us encouragement when we do things right."
"It comes down to toughness," Lara said. "It's all about preparation whether it's on the field, whether it's short technique or looking at film, we take pride in trying to break up and prevent teams from stringing together a lot of passes.
"All season only two goals have come in the run of play, the rest have been in set pieces. So I think we have the confidence that we're one of the best, if not the best, defense in the state of Illinois.”
While Cloutier was having himself a game in goal for the Titans, Ainsworth was just as stout.
The Loyola senior keeper made 12 saves through regulation and overtime, including seven in the two overtime periods combined. His coach has loved what he’s seen from his keeper, not only in the regional final, but the season overall.
"This is his stage," Dunn said about his goalie. "He has written his name in the Loyola (record) books, and it's still unbelievable no college has picked him up.
"As a former goalie, it was unbelievable some of the saves he made. His kicking, his sliding out and coming out and doing things, as a goalie it makes me and the goalkeeping squad really proud. He's phenomenal, and we wouldn't have been here without him."
After scoreless overtime periods, the two teams got together for penalty kicks. All four of the Titans --Steenbergen, Franco Fernandez-Enjo, Zarko Pavlovic and Chris Sanchez -- converted on their attempts.
Loyola’s Leider connected on the second shot; Frank Miedema’s opening shot missed and Cloutier made a save on Oliver Szorc to close the round.
The loss marked the end of a wild year for Dunn and his squad. The Ramblers manager took over head coaching duties about two weeks prior to the season starting when longtime leader Baer Fisher stepped down to move to Arizona with his family.
Dunn worked with the Ramblers during the spring season, so he knew the squad and who was returning. But to take over a historically strong program in only his second season coaching was a challenge.
It culminated in a season was a one he will never forget.
"This season was nothing like I expected," he said. "This is possibly one of the best falls of my life. I love all these guys. They've shown their true colors, that they're willing to not only work for each other, but for me.
"Coming in two weeks before, to do what we did, to have the season that we did, with the players we have, it's phenomenal. We dealt with adversity but still worked hard. As a former New Trier player who teaches at Evanston … this is the group I want to be with."
The Ramblers were a squad with plenty of experience with 12 seniors on the roster. For players like Leider, there are many good memories.
"This organization emphasizes family," Leider said. "If I had to describe us, it's family. We take care of each other, make sure we're all good. As a program, they instill in us to work hard, and I'll miss these guys for sure."
With the win, the Titans move on to play Evanston in the sectional semifinals on Tuesday at New Trier's Northfield campus. The two teams tied 1-1 when they played in the Central Suburban League South Division on Sept. 14.
"Now it's about finding out what kind of team we can be without Owen's presence in the middle," Lara said. "We might have to rethink our formation, where people are playing, but it's going to be next-man-up mentality."
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South
GK: Declan Cloutier
D: Chris Sanchez
D: Zarko Pavlovic
D: Franco Fernandez-Enjo
D: Jimmy Aglikin
MF: Conor Beach
MF: Max Ostrowski
MF: Bennett Steenbergen
MF: Adrian Potoniec
MF: Owen Beumer
F: Josh Nelson
Loyola
GK: Alex Ainsworth
D: Liam Drehkoff
D: Niko Douvalakis
D: Ryan Leider
D: John Phillips
MF: Oskar Duenkel
MF: Oliver Szorc
MF: Joseph Roscoe
MF: Joey Vehovsky
F: Frank Miedema
F: Bryan Ramsay
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Declan Cloutier, sr., GK, Glenbrook South
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
First overtime
No scoring
Second overtime
No scoring
Penalty kicks
Glenbrook South: Steenbergen; Fernandez-Enjo; Sanchez; Pavlovic
Loyola: Leider
[DS1]
Glenbrook South top Loyola
Titans take regional after 100 minutes of scoreless soccer
By Michael Wojtychiw
GLENVIEW -- To be successful in the state playoffs, it takes grit, dedication, emotion, a little bit of luck and some good scouting.
Glenbrook South used it all in its matchup with their fourth-seeded host in the title game of the Loyola Regional at the Ramblers' Munz Campus on Friday night.
The Titans, seeded sixth in the New Trier Sectional, advanced after taking the penalty kick round 4-1, but not before a lot of emotions and excitement flowed.
Before the Titans' 5-0 win over Maine South on Oct. 19, goalie Declan Cloutier watched Loyola in its 5-1 win over Lincoln Park. In that game, the senior keeper was able to witness a Loyola penalty kick he said was helpful when the shootout started Friday night.
"I'm just trying to think of things I can do to get in their heads," he said. "I'm a little nervous, but as a goalkeeper, you just try to save it. Even if it goes in, it's not really blamed on you. So, you go full out to save it.
"I had watched Loyola on Tuesday in their regional semifinal so I knew where one of their players was going. That penalty was going through my mind -- I know where he's going."
Standing in goal for a penalty kick in the regular-season is one thing, but it's a totally different animal when you're standing there in a win-or-go-home situation where a single goal or save can be the difference in a regional title or the end of a season.
"Declan, he's had a long history of winning PKs," Glenbrook South manager Reggie Lara said. "It started freshman year when these guys were at the CSL championship at New Trier. He won that championship there, and I know he's done it in club.
“He's got an edge in him. Most goalies are nervous in PKs, but he loves them and will face whatever shot comes his way."
Cloutier's big save played a major role in the shootout.
Bennett Steenbergen got the Titans (12-2-6) started by faking out Loyola keeper Alex Ainsworth. He went right while the goalkeeper dove left.
"As much as possible, I try to focus in on the shot," Steenbergen said. "We've shot it in practice; we've shot balls in the game. You just have to think of it as another shot.
"It's definitely been a process this season, especially after last season: it wasn't a full season; there wasn't a postseason. For most guys on the team, this is our first real playoff, so we were really excited for this environment.
"The game was long, so we had to buckle down and push through it."
The loss was just Loyola’s second against in-state competition. The Ramblers (12-3-3) are still looking to claim an overdue regional title. The last time they brought home a regional plaque was 2008.
The match wasn't what first-year manager Justin Dunn had hoped for his squad, but he was proud of his team and how it played regardless of the outcome.
There was some concern the match would get out of control halfway through the first half.
After an Oskar Duenkel slide tackle took out Glenbrook South's Owen Beumer with 21:56 until the half, a Glenbrook South player retaliated by pushing a Loyola player to the ground.
Less than a minute later, a parent ran onto the field to argue with the referees before being escorted off the field by security.
The slide tackle knocked Beumer out of the game with a knee injury.
Even before the dust-up, the game was a physical one and didn't become any less so. Or as multiple parents in the crowd said throughout the game, "This isn't rugby!"
"We knew Loyola was going to be a physical team," Steenbergen said. "We were expecting the physicality, but I think we tried to handle it the best we could because that's the nature of the game."
"We lost Owen Beumer today, and he's the engine and heart of our team," Lara said. "Suddenly as a team, when we feel we lose our heart, how do we respond?
"What the guys showed is that they've also got a ton of heart, are resilient, gritty and selfless. I'm so proud of their response to that adversity. The fact the guys dug deep, played 100 minutes and PKs, I couldn't be prouder."
Loyola wasn't able to get any true scoring opportunities in the first half, something the players knew would have to change in the second half if they wanted to win.
Dunn's halftime speech seemed to work. The Ramblers put a lot more pressure on Cloutier and took 10 shots, three of which required a save.
"Halftime, Justin reminded us to take a deep breath," Loyola senior Ryan Leider said. "Nerves will happen because of the intensity, and it's the playoffs. But in the second half, we started to play our game, making passes and opening them up.
"We also knew GBS would get tired, because they'd play a high press. So we decided to pay our game and relax. It worked, we broke them down and had many chances, but we couldn't finish."
"That's just how soccer works," Dunn said. "You think over and over it's going to happen, and then it doesn't.
"It sucks when you know you can do great things and look pretty while doing it, and then it just never ended up happening. I feel for all these guys, especially the seniors. It was frustrating to say the least. … We just couldn't put it in the back of the net."
Glenbrook South has done well this year limiting its opponents. The Titans defense has allowed only nine goals all season and has 11 clean-sheets to its credit.
"Individually, we have great defenders at every position," Cloutier said. "What really ties us together is our communication which we've improved on as the season has gone along … the movement we have as a unit, just us holding each other accountable for mistakes we make. But also giving us encouragement when we do things right."
"It comes down to toughness," Lara said. "It's all about preparation whether it's on the field, whether it's short technique or looking at film, we take pride in trying to break up and prevent teams from stringing together a lot of passes.
"All season only two goals have come in the run of play, the rest have been in set pieces. So I think we have the confidence that we're one of the best, if not the best, defense in the state of Illinois.”
While Cloutier was having himself a game in goal for the Titans, Ainsworth was just as stout.
The Loyola senior keeper made 12 saves through regulation and overtime, including seven in the two overtime periods combined. His coach has loved what he’s seen from his keeper, not only in the regional final, but the season overall.
"This is his stage," Dunn said about his goalie. "He has written his name in the Loyola (record) books, and it's still unbelievable no college has picked him up.
"As a former goalie, it was unbelievable some of the saves he made. His kicking, his sliding out and coming out and doing things, as a goalie it makes me and the goalkeeping squad really proud. He's phenomenal, and we wouldn't have been here without him."
After scoreless overtime periods, the two teams got together for penalty kicks. All four of the Titans --Steenbergen, Franco Fernandez-Enjo, Zarko Pavlovic and Chris Sanchez -- converted on their attempts.
Loyola’s Leider connected on the second shot; Frank Miedema’s opening shot missed and Cloutier made a save on Oliver Szorc to close the round.
The loss marked the end of a wild year for Dunn and his squad. The Ramblers manager took over head coaching duties about two weeks prior to the season starting when longtime leader Baer Fisher stepped down to move to Arizona with his family.
Dunn worked with the Ramblers during the spring season, so he knew the squad and who was returning. But to take over a historically strong program in only his second season coaching was a challenge.
It culminated in a season was a one he will never forget.
"This season was nothing like I expected," he said. "This is possibly one of the best falls of my life. I love all these guys. They've shown their true colors, that they're willing to not only work for each other, but for me.
"Coming in two weeks before, to do what we did, to have the season that we did, with the players we have, it's phenomenal. We dealt with adversity but still worked hard. As a former New Trier player who teaches at Evanston … this is the group I want to be with."
The Ramblers were a squad with plenty of experience with 12 seniors on the roster. For players like Leider, there are many good memories.
"This organization emphasizes family," Leider said. "If I had to describe us, it's family. We take care of each other, make sure we're all good. As a program, they instill in us to work hard, and I'll miss these guys for sure."
With the win, the Titans move on to play Evanston in the sectional semifinals on Tuesday at New Trier's Northfield campus. The two teams tied 1-1 when they played in the Central Suburban League South Division on Sept. 14.
"Now it's about finding out what kind of team we can be without Owen's presence in the middle," Lara said. "We might have to rethink our formation, where people are playing, but it's going to be next-man-up mentality."
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South
GK: Declan Cloutier
D: Chris Sanchez
D: Zarko Pavlovic
D: Franco Fernandez-Enjo
D: Jimmy Aglikin
MF: Conor Beach
MF: Max Ostrowski
MF: Bennett Steenbergen
MF: Adrian Potoniec
MF: Owen Beumer
F: Josh Nelson
Loyola
GK: Alex Ainsworth
D: Liam Drehkoff
D: Niko Douvalakis
D: Ryan Leider
D: John Phillips
MF: Oskar Duenkel
MF: Oliver Szorc
MF: Joseph Roscoe
MF: Joey Vehovsky
F: Frank Miedema
F: Bryan Ramsay
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Declan Cloutier, sr., GK, Glenbrook South
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
First overtime
No scoring
Second overtime
No scoring
Penalty kicks
Glenbrook South: Steenbergen; Fernandez-Enjo; Sanchez; Pavlovic
Loyola: Leider
[DS1]