Glenbrook South, Notre Dame
play to spirited draw
Former ND mates Lara (GBS) and Smith coach squads to 1-1 tie
By Dave Owen
NILES -- Glenbrook South’s night at Notre Dame had elements old and new.
The new: the emergence as a scoring threat of defender Franco Fernandez-Enjo, who turned an unlikely tough angle chance into what has to be one of the Titans’ goals of the year.
The result was somewhat old and familiar: the Titans battled the Class AA Dons (16-1-2) to a 1-1 tie, moving their record to a draw-heavy mark of 8-2-6.
Then there was a mix of old and new: Glenbrook South coach Reggie Lara’s return to Notre Dame, where he played in high school and served as head coach nearly a decade ago.
“I was a senior on this team when (Niles ND coach) Mike (Smith) was a sophomore up on varsity. And he was a fellow coach on the staff when i was in charge of Notre Dame’s program for two years.
“This is the first time I've coached against Notre Dame at Notre Dame. And it's like a family affair. I went here, my brothers went here, and my cousin coached here. Once you're a Notre Dame guy, you're kind of a Don for life. It felt special to be back here.”
It turned out to be a pretty special game as well.
After withstanding an early attack from the Dons over the first three minutes, the Titans proceeded to parlay a strong wind at their backs into a major edge in first half chances.
Owen Beumer’s point-blank shot off a corner kick in the eighth minute was denied by diving Notre Dame goalkeeper Luca Lobianco at the post, the first of Lobianco’s many big-time denials on the night.
Glenbrook South captain Ben Steenbergen started and nearly finished a great bid in the 23rd minute. He made a steal 30 yards out, dribbled in and had his low 12-yard shot grabbed by a diving Lobianco.
More Titans defense turned to offense in the 27th minute. Kevin Perez’s intercepted pass 35 yards out led to a Conor Beach right-side run and shot that Lobianco again dived to stop and cover at the right post.
“Luca was outstanding,” Smith said. “Definitely his best game of the season. And our defense played well.”
But no hot goalkeeper or defense could deny what Fernandez-Enjo did with 7:08 left in the half.
Taking a short pass from Steenbergen on the right side, Fernandez-Enjo launched a tough angle, right sideline/near end line ball that he perfectly lofted 20 yards inside the upper left corner of the net to put the Titans up 1-0.
“The entire half with the wind and the way they were playing us with their formation, I felt i was getting open the entire half,” Fernandez-Enjo said. “And I felt I was taking their defenders on well 1-v-1.
“I even remember at one point I asked coach Lara, ‘When I get the ball in these positions you want me to cross it or shoot it?’ He was like, ‘Either one.’
“I got the ball and turned,” he added, “and I didn't even decide if it was a shot or a cross. I decided to hit one in (on goal) and see what happened. As soon as I hit it, I turned to Ben next to me and said 'That’s going on.' And it went in.”
Those familiar with multiple Titans fall sports weren’t surprised.
“He's the field goal kicker for football too,” Lara said. “He put one through the uprights once when we were yelling 'Hey, wrong sport.'
“But we know he has the ability to put that on, and I think that was with his off foot too, his left foot. He's been very productive as a back for us, and we know he's capable of providing some offense. That's a bonus when a back can do that.”
Fernandez-Enjo has two goals this season, both came in the last three games.
“Playing defense I don't ever score,” he said. “I actually scored against Niles West a couple games ago, and I thought that was going to be the last goal of my career playing soccer. So, I was really glad this went down.”
The Titans went right to the first half horn kicking. After Josh Nelson was fouled with under 10 seconds left, Dominik Danko rocketed a 40-yard free kick that Notre Dame’s Michael Ziemba took on full force to block at the wall just a few yards downfield.
“We knew this was a test,” Smith said. “I told our boys before the game we were playing a school four times the size of us. And compared to our guys, they have a lot of big bodies on their team. But I think we embraced the challenge.
“The first half we did what we wanted to do. We knew they were going to come at us a lot, and they had the wind at their back. I think we played it well.
“Their kid hit that goal,” Smith added, “and I don't know if it was a cross or a shot. But it was the perfect spot. Luca was everywhere else he needed to be, but there's nothing he could do about that one.”
After being on the defensive much of the first half, Notre Dame welcomed the wind in their favor after the break.
And with an offense averaging 4.5 goals per game entering the night, they would turn the 1-0 deficit into a draw on a nice set piece with 28:24 remaining.
Andy Barrezueta’s corner kick send set the table nicely, and sophomore Ryan Shanahan did the rest.
“I was in the middle of the goal lining up for it (the corner kick),” Shanahan said, “and usually it goes back post. So I knew I would drag my defender to the middle and then go back post. It came back post, and I just headed it in.
“Our key all year has been our defense and midfield, and how we've been moving the ball. It really tires out the opponent and gives us some nice opportunities.
“They (the Titans) were an awesome team and played really nice soccer,” Shanahan added. “We knew we had to wake up (in the second half), and get a lucky chance like that one.”
The Dons came close to grabbing the lead with 15:20 to go. A right-side free kick was deflected in front, but Glenbrook South goalkeeper Declan Cloutier nicely stayed with the redirect to make a diving cover.
Even into the wind, Glenbrook South used great passing to come even closer to seizing the lead with just 8:30 to play.
Fernandez-Enjo began the play with a nice touch pass to Steenbergen up the right side. Steenbergen then sent a perfect cross to the front, where Kevin Perez ran onto the ball with a line drive 6-yarder. But Lobianco again came up huge, kicking the sure goal aside.
“I started leaning right,” Lobianco said, “then I saw it go left at the last second so I just kind of stuck my knee out.”
Lobianco’s highlight film of saves in one night earned him a share of the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor with Fernandez-Enjo.
“Communication with my defense was the big thing,” Lobianco said, “because they (the Titans) put a lot of pressure on and they (defenders) can't always see the field. That was a big key.”
The Titans had their own rock-solid defensive night.
“We thought they (the Dons) were a team that's quick to counter and really capitalizes on set pieces,” Lara said. “So whenever they won the ball, the goal was to always have someone close in and pressure so it was no easy through-balls or balls over the top for their fast forwards to run on to.
“For the most part we did keep up them under wraps, but it's a little disappointing that they were able to put that set piece in the back of the net.”
Outside of that goal, tall Titans center back Zarko Pavlovic and his defensive mates denied the Dons.
“We were told they were a physical team,” Pavlovic said, “so we just came out not letting them breath on the ball. Every time they got a touch, we tried closing in and playing tough with the ball.
“We knew their record, but we never really care about the record of the team we play. We always try to play like we’re playing the best team in the state. So going in to this we knew we'd have to play hard, and we weren't expecting an easy win.”
Offensive hero Fernandez-Enjo played a big defensive role as well.
“Our defense has been good all season,” he said. “We've conceded six or maybe seven goals all season. We trust each other in the back and all cover for each other. It's never a question. I know we have a strong defense.
“The biggest thing was not to cover down and be scared of their physicality, but embrace it and just play our game while they play theirs and outplay them on the field.”
After the Dons threatened with a Barrezueta 30-yard free kick just over the upper right corner of the net with 3:30 to go, the Titans’ offense put on a final push.
Pavlovic’s nice defensive end win with 20 seconds left led to a counterattack and a foul. Fernandez-Enjo’s ensuing 45-yard free kick led to a Pavlovic well contested 8-yard header in the crowd in front, which Lobianco grabbed as time expired.
While not as big as some earlier saves, Lobianco again was a difference-maker.
“We had two chances tonight that should have been goals,” Pavlovic said, “but their keeper made two outstanding saves. I think even though we possessed the ball a lot it doesn't really mean much when we can't convert. So definitely come playoff time we need to sharpen up our offense and be ready to put goals in the bag.”
The Glenbrook South offense has picked up some after netting just 10 goals in the first 11 games. The Spartans scored 13 during a three-game winning streak entering Monday. But the Dons’ challenge produced one goal and another tie.
“There's been a lot of games we've tied that we think we should have won,” Fernandez-Enjo said. “But obviously we have playoffs coming up, and we're playing Maine South again, who we beat just a couple of weeks ago (1-0 on Sept. 23).
“As long as we can continue to improve and we're peaking as we enter the playoffs we'll be in the right spot.”
Lara was overall pleased with how his side handled Monday’s challenge.
“I really feel it was a team effort,” he said. “I was impressed with my backs and how we built the ball out of the back instead of just hitting it over the top.
“And I think our mids worked a lot, especially outnumbered (by the Dons) five to three in the middle. But we trusted them to get the job done and work against that formation.
“Our forward Ben Steenbergen also had a good game moving up and down the field,” Lara added, “getting in the box and having opportunities. As a team we played really well, but we needed to capitalize. But hats off to their goalkeeper for making outstanding saves.”
Smith praised his Dons’ effort as well in the elite nonconference tilt, as his squad (7-0-0 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference) prepares for key league games later this week with Carmel and Benet.
“Our guys had to play tough tonight,” he said. “Our central defensive midfielders were great. Daniel Deano had a good game, Andres down the middle was awesome, and Paul Harris in the back. Really I'm proud of all the boys.
“We told our guys the reason we put this game on our schedule was for a possible sectional final or supersectional game,” Smith added. "We're going to play teams like this (in Class AA) with big bodies. They (Glenbrook South) are physical, talented. Definitely one of the best teams we've played.”
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South
GK Declan Cloutier
D Zarko Pavlovic
D Franco-Fernandez Enjo
D Jimmy Aglikin
D Dominik Danko
M Max Ostrowski
M Adrian Potoniec
M Owen Beumer
F Bennett Steenbergen
F Josh Nelson
F Luca Piekarski
Notre Dame
GK Luca Lobianco
D Paul Harris
D Max Stalenczyk
D Jack Plovanich
D Martin Krug
M Michael Shanahan
M Andy Barrazueta
M Daniel Deano
M Michael Ziemba
M Ian Martinez
F Freddy Krug
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Franco-Fernandez Enjo, sr. D, Glenbrook South; Luco Lobianco, sr. GK, Notre Dame
Scoring summary
First half
GBS: Franco Fernandez-Enjo (Ben Steenbergen assist), 33’
Second half:
ND: Ryan Shanahan (Andres Barrezueta), 52’
play to spirited draw
Former ND mates Lara (GBS) and Smith coach squads to 1-1 tie
By Dave Owen
NILES -- Glenbrook South’s night at Notre Dame had elements old and new.
The new: the emergence as a scoring threat of defender Franco Fernandez-Enjo, who turned an unlikely tough angle chance into what has to be one of the Titans’ goals of the year.
The result was somewhat old and familiar: the Titans battled the Class AA Dons (16-1-2) to a 1-1 tie, moving their record to a draw-heavy mark of 8-2-6.
Then there was a mix of old and new: Glenbrook South coach Reggie Lara’s return to Notre Dame, where he played in high school and served as head coach nearly a decade ago.
“I was a senior on this team when (Niles ND coach) Mike (Smith) was a sophomore up on varsity. And he was a fellow coach on the staff when i was in charge of Notre Dame’s program for two years.
“This is the first time I've coached against Notre Dame at Notre Dame. And it's like a family affair. I went here, my brothers went here, and my cousin coached here. Once you're a Notre Dame guy, you're kind of a Don for life. It felt special to be back here.”
It turned out to be a pretty special game as well.
After withstanding an early attack from the Dons over the first three minutes, the Titans proceeded to parlay a strong wind at their backs into a major edge in first half chances.
Owen Beumer’s point-blank shot off a corner kick in the eighth minute was denied by diving Notre Dame goalkeeper Luca Lobianco at the post, the first of Lobianco’s many big-time denials on the night.
Glenbrook South captain Ben Steenbergen started and nearly finished a great bid in the 23rd minute. He made a steal 30 yards out, dribbled in and had his low 12-yard shot grabbed by a diving Lobianco.
More Titans defense turned to offense in the 27th minute. Kevin Perez’s intercepted pass 35 yards out led to a Conor Beach right-side run and shot that Lobianco again dived to stop and cover at the right post.
“Luca was outstanding,” Smith said. “Definitely his best game of the season. And our defense played well.”
But no hot goalkeeper or defense could deny what Fernandez-Enjo did with 7:08 left in the half.
Taking a short pass from Steenbergen on the right side, Fernandez-Enjo launched a tough angle, right sideline/near end line ball that he perfectly lofted 20 yards inside the upper left corner of the net to put the Titans up 1-0.
“The entire half with the wind and the way they were playing us with their formation, I felt i was getting open the entire half,” Fernandez-Enjo said. “And I felt I was taking their defenders on well 1-v-1.
“I even remember at one point I asked coach Lara, ‘When I get the ball in these positions you want me to cross it or shoot it?’ He was like, ‘Either one.’
“I got the ball and turned,” he added, “and I didn't even decide if it was a shot or a cross. I decided to hit one in (on goal) and see what happened. As soon as I hit it, I turned to Ben next to me and said 'That’s going on.' And it went in.”
Those familiar with multiple Titans fall sports weren’t surprised.
“He's the field goal kicker for football too,” Lara said. “He put one through the uprights once when we were yelling 'Hey, wrong sport.'
“But we know he has the ability to put that on, and I think that was with his off foot too, his left foot. He's been very productive as a back for us, and we know he's capable of providing some offense. That's a bonus when a back can do that.”
Fernandez-Enjo has two goals this season, both came in the last three games.
“Playing defense I don't ever score,” he said. “I actually scored against Niles West a couple games ago, and I thought that was going to be the last goal of my career playing soccer. So, I was really glad this went down.”
The Titans went right to the first half horn kicking. After Josh Nelson was fouled with under 10 seconds left, Dominik Danko rocketed a 40-yard free kick that Notre Dame’s Michael Ziemba took on full force to block at the wall just a few yards downfield.
“We knew this was a test,” Smith said. “I told our boys before the game we were playing a school four times the size of us. And compared to our guys, they have a lot of big bodies on their team. But I think we embraced the challenge.
“The first half we did what we wanted to do. We knew they were going to come at us a lot, and they had the wind at their back. I think we played it well.
“Their kid hit that goal,” Smith added, “and I don't know if it was a cross or a shot. But it was the perfect spot. Luca was everywhere else he needed to be, but there's nothing he could do about that one.”
After being on the defensive much of the first half, Notre Dame welcomed the wind in their favor after the break.
And with an offense averaging 4.5 goals per game entering the night, they would turn the 1-0 deficit into a draw on a nice set piece with 28:24 remaining.
Andy Barrezueta’s corner kick send set the table nicely, and sophomore Ryan Shanahan did the rest.
“I was in the middle of the goal lining up for it (the corner kick),” Shanahan said, “and usually it goes back post. So I knew I would drag my defender to the middle and then go back post. It came back post, and I just headed it in.
“Our key all year has been our defense and midfield, and how we've been moving the ball. It really tires out the opponent and gives us some nice opportunities.
“They (the Titans) were an awesome team and played really nice soccer,” Shanahan added. “We knew we had to wake up (in the second half), and get a lucky chance like that one.”
The Dons came close to grabbing the lead with 15:20 to go. A right-side free kick was deflected in front, but Glenbrook South goalkeeper Declan Cloutier nicely stayed with the redirect to make a diving cover.
Even into the wind, Glenbrook South used great passing to come even closer to seizing the lead with just 8:30 to play.
Fernandez-Enjo began the play with a nice touch pass to Steenbergen up the right side. Steenbergen then sent a perfect cross to the front, where Kevin Perez ran onto the ball with a line drive 6-yarder. But Lobianco again came up huge, kicking the sure goal aside.
“I started leaning right,” Lobianco said, “then I saw it go left at the last second so I just kind of stuck my knee out.”
Lobianco’s highlight film of saves in one night earned him a share of the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor with Fernandez-Enjo.
“Communication with my defense was the big thing,” Lobianco said, “because they (the Titans) put a lot of pressure on and they (defenders) can't always see the field. That was a big key.”
The Titans had their own rock-solid defensive night.
“We thought they (the Dons) were a team that's quick to counter and really capitalizes on set pieces,” Lara said. “So whenever they won the ball, the goal was to always have someone close in and pressure so it was no easy through-balls or balls over the top for their fast forwards to run on to.
“For the most part we did keep up them under wraps, but it's a little disappointing that they were able to put that set piece in the back of the net.”
Outside of that goal, tall Titans center back Zarko Pavlovic and his defensive mates denied the Dons.
“We were told they were a physical team,” Pavlovic said, “so we just came out not letting them breath on the ball. Every time they got a touch, we tried closing in and playing tough with the ball.
“We knew their record, but we never really care about the record of the team we play. We always try to play like we’re playing the best team in the state. So going in to this we knew we'd have to play hard, and we weren't expecting an easy win.”
Offensive hero Fernandez-Enjo played a big defensive role as well.
“Our defense has been good all season,” he said. “We've conceded six or maybe seven goals all season. We trust each other in the back and all cover for each other. It's never a question. I know we have a strong defense.
“The biggest thing was not to cover down and be scared of their physicality, but embrace it and just play our game while they play theirs and outplay them on the field.”
After the Dons threatened with a Barrezueta 30-yard free kick just over the upper right corner of the net with 3:30 to go, the Titans’ offense put on a final push.
Pavlovic’s nice defensive end win with 20 seconds left led to a counterattack and a foul. Fernandez-Enjo’s ensuing 45-yard free kick led to a Pavlovic well contested 8-yard header in the crowd in front, which Lobianco grabbed as time expired.
While not as big as some earlier saves, Lobianco again was a difference-maker.
“We had two chances tonight that should have been goals,” Pavlovic said, “but their keeper made two outstanding saves. I think even though we possessed the ball a lot it doesn't really mean much when we can't convert. So definitely come playoff time we need to sharpen up our offense and be ready to put goals in the bag.”
The Glenbrook South offense has picked up some after netting just 10 goals in the first 11 games. The Spartans scored 13 during a three-game winning streak entering Monday. But the Dons’ challenge produced one goal and another tie.
“There's been a lot of games we've tied that we think we should have won,” Fernandez-Enjo said. “But obviously we have playoffs coming up, and we're playing Maine South again, who we beat just a couple of weeks ago (1-0 on Sept. 23).
“As long as we can continue to improve and we're peaking as we enter the playoffs we'll be in the right spot.”
Lara was overall pleased with how his side handled Monday’s challenge.
“I really feel it was a team effort,” he said. “I was impressed with my backs and how we built the ball out of the back instead of just hitting it over the top.
“And I think our mids worked a lot, especially outnumbered (by the Dons) five to three in the middle. But we trusted them to get the job done and work against that formation.
“Our forward Ben Steenbergen also had a good game moving up and down the field,” Lara added, “getting in the box and having opportunities. As a team we played really well, but we needed to capitalize. But hats off to their goalkeeper for making outstanding saves.”
Smith praised his Dons’ effort as well in the elite nonconference tilt, as his squad (7-0-0 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference) prepares for key league games later this week with Carmel and Benet.
“Our guys had to play tough tonight,” he said. “Our central defensive midfielders were great. Daniel Deano had a good game, Andres down the middle was awesome, and Paul Harris in the back. Really I'm proud of all the boys.
“We told our guys the reason we put this game on our schedule was for a possible sectional final or supersectional game,” Smith added. "We're going to play teams like this (in Class AA) with big bodies. They (Glenbrook South) are physical, talented. Definitely one of the best teams we've played.”
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South
GK Declan Cloutier
D Zarko Pavlovic
D Franco-Fernandez Enjo
D Jimmy Aglikin
D Dominik Danko
M Max Ostrowski
M Adrian Potoniec
M Owen Beumer
F Bennett Steenbergen
F Josh Nelson
F Luca Piekarski
Notre Dame
GK Luca Lobianco
D Paul Harris
D Max Stalenczyk
D Jack Plovanich
D Martin Krug
M Michael Shanahan
M Andy Barrazueta
M Daniel Deano
M Michael Ziemba
M Ian Martinez
F Freddy Krug
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Franco-Fernandez Enjo, sr. D, Glenbrook South; Luco Lobianco, sr. GK, Notre Dame
Scoring summary
First half
GBS: Franco Fernandez-Enjo (Ben Steenbergen assist), 33’
Second half:
ND: Ryan Shanahan (Andres Barrezueta), 52’