Hot Franzen drives New Trier past GBS
Evan Kanellos nabs 1st varsity goal in 3-0 win
By Michael Wojtychiw
NORTHFIELD -- New Trier came into Thursday's Central Suburban League South Division matchup with Glenbrook South with the gaudy 9-0-0 record and the top spot in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
That, however, doesn't mean that the Trevians aren't asking questions about themselves. How can they improve? New Trier searches for that answer every time its steps onto the pitch.
The team got some of the answers it was looking for, especially in the second half, as it took down the visiting Titans 3-0 on a chilly April Fools' Day.
"We showed how we can play against a physical opponent that wouldn't let up," New Trier senior midfielder Zach Moskowitz said. "This is probably one of the best defenses we've played. They're very physical, very organized in the midfield and kept working. We kept our composure and got the breakthrough eventually."
"They pressed really hard the whole time and didn't give us time to do anything with the ball," Glenbrook South junior Owen Beumer said. "We tried to play it out, and they'd stop it right away. We'd play a long ball, and they'd win it in the back. They're really good 1-on-1 defenders.”
This edition of the Trevians, which according to coach Matt Ravenscraft may be the strongest he's had in his tenure as head coach, has been a force on offense, outscoring their opponents 35-4 after Thursday’s win.
New Trier had a prime opportunity to break the ice in the fourth minute. Glenbrook South keeper Colin Morse missed a long send from the Trevians, and the ball rolled behind him. Krueger tried but couldn't catch up, before it went over the endline just wide of the goal.
That wasn't the only opportunity the Trevians had in the first half. Krueger just missed on a shot that hit the post, and another went wide left after he forced a turnover.
But it wasn't only the Trevians (10-0-0, 2-0-0) who had opportunities in the first half. After settling in after the first 10 minutes or so, Glenbrook South (3-4-0, 0-2-0) had shots from Beumer and Arturo Moyo that were thwarted by New Trier keeper Aidan Crawford. A shot by Jeffrey Keating went high after he created a turnover.
"We need to finish our opportunities that we have on goal," Beumer said. "We missed three in the first 10 minutes and if we put at least one of those in, it changes everyone's mindset."
Going into halftime, with the score 0-0, both teams knew that if they wanted to pull out the conference win, they needed to get something going.
"We just wanted to win," New Trier senior midfielder Will Franzen said. "We emphasized that to each other; we huddled up, told each other to trust each other."
"We noticed they (GBS) had a high line, so we told the front three to make runs in behind," Moskowitz said. "Even if they didn't get it, it'd push their defense and give more space for some of the other guys to operate."
After each team had multiple opportunities in the first 10 minutes, New Trier's Franzen was finally able to capitalize with 24 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the match.
Franzen knocked in a shot from a Sam Cummins pass.
"We did a better job managing transitions," Ravenscraft said. "That's an extremely talented, hard-working team and give Reggie credit, GBS credit, they always cause us problems because of how hard they work and how organized they are. We were able to find a few more pockets of space.
"Will showed why he's one of the best players in the state, why he's special."
Franzen then added a second tally nearly three minutes later when Ronan O'Neill led him to the goal, and Franzen finished with his left foot into the left side of the net. The tally was Franzen's 10th on the year.
"Sam was going to play it back but saw me in the middle and made a great pass," Franzen said. "I knew that the defender was tight on my back, so I did a spin turn, got the goalie out of position and put it in the corner.
"Ronan made an excellent run out wide, that's something we've been working on, and he squared it to me."
Much like the first half, Glenbrook South started to slow the game down in the middle of the period and looked to get more action for opportunities to get on the board.
"When we won the ball, those moments of transition, when we evade that pressure that would swarm us, switch the point of attack, when we were able to do that, we were able to possess the ball," Glenbrook South coach Reggie Lara said. "We didn't take our foot off the petal, knowing that if we kept trying, maybe we'll be able to sneak one in. It just didn't end up happening."
New Trier’s Evan Kanellos iced the game with 6:14 remaining when he knocked in a Michael Malyszek pass for his first career varsity goal.
One difference between this year's New Trier squad and previous ones has been their ability to distribute goals among multiple players, not just one or two.
"The guys are great. They're creative, and I trust them with everything," Franzen said. "We worked a lot on guys creating goals, creating opportunities. Everyone from back to front is creative, knows how to create goals, and it makes my job a lot easier."
"What's fun about this team is trying to find the right combination of players," Ravenscraft said. "When guys are locked in and able to play at their highest level, there's a lot of guys on this squad that can hurt teams."
Even though his squad has now dropped three straight and its first two in the conference season, Lara was happy with some of the things he saw from his squad.
"I was really proud of the effort we gave out there," Lara said. "The scoreboard doesn't reflect it, but we're proud of the performance. We really challenged them, and I don't think the score was indicative of what the game was.
"Rather than looking at where we place in conference, I think we just take it day-by-day and look to take a step forward every time we are able to play. I think we can confidently say today was a good day out there."
Players like Beumer are ones who have really started to have breakout moments on the team and been able to show their abilities at this level.
"The opportunity of being on varsity, I've felt that I need to take advantage of it," he said. "I also switched soccer clubs last year, and I feel like they've helped develop my game. My old club would just play up and down the field, vertically, but F.C. United has taught me actually how to play."
Both teams continue conference play this weekend when Glenbrook South hosts Maine South at noon Saturday, and New Trier travels to Northbrook to play Glenbrook North, also at noon Saturday.
Starting Lineups
Glenbrook South
GK: Colin Morse
D: Danny Peters
D: Dominik Danko
D: Drew Maytum
MF: Owen Beumer
MF: David Sohn
MF: Zarko Pavlovic
MF: Adrian Potoniec
F: Bennett Steenbergen
F: Jeffrey Keating
F: Stefan Souleles
New Trier
GK: Aidan Crawford
D: Jack Cudmore
D: Sam Cummins
D: James Paden
MF: Zach Moskowitz
MF: Jake Krueger
MF: Will Franzen
F: Evan Kanellos
F: Peter Kanellos
F: Ronan O'Neill
F: Dante Mitchell
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Will Franzen, senior, midfielder, New Trier
Scoring Summary
First half
No scoring
Second Half
New Trier - Will Franzen (Sam Cummins), 56th minute
New Trier - Franzen (Ronan O'Neill), 59th minute
New Trier - Evan Kanellos (Michael Malyszek), 73rd minute
Evan Kanellos nabs 1st varsity goal in 3-0 win
By Michael Wojtychiw
NORTHFIELD -- New Trier came into Thursday's Central Suburban League South Division matchup with Glenbrook South with the gaudy 9-0-0 record and the top spot in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
That, however, doesn't mean that the Trevians aren't asking questions about themselves. How can they improve? New Trier searches for that answer every time its steps onto the pitch.
The team got some of the answers it was looking for, especially in the second half, as it took down the visiting Titans 3-0 on a chilly April Fools' Day.
"We showed how we can play against a physical opponent that wouldn't let up," New Trier senior midfielder Zach Moskowitz said. "This is probably one of the best defenses we've played. They're very physical, very organized in the midfield and kept working. We kept our composure and got the breakthrough eventually."
"They pressed really hard the whole time and didn't give us time to do anything with the ball," Glenbrook South junior Owen Beumer said. "We tried to play it out, and they'd stop it right away. We'd play a long ball, and they'd win it in the back. They're really good 1-on-1 defenders.”
This edition of the Trevians, which according to coach Matt Ravenscraft may be the strongest he's had in his tenure as head coach, has been a force on offense, outscoring their opponents 35-4 after Thursday’s win.
New Trier had a prime opportunity to break the ice in the fourth minute. Glenbrook South keeper Colin Morse missed a long send from the Trevians, and the ball rolled behind him. Krueger tried but couldn't catch up, before it went over the endline just wide of the goal.
That wasn't the only opportunity the Trevians had in the first half. Krueger just missed on a shot that hit the post, and another went wide left after he forced a turnover.
But it wasn't only the Trevians (10-0-0, 2-0-0) who had opportunities in the first half. After settling in after the first 10 minutes or so, Glenbrook South (3-4-0, 0-2-0) had shots from Beumer and Arturo Moyo that were thwarted by New Trier keeper Aidan Crawford. A shot by Jeffrey Keating went high after he created a turnover.
"We need to finish our opportunities that we have on goal," Beumer said. "We missed three in the first 10 minutes and if we put at least one of those in, it changes everyone's mindset."
Going into halftime, with the score 0-0, both teams knew that if they wanted to pull out the conference win, they needed to get something going.
"We just wanted to win," New Trier senior midfielder Will Franzen said. "We emphasized that to each other; we huddled up, told each other to trust each other."
"We noticed they (GBS) had a high line, so we told the front three to make runs in behind," Moskowitz said. "Even if they didn't get it, it'd push their defense and give more space for some of the other guys to operate."
After each team had multiple opportunities in the first 10 minutes, New Trier's Franzen was finally able to capitalize with 24 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the match.
Franzen knocked in a shot from a Sam Cummins pass.
"We did a better job managing transitions," Ravenscraft said. "That's an extremely talented, hard-working team and give Reggie credit, GBS credit, they always cause us problems because of how hard they work and how organized they are. We were able to find a few more pockets of space.
"Will showed why he's one of the best players in the state, why he's special."
Franzen then added a second tally nearly three minutes later when Ronan O'Neill led him to the goal, and Franzen finished with his left foot into the left side of the net. The tally was Franzen's 10th on the year.
"Sam was going to play it back but saw me in the middle and made a great pass," Franzen said. "I knew that the defender was tight on my back, so I did a spin turn, got the goalie out of position and put it in the corner.
"Ronan made an excellent run out wide, that's something we've been working on, and he squared it to me."
Much like the first half, Glenbrook South started to slow the game down in the middle of the period and looked to get more action for opportunities to get on the board.
"When we won the ball, those moments of transition, when we evade that pressure that would swarm us, switch the point of attack, when we were able to do that, we were able to possess the ball," Glenbrook South coach Reggie Lara said. "We didn't take our foot off the petal, knowing that if we kept trying, maybe we'll be able to sneak one in. It just didn't end up happening."
New Trier’s Evan Kanellos iced the game with 6:14 remaining when he knocked in a Michael Malyszek pass for his first career varsity goal.
One difference between this year's New Trier squad and previous ones has been their ability to distribute goals among multiple players, not just one or two.
"The guys are great. They're creative, and I trust them with everything," Franzen said. "We worked a lot on guys creating goals, creating opportunities. Everyone from back to front is creative, knows how to create goals, and it makes my job a lot easier."
"What's fun about this team is trying to find the right combination of players," Ravenscraft said. "When guys are locked in and able to play at their highest level, there's a lot of guys on this squad that can hurt teams."
Even though his squad has now dropped three straight and its first two in the conference season, Lara was happy with some of the things he saw from his squad.
"I was really proud of the effort we gave out there," Lara said. "The scoreboard doesn't reflect it, but we're proud of the performance. We really challenged them, and I don't think the score was indicative of what the game was.
"Rather than looking at where we place in conference, I think we just take it day-by-day and look to take a step forward every time we are able to play. I think we can confidently say today was a good day out there."
Players like Beumer are ones who have really started to have breakout moments on the team and been able to show their abilities at this level.
"The opportunity of being on varsity, I've felt that I need to take advantage of it," he said. "I also switched soccer clubs last year, and I feel like they've helped develop my game. My old club would just play up and down the field, vertically, but F.C. United has taught me actually how to play."
Both teams continue conference play this weekend when Glenbrook South hosts Maine South at noon Saturday, and New Trier travels to Northbrook to play Glenbrook North, also at noon Saturday.
Starting Lineups
Glenbrook South
GK: Colin Morse
D: Danny Peters
D: Dominik Danko
D: Drew Maytum
MF: Owen Beumer
MF: David Sohn
MF: Zarko Pavlovic
MF: Adrian Potoniec
F: Bennett Steenbergen
F: Jeffrey Keating
F: Stefan Souleles
New Trier
GK: Aidan Crawford
D: Jack Cudmore
D: Sam Cummins
D: James Paden
MF: Zach Moskowitz
MF: Jake Krueger
MF: Will Franzen
F: Evan Kanellos
F: Peter Kanellos
F: Ronan O'Neill
F: Dante Mitchell
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Will Franzen, senior, midfielder, New Trier
Scoring Summary
First half
No scoring
Second Half
New Trier - Will Franzen (Sam Cummins), 56th minute
New Trier - Franzen (Ronan O'Neill), 59th minute
New Trier - Evan Kanellos (Michael Malyszek), 73rd minute