Glenbrook South leaves
New Trier in holding pattern
Perez PK prevents Trevians from clinching piece of league title
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NORTHFIELD — A game as fast, random and chaotic as soccer is also upended by the hardest of qualities to appreciate.
The impact of raw, pure emotion.
The Central Suburban League South Division showdown between Glenbrook South and New Trier on Thursday appeared to overwhelmingly favor the Trevians.
The visiting Titans knew what they were up against.
“We were coming into this game thinking it might get ugly, and we might not get the result we wanted,” forward Kevin Perez said.
“The teams we lost to, like Evanston, also fell to New Trier.”
Still, it was a classic “trap game” as the second-consecutive rivalry game for both teams.
On Tuesday, New Trier fellow league undefeated rival Evanston 2-0 to gain the upper hand in the race; and the Titans lost at home to Glenbrook North 4-3.
“Two rivalry matches in one week is a crazy experience,” Glenbrook South midfielder Jimmy Aglikin said.
“I think we came into those game not nearly as confident or hyped as we usually come into it.”
The Titans achieved the equivalent of an upset when the penalty kick equalizer by Perez in the 52nd minute forged a 1-1 tie with the seventh-ranked Trevians.
“I think we were a little cocky going into the game tonight,” New Trier midfielder Aryan Krishna said. “We heard Glenbrook South lost 4-1 to Evanston.
“You can’t take any game for granted.”
The draw prevented New Trier (10-1-3, 3-0-1) from clinching at least a tie for the conference championship.
The Trevians are the last team in the league without a loss.
Click here to see the the Central Suburban League South Division standings
“I remember when I saw the schedule back in March or April, I thought this was going to be the week that is going to define our regular-season,” New Trier coach Matt Ravenscraft said.
“After the highs of the Evanston win, our message to the boys was to make sure this was a stepping stone, and not a peak. I think we lacked a little bit of urgency tonight.”
The first half play moved in fits and starts rather than any sustained action on either side.
Returning to the theme of emotion, Glenbrook South (5-6-4, 1-2-1) realized the deeper the game went scoreless, the greater its surge of confidence grew.
The familiarity of the teams has been historically deepened by the number of players from both programs connected to the FC United club.
That inside intelligence sparked the Titans.
“Going into this, there’s a familiarity out there with knowing some of their players,” Aglikin said.
“We started to pick apart what they were trying to do with the ball, and deduce what we were going to do in response.”
The Titans’ center backs, Jeffrey Podjasek and Chris Sanchez, proved exceptionally resistant to Trevians attacks or internal breakdowns.
Keeper Yash Ghal was also dynamic and active inside the box. He made a spectacular diving stop off a header from a free kick by Colin Gottshall in the 39th minute.
“Credit to Glenbrook South,” Ravenscraft said. “I thought they were extremely organized.
“Reggie’s teams are always tough to break down. We knew it was probably going to be a low-scoring game. For us, throughout the first half and into the second half, the game was going okay.”
Perez got free for a header in the front of the goal during the 32nd minute that marked the Titans’ most dangerous scoring opportunity before the break.
He followed with a free kick from about 26 yards from the left edge that Trevians’ keeper Thomas Terry scooped up.
Glenbrook South started to build and develop.
“We saw how much potential we had when we started covering and discovering their tactics,” Perez said.
When playing against New Trier, Titans’ coach Reggie Lara said, the last thing you can afford is to be tentative or passive.
“I was happy with our effort tonight,” Lara said. “Our offensive key was to go at them, and play with quickness and move the ball with speed.
“As the game started to settle, we started to possess the ball a little bit more. Whenever we got it, we were able to build and progress the ball up the field instead of being way too direct.”
As tends to happen in back-and-forth affairs like this, the most consequential actions smash together. It happened in this game in a wild and imaginative flurry in the second half.
New Trier finally gained the upper hand with a brilliant scoring sequence engineered by defender Ollie Fernandez.
His quick switch of the ball found Karsten Segall running free and unopposed down the left flank.
Segall cut through two defenders and drove the ball downfield before unleashing a howitzer from about 24 yards that cut perfectly inside the near post in the 50th minute.
“I think we realized we were possessing the ball really well in the first half,” Segall said. “We didn’t create that many chances in the attack.
“At halftime we talked about getting guys to take risks and go at them. I saw the chance, and I took them on. Obviously, it went well.”
Unlike matches in the past, Glenbrook South did not wither.
In the seconds after the goal, midfielder Anthony Kifarkis caught a ball on the left wing and unleashed a furious shot that required a brilliant diving stop from Terry.
Notice was served.
“The ball started rolling when we realized we had a chance of winning this game,” Aglikin said.
An unlikely player created the decisive action.
Forward Nathan Halpern, a normal reserve, was pressed into playing nearly the entire game with several regulars not available.
Playing off the newly acquired momentum, he drove through the Trevians’ back and was fouled from behind inside the box.
Perez drilled the resulting penalty kick into the lower-level left corner in the 52nd minute.
“Going into the second half, that’s when we decided to really turn it on,” Perez said. “We’ve had a tendency to react really negatively once we give up a goal.
“Once we started elevating each other, that’s when we started creating our chances. Once we got the penalty, the game was something else. I felt the excitement.”
New Trier had some solid opportunities in the final stretch. Midfielder Evan Kanellos hit the far post in the 75th minute.
Glenbrook South’s defense did just enough to ward off the Trevians.
“We had the momentum after the goal, and we shouldn’t switch it off like that,” Segall said.
“We had to be able to put one or two more past them, and that’s the game.”
New Trier plays Glenbrook North Tuesday.
“We are going to bounce back,” Krishna said.
New Trier’s Fernandez and Glenbrook South’s Perez shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction for their outstanding play.
Glenbrook South gained a significant measure of relief and satisfaction.
“Soccer is one of those sports, no matter the rankings or the placement in the leaderboard, it’s a 50-50 matchup whenever you step onto the pitch,” Aglikin, who recently commited to play college ball at Division III Sewanee: The University of the South. “I think tonight was a great example of that, with us coming off a loss and stepping up tonight and taking on one of the top 10 teams in the state.”
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South
GK: Yash Ghal
D: Teddy Sturiale
D: Jeffrey Podjasek
D: Chris Sanchez
D: Alec Grenolds
MF: Jimmy Aglikin
MF: Conor Beach
MF: Anthony Kifarkis
MF: Ben Baczewski
F: Nathan Halpern
F: Kevin Perez
New Trier
GK: Thomas Terry
D: Colin Gottshall
D: Liam Meyers
D: Ollie Fernandez
D: Karsten Segall
MF: Aryan Krishna
MF: Evan Kanellos
MF: Eli Drake
MF: Ian Vichnik
F: Benni Green
F: Aidan Nicholson
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Ollie Hernandez, jr., D, New Trier;
Kevin Perez, sr., F, Glenbrook South
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
NT: Karsten Segall (Ollie Hernandez), 50th minute
GBS: Kevin Perez (penalty kick), 52nd minute
New Trier in holding pattern
Perez PK prevents Trevians from clinching piece of league title
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NORTHFIELD — A game as fast, random and chaotic as soccer is also upended by the hardest of qualities to appreciate.
The impact of raw, pure emotion.
The Central Suburban League South Division showdown between Glenbrook South and New Trier on Thursday appeared to overwhelmingly favor the Trevians.
The visiting Titans knew what they were up against.
“We were coming into this game thinking it might get ugly, and we might not get the result we wanted,” forward Kevin Perez said.
“The teams we lost to, like Evanston, also fell to New Trier.”
Still, it was a classic “trap game” as the second-consecutive rivalry game for both teams.
On Tuesday, New Trier fellow league undefeated rival Evanston 2-0 to gain the upper hand in the race; and the Titans lost at home to Glenbrook North 4-3.
“Two rivalry matches in one week is a crazy experience,” Glenbrook South midfielder Jimmy Aglikin said.
“I think we came into those game not nearly as confident or hyped as we usually come into it.”
The Titans achieved the equivalent of an upset when the penalty kick equalizer by Perez in the 52nd minute forged a 1-1 tie with the seventh-ranked Trevians.
“I think we were a little cocky going into the game tonight,” New Trier midfielder Aryan Krishna said. “We heard Glenbrook South lost 4-1 to Evanston.
“You can’t take any game for granted.”
The draw prevented New Trier (10-1-3, 3-0-1) from clinching at least a tie for the conference championship.
The Trevians are the last team in the league without a loss.
Click here to see the the Central Suburban League South Division standings
“I remember when I saw the schedule back in March or April, I thought this was going to be the week that is going to define our regular-season,” New Trier coach Matt Ravenscraft said.
“After the highs of the Evanston win, our message to the boys was to make sure this was a stepping stone, and not a peak. I think we lacked a little bit of urgency tonight.”
The first half play moved in fits and starts rather than any sustained action on either side.
Returning to the theme of emotion, Glenbrook South (5-6-4, 1-2-1) realized the deeper the game went scoreless, the greater its surge of confidence grew.
The familiarity of the teams has been historically deepened by the number of players from both programs connected to the FC United club.
That inside intelligence sparked the Titans.
“Going into this, there’s a familiarity out there with knowing some of their players,” Aglikin said.
“We started to pick apart what they were trying to do with the ball, and deduce what we were going to do in response.”
The Titans’ center backs, Jeffrey Podjasek and Chris Sanchez, proved exceptionally resistant to Trevians attacks or internal breakdowns.
Keeper Yash Ghal was also dynamic and active inside the box. He made a spectacular diving stop off a header from a free kick by Colin Gottshall in the 39th minute.
“Credit to Glenbrook South,” Ravenscraft said. “I thought they were extremely organized.
“Reggie’s teams are always tough to break down. We knew it was probably going to be a low-scoring game. For us, throughout the first half and into the second half, the game was going okay.”
Perez got free for a header in the front of the goal during the 32nd minute that marked the Titans’ most dangerous scoring opportunity before the break.
He followed with a free kick from about 26 yards from the left edge that Trevians’ keeper Thomas Terry scooped up.
Glenbrook South started to build and develop.
“We saw how much potential we had when we started covering and discovering their tactics,” Perez said.
When playing against New Trier, Titans’ coach Reggie Lara said, the last thing you can afford is to be tentative or passive.
“I was happy with our effort tonight,” Lara said. “Our offensive key was to go at them, and play with quickness and move the ball with speed.
“As the game started to settle, we started to possess the ball a little bit more. Whenever we got it, we were able to build and progress the ball up the field instead of being way too direct.”
As tends to happen in back-and-forth affairs like this, the most consequential actions smash together. It happened in this game in a wild and imaginative flurry in the second half.
New Trier finally gained the upper hand with a brilliant scoring sequence engineered by defender Ollie Fernandez.
His quick switch of the ball found Karsten Segall running free and unopposed down the left flank.
Segall cut through two defenders and drove the ball downfield before unleashing a howitzer from about 24 yards that cut perfectly inside the near post in the 50th minute.
“I think we realized we were possessing the ball really well in the first half,” Segall said. “We didn’t create that many chances in the attack.
“At halftime we talked about getting guys to take risks and go at them. I saw the chance, and I took them on. Obviously, it went well.”
Unlike matches in the past, Glenbrook South did not wither.
In the seconds after the goal, midfielder Anthony Kifarkis caught a ball on the left wing and unleashed a furious shot that required a brilliant diving stop from Terry.
Notice was served.
“The ball started rolling when we realized we had a chance of winning this game,” Aglikin said.
An unlikely player created the decisive action.
Forward Nathan Halpern, a normal reserve, was pressed into playing nearly the entire game with several regulars not available.
Playing off the newly acquired momentum, he drove through the Trevians’ back and was fouled from behind inside the box.
Perez drilled the resulting penalty kick into the lower-level left corner in the 52nd minute.
“Going into the second half, that’s when we decided to really turn it on,” Perez said. “We’ve had a tendency to react really negatively once we give up a goal.
“Once we started elevating each other, that’s when we started creating our chances. Once we got the penalty, the game was something else. I felt the excitement.”
New Trier had some solid opportunities in the final stretch. Midfielder Evan Kanellos hit the far post in the 75th minute.
Glenbrook South’s defense did just enough to ward off the Trevians.
“We had the momentum after the goal, and we shouldn’t switch it off like that,” Segall said.
“We had to be able to put one or two more past them, and that’s the game.”
New Trier plays Glenbrook North Tuesday.
“We are going to bounce back,” Krishna said.
New Trier’s Fernandez and Glenbrook South’s Perez shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction for their outstanding play.
Glenbrook South gained a significant measure of relief and satisfaction.
“Soccer is one of those sports, no matter the rankings or the placement in the leaderboard, it’s a 50-50 matchup whenever you step onto the pitch,” Aglikin, who recently commited to play college ball at Division III Sewanee: The University of the South. “I think tonight was a great example of that, with us coming off a loss and stepping up tonight and taking on one of the top 10 teams in the state.”
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South
GK: Yash Ghal
D: Teddy Sturiale
D: Jeffrey Podjasek
D: Chris Sanchez
D: Alec Grenolds
MF: Jimmy Aglikin
MF: Conor Beach
MF: Anthony Kifarkis
MF: Ben Baczewski
F: Nathan Halpern
F: Kevin Perez
New Trier
GK: Thomas Terry
D: Colin Gottshall
D: Liam Meyers
D: Ollie Fernandez
D: Karsten Segall
MF: Aryan Krishna
MF: Evan Kanellos
MF: Eli Drake
MF: Ian Vichnik
F: Benni Green
F: Aidan Nicholson
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Ollie Hernandez, jr., D, New Trier;
Kevin Perez, sr., F, Glenbrook South
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
NT: Karsten Segall (Ollie Hernandez), 50th minute
GBS: Kevin Perez (penalty kick), 52nd minute