New, old seniors pace Prospect past GBS
Fresh duo from Class of 2022 combine for goal in 1-0 win
By Mike Garofola
MT. PROSPECT -- The nerve center of any football club is the spine. Without a strong core, success is unlikely.
Saturday afternoon at steamy George Gattas Memorial Stadium, host Prospect, with nearly an entire new roster from last season, showed its spine and why the Knights backbone is its key to a winning season.
Already having a first-rate man between the sticks in Alejandro Rider-Leiner, and a strong central defender with David Marshall -- both back from last season -- manager Mike Andrews welcomed newcomers Shea Morris and Owen Walsh to give his starting 11 a shiny new look for 2021.
The quartet were key figures in a 1-0 victory over visiting Glenbrook South (0-1-1) yesterday in a nonconference contest which came to an end just after the hour mark when officials deemed the heat index too dangerous to continue.
Rider-Leiner came to rescue to keep Glenbrook South off the scoreboard; Marshall kept a new backline organized and sharp; Morris ran the show in the middle; and Walsh bagged the lone goal to give the Knights their season-opening victory.
"We lost (17) seniors from last year," said Andrews, whose men had their 'real' season-opener with Maine South cancelled early last week due to the extreme heat. “Obviously there are a lot of new faces. But with Alejandro and David returning to keep us strong in the back, and having both Shea and Owen back to play their senior seasons with us, we have a terrific core to build around."
Glenbrook South coach Reggie Lara, just as his counterpart along the touchline, did well managing his players time in the heat and humidity. However unlike his host, Lara had to contend with an entire starting backline out of action.
"One of my central defenders is back at school taking the SAT and the other three said they had not been feeling well. Keeping them home and away from the team was more important than anything," explained Lara.
"With us having to move guys around due to their absence, it kind of had a ripple effect on where we had to play some of the players -- a couple of them in spots they never played before.
"We had some trouble from time-to-time, but I think overall the guys handled things very well, and overall, we were better than our first game of the season with Schaumburg."
The Titans played to a 1-1 away draw last Monday in the Central Suburban League/Mid-Suburban League Challenge.
"We have a lot of juniors playing varsity for their first time, and they're showing they have the potential to make our team much better," began senior Owen Beumer, who wears the captain’s armband along with Josh Nelson and Bennett Steenbergen. “Some of our seniors, who were on the jv last spring, have all made a big step forward since then.
"We obviously were missing our entire backline, but I really felt that we played so much better than our first game. When we get everyone back, we're going to be a very good team."
Beumer and Prospect’s Morris, who both wore the no. 4 on their shirts, proved to be an entertaining, energetic and creative force for their respective sides and shared Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match honor.
It was a successful and happy Prospect debut for Morris.
"Owen (Walsh) and I have been childhood friends, so it's great to be playing here (together) for our senior years," said Morris, who spent previous seasons with Sockers FC.
"We started a little slow today. But when we got things going, I thought our midfield did well connecting passes, playing wide to our wingers, and pushing the attack … for a lot of the time today."
The visitors nearly stunned the home side in the 5th minute when Xander Hwang found himself free and in on Rieder-Leiner, who made a brilliant goal-saving stop of the point-blank effort.
The ensuing corner from Jason Fink gave Kevin Perez a chance on frame, in which Rieder-Leiner saved with confidence.
Inspired by its early assault on Prospect: Beumer, Nelson, Perez and Steenbergen helped keep the Knights under pressure during nearly the first quarter hour.
The home side stemmed the tide with a trio of corners which yielded an attempt on frame from senior forward Ryan Novak, who ran onto a nice ball over the top from Morris.
"We started a little slow, but when we began to win more first and second balls, and started to control the midfield, I thought we had most of the play in their end leading up to our goal and into the break at the half," said Walsh, who is coming off ACL surgery and spent a year at Elgin Academy, where he was able to take advantage of in-person academics.
Glenbrook South keeper Declan Cloutier, who did well on the day with his distribution while staying active in and around his area, made an alert recovery save in the 27th minute.
It came after Marcin Jacek ran onto a ball whipped into the box from Steven Lopez. A nice one-two combination with Morris pried open the Titans.
Morris followed up with a cracker off the bar from 20 yards which went straight down on the line but never crossed it. Cloutier quickly got to the loose ball before a Prospect foot.
Two minutes later, however, Cloutier couldn’t help his club. Walsh used a sublime touch to chip the keeper, who came far off his line to challenge the Knights forward who ran onto a superb pass from Morris.
"Shea gave a great early ball over the top, and I was able body off my defender to win the 50-50 ball. When I saw the keeper coming way out, I knew I could put the ball over him, and into the empty net," said Walsh, who made it sound easier than it looked at full speed.
Just before the intermission, the Titans best chance to equalize was quashed with a well-timed block by Marshall on an attempt from Nelson, who was sent through by Perez.
Prospect had much of the play after the break, thanks in part to its ability to take control in the middle of the park with possession, passing and perhaps most importantly the will and desire to track back to defend. The Knights took away lanes for the Titans to find room to pass through.
"Our midfield did a very good as a unit today,” said Andrews. “(With) the depth we have on our roster, we're able to bring fresh legs on and not miss a beat, and you saw that today."
Glenbrook South’s Steenbergen sent a diagonal ball to David Kwon that gave their club a chance to get back level at 47th minutes, but an alert Rider-Leiner read impending trouble and came off his line quickly to end the hopes of the attacking duo.
Prospect answered.
Moments later, Lopez was given enough time and space to tee-up what looked like an unstoppable 25-yard attempt only to see his blast go 'just' over the bar.
Novak went close with his angled effort in the 54th minute.
Just before the designated water break at the hour, the Knights backline parried out a ball that was inspired by the work of Beumer, Arturo Moyo and Perez.
It was during the extended water break that the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature device came into play. It showed the combination of air temperature, humidity and temperature of the turf to be in the danger zone. That’s when officials and coaches agreed it was best to call this contest early.
Despite the early end, the data gathered will be useful for the clubs.
"We learned a lot today. (it) was a good lesson for all of us," began Lara.
"Their keeper was very good today. For us, we had our moments, but we also struggled at times with our possession, and purpose. That was to be expected with the guys who were out, and the different spots many of the players were put into.
"Overall, our effort and play was better than our first game, which is something we'll take forward as we go into a very busy week at our own Titans Invite, and the four games we'll be playing."
The Titans will open tourney play this Tuesday afternoon at 4:15 p.m. against Stevenson, while the Knights, new entrants into the 35th edition of the event, play Mundelein at the same time at Glenbrook South. A rematch looms September 4 if both teams win their pools.
Prospect is excited at its prospects this season.
"Shea and Owen are terrific additions to our team on many levels,” said Andrews. “Their leadership abilities, obviously their individual skill, and soccer knowledge, and with Owen, he can finish, and Shea can create and run our attack," began Andrews.
"We saw some very good things from the guys today - we still need to be better at keeping the ball, and keeping it on the floor, but we defended well as a team, and did well in pushing the ball into their end."
"We're excited about playing in our first tournament ever since I've been here, it will be a great learning experience for all of us."
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South (4-3-3)
G- Declan Cloutier
D- Jason Fink
D- Franco Fernandez-Enjo
D- Jimmy Aglikin
D- Max Ostrowski
M- Bennett Steenbergen
M- Owen Beumer
M-Arturo Moyo
F- Josh Nelson
F- Kevin Perez
F- Xander Hwang
Prospect (4-3-3)
G- Alejandro Rider-Leiner
D- Sam Heintz
D- Ari Kemperas
D- David Marshall
D- Nicholas Casaletto
M- Steven Lopez
M- Shea Morris
M- Christopher Morys
F- Massimo Mho
F- Owen Walsh
F- Ryan Novak
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Owen Beumer, sr., MF, Glenbrook South;
Shea Morris, sr., MF, Prospect
Referee: Mohammed Mushtaq
Scoring summary
First half
Prospect: Walsh (Morris) 29'
Second half
No scoring (game called at 60 minutes due to heat)
Fresh duo from Class of 2022 combine for goal in 1-0 win
By Mike Garofola
MT. PROSPECT -- The nerve center of any football club is the spine. Without a strong core, success is unlikely.
Saturday afternoon at steamy George Gattas Memorial Stadium, host Prospect, with nearly an entire new roster from last season, showed its spine and why the Knights backbone is its key to a winning season.
Already having a first-rate man between the sticks in Alejandro Rider-Leiner, and a strong central defender with David Marshall -- both back from last season -- manager Mike Andrews welcomed newcomers Shea Morris and Owen Walsh to give his starting 11 a shiny new look for 2021.
The quartet were key figures in a 1-0 victory over visiting Glenbrook South (0-1-1) yesterday in a nonconference contest which came to an end just after the hour mark when officials deemed the heat index too dangerous to continue.
Rider-Leiner came to rescue to keep Glenbrook South off the scoreboard; Marshall kept a new backline organized and sharp; Morris ran the show in the middle; and Walsh bagged the lone goal to give the Knights their season-opening victory.
"We lost (17) seniors from last year," said Andrews, whose men had their 'real' season-opener with Maine South cancelled early last week due to the extreme heat. “Obviously there are a lot of new faces. But with Alejandro and David returning to keep us strong in the back, and having both Shea and Owen back to play their senior seasons with us, we have a terrific core to build around."
Glenbrook South coach Reggie Lara, just as his counterpart along the touchline, did well managing his players time in the heat and humidity. However unlike his host, Lara had to contend with an entire starting backline out of action.
"One of my central defenders is back at school taking the SAT and the other three said they had not been feeling well. Keeping them home and away from the team was more important than anything," explained Lara.
"With us having to move guys around due to their absence, it kind of had a ripple effect on where we had to play some of the players -- a couple of them in spots they never played before.
"We had some trouble from time-to-time, but I think overall the guys handled things very well, and overall, we were better than our first game of the season with Schaumburg."
The Titans played to a 1-1 away draw last Monday in the Central Suburban League/Mid-Suburban League Challenge.
"We have a lot of juniors playing varsity for their first time, and they're showing they have the potential to make our team much better," began senior Owen Beumer, who wears the captain’s armband along with Josh Nelson and Bennett Steenbergen. “Some of our seniors, who were on the jv last spring, have all made a big step forward since then.
"We obviously were missing our entire backline, but I really felt that we played so much better than our first game. When we get everyone back, we're going to be a very good team."
Beumer and Prospect’s Morris, who both wore the no. 4 on their shirts, proved to be an entertaining, energetic and creative force for their respective sides and shared Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match honor.
It was a successful and happy Prospect debut for Morris.
"Owen (Walsh) and I have been childhood friends, so it's great to be playing here (together) for our senior years," said Morris, who spent previous seasons with Sockers FC.
"We started a little slow today. But when we got things going, I thought our midfield did well connecting passes, playing wide to our wingers, and pushing the attack … for a lot of the time today."
The visitors nearly stunned the home side in the 5th minute when Xander Hwang found himself free and in on Rieder-Leiner, who made a brilliant goal-saving stop of the point-blank effort.
The ensuing corner from Jason Fink gave Kevin Perez a chance on frame, in which Rieder-Leiner saved with confidence.
Inspired by its early assault on Prospect: Beumer, Nelson, Perez and Steenbergen helped keep the Knights under pressure during nearly the first quarter hour.
The home side stemmed the tide with a trio of corners which yielded an attempt on frame from senior forward Ryan Novak, who ran onto a nice ball over the top from Morris.
"We started a little slow, but when we began to win more first and second balls, and started to control the midfield, I thought we had most of the play in their end leading up to our goal and into the break at the half," said Walsh, who is coming off ACL surgery and spent a year at Elgin Academy, where he was able to take advantage of in-person academics.
Glenbrook South keeper Declan Cloutier, who did well on the day with his distribution while staying active in and around his area, made an alert recovery save in the 27th minute.
It came after Marcin Jacek ran onto a ball whipped into the box from Steven Lopez. A nice one-two combination with Morris pried open the Titans.
Morris followed up with a cracker off the bar from 20 yards which went straight down on the line but never crossed it. Cloutier quickly got to the loose ball before a Prospect foot.
Two minutes later, however, Cloutier couldn’t help his club. Walsh used a sublime touch to chip the keeper, who came far off his line to challenge the Knights forward who ran onto a superb pass from Morris.
"Shea gave a great early ball over the top, and I was able body off my defender to win the 50-50 ball. When I saw the keeper coming way out, I knew I could put the ball over him, and into the empty net," said Walsh, who made it sound easier than it looked at full speed.
Just before the intermission, the Titans best chance to equalize was quashed with a well-timed block by Marshall on an attempt from Nelson, who was sent through by Perez.
Prospect had much of the play after the break, thanks in part to its ability to take control in the middle of the park with possession, passing and perhaps most importantly the will and desire to track back to defend. The Knights took away lanes for the Titans to find room to pass through.
"Our midfield did a very good as a unit today,” said Andrews. “(With) the depth we have on our roster, we're able to bring fresh legs on and not miss a beat, and you saw that today."
Glenbrook South’s Steenbergen sent a diagonal ball to David Kwon that gave their club a chance to get back level at 47th minutes, but an alert Rider-Leiner read impending trouble and came off his line quickly to end the hopes of the attacking duo.
Prospect answered.
Moments later, Lopez was given enough time and space to tee-up what looked like an unstoppable 25-yard attempt only to see his blast go 'just' over the bar.
Novak went close with his angled effort in the 54th minute.
Just before the designated water break at the hour, the Knights backline parried out a ball that was inspired by the work of Beumer, Arturo Moyo and Perez.
It was during the extended water break that the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature device came into play. It showed the combination of air temperature, humidity and temperature of the turf to be in the danger zone. That’s when officials and coaches agreed it was best to call this contest early.
Despite the early end, the data gathered will be useful for the clubs.
"We learned a lot today. (it) was a good lesson for all of us," began Lara.
"Their keeper was very good today. For us, we had our moments, but we also struggled at times with our possession, and purpose. That was to be expected with the guys who were out, and the different spots many of the players were put into.
"Overall, our effort and play was better than our first game, which is something we'll take forward as we go into a very busy week at our own Titans Invite, and the four games we'll be playing."
The Titans will open tourney play this Tuesday afternoon at 4:15 p.m. against Stevenson, while the Knights, new entrants into the 35th edition of the event, play Mundelein at the same time at Glenbrook South. A rematch looms September 4 if both teams win their pools.
Prospect is excited at its prospects this season.
"Shea and Owen are terrific additions to our team on many levels,” said Andrews. “Their leadership abilities, obviously their individual skill, and soccer knowledge, and with Owen, he can finish, and Shea can create and run our attack," began Andrews.
"We saw some very good things from the guys today - we still need to be better at keeping the ball, and keeping it on the floor, but we defended well as a team, and did well in pushing the ball into their end."
"We're excited about playing in our first tournament ever since I've been here, it will be a great learning experience for all of us."
Starting lineups
Glenbrook South (4-3-3)
G- Declan Cloutier
D- Jason Fink
D- Franco Fernandez-Enjo
D- Jimmy Aglikin
D- Max Ostrowski
M- Bennett Steenbergen
M- Owen Beumer
M-Arturo Moyo
F- Josh Nelson
F- Kevin Perez
F- Xander Hwang
Prospect (4-3-3)
G- Alejandro Rider-Leiner
D- Sam Heintz
D- Ari Kemperas
D- David Marshall
D- Nicholas Casaletto
M- Steven Lopez
M- Shea Morris
M- Christopher Morys
F- Massimo Mho
F- Owen Walsh
F- Ryan Novak
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Owen Beumer, sr., MF, Glenbrook South;
Shea Morris, sr., MF, Prospect
Referee: Mohammed Mushtaq
Scoring summary
First half
Prospect: Walsh (Morris) 29'
Second half
No scoring (game called at 60 minutes due to heat)