Grayslake Central, Round Lake
settle for co-championship
Scoreless tie leaves teams tied atop league
By Bobby Narang
ROUND LAKE -- As the final seconds ticked off the clock Thursday night, Grayslake Central sophomore Mitchell Fein quickly set himself to prepare for a potential winning corner kick.
In the first 79-plus minutes, Grayslake Central and Round Lake were locked in a scoreless battle for the Northern Lake County Conference championship.
On April 15, Grayslake Central recorded a 2-1 home win over the Panthers to finish the spring season in a three-way tie for the conference title with Round Lake and Lakes.
Nobody wanted a repeat of last season’s co-conference championship, including the large and boisterous crowd that dealt with a steady rain in the first half and ground fog in the second half.
With both teams playing in front of the biggest throng in nearly two years, Fein delivered a well-placed ball in the box that had eyes. Despite a scrum in the box, Round Lake junior goalie Jerry Perez played the savior role for his team. He secured the ball, the scoreless draw and co-championship for the teams.
As the players strolled off the field in disappointment amid an eerie fog, several opposing players showed their frustration by nearly getting in a fracas on the field. Fortunately, several coaches were able to calm things down.
Throughout the match, the frustration built between the teams. Each played with nine field players after red cards in the 17th minute. The physical game also led to numerous injury timeouts on both sides.
Grayslake Central and the host Panthers finished the game 9-4-2, 6-0-1 records.
After an excellent soccer over 80-spirited minutes, the teams left the field with a tinge of dismay over the scoreless outcome.
Grayslake Central coach Keith Andersson said it was a long night of quality soccer.
“It doesn’t make me feel good, because I would’ve rather have won it,” he said. “But Round Lake is a great team, an amazing game that it was. … The way the kids played was amazing. We had a three-way tie in the spring, so now it’s a two-way tie.
“I give the boys credit. They fought all the way until the end. We had two golden opportunities at the end. If somebody would’ve tripped over the turf, they might have scored. Mitchell did a great job serving the ball in (off the corner kick). I thought it was going to go in. That’s soccer, and it’s exciting.”
Round Lake coach Hugo Tellez expressed similar sentiment toward the well-played game, which ended the Panthers’ string of five-straight victories.
“It was two great teams out there, and two great goalies,” Tellez said. “Our goalie Jerry jumped out of nowhere to get that (last) ball, like Spider-Man on that corner kick. I just told the guys that I’ll go up against anybody. These guys wanted it. I give them all the credit.”
Grayslake Central senior forward Ben Berry, a captain, was involved in the mass of players in the box on the final corner kick.
“I thought we had a header opportunity at the end,” Berry said. “I jumped up. It was tipped up, and I thought one of my teammates was going to finish, but we didn’t.
“We knew it was going to be a hard game coming in. We prepared all season for this game. We’re not happy with the result, but we can work on things. We had a lot of positives.
“We kept our cool and stuck together, even as the other team got rattled. We played our game under pressure against a very good team. It was a great atmosphere, definitely the most supporters at a game we’ve had all year. It lifted all of our games up.
“We’re definitely a younger team and have a lot of very good players, so this will hep us. Our schedule prepared us well for this game.”
Perez kept Round Lake in the game with 11 saves. His best work came late in the game when he: stopped a scoring opportunity with a catch of a header with 5:30 left in regulation; deflected a bullet shot off the leg of Grayslake Central’s Cameron Paul in the 58th minute; and grabbed the last-gasp corner kick.
A three-year starter, Perez credited his backline for the shutout against a quality Grayslake Central team that has not lost a game since dropping a 2-1 decision to Loyola on Sept. 2 in the Northside College Showcase. The Rams entered the game with an 11-game unbeaten streak and five-game win skein since a 1-1 tie with Warren on Sept. 16.
“I was able to get that (final) ball, so I was happy to not let them score,” Perez said. “It was hard at the end, because there was a lot of pressure.
“I’m happy with the shutout. I want to take this team as far as possible. We’ll see what happens in the playoffs.”
Another Perez also produced a strong performance in the net. Grayslake Central sophomore goalie Uriel Garcia Perez nearly matched Jerry Perez save for save, tallying nine saves.
Fueled by the big crowd, the Round Lake attacked Garcia Perez from the opening whistle. Panthers senior forward Rafael Millan had two early shot attempts; the keeper was required to save one of them. Millan drilled a ball off the near post in the 14th minute.
Garcia Perez added two saves in a matter of seconds in the 54th minute, highlighted by a punch-out.
“I just tried not to concede any goals,” Garcia Perez said. “(Round Lake) put on a lot of pressure. The field was wet, so anything could have happened. Just a slip up. and it could go into the goal. I had a strong defense and tried to get to everything I could.”
Millan felt he missed several opportunities to score a goal for the Panthers.
“It was kind of frustrating, because I couldn’t finish some of those (shots),” Millan said. “We should’ve won this game, but sometimes it doesn’t go your way. We just couldn’t finish.
“We dominated the whole game. We’re looking good as a team. We’re trying to get better every game for the playoffs.”
Round Lake sophomore midfielder Oscar Martinez was in the thick of the action for most of the game. He noted an emotional game can be a motivating factor for his team in the upcoming Class 3A playoffs.
“It was a great atmosphere,” Martinez said. “I’m happy a lot of fans were able to show up and support us. I thought we should’ve won, but at least we got part of the conference title.
“Jerry had an amazing game for us. We have a lot of potential when we play well together. We just have to finish. I should’ve taken advantage of mine. I thought I had a couple of them where I should’ve scored.”
Grayslake Central midfielder Marko Marynevych, one of three senior Rams starters, said Thursday’s stirring game will benefit the Rams in the Class AA playoffs and help the younger players next season.
“We already have a lot flowing now, but next year we’re set up for some good things,” he said. “We played against a really good Class 3A team and competed. It’s been a very good season so far.
“In the playoffs, we can compete for the state (title). We just needed to play more relaxed, though we definitely got more composed in the end tonight which was good.”
Andersson credited the Rams’ difficult schedule for factoring into his players not getting bothered by the mainly pro-Panthers crowd. The Rams opened the season with losses to Vernon Hills, New Trier, Libertyville and Loyola. Those four schools alone have combined to win 39 games so far this season.
“One of the things we told the boys coming in was that the first four games were preseason,” Andersson said. “We were in those games. They’re a great bunch of kids and only getting stronger game by game. It’s great to watch. Next year we basically have the same team coming back, which is even more exciting for us.
“This was an amazing crowd. It was a football crowd. It was a great scene. We had a lot of positives. Everyone played as a team. They each had each other’s back.”
Starting lineups
Grayslake Central
GK Uriel Garcia Perez
D Eric Garcia Perez
D Lucas Veenstra
D Daniel Marynevych
D Nick Molochnikov
MF Marko Marynevych
MF Alan Alonso
MF Ray Sereno
MF Mitchell Fein
F Cameron Paul
F Ben Berry
Round Lake
GK Jerry Perez
D Jesus Garcia
D Jose Noriega
D Gianni Moreno
D Saul Valadez
MF Oscar Martinez
MF Edgar Arteaga
MF Eric Nieto
MF Jason Salwach
F Rafael Millan
F Cristian Ortiz
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jerry Perez, jr., GK, Round Lake
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
settle for co-championship
Scoreless tie leaves teams tied atop league
By Bobby Narang
ROUND LAKE -- As the final seconds ticked off the clock Thursday night, Grayslake Central sophomore Mitchell Fein quickly set himself to prepare for a potential winning corner kick.
In the first 79-plus minutes, Grayslake Central and Round Lake were locked in a scoreless battle for the Northern Lake County Conference championship.
On April 15, Grayslake Central recorded a 2-1 home win over the Panthers to finish the spring season in a three-way tie for the conference title with Round Lake and Lakes.
Nobody wanted a repeat of last season’s co-conference championship, including the large and boisterous crowd that dealt with a steady rain in the first half and ground fog in the second half.
With both teams playing in front of the biggest throng in nearly two years, Fein delivered a well-placed ball in the box that had eyes. Despite a scrum in the box, Round Lake junior goalie Jerry Perez played the savior role for his team. He secured the ball, the scoreless draw and co-championship for the teams.
As the players strolled off the field in disappointment amid an eerie fog, several opposing players showed their frustration by nearly getting in a fracas on the field. Fortunately, several coaches were able to calm things down.
Throughout the match, the frustration built between the teams. Each played with nine field players after red cards in the 17th minute. The physical game also led to numerous injury timeouts on both sides.
Grayslake Central and the host Panthers finished the game 9-4-2, 6-0-1 records.
After an excellent soccer over 80-spirited minutes, the teams left the field with a tinge of dismay over the scoreless outcome.
Grayslake Central coach Keith Andersson said it was a long night of quality soccer.
“It doesn’t make me feel good, because I would’ve rather have won it,” he said. “But Round Lake is a great team, an amazing game that it was. … The way the kids played was amazing. We had a three-way tie in the spring, so now it’s a two-way tie.
“I give the boys credit. They fought all the way until the end. We had two golden opportunities at the end. If somebody would’ve tripped over the turf, they might have scored. Mitchell did a great job serving the ball in (off the corner kick). I thought it was going to go in. That’s soccer, and it’s exciting.”
Round Lake coach Hugo Tellez expressed similar sentiment toward the well-played game, which ended the Panthers’ string of five-straight victories.
“It was two great teams out there, and two great goalies,” Tellez said. “Our goalie Jerry jumped out of nowhere to get that (last) ball, like Spider-Man on that corner kick. I just told the guys that I’ll go up against anybody. These guys wanted it. I give them all the credit.”
Grayslake Central senior forward Ben Berry, a captain, was involved in the mass of players in the box on the final corner kick.
“I thought we had a header opportunity at the end,” Berry said. “I jumped up. It was tipped up, and I thought one of my teammates was going to finish, but we didn’t.
“We knew it was going to be a hard game coming in. We prepared all season for this game. We’re not happy with the result, but we can work on things. We had a lot of positives.
“We kept our cool and stuck together, even as the other team got rattled. We played our game under pressure against a very good team. It was a great atmosphere, definitely the most supporters at a game we’ve had all year. It lifted all of our games up.
“We’re definitely a younger team and have a lot of very good players, so this will hep us. Our schedule prepared us well for this game.”
Perez kept Round Lake in the game with 11 saves. His best work came late in the game when he: stopped a scoring opportunity with a catch of a header with 5:30 left in regulation; deflected a bullet shot off the leg of Grayslake Central’s Cameron Paul in the 58th minute; and grabbed the last-gasp corner kick.
A three-year starter, Perez credited his backline for the shutout against a quality Grayslake Central team that has not lost a game since dropping a 2-1 decision to Loyola on Sept. 2 in the Northside College Showcase. The Rams entered the game with an 11-game unbeaten streak and five-game win skein since a 1-1 tie with Warren on Sept. 16.
“I was able to get that (final) ball, so I was happy to not let them score,” Perez said. “It was hard at the end, because there was a lot of pressure.
“I’m happy with the shutout. I want to take this team as far as possible. We’ll see what happens in the playoffs.”
Another Perez also produced a strong performance in the net. Grayslake Central sophomore goalie Uriel Garcia Perez nearly matched Jerry Perez save for save, tallying nine saves.
Fueled by the big crowd, the Round Lake attacked Garcia Perez from the opening whistle. Panthers senior forward Rafael Millan had two early shot attempts; the keeper was required to save one of them. Millan drilled a ball off the near post in the 14th minute.
Garcia Perez added two saves in a matter of seconds in the 54th minute, highlighted by a punch-out.
“I just tried not to concede any goals,” Garcia Perez said. “(Round Lake) put on a lot of pressure. The field was wet, so anything could have happened. Just a slip up. and it could go into the goal. I had a strong defense and tried to get to everything I could.”
Millan felt he missed several opportunities to score a goal for the Panthers.
“It was kind of frustrating, because I couldn’t finish some of those (shots),” Millan said. “We should’ve won this game, but sometimes it doesn’t go your way. We just couldn’t finish.
“We dominated the whole game. We’re looking good as a team. We’re trying to get better every game for the playoffs.”
Round Lake sophomore midfielder Oscar Martinez was in the thick of the action for most of the game. He noted an emotional game can be a motivating factor for his team in the upcoming Class 3A playoffs.
“It was a great atmosphere,” Martinez said. “I’m happy a lot of fans were able to show up and support us. I thought we should’ve won, but at least we got part of the conference title.
“Jerry had an amazing game for us. We have a lot of potential when we play well together. We just have to finish. I should’ve taken advantage of mine. I thought I had a couple of them where I should’ve scored.”
Grayslake Central midfielder Marko Marynevych, one of three senior Rams starters, said Thursday’s stirring game will benefit the Rams in the Class AA playoffs and help the younger players next season.
“We already have a lot flowing now, but next year we’re set up for some good things,” he said. “We played against a really good Class 3A team and competed. It’s been a very good season so far.
“In the playoffs, we can compete for the state (title). We just needed to play more relaxed, though we definitely got more composed in the end tonight which was good.”
Andersson credited the Rams’ difficult schedule for factoring into his players not getting bothered by the mainly pro-Panthers crowd. The Rams opened the season with losses to Vernon Hills, New Trier, Libertyville and Loyola. Those four schools alone have combined to win 39 games so far this season.
“One of the things we told the boys coming in was that the first four games were preseason,” Andersson said. “We were in those games. They’re a great bunch of kids and only getting stronger game by game. It’s great to watch. Next year we basically have the same team coming back, which is even more exciting for us.
“This was an amazing crowd. It was a football crowd. It was a great scene. We had a lot of positives. Everyone played as a team. They each had each other’s back.”
Starting lineups
Grayslake Central
GK Uriel Garcia Perez
D Eric Garcia Perez
D Lucas Veenstra
D Daniel Marynevych
D Nick Molochnikov
MF Marko Marynevych
MF Alan Alonso
MF Ray Sereno
MF Mitchell Fein
F Cameron Paul
F Ben Berry
Round Lake
GK Jerry Perez
D Jesus Garcia
D Jose Noriega
D Gianni Moreno
D Saul Valadez
MF Oscar Martinez
MF Edgar Arteaga
MF Eric Nieto
MF Jason Salwach
F Rafael Millan
F Cristian Ortiz
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jerry Perez, jr., GK, Round Lake
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring