Grayslake Central counter
productive, upsets Warren
Rams benefit from brutal early schedule, win 1st of the season
By Patrick Z. McGavin
GURNEE -- Warren had everything in its favor, the style of play, time of possession and shots on goal.
Grayslake Central needed to break the increasingly one-way cycle. Peder Harvey made his move.
“Their midfielders was playing better in the second half,” Harvey said. “We were not having that many opportunities, and that was probably the first real chance we had in the second half. I am glad I got to finish it.”
Harvey scissored between two Blue Devils’ defenders and took a ball over the top from defender Oswald Gaytan and blasted home a ball from about 16 yards inside the near post for the go-ahead score in the 71st minute.
“I am just glad we were able to get the counter in,” he said.
Harvey’s goal marked a breakthrough as the Rams scored twice in the last nine minutes in capturing their first win of the year in the 3-1 victory over the host Blue Devils on Tuesday night.
Grayslake Central (1-6-0) emphatically ended a six-game losing streak. However, the Class AA team’s record is deceiving. Five of those games came against Class 3A programs. The Rams went through a particular gauntlet competing for the first time in the Northside College Showcase at New Trier.
The Rams played Libertyville, ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, no. 16 Lyons, previously ranked Buffalo Grove and no. 21 Glenbrook North.
“We played well in it, and we learned from it,” Grayslake Central coach Tom Hamilton said. “The boys kept their composure, and they realized those games were a learning experience. They came out today and got the job done.
“We had the character to come back after six in a row.”
Warren (4-1-1) suffered its first loss of the year. The Blue Devils were coming off a strong weekend performance in finishing 2-0-1 at a tournament in Wisconsin.
With just three seniors, the Blue Devils are almost certain to go through some volatile stretches, coach Jason Ahonen said.
“They brought the energy tonight,” Ahonen said. “From the beginning they were ready to go. We didn’t match them early in the game. When we did try to match them, our touch was off, and we could not connect early.
“At the end of the day, it’s high school athletics. You are going to win games you shouldn’t win, and you are going to lose games you shouldn’t lose.”
Grayslake Central showed its mettle right off the jump, getting a shot on goal from midfielder Thomas Ramsey in the first minute and generating a corner kick less than 90 seconds into the match.
The play of senior midfielder Dani Orozco exemplified the Rams’ spirited play. A three-year starter at left back who has made a strong transition to the middle, Orozco showcased his breakthrough speed. In the 21st minute, he broke through two defenders as though he was shot out of a cannon and headed toward the Blue Devils’ goal.
Warren keeper Juan Cardenas sprinted off his line, but Orozco was able to muscle the ball past him from about 12 yards for the opening score.
“I saw the ball bounce off the defender, and I just said ‘ I am going to take it myself,’” Orozco said. Quiet and undemonstrative by nature, he plays with a cool passion.
The goal took on extra meaning.
“I think we came out strong, and we wanted to win the game more,” Orozco said. “I think it gave us a lot of energy the rest of the game. I think we deserved it.”
Warren created several dangerous opportunities throughout the first half, but the Blue Devils could not quite get on the end of several scintillating balls. The final touch proved particularly elusive. In the 45th minute, junior forward Josh Segura had an apparent goal until Rams’ star defender Kevin O’Brien made a spectacular clearance.
The Blue Devils finally broke through in the second half as sophomore midfielder Sebastian Rodriguez, operating near the right hashmark at midfield, blasted a long ball over the top to the left edge. Junior midfielder Cris Media made the quick possession, darted with a juke step and blasted home a ball in the 52nd minute.
At that point everything appeared to favor the Blue Devils.
“I am really pleased with how we responded, because Warren was definitely in the driver’s seat,” Hamilton said. “They are a quality team. Our boys know they have to play 80 minutes. They had a spell where they took it to us, but Alexis [Garcia Perez] kept us in the game with some great saves and the rest of the team fed off of that energy.”
Garcia Perez made six saves, including a spectacular dig of a Rodriguez volley off a service ball. As Warren pushed its numbers deep into the Rams’ box, Grayslake Central sprung the reversal.
Until that moment the only significant Grayslake Central scoring chance was a free kick outside the box by Gaytan that floated above the mark. He redeemed himself with the superb through-ball that enabled Harvey to break free.
Harvey scored his third goal of the year.
“It’s a good confidence booster, but we don’t want to get cocky,” he said. “It is just our first win. We still have a lot of work to do.”
Teams are often are their most vulnerable following their own goals. Grayslake Central held tight. Senior forward John Kulis put the game out of reach in the 78th minute when he broke down the left edge and took a pass from Ramsey.
He calmly surveyed the field and smashed in a left-footed ball from about 17 yards that caught just inside the near post.
“At the end of last week, we had tired legs,” Hamilton said. “We had six games in the space of 13 days. The recovery did wonders. We were playing good soccer before, but certain things you can’t execute if your legs don’t let you.
“We are going to take this with a grain of salt. It was just one win. Conference is starting on Thursday. It’s nice to get the first one out of the way. We’ve been talking all season there are only 14 that matter -- seven in the conference and if we achieve our goals, seven in the playoffs.
“Everything else is a test.”
Warren now moves to its North Suburban Conference opener at home against no. 20 Waukegan on Thursday.
“Tonight came to a matter of who finished,” Ahonen said. “I thought we had a go-ahead with 15 left, and they came down and scored on a breakaway, and they scored a late one. If we lose by one or we lose by two, it does not really matter. We had to get the equalizer.
“It was a high-intensity environment, which is something we haven’t necessarily had this year. We will use this to motivate us as we move forward. We train tomorrow and play a quality Waukegan team on Thursday. We just need to continue to move forward and stay together, the key words, because we are going to have bumps in the road this year.”
Starting lineups
Grayslake Central
GK: Alexis Garcia Perez
D: James Rohlfing
D: Kevin O’Brien
D: Mitchell Kocialkowski
D: Casimir Model
MF: Dani Orozco
MF: Thomas Ramsey
MF: Owen Aaberg
MF: Tyler Armstrong
F: Peder Harvey
F: John Kulis
Warren
GK: Juan Cardenas
D: Max Floriani
D: Noah Schwab
D: Bradley Strauss
D: Luke Schoenbrunn
MF: Clayton Mobile
MF: Nolan Ehlers
MF: Cris Medina
MF: Alex Senko
F: Josh Segura
F: Sebastian Rodriguez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Peder Harvey, sr., F, Grayslake Central
Scoring summary
First half
Grayslake Central—Dani Orozco (unassisted), 21st minute
Second half
Warren—Cris Medina (Sebastian Rodriguez), 52nd minute
Grayslake Central—Peder Harvey (Oswald Gaytan), 71st minute
Grayslake Central—John Kulis (Thomas Ramsey), 78th minute
productive, upsets Warren
Rams benefit from brutal early schedule, win 1st of the season
By Patrick Z. McGavin
GURNEE -- Warren had everything in its favor, the style of play, time of possession and shots on goal.
Grayslake Central needed to break the increasingly one-way cycle. Peder Harvey made his move.
“Their midfielders was playing better in the second half,” Harvey said. “We were not having that many opportunities, and that was probably the first real chance we had in the second half. I am glad I got to finish it.”
Harvey scissored between two Blue Devils’ defenders and took a ball over the top from defender Oswald Gaytan and blasted home a ball from about 16 yards inside the near post for the go-ahead score in the 71st minute.
“I am just glad we were able to get the counter in,” he said.
Harvey’s goal marked a breakthrough as the Rams scored twice in the last nine minutes in capturing their first win of the year in the 3-1 victory over the host Blue Devils on Tuesday night.
Grayslake Central (1-6-0) emphatically ended a six-game losing streak. However, the Class AA team’s record is deceiving. Five of those games came against Class 3A programs. The Rams went through a particular gauntlet competing for the first time in the Northside College Showcase at New Trier.
The Rams played Libertyville, ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, no. 16 Lyons, previously ranked Buffalo Grove and no. 21 Glenbrook North.
“We played well in it, and we learned from it,” Grayslake Central coach Tom Hamilton said. “The boys kept their composure, and they realized those games were a learning experience. They came out today and got the job done.
“We had the character to come back after six in a row.”
Warren (4-1-1) suffered its first loss of the year. The Blue Devils were coming off a strong weekend performance in finishing 2-0-1 at a tournament in Wisconsin.
With just three seniors, the Blue Devils are almost certain to go through some volatile stretches, coach Jason Ahonen said.
“They brought the energy tonight,” Ahonen said. “From the beginning they were ready to go. We didn’t match them early in the game. When we did try to match them, our touch was off, and we could not connect early.
“At the end of the day, it’s high school athletics. You are going to win games you shouldn’t win, and you are going to lose games you shouldn’t lose.”
Grayslake Central showed its mettle right off the jump, getting a shot on goal from midfielder Thomas Ramsey in the first minute and generating a corner kick less than 90 seconds into the match.
The play of senior midfielder Dani Orozco exemplified the Rams’ spirited play. A three-year starter at left back who has made a strong transition to the middle, Orozco showcased his breakthrough speed. In the 21st minute, he broke through two defenders as though he was shot out of a cannon and headed toward the Blue Devils’ goal.
Warren keeper Juan Cardenas sprinted off his line, but Orozco was able to muscle the ball past him from about 12 yards for the opening score.
“I saw the ball bounce off the defender, and I just said ‘ I am going to take it myself,’” Orozco said. Quiet and undemonstrative by nature, he plays with a cool passion.
The goal took on extra meaning.
“I think we came out strong, and we wanted to win the game more,” Orozco said. “I think it gave us a lot of energy the rest of the game. I think we deserved it.”
Warren created several dangerous opportunities throughout the first half, but the Blue Devils could not quite get on the end of several scintillating balls. The final touch proved particularly elusive. In the 45th minute, junior forward Josh Segura had an apparent goal until Rams’ star defender Kevin O’Brien made a spectacular clearance.
The Blue Devils finally broke through in the second half as sophomore midfielder Sebastian Rodriguez, operating near the right hashmark at midfield, blasted a long ball over the top to the left edge. Junior midfielder Cris Media made the quick possession, darted with a juke step and blasted home a ball in the 52nd minute.
At that point everything appeared to favor the Blue Devils.
“I am really pleased with how we responded, because Warren was definitely in the driver’s seat,” Hamilton said. “They are a quality team. Our boys know they have to play 80 minutes. They had a spell where they took it to us, but Alexis [Garcia Perez] kept us in the game with some great saves and the rest of the team fed off of that energy.”
Garcia Perez made six saves, including a spectacular dig of a Rodriguez volley off a service ball. As Warren pushed its numbers deep into the Rams’ box, Grayslake Central sprung the reversal.
Until that moment the only significant Grayslake Central scoring chance was a free kick outside the box by Gaytan that floated above the mark. He redeemed himself with the superb through-ball that enabled Harvey to break free.
Harvey scored his third goal of the year.
“It’s a good confidence booster, but we don’t want to get cocky,” he said. “It is just our first win. We still have a lot of work to do.”
Teams are often are their most vulnerable following their own goals. Grayslake Central held tight. Senior forward John Kulis put the game out of reach in the 78th minute when he broke down the left edge and took a pass from Ramsey.
He calmly surveyed the field and smashed in a left-footed ball from about 17 yards that caught just inside the near post.
“At the end of last week, we had tired legs,” Hamilton said. “We had six games in the space of 13 days. The recovery did wonders. We were playing good soccer before, but certain things you can’t execute if your legs don’t let you.
“We are going to take this with a grain of salt. It was just one win. Conference is starting on Thursday. It’s nice to get the first one out of the way. We’ve been talking all season there are only 14 that matter -- seven in the conference and if we achieve our goals, seven in the playoffs.
“Everything else is a test.”
Warren now moves to its North Suburban Conference opener at home against no. 20 Waukegan on Thursday.
“Tonight came to a matter of who finished,” Ahonen said. “I thought we had a go-ahead with 15 left, and they came down and scored on a breakaway, and they scored a late one. If we lose by one or we lose by two, it does not really matter. We had to get the equalizer.
“It was a high-intensity environment, which is something we haven’t necessarily had this year. We will use this to motivate us as we move forward. We train tomorrow and play a quality Waukegan team on Thursday. We just need to continue to move forward and stay together, the key words, because we are going to have bumps in the road this year.”
Starting lineups
Grayslake Central
GK: Alexis Garcia Perez
D: James Rohlfing
D: Kevin O’Brien
D: Mitchell Kocialkowski
D: Casimir Model
MF: Dani Orozco
MF: Thomas Ramsey
MF: Owen Aaberg
MF: Tyler Armstrong
F: Peder Harvey
F: John Kulis
Warren
GK: Juan Cardenas
D: Max Floriani
D: Noah Schwab
D: Bradley Strauss
D: Luke Schoenbrunn
MF: Clayton Mobile
MF: Nolan Ehlers
MF: Cris Medina
MF: Alex Senko
F: Josh Segura
F: Sebastian Rodriguez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Peder Harvey, sr., F, Grayslake Central
Scoring summary
First half
Grayslake Central—Dani Orozco (unassisted), 21st minute
Second half
Warren—Cris Medina (Sebastian Rodriguez), 52nd minute
Grayslake Central—Peder Harvey (Oswald Gaytan), 71st minute
Grayslake Central—John Kulis (Thomas Ramsey), 78th minute