Althoff gets overdue win vs. Gibault
Crusaders post 2-0 Senior Night victory
By Keith Schildroth
BELLEVILLE - Althoff coach Skip Birdsong can't exactly pin down the last time his Crusaders defeated Gibault.
"Somebody said it was 20 years ago," said Birdsong after his club blanked Gibault 2-0 Wednesday. "We really don't know, but I think it could have been longer."
Crusaders senior defender Alex DeBourge said the victory over Gibault was special, not only because it was Senior Night, but because the win broke the long hex against the Hawks.
"I know for this group of seniors, we've never beaten them," said DeBourge. "They always have a very good team. I think with the tradition they have, they are still a good team. We know they play a tough schedule. We have a pretty good rivalry with them. I think we played well tonight."
Althoff, playing perhaps it best soccer of the season at the right time, a week before postseason play begins, improved to 10-6-1.
The struggling Hawks fell to 1-14-2 but don't ask Birdsong if Gibault is a pushover.
"I know their schedule, and they play a lot of good teams," said Birdsong. "They've had a lot of success through the years, and they have a great program. Ebbs and flows as they go. They play a tough schedule so their record isn't what it normally is. They're still a good team."
The Gibault offense looked ready to play against the Crusaders. Usually slow starters, senior midfielder Helio Neto Franca and senior forward Gavin Kohnz had pep in their step. Neto Franca, a transfer from Michigan via Brazil, was working the left side consistently in the opening half and beating the Althoff defense.
Neto Franca had a good scoring chance with a nifty cross that sophomore midfielder Collin Shields just missed over the net. Kohnz, doing the dirty work on the sidelines the entire game, hit a nice free kick from the right side that Neto Franca barely missed at 33 minutes, 39 seconds.
Just when it looked like Gibault was going to break though and get a early lead, a dose of sloppy play off a corner kick gave Althoff a 1-0 lead. Tyler Blair deflected the corner past Hawks goalie Connor Olson at 30:20.
"I think between the backline, and a guy coming from the middle kind, of lost their mark a little," said Gibault coach Darryn Haudrich. "Miscommunication and a breakdown in the back."
Olson took some of the blame on the goal.
"It was a little bit on my part, a little bit on the defender," said Olson. "I probably could have come out a little more aggressive. He got in front of the defender and flicked it to the far back post."
Blair was right back on the attack minutes after the goal. His dangerous corner kick was caught by Olson. But it was Kohnz right back at the Crusaders in traffic in front of the Althoff goal. He moved the ball well inside the box and was stopped by Althoff keeper Tyler Teiman.
"We kind of tweaked some things in practice, changed the formation a little," said Haudrich. "I think that generated a little bit more offense up-top. He worked well tonight. He was scrappy. We just couldn't find a way to finish in the final third."
Kohnz said his play might have picked up because of the opponent.
"Althoff is the other Catholic school in the area, so they're always a big rivalry. We always want to come out hot and play as well as we can," said Kohnz. "We've had success against them, but they came out ready to play, and we didn't. We've been working on our offense, and we had some good scoring chances tonight but their keeper made a couple great saves."
DeBourge kept up the pressure midway though the first half when he tested Olson with a shot from the top of the box that the Gibault keeper punched out of danger. Neto Franca kept the Crusaders guessing late in the half with a pair of dangerous scoring chances.
Teiman came off his line to snatch the ball from the quick midfielder. Then Neto Franca found Kohnz inside the box but Teiman made a terrific save from close range. The two were causing havoc again with 9:40 left when Neto Franca hit the cross bar after a slick pass from Kohnz.
The Althoff offense picked back up in the second half with Blair and Mason Wagner testing Olson frequently. Kohnz had the best scoring chance of the game for Gibault when he was taken down just outside the Althoff box for a dangerous free kick. Collin Shields hit a solid kick, but Teiman made a good save.
Just as before the first Althoff goal, Gibault was dominating the majority of the offensive play when Wagner was taken down on a hard tackle by Alex Merlenbach inside the box. Wagner converted the penalty kick at 32:43 for a 2-0 lead.
Kohnz almost cut the Althoff lead in half with 10:15 remaining when he hit Alex Bira via a corner kick. Bira's shot just sailed over the Althoff goal.
Kohnz said this season has been difficult for several reasons.
"We've been restructuring the entire season," said Kohnz. "We lost eight starters from last year and a couple of key players. We need to keep working hard on our restructuring and getting ready for the postseason.
"We have to come out 110 percent every time, because we don't have the talent we did last year. We have to be that scrappy team going for every head ball and every 50-50 ball."
Starting lineups
Gibault
GK: Connor Olson
D: Alex Bira
D: Mitchell Kohnz
D: Collin Shields
D: Nate Janson
MF: Collin Schmidt
MF: Alex Merlenbach
MF: Carlos Simoni
F: Gavin Kohnz
F: Helio Neto Franca
F: McKenzie Haudrich
Althoff
GK: Tyler Teiman
D: Alex DeBourge
D: Cole Watson
D: Clayton Peeler
MF: Mason Wagner
MF: Tyler Blair
MF: Landon Welch
F: Morgon Young
F: Trey Schneider
F: Derrick Mark
F: Ben Michael
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Tyler Blair, sr. MF, Althoff
Scoring summary
Gibault 0-0-0
Althoff 1-1-2
First half
A: Tyler Blair, 30:20
Second half
A: Mason Wagner, 32:43
Crusaders post 2-0 Senior Night victory
By Keith Schildroth
BELLEVILLE - Althoff coach Skip Birdsong can't exactly pin down the last time his Crusaders defeated Gibault.
"Somebody said it was 20 years ago," said Birdsong after his club blanked Gibault 2-0 Wednesday. "We really don't know, but I think it could have been longer."
Crusaders senior defender Alex DeBourge said the victory over Gibault was special, not only because it was Senior Night, but because the win broke the long hex against the Hawks.
"I know for this group of seniors, we've never beaten them," said DeBourge. "They always have a very good team. I think with the tradition they have, they are still a good team. We know they play a tough schedule. We have a pretty good rivalry with them. I think we played well tonight."
Althoff, playing perhaps it best soccer of the season at the right time, a week before postseason play begins, improved to 10-6-1.
The struggling Hawks fell to 1-14-2 but don't ask Birdsong if Gibault is a pushover.
"I know their schedule, and they play a lot of good teams," said Birdsong. "They've had a lot of success through the years, and they have a great program. Ebbs and flows as they go. They play a tough schedule so their record isn't what it normally is. They're still a good team."
The Gibault offense looked ready to play against the Crusaders. Usually slow starters, senior midfielder Helio Neto Franca and senior forward Gavin Kohnz had pep in their step. Neto Franca, a transfer from Michigan via Brazil, was working the left side consistently in the opening half and beating the Althoff defense.
Neto Franca had a good scoring chance with a nifty cross that sophomore midfielder Collin Shields just missed over the net. Kohnz, doing the dirty work on the sidelines the entire game, hit a nice free kick from the right side that Neto Franca barely missed at 33 minutes, 39 seconds.
Just when it looked like Gibault was going to break though and get a early lead, a dose of sloppy play off a corner kick gave Althoff a 1-0 lead. Tyler Blair deflected the corner past Hawks goalie Connor Olson at 30:20.
"I think between the backline, and a guy coming from the middle kind, of lost their mark a little," said Gibault coach Darryn Haudrich. "Miscommunication and a breakdown in the back."
Olson took some of the blame on the goal.
"It was a little bit on my part, a little bit on the defender," said Olson. "I probably could have come out a little more aggressive. He got in front of the defender and flicked it to the far back post."
Blair was right back on the attack minutes after the goal. His dangerous corner kick was caught by Olson. But it was Kohnz right back at the Crusaders in traffic in front of the Althoff goal. He moved the ball well inside the box and was stopped by Althoff keeper Tyler Teiman.
"We kind of tweaked some things in practice, changed the formation a little," said Haudrich. "I think that generated a little bit more offense up-top. He worked well tonight. He was scrappy. We just couldn't find a way to finish in the final third."
Kohnz said his play might have picked up because of the opponent.
"Althoff is the other Catholic school in the area, so they're always a big rivalry. We always want to come out hot and play as well as we can," said Kohnz. "We've had success against them, but they came out ready to play, and we didn't. We've been working on our offense, and we had some good scoring chances tonight but their keeper made a couple great saves."
DeBourge kept up the pressure midway though the first half when he tested Olson with a shot from the top of the box that the Gibault keeper punched out of danger. Neto Franca kept the Crusaders guessing late in the half with a pair of dangerous scoring chances.
Teiman came off his line to snatch the ball from the quick midfielder. Then Neto Franca found Kohnz inside the box but Teiman made a terrific save from close range. The two were causing havoc again with 9:40 left when Neto Franca hit the cross bar after a slick pass from Kohnz.
The Althoff offense picked back up in the second half with Blair and Mason Wagner testing Olson frequently. Kohnz had the best scoring chance of the game for Gibault when he was taken down just outside the Althoff box for a dangerous free kick. Collin Shields hit a solid kick, but Teiman made a good save.
Just as before the first Althoff goal, Gibault was dominating the majority of the offensive play when Wagner was taken down on a hard tackle by Alex Merlenbach inside the box. Wagner converted the penalty kick at 32:43 for a 2-0 lead.
Kohnz almost cut the Althoff lead in half with 10:15 remaining when he hit Alex Bira via a corner kick. Bira's shot just sailed over the Althoff goal.
Kohnz said this season has been difficult for several reasons.
"We've been restructuring the entire season," said Kohnz. "We lost eight starters from last year and a couple of key players. We need to keep working hard on our restructuring and getting ready for the postseason.
"We have to come out 110 percent every time, because we don't have the talent we did last year. We have to be that scrappy team going for every head ball and every 50-50 ball."
Starting lineups
Gibault
GK: Connor Olson
D: Alex Bira
D: Mitchell Kohnz
D: Collin Shields
D: Nate Janson
MF: Collin Schmidt
MF: Alex Merlenbach
MF: Carlos Simoni
F: Gavin Kohnz
F: Helio Neto Franca
F: McKenzie Haudrich
Althoff
GK: Tyler Teiman
D: Alex DeBourge
D: Cole Watson
D: Clayton Peeler
MF: Mason Wagner
MF: Tyler Blair
MF: Landon Welch
F: Morgon Young
F: Trey Schneider
F: Derrick Mark
F: Ben Michael
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Tyler Blair, sr. MF, Althoff
Scoring summary
Gibault 0-0-0
Althoff 1-1-2
First half
A: Tyler Blair, 30:20
Second half
A: Mason Wagner, 32:43