Central wins battle of Grayslake
after stern test from North
Rams remain undefeated after 2-0 conference-opening win
By Bobby Narang
GRAYSLAKE —- Grayslake North senior goalie Joe Swambar slowly started moving forward before suddenly breaking loose with a burst of speed.
All game long, Swambar had been peppered with shots by Grayslake Central’s highly skilled squad on Monday night.
As the final seconds ticked down at Grayslake Central, Swambar was all set to walk back to the sidelines and pack up his gear. Just then near midfield, the ball was smacked toward the Grayslake North end.
Grayslake Central senior forward Danik Marynevych, a Chicagoland Soccer all-stater, seized on the opportunity to add to his goal total and raced full speed toward the loose ball. At 6-foot-3, Swambar is an imposing force in the net. His combination of height, heft and athleticism is an ideal mixture to be a successful keeper.
Swambar didn't back down from the end-of-the-game challenge against the highly motivated Marynevych.
Swambar took a few big steps to just beat the charging forward to the ball, while avoiding a collision, to record his final save as time expired.
Grayslake Central didn’t need the insurance goal, but Swambar admitted his heart was racing, especially since it was the end of a busy night. He collected 17 saves, with 14 in a hectic final 40 minutes.
“I was just thinking I have to do what it takes to save this final ball,” Swambar said. “My defense is trying for me. I have to give my everything to them. But when you see (Marnevych) running at you, your heart is beating out of your chest. He’s definitely a great player.”
It was a fitting way to end the game
Swambar was the star of the night, recording eye-catching saves seemingly every minute of the second half.
In the end, Grayslake Central showed its championship mettle with two goals in the second half to post a 2-0 win over their neighborhood rivals in Northern Lake County Conference play.
The Rams (7-0-1, 1-0-0) endured a rough night but showed their grit with a hard-earned victory before a large home crowd. Grayslake Central, ranked no. 5 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, walked away with respect for Swambar after the tough 80-minute battle.
Alan Alonso and Marynevych each scored a goal. The former ended the scoreless drought by scoring on a short tap-in off an assist from Chicagoland Soccer all-stater Lucas Veenstra in the 58th minute.
“You have to give props to their keeper, because he saved a lot of times,” Alonso said. “We just need to finish our chances. We have to work on one game at a time and keep moving forward.
“It was a weird game. We were expecting more from our team, but we got the win. I was hungry for that goal, saw the opportunity and shot the ball.”
Marynevych was all over the field, showing off his next-level speed and endurance by hunting for goals all night in the heated game. He kept on coming up empty due to Swambar’s stellar play. Playing with fervor and suffering from a fever, Marynevych scored in the 77th minute on a penalty kick to raise his season total to 12 goals.
“It was a rough game,” Marynevych said. “My boys tried to feed me. I tried to provide what I could, but I couldn’t finish today. It’s upsetting, but I’m glad we got the result we were expecting. Their (goalie) was playing amazing, just amazing. I have so much respect for him. We’re looking forward to the next one.”
Grayslake Central junior goalie Uriel Garcia Perez had a lonely second half. He was busy in the first half, though. Perez made four of his five saves in the opening half, highlighted by two incredible stops in a two-minute span early in the game.
“I just tried to keep the score at zero as long as possible, get a zero every game,” Perez said. “I feel good with my teammates. It was an ugly win today, but we have to play better in our next game against Grant. Hopefully, we can make it far. We’re shooting for state, again.”
Perez said he was impressed by Swambar’s performance.
“From goalie to goalie, it’s really amazing to see another goalie (who’s) really good. Especially in high school because you don’t see them very much,” he said.
Grayslake Central grew frustrated after the scoreless opening half. Swambar netted three saves in the first three minutes following intermission. He played with more confidence with each passing minute and drew a roar from the crowd following a highlight-reel save off a Marynevych breakaway in the 50th minute.
Swambar made an excellent stop with his foot in the 53rd minute and added a similar save off a shot from Mitchell Fein in the 65th minute. Those were followed by a leaping save with just under seven minutes remaining and two stops in the final 30 seconds to close out his memorable night.
“It was an action-packed game, just shot after shot. We were defending with our lives, and our defense played a great game,” Swambar said. “This season I haven’t made a ton of (foot) saves, but in the past it has definitely happened a lot.
“It was frustrating. I think we all played well. They’re a good team. We can build off this game. This is the hardest we fought all season.”
The Knights (1-5-1, 0-1-0) hope to build off the tough defeat, especially with Swambar back after missing a few games due to health issues.
“Joe is a heck of a keeper,” Grayslake North coach Adam DeCaluwe said. “He had a pretty good performance tonight. We’re struggling with health, and the boys put in a quality effort against a really good team.”
Grayslake Central coach Keith Andersson said he can feel the momentum building. The Rams, who placed fourth in Class AA last season, played with nonstop energy throughout the game and their endurance level was evident in their second half play.
“The boys really worked hard, and the second half was better than the first,” he said. “We worked hard over the summer to make them come into the season in shape.
“I will give their goalie a lot of credit. He made some amazing saves. He really kept them in the game. It’s always a fun rivalry.
Starting lineups
Grayslake North
GK: Joe Swambar
D: Jose Alcala
D: Alonso Morales
D: Gavin Congalton
D: Danny Fabela
MF: Chris Von Briesen
MF: Diego Ruiz
MF: Manny Juarez
F: Sam Soriano
F: Illija Dupor
F: Chris Fabela
Grayslake Central
GK: Uriel Garcia Perez
D: Damion Sereno
D: Lucas Veenstra
D: Jose Chavez
D: Erick Garcia-Perez
MF: Alan Alonso
MF: Raymond Sereno
MF: Mitchell Fein
MF: Nick Molochnikov
F: Cameron Paul
F: Danik Marynevych
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Joe Swambar, sr., GK, Grayslake North
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Grayslake Central: Alonso (Veenstra), 58’
Grayslake Central: Marynevych (penalty kick), 77’
after stern test from North
Rams remain undefeated after 2-0 conference-opening win
By Bobby Narang
GRAYSLAKE —- Grayslake North senior goalie Joe Swambar slowly started moving forward before suddenly breaking loose with a burst of speed.
All game long, Swambar had been peppered with shots by Grayslake Central’s highly skilled squad on Monday night.
As the final seconds ticked down at Grayslake Central, Swambar was all set to walk back to the sidelines and pack up his gear. Just then near midfield, the ball was smacked toward the Grayslake North end.
Grayslake Central senior forward Danik Marynevych, a Chicagoland Soccer all-stater, seized on the opportunity to add to his goal total and raced full speed toward the loose ball. At 6-foot-3, Swambar is an imposing force in the net. His combination of height, heft and athleticism is an ideal mixture to be a successful keeper.
Swambar didn't back down from the end-of-the-game challenge against the highly motivated Marynevych.
Swambar took a few big steps to just beat the charging forward to the ball, while avoiding a collision, to record his final save as time expired.
Grayslake Central didn’t need the insurance goal, but Swambar admitted his heart was racing, especially since it was the end of a busy night. He collected 17 saves, with 14 in a hectic final 40 minutes.
“I was just thinking I have to do what it takes to save this final ball,” Swambar said. “My defense is trying for me. I have to give my everything to them. But when you see (Marnevych) running at you, your heart is beating out of your chest. He’s definitely a great player.”
It was a fitting way to end the game
Swambar was the star of the night, recording eye-catching saves seemingly every minute of the second half.
In the end, Grayslake Central showed its championship mettle with two goals in the second half to post a 2-0 win over their neighborhood rivals in Northern Lake County Conference play.
The Rams (7-0-1, 1-0-0) endured a rough night but showed their grit with a hard-earned victory before a large home crowd. Grayslake Central, ranked no. 5 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, walked away with respect for Swambar after the tough 80-minute battle.
Alan Alonso and Marynevych each scored a goal. The former ended the scoreless drought by scoring on a short tap-in off an assist from Chicagoland Soccer all-stater Lucas Veenstra in the 58th minute.
“You have to give props to their keeper, because he saved a lot of times,” Alonso said. “We just need to finish our chances. We have to work on one game at a time and keep moving forward.
“It was a weird game. We were expecting more from our team, but we got the win. I was hungry for that goal, saw the opportunity and shot the ball.”
Marynevych was all over the field, showing off his next-level speed and endurance by hunting for goals all night in the heated game. He kept on coming up empty due to Swambar’s stellar play. Playing with fervor and suffering from a fever, Marynevych scored in the 77th minute on a penalty kick to raise his season total to 12 goals.
“It was a rough game,” Marynevych said. “My boys tried to feed me. I tried to provide what I could, but I couldn’t finish today. It’s upsetting, but I’m glad we got the result we were expecting. Their (goalie) was playing amazing, just amazing. I have so much respect for him. We’re looking forward to the next one.”
Grayslake Central junior goalie Uriel Garcia Perez had a lonely second half. He was busy in the first half, though. Perez made four of his five saves in the opening half, highlighted by two incredible stops in a two-minute span early in the game.
“I just tried to keep the score at zero as long as possible, get a zero every game,” Perez said. “I feel good with my teammates. It was an ugly win today, but we have to play better in our next game against Grant. Hopefully, we can make it far. We’re shooting for state, again.”
Perez said he was impressed by Swambar’s performance.
“From goalie to goalie, it’s really amazing to see another goalie (who’s) really good. Especially in high school because you don’t see them very much,” he said.
Grayslake Central grew frustrated after the scoreless opening half. Swambar netted three saves in the first three minutes following intermission. He played with more confidence with each passing minute and drew a roar from the crowd following a highlight-reel save off a Marynevych breakaway in the 50th minute.
Swambar made an excellent stop with his foot in the 53rd minute and added a similar save off a shot from Mitchell Fein in the 65th minute. Those were followed by a leaping save with just under seven minutes remaining and two stops in the final 30 seconds to close out his memorable night.
“It was an action-packed game, just shot after shot. We were defending with our lives, and our defense played a great game,” Swambar said. “This season I haven’t made a ton of (foot) saves, but in the past it has definitely happened a lot.
“It was frustrating. I think we all played well. They’re a good team. We can build off this game. This is the hardest we fought all season.”
The Knights (1-5-1, 0-1-0) hope to build off the tough defeat, especially with Swambar back after missing a few games due to health issues.
“Joe is a heck of a keeper,” Grayslake North coach Adam DeCaluwe said. “He had a pretty good performance tonight. We’re struggling with health, and the boys put in a quality effort against a really good team.”
Grayslake Central coach Keith Andersson said he can feel the momentum building. The Rams, who placed fourth in Class AA last season, played with nonstop energy throughout the game and their endurance level was evident in their second half play.
“The boys really worked hard, and the second half was better than the first,” he said. “We worked hard over the summer to make them come into the season in shape.
“I will give their goalie a lot of credit. He made some amazing saves. He really kept them in the game. It’s always a fun rivalry.
Starting lineups
Grayslake North
GK: Joe Swambar
D: Jose Alcala
D: Alonso Morales
D: Gavin Congalton
D: Danny Fabela
MF: Chris Von Briesen
MF: Diego Ruiz
MF: Manny Juarez
F: Sam Soriano
F: Illija Dupor
F: Chris Fabela
Grayslake Central
GK: Uriel Garcia Perez
D: Damion Sereno
D: Lucas Veenstra
D: Jose Chavez
D: Erick Garcia-Perez
MF: Alan Alonso
MF: Raymond Sereno
MF: Mitchell Fein
MF: Nick Molochnikov
F: Cameron Paul
F: Danik Marynevych
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Joe Swambar, sr., GK, Grayslake North
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Grayslake Central: Alonso (Veenstra), 58’
Grayslake Central: Marynevych (penalty kick), 77’