Lake Park overcomes scrappy Glenbard N.
Nasiadka, Grzybowicz, Karas spark Lancers to 2-0 DVC win
By Gary Larsen
ROSELLE -- Lake Park coach Sean Crosby needed to shake his team up Tuesday after a first half that saw visiting Glenbard North outwork his Lancers to a scoreless halftime draw.
Enter Chris Nasiadka, Paul Grzybowicz, and Matt Karas, who elevated the Lancers’ second half play en route to a 2-0 win over the Panthers.
“It was good to see guys who have worked so hard throughout training and games, and don’t always get the minutes, prove that they deserved it today,” Crosby said. “They made a difference for us. Karas is a spark plug, Chris did a great job, and Paul just busted his tail today. Our other guys saw how hard those three were working in the second half, and then everybody flipped a switch.”
Glenbard North (2-9-2, 0-6-0) fought tooth and nail through 40 minutes to keep Lake Park (9-5-2, 3-3) out of net in the DuPage Valley Conference tilt.
Outside mid Nasiadka and forwards Grzybowicz and Karas started the second half and immediately made a difference. Two minutes into the half, Grzybowicz pressured Glenbard North freshman keeper Martin Argirov, rushing him into a clearing shot that flew directly out to Nasiadka, who settled it and looked up.
Despite being 35-40 yards from goal, Nasiadka chose the aggressive option.
“I saw the keeper off his line, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to shoot it or not but I decided to go for it,” Nasiadka said. “We’ve been (creating) chances all year. We just have to capitalize on a few more of them.”
With Argirov well off his line, Nasiadka’s high-flying shot bounced once over the keeper’s head before settling into the goal. For his role in jumpstarting Lake Park’s intensity with a timely goal, Nasiadka was named Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match.
Lake Park scored again at 60 minutes on a Matteo Costa goal off a Franco Presta throw-in.
“Once we got that first goal we knew we had to keep going,” Lake Park captain and defender Sebastian Augustyn said.“The runs are always there, and we always get a lot of chances. We’ve been able to pressure teams all year.”
Glenbard North handled that pressure in the first half while also locating some quality scoring chances of its own.
The game’s first great scoring chance came at 23 minutes when Lake Park’s Tom Zakic took a ball to the endline on the right side and crossed to the far post, where teammate Sebastian Glodz headed it over the bar.
Glenbard North sent a handful of free kicks diagonally through the Lancers’ box that went untouched and over the endline with Panthers stepping on but unable to get touches on them.
Glenbard North’s Jesse Aragon served a ball to the top of the box at 29 minutes that teammate Josh Lopez flicked onto net but directly into the hands of Lake Park keeper Kyle Czeremuga.
Lake Park’s Presta sent a free kick to the Panthers’ goalmouth at 35 minutes that hit the carpet before Argirov pounced on it, and Argirov picked another Lake Park free kick out of the air at 37 minutes.
Costa broke in alone on Argirov on the right side at 40 minutes, and Glenbard North’s
freshman keeper made a terrific sliding kick-save on the low shot to keep the slate clean to halftime.
After holding the Lancers at bay through 40 minutes, Glenbard North opened the second half with a serve from the corner that Czeremuga snared at the near post, and then found a good scoring chance quickly thereafter that was sent just high by forward Fabrizio Guajardo.
“I feel like this (game) is on a loop,” Glenbard North coach Gregg Koeller said. “It’s zero-zero at half, we come out and get two really good chances, and if we put one of those in you never know what might happen. But then we give up a bad goal, and we’re down 1-0.”
Glenbard North entered the season with very little team-wide varsity experience. And while the expected ups and downs have played out for a young team, Koeller has seen progress.
“I see it but I have to make sure they keep seeing it because sometimes young players can only see the record,” Koeller said. “I said to them after the game that they have to stay focused on the bigger picture, and there was plenty to be happy about because we did a lot of really good things tonight. And if we beat Bartlett (in the regional) we’ll play Lake Park again and now we know we can play with them.”
Lake Park received the second seed at this year’s 3A Conant Sectional, and Glenbard North is seeded 15th. Glenbard North senior captain and defender Evan Scott sees the promise.
“They started out real nervous this year, but now we’re definitely more of a team,” Scott said. “We’re playing together more. Before we’d pass it through, and no one would be making the run, but now they’re making those runs. So now we just need to work on finishing. And even though we’re losing, they’re trying their best.”
Scott, Ode Emena, Danny Le, and Ben Solano have defended hard all season as the squad has strived to find its attacking footing under the tutelage of veteran varsity midfielders Best Emena and Erik Lopez.
“Evan quietly does a nice job. He’s one of our captains, and he’s played every minute of every game,” Koeller said. “He shows up every day, and he’s done a yeoman’s job this year.”
Crosby felt lucky to be in a scoreless draw with Glenbard North at halftime. “They were outworking us and outhustling us,” Crosby said, “and they deserved to be up in the first half, as hard as they worked while we were just going through the motions.”
A halftime talk that included Lake Park captains Presta and Glodz urging the Lancers to pick up their intensity followed. After Glenbard North’s two quick, early scoring chances to start the second half, Grzybowicz’s pressure and Nasiadka’s goal broke the ice. Karas ripped a good shot just wide 30 seconds after Nasiadka’s goal.
“Chris deserved to start in the second half, and he goes out and scores a goal for us,” Crosby said. “He’s always working hard. He deserved that highlight and to get that recognition today because even on his off days, he’s working hard and has a great attitude.”
Glodz was snakebit in the second half, sending a few quality chances just wide and heading a shot off the crossbar at 49 minutes. Karas sent a shot just wide from 12 yards out at 55 minutes before the Lancers found a second goal at 60 minutes.
A Presta throw-in to the goalmouth found Costa with his back to the goal. After settling it and taking a touch, Costa whirled and buried the shot from eight yards out.
“Max (Ellenbecker) and Tommy (Zakic) can toss a decent ball, too, but (Presta) has a good knack of working together with Matteo, who got on the end of that one,” Crosby said. “Matteo found a way to get in the right spot and used his body to hold (a defender) off.”
And instead of a beautiful goal scored on a sweet through-ball and a great finishing touch behind the defense, Costa’s goal punctuated the scrappy scoring style that the looming postseason is often built on.
“Sometimes it has to come from being hard-nosed, like Matteo’s goal tonight,” Crosby said. “Sometimes you have to get the ugly ones when you’re just sitting in the box, using your body and holding them off. Luckily we’ve scored in different ways. We hope that continues because against good teams you might not get an easy one through the run of play and you have to find a different way to break them down.”
In addition to Nasiadka, Karas, and Grzybowicz, Crosby liked what he got from the freshman goalie Czeremuga, who played in his fourth game filling in for starting junior keeper Christian Lekki. Lekki aims to return from an ankle injury in time for the postseason.
“He’s still learning but boy, does he have great anticipation and a great attitude,” Crosby said of Czeremuga. “He doesn’t rush things. And if he does make an error in a game, he bounces back and for the next 65 minutes he’s plugged in. The guys know he can play. They have confidence in him.”
Starting lineups
Lake Park
GK Kyle Czeremuga
D Max Ellenbecker
D Tom Zakic
D Sebastian Augustyn
D Daniel Nocek
M Sebastian Glodz
M Franco Presta
M Matteo Costa
M Andrew Eliopoulos
M Brent Hatfield
F Jesus Juarez
Glenbard North
GK Martin Argirov
D Danny Le
D Ode Emena
D Ben Solano
D Evan Scott
M Best Emena
M Erik Lopez
M Brian Dasso
M Abood Nasr
F Fabrizio Guajardo
F Josh Lopez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Chris Nasiadka, sr. M, Lake Park
Scoring summary
Second half
Lake Park — Nasiadka (U/A); Costa (Presta)
Nasiadka, Grzybowicz, Karas spark Lancers to 2-0 DVC win
By Gary Larsen
ROSELLE -- Lake Park coach Sean Crosby needed to shake his team up Tuesday after a first half that saw visiting Glenbard North outwork his Lancers to a scoreless halftime draw.
Enter Chris Nasiadka, Paul Grzybowicz, and Matt Karas, who elevated the Lancers’ second half play en route to a 2-0 win over the Panthers.
“It was good to see guys who have worked so hard throughout training and games, and don’t always get the minutes, prove that they deserved it today,” Crosby said. “They made a difference for us. Karas is a spark plug, Chris did a great job, and Paul just busted his tail today. Our other guys saw how hard those three were working in the second half, and then everybody flipped a switch.”
Glenbard North (2-9-2, 0-6-0) fought tooth and nail through 40 minutes to keep Lake Park (9-5-2, 3-3) out of net in the DuPage Valley Conference tilt.
Outside mid Nasiadka and forwards Grzybowicz and Karas started the second half and immediately made a difference. Two minutes into the half, Grzybowicz pressured Glenbard North freshman keeper Martin Argirov, rushing him into a clearing shot that flew directly out to Nasiadka, who settled it and looked up.
Despite being 35-40 yards from goal, Nasiadka chose the aggressive option.
“I saw the keeper off his line, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to shoot it or not but I decided to go for it,” Nasiadka said. “We’ve been (creating) chances all year. We just have to capitalize on a few more of them.”
With Argirov well off his line, Nasiadka’s high-flying shot bounced once over the keeper’s head before settling into the goal. For his role in jumpstarting Lake Park’s intensity with a timely goal, Nasiadka was named Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match.
Lake Park scored again at 60 minutes on a Matteo Costa goal off a Franco Presta throw-in.
“Once we got that first goal we knew we had to keep going,” Lake Park captain and defender Sebastian Augustyn said.“The runs are always there, and we always get a lot of chances. We’ve been able to pressure teams all year.”
Glenbard North handled that pressure in the first half while also locating some quality scoring chances of its own.
The game’s first great scoring chance came at 23 minutes when Lake Park’s Tom Zakic took a ball to the endline on the right side and crossed to the far post, where teammate Sebastian Glodz headed it over the bar.
Glenbard North sent a handful of free kicks diagonally through the Lancers’ box that went untouched and over the endline with Panthers stepping on but unable to get touches on them.
Glenbard North’s Jesse Aragon served a ball to the top of the box at 29 minutes that teammate Josh Lopez flicked onto net but directly into the hands of Lake Park keeper Kyle Czeremuga.
Lake Park’s Presta sent a free kick to the Panthers’ goalmouth at 35 minutes that hit the carpet before Argirov pounced on it, and Argirov picked another Lake Park free kick out of the air at 37 minutes.
Costa broke in alone on Argirov on the right side at 40 minutes, and Glenbard North’s
freshman keeper made a terrific sliding kick-save on the low shot to keep the slate clean to halftime.
After holding the Lancers at bay through 40 minutes, Glenbard North opened the second half with a serve from the corner that Czeremuga snared at the near post, and then found a good scoring chance quickly thereafter that was sent just high by forward Fabrizio Guajardo.
“I feel like this (game) is on a loop,” Glenbard North coach Gregg Koeller said. “It’s zero-zero at half, we come out and get two really good chances, and if we put one of those in you never know what might happen. But then we give up a bad goal, and we’re down 1-0.”
Glenbard North entered the season with very little team-wide varsity experience. And while the expected ups and downs have played out for a young team, Koeller has seen progress.
“I see it but I have to make sure they keep seeing it because sometimes young players can only see the record,” Koeller said. “I said to them after the game that they have to stay focused on the bigger picture, and there was plenty to be happy about because we did a lot of really good things tonight. And if we beat Bartlett (in the regional) we’ll play Lake Park again and now we know we can play with them.”
Lake Park received the second seed at this year’s 3A Conant Sectional, and Glenbard North is seeded 15th. Glenbard North senior captain and defender Evan Scott sees the promise.
“They started out real nervous this year, but now we’re definitely more of a team,” Scott said. “We’re playing together more. Before we’d pass it through, and no one would be making the run, but now they’re making those runs. So now we just need to work on finishing. And even though we’re losing, they’re trying their best.”
Scott, Ode Emena, Danny Le, and Ben Solano have defended hard all season as the squad has strived to find its attacking footing under the tutelage of veteran varsity midfielders Best Emena and Erik Lopez.
“Evan quietly does a nice job. He’s one of our captains, and he’s played every minute of every game,” Koeller said. “He shows up every day, and he’s done a yeoman’s job this year.”
Crosby felt lucky to be in a scoreless draw with Glenbard North at halftime. “They were outworking us and outhustling us,” Crosby said, “and they deserved to be up in the first half, as hard as they worked while we were just going through the motions.”
A halftime talk that included Lake Park captains Presta and Glodz urging the Lancers to pick up their intensity followed. After Glenbard North’s two quick, early scoring chances to start the second half, Grzybowicz’s pressure and Nasiadka’s goal broke the ice. Karas ripped a good shot just wide 30 seconds after Nasiadka’s goal.
“Chris deserved to start in the second half, and he goes out and scores a goal for us,” Crosby said. “He’s always working hard. He deserved that highlight and to get that recognition today because even on his off days, he’s working hard and has a great attitude.”
Glodz was snakebit in the second half, sending a few quality chances just wide and heading a shot off the crossbar at 49 minutes. Karas sent a shot just wide from 12 yards out at 55 minutes before the Lancers found a second goal at 60 minutes.
A Presta throw-in to the goalmouth found Costa with his back to the goal. After settling it and taking a touch, Costa whirled and buried the shot from eight yards out.
“Max (Ellenbecker) and Tommy (Zakic) can toss a decent ball, too, but (Presta) has a good knack of working together with Matteo, who got on the end of that one,” Crosby said. “Matteo found a way to get in the right spot and used his body to hold (a defender) off.”
And instead of a beautiful goal scored on a sweet through-ball and a great finishing touch behind the defense, Costa’s goal punctuated the scrappy scoring style that the looming postseason is often built on.
“Sometimes it has to come from being hard-nosed, like Matteo’s goal tonight,” Crosby said. “Sometimes you have to get the ugly ones when you’re just sitting in the box, using your body and holding them off. Luckily we’ve scored in different ways. We hope that continues because against good teams you might not get an easy one through the run of play and you have to find a different way to break them down.”
In addition to Nasiadka, Karas, and Grzybowicz, Crosby liked what he got from the freshman goalie Czeremuga, who played in his fourth game filling in for starting junior keeper Christian Lekki. Lekki aims to return from an ankle injury in time for the postseason.
“He’s still learning but boy, does he have great anticipation and a great attitude,” Crosby said of Czeremuga. “He doesn’t rush things. And if he does make an error in a game, he bounces back and for the next 65 minutes he’s plugged in. The guys know he can play. They have confidence in him.”
Starting lineups
Lake Park
GK Kyle Czeremuga
D Max Ellenbecker
D Tom Zakic
D Sebastian Augustyn
D Daniel Nocek
M Sebastian Glodz
M Franco Presta
M Matteo Costa
M Andrew Eliopoulos
M Brent Hatfield
F Jesus Juarez
Glenbard North
GK Martin Argirov
D Danny Le
D Ode Emena
D Ben Solano
D Evan Scott
M Best Emena
M Erik Lopez
M Brian Dasso
M Abood Nasr
F Fabrizio Guajardo
F Josh Lopez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Chris Nasiadka, sr. M, Lake Park
Scoring summary
Second half
Lake Park — Nasiadka (U/A); Costa (Presta)