Glenbard North puts it all together
to power past Fenton in Novy title match
Panthers offense, defense combine to post impressive 5-0 victory
By Bobby Narang
ADDISON — Several Glenbard North players had a final destination to celebrate Saturday’s memorable championship.
Many wanted to make a dash to the middle of the field.
The Panthers had just pieced together a dominating effort — offensively and defensively — to record a 5-0 victory over Fenton in the 11th-annual Joe Novy Classic championship game at Addison Trail.
Several Panthers wanted to carry the first place trophy to the 50-yard line to commemorate their first trophy of the season.
But Glenbard North coach Spero Mandakas wanted his players to keep their celebration muted, to a degree. In other words, Mandakas has bigger goals for his players to focus on in their near future.
The Panthers (3-1-1) presented their argument for being mentioned with the top teams in Chicagoland and recorded their third-consecutive shutout. Through five games, the Panthers have yielded just two goals – an own-goal and a PK.
“This is great to have this momentum and to win a title,” Mandakas said. “We set our goals at the beginning of the season about getting to championship matches and putting ourselves into those situations before we get to the playoffs. This was a good test for them. We’ve been waiting for our offense to click. We’ve been grinding out games, but the offense showed up today, and the backline played great.”
The Panthers blew the game wide open midway through the first half with goals from Luis Roman, Colin Hernandez and Christian Escobedo in a 16-minute span for a 3-0 lead 14 minutes before halftime.
After the break Jorge Roman scored thanks to an excellent pass from Escobedo and Pablo DeLaCruz added the final goal with 61 seconds left.
Hernandez, a junior, said the Panthers are showing promise for a memorable season.
“We haven’t won anything in five years, so this title is an accomplishment,” Hernandez said. “We’ve been working hard for this. It feels good. Last year we came up short in a lot of games. This feels good because we’re starting to click. Everybody is playing with passion, and we’re playing as a team. We have a lot of potential.”
Fenton played strong in the first 10 minutes, but struggled keeping up against the high-octane Panthers over the next 70 minutes.
“It wasn’t our best game,” Fenton coach Victor Ruiz said. “They played better than we did today. They wanted it more than we did. We made a lot of mistakes offensively and defensively and (Glenbard North) capitalized. This is the first time all season we’ve been down on the board, and our first loss.
“I think this is going to determine whether we move up or come down. We have to learn from this. One of our goals coming in was to finish in the top two of the tournament or to win it. We came close. We know what to do well in conference and make a run at the round of playoffs.”
Glenbard North’s backline sparked the tournament victory. Senior goalie Stavros Veremis finished with six saves, most of them of the garden variety.
“The guys in front of me made it easy for me,” Veremis said. “It’s nice not to have to dive around all the time. Most of my dives are in warmups. We haven’t seen any quality chances coming through.
“The backline makes my job so easy. They have a great connection. I knew we had a solid team last year but came up short. We have a lot of seniors, so we’re all hungry. This is a great start, but just a start. We want to continue to win. We are totally capable of having a special season and going all the way.”
Glenbard North senior defender Mark Szklarczyk said the backline is playing with confidence early in the season.
“We’ve been talking with the midfield and always knowing where to go has been helpful,” he said. “We have a lot of guys back there. I’m shocked. I have confidence in everybody.”
Escobedo admitted he cherished his first goal of the season. More importantly, he enjoyed playing a key role leading the Panthers to an early-season championship. The Panthers have outscored their last three opponents by a combined score of 12-0.
“This is a big confidence booster coming into the middle of the season and conference coming up soon,” Escobedo said. “I feel the motivation we have and determination we have and everyone showing up to morning practices has been great. We’re trying to keep building momentum.”
Mandakas said the deep backline of Szklarczyk, Tyler Nack, Michael Bonsi, Vinny Wilson, Ayan Sheikh, Diego Chicas and Diego Navarro-Saavedra was one of the key factors in the tourney title.
“The first eight minutes (Fenton) was all over us, but that first goal switched it,” Mandakas said. “We’ve been grinding out games waiting for our offense to click. It showed today. The backline starred again. We haven’t gotten a goal scored on us in regulation through five games. We’re happy with that moving into the DuKane Conference.
“We have a solid foundation in the backline. We have four guys that rotate at center back. We’re deep. but it was good to score goals today. We broke it through. Hopefully, we can have confidence from this and keep going.”
Starting lineups
Fenton
GK: Alvaro Rios
D: Kamil Markowski
D: Joshua Galeana
D: Nathanael Gimenez
D: Bernando Misiunas
MF: Giovanni Galeana
MF: Jose Perez
MF: Alan Lopez
MF: Alel Ruiz
F: Diego Rojas
F: Fernando Cruz
Glenbard North
GK: Stavros Veremis
D: Mark Szklarczyk
D: Tyler Nack
D: Ayan Sheikh
D: Diego Chicas
MF: Rijad Kadiric
MF: Hugo Tecuanhuehue
MF: Christian Escobedo
MF: Luis Roman
F: Jorge Roman
F: Pablo DeLaCruz
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Christian Escobedo, jr., MF, Glenbard North
Scoring summary
First half
Glenbard North: Luis Roman (unassisted), 11’
Glenbard North: Colin Hernandez (Christian Tecuanhuehue), 25’
Glenbard North: Christian Escobedo (unassisted), 26’
Second half
Glenbard North: Jorge Roman (Escobedo), 64’
Glenbard North: Pablo DeLaCruz (Roman), 79’
to power past Fenton in Novy title match
Panthers offense, defense combine to post impressive 5-0 victory
By Bobby Narang
ADDISON — Several Glenbard North players had a final destination to celebrate Saturday’s memorable championship.
Many wanted to make a dash to the middle of the field.
The Panthers had just pieced together a dominating effort — offensively and defensively — to record a 5-0 victory over Fenton in the 11th-annual Joe Novy Classic championship game at Addison Trail.
Several Panthers wanted to carry the first place trophy to the 50-yard line to commemorate their first trophy of the season.
But Glenbard North coach Spero Mandakas wanted his players to keep their celebration muted, to a degree. In other words, Mandakas has bigger goals for his players to focus on in their near future.
The Panthers (3-1-1) presented their argument for being mentioned with the top teams in Chicagoland and recorded their third-consecutive shutout. Through five games, the Panthers have yielded just two goals – an own-goal and a PK.
“This is great to have this momentum and to win a title,” Mandakas said. “We set our goals at the beginning of the season about getting to championship matches and putting ourselves into those situations before we get to the playoffs. This was a good test for them. We’ve been waiting for our offense to click. We’ve been grinding out games, but the offense showed up today, and the backline played great.”
The Panthers blew the game wide open midway through the first half with goals from Luis Roman, Colin Hernandez and Christian Escobedo in a 16-minute span for a 3-0 lead 14 minutes before halftime.
After the break Jorge Roman scored thanks to an excellent pass from Escobedo and Pablo DeLaCruz added the final goal with 61 seconds left.
Hernandez, a junior, said the Panthers are showing promise for a memorable season.
“We haven’t won anything in five years, so this title is an accomplishment,” Hernandez said. “We’ve been working hard for this. It feels good. Last year we came up short in a lot of games. This feels good because we’re starting to click. Everybody is playing with passion, and we’re playing as a team. We have a lot of potential.”
Fenton played strong in the first 10 minutes, but struggled keeping up against the high-octane Panthers over the next 70 minutes.
“It wasn’t our best game,” Fenton coach Victor Ruiz said. “They played better than we did today. They wanted it more than we did. We made a lot of mistakes offensively and defensively and (Glenbard North) capitalized. This is the first time all season we’ve been down on the board, and our first loss.
“I think this is going to determine whether we move up or come down. We have to learn from this. One of our goals coming in was to finish in the top two of the tournament or to win it. We came close. We know what to do well in conference and make a run at the round of playoffs.”
Glenbard North’s backline sparked the tournament victory. Senior goalie Stavros Veremis finished with six saves, most of them of the garden variety.
“The guys in front of me made it easy for me,” Veremis said. “It’s nice not to have to dive around all the time. Most of my dives are in warmups. We haven’t seen any quality chances coming through.
“The backline makes my job so easy. They have a great connection. I knew we had a solid team last year but came up short. We have a lot of seniors, so we’re all hungry. This is a great start, but just a start. We want to continue to win. We are totally capable of having a special season and going all the way.”
Glenbard North senior defender Mark Szklarczyk said the backline is playing with confidence early in the season.
“We’ve been talking with the midfield and always knowing where to go has been helpful,” he said. “We have a lot of guys back there. I’m shocked. I have confidence in everybody.”
Escobedo admitted he cherished his first goal of the season. More importantly, he enjoyed playing a key role leading the Panthers to an early-season championship. The Panthers have outscored their last three opponents by a combined score of 12-0.
“This is a big confidence booster coming into the middle of the season and conference coming up soon,” Escobedo said. “I feel the motivation we have and determination we have and everyone showing up to morning practices has been great. We’re trying to keep building momentum.”
Mandakas said the deep backline of Szklarczyk, Tyler Nack, Michael Bonsi, Vinny Wilson, Ayan Sheikh, Diego Chicas and Diego Navarro-Saavedra was one of the key factors in the tourney title.
“The first eight minutes (Fenton) was all over us, but that first goal switched it,” Mandakas said. “We’ve been grinding out games waiting for our offense to click. It showed today. The backline starred again. We haven’t gotten a goal scored on us in regulation through five games. We’re happy with that moving into the DuKane Conference.
“We have a solid foundation in the backline. We have four guys that rotate at center back. We’re deep. but it was good to score goals today. We broke it through. Hopefully, we can have confidence from this and keep going.”
Starting lineups
Fenton
GK: Alvaro Rios
D: Kamil Markowski
D: Joshua Galeana
D: Nathanael Gimenez
D: Bernando Misiunas
MF: Giovanni Galeana
MF: Jose Perez
MF: Alan Lopez
MF: Alel Ruiz
F: Diego Rojas
F: Fernando Cruz
Glenbard North
GK: Stavros Veremis
D: Mark Szklarczyk
D: Tyler Nack
D: Ayan Sheikh
D: Diego Chicas
MF: Rijad Kadiric
MF: Hugo Tecuanhuehue
MF: Christian Escobedo
MF: Luis Roman
F: Jorge Roman
F: Pablo DeLaCruz
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Christian Escobedo, jr., MF, Glenbard North
Scoring summary
First half
Glenbard North: Luis Roman (unassisted), 11’
Glenbard North: Colin Hernandez (Christian Tecuanhuehue), 25’
Glenbard North: Christian Escobedo (unassisted), 26’
Second half
Glenbard North: Jorge Roman (Escobedo), 64’
Glenbard North: Pablo DeLaCruz (Roman), 79’