Lack of a finish dogs Deerfield in loss
Grayslake North leaves town with a 1-0 nonconference victory
By Rusty Silber
DEERFIELD -- Trying to find the finishing touch has been a problem for Deerfield at times during this season. The issue raised its ugly head once again in their nonconference battle with Grayslake North on Wednesday night at home.
There were plenty of shots and opportunities in favor of the Warriors with nary a completion. It was the reason Grayslake North got past host Deerfield 1-0. Ironically the lack of offense came after a night the Warriors put in three in a Central Suburban League North Division draw at Vernon Hills.
"I really thought the (Grayslake North) back-up goalie (Noel Gonzalez) played really well," Deerfield coach Elliott Hurtig said. "He came out of the net well, and I thought he was fearless. He punched some balls in the middle of some big guys and that really was impressive.
"We just really didn't create enough in the final third, and we were trying to get the ball outside, maybe to stretch them out a bit. We had some success but didn't have enough numbers in the middle to finish."
The result left the Warriors (5-9-1) in a poor frame of mind, but there were still a couple of positives to take from the field.
"It was a frustrating evening and at the same time I thought we still played with some good energy," Hurtig said. "I thought we were dominating in the air, and we were controlling a lot on finishing headballs. I thought we were better at it tonight. But defensively, we gave up a very weak goal. We had missed two tackles in a row right around the box."
Deerfield played a stronger second half. The Warriors applied some pressure up-top at various times, but the Knights' keeper Gonzalez made six of his seven saves aafter the break.
The play on the field could not be confused with a masterpiece.
"It wasn't the most attractive soccer, because I thought both teams were a bit panicky with the ball," Hurtig said. "Neither team wasn't able to get the ball forward. It's something we've talked about. We've got to have more composure on the ball and to recognize moving the ball quickly. Right now, we're just too panicky with the ball and need more composure on the touch."
Warriors forward Nikita Bankevich has a vision of what needs to be worked on in the final third. If Deerfield can find its groove before the regular season comes to an end in a couple of weeks, it could lead to success down the road in the postseason.
"We're working on the finishing," Bankevich said. "Honestly, we just need to put the ball on the frame. This isn't the summer -- to put amazing goals away. It would be nice to tap them in. Sometimes, we don't get the ball up to the forwards. But in this one we were able to get the ball up-top. We just need to put the ball away."
Grayslake North (8-9-0) scored the only goal in the 14th minute of play. Rolando Rojas notched his seventh goal of the season after taking a pass from Logan Holevas.
"It was kind of a rebound," said Rojas, who was also named the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match for his game-winner. "Logan got the ball at the top of the 18. He got the ball to me. I was able to direct the ball off my weak foot on the right. So then I cut it back and hit it with my left foot."
Besides the victory, the Knights left without much satisfaction for the second half they played.
"It wasn't good quality and became a game of kickball," Grayslake North coach Adam DeCaluwe said. "There were a lot of turnovers. It was hard fought and everybody wanted to win the ball. It lead to scrappiness and a scrappy game.
"We were fortunate to get the lead early-on, and I thought towards the end we backed off a little too much. We allowed them to play the long balls in, and that was (Deerfield's) only threat. But when you let them do that, it can be dangerous. We just needed to settle down, play our game like we did in the first half."
Neither team has been playing its best soccer lately. Both teams were trying to find their stride while dealing with missing players. The Knights played without starting keeper Joshua Suciu, who was out with an illness.
"(Deerfield) hasn't had the typical year like they usually do," DeCaluwe said. "We haven't had a typical year either. A lot of teams are dealing with missing players, injuries and the seedings. We're not finding that cohesiveness, because of absences, and other players to step in and fill in other roles.
"(Deerfield) did work hard and they run at you. They wanted to get balls into the corners, and they started to get at us more in the second half. They did apply a little bit of pressure on us, but more then anything we have to continue to play our game than to allow (Deerfield) to come at us."
Starting lineups
GRAYSLAKE NORTH
GK-Noel Gonzalez
D-Aaron Paredes
D-Nick Kloczkowski
D-Logan Perhacs
D-Logan Holevas
MF-Braeden Wilson
MF-Omar Cordova
MF-Matthew Heery
MF-Ronlado Rojas
MF-Angel Uriostegui
F-Will Meyer
DEERFIELD
GK-Ryan Grady
D-Dylan Capp
D-Jack Hammontree
D-Eric Kenney
D-Barak Farhi
MF-Jude Tatham
MF-Louis Solovy
MF-Jacob Braunstein
F-Corey Johnson
F-Nikita Bankevich
F-Ryan David
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Rolando Rojas, MF, Grayslake North
Offidials: Nino Alexander (center), Jay Weiss, and Amir Zahirovic
Scoring summary
Grayslake North 1 0 -- 1
Deerfield 0 0 -- 0
Grayslake North-Ronaldo Rojas (Logan Holevas)
Saves (player)
GN: 8 (GK Gonzalez, 7, Perhacs 1); Deerfield 5 (GK Grady)
Grayslake North leaves town with a 1-0 nonconference victory
By Rusty Silber
DEERFIELD -- Trying to find the finishing touch has been a problem for Deerfield at times during this season. The issue raised its ugly head once again in their nonconference battle with Grayslake North on Wednesday night at home.
There were plenty of shots and opportunities in favor of the Warriors with nary a completion. It was the reason Grayslake North got past host Deerfield 1-0. Ironically the lack of offense came after a night the Warriors put in three in a Central Suburban League North Division draw at Vernon Hills.
"I really thought the (Grayslake North) back-up goalie (Noel Gonzalez) played really well," Deerfield coach Elliott Hurtig said. "He came out of the net well, and I thought he was fearless. He punched some balls in the middle of some big guys and that really was impressive.
"We just really didn't create enough in the final third, and we were trying to get the ball outside, maybe to stretch them out a bit. We had some success but didn't have enough numbers in the middle to finish."
The result left the Warriors (5-9-1) in a poor frame of mind, but there were still a couple of positives to take from the field.
"It was a frustrating evening and at the same time I thought we still played with some good energy," Hurtig said. "I thought we were dominating in the air, and we were controlling a lot on finishing headballs. I thought we were better at it tonight. But defensively, we gave up a very weak goal. We had missed two tackles in a row right around the box."
Deerfield played a stronger second half. The Warriors applied some pressure up-top at various times, but the Knights' keeper Gonzalez made six of his seven saves aafter the break.
The play on the field could not be confused with a masterpiece.
"It wasn't the most attractive soccer, because I thought both teams were a bit panicky with the ball," Hurtig said. "Neither team wasn't able to get the ball forward. It's something we've talked about. We've got to have more composure on the ball and to recognize moving the ball quickly. Right now, we're just too panicky with the ball and need more composure on the touch."
Warriors forward Nikita Bankevich has a vision of what needs to be worked on in the final third. If Deerfield can find its groove before the regular season comes to an end in a couple of weeks, it could lead to success down the road in the postseason.
"We're working on the finishing," Bankevich said. "Honestly, we just need to put the ball on the frame. This isn't the summer -- to put amazing goals away. It would be nice to tap them in. Sometimes, we don't get the ball up to the forwards. But in this one we were able to get the ball up-top. We just need to put the ball away."
Grayslake North (8-9-0) scored the only goal in the 14th minute of play. Rolando Rojas notched his seventh goal of the season after taking a pass from Logan Holevas.
"It was kind of a rebound," said Rojas, who was also named the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match for his game-winner. "Logan got the ball at the top of the 18. He got the ball to me. I was able to direct the ball off my weak foot on the right. So then I cut it back and hit it with my left foot."
Besides the victory, the Knights left without much satisfaction for the second half they played.
"It wasn't good quality and became a game of kickball," Grayslake North coach Adam DeCaluwe said. "There were a lot of turnovers. It was hard fought and everybody wanted to win the ball. It lead to scrappiness and a scrappy game.
"We were fortunate to get the lead early-on, and I thought towards the end we backed off a little too much. We allowed them to play the long balls in, and that was (Deerfield's) only threat. But when you let them do that, it can be dangerous. We just needed to settle down, play our game like we did in the first half."
Neither team has been playing its best soccer lately. Both teams were trying to find their stride while dealing with missing players. The Knights played without starting keeper Joshua Suciu, who was out with an illness.
"(Deerfield) hasn't had the typical year like they usually do," DeCaluwe said. "We haven't had a typical year either. A lot of teams are dealing with missing players, injuries and the seedings. We're not finding that cohesiveness, because of absences, and other players to step in and fill in other roles.
"(Deerfield) did work hard and they run at you. They wanted to get balls into the corners, and they started to get at us more in the second half. They did apply a little bit of pressure on us, but more then anything we have to continue to play our game than to allow (Deerfield) to come at us."
Starting lineups
GRAYSLAKE NORTH
GK-Noel Gonzalez
D-Aaron Paredes
D-Nick Kloczkowski
D-Logan Perhacs
D-Logan Holevas
MF-Braeden Wilson
MF-Omar Cordova
MF-Matthew Heery
MF-Ronlado Rojas
MF-Angel Uriostegui
F-Will Meyer
DEERFIELD
GK-Ryan Grady
D-Dylan Capp
D-Jack Hammontree
D-Eric Kenney
D-Barak Farhi
MF-Jude Tatham
MF-Louis Solovy
MF-Jacob Braunstein
F-Corey Johnson
F-Nikita Bankevich
F-Ryan David
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Rolando Rojas, MF, Grayslake North
Offidials: Nino Alexander (center), Jay Weiss, and Amir Zahirovic
Scoring summary
Grayslake North 1 0 -- 1
Deerfield 0 0 -- 0
Grayslake North-Ronaldo Rojas (Logan Holevas)
Saves (player)
GN: 8 (GK Gonzalez, 7, Perhacs 1); Deerfield 5 (GK Grady)