Marquez switch powers Hampshire
offense against Dundee-Crown
Defender’s shift to attacking third the difference in 3-2 FVC win
By Matt Misiek
HAMPSHIRE -- In Hampshire’s 4-0 home loss to Huntley on Thursday, a lackluster offensive display warranted a change for the Whip-Purs and head coach Rick Schuster.
“We got pounded by Huntley,” he said. “We just didn’t have enough offense. We decided that you can’t win the game if you don’t score.”
So, where do you turn to complement your already potent attack in the form of All-Fox Valley Conference forward and captain Kobe Frenette?
Um, take a step back and look to a defender?
Junior Jerry Marquez was ready for primetime, even if it was 11 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Due to the cloudy weather the stadium lights were on and so was Marquez. His hot start helped the hosts to an early lead, and they held on for a 3-2 victory over Dundee-Crown.
The win for Hampshire (7-3-0 overall, 7-2-0 in Fox Valley) clinched the school’s best Fox Valley Conference finish, second place, and gave them a bye heading into the season-ending league tournament next week.
“We thought maybe put Jerry up there, and we got Juan (Alva) back from injury and that helped a lot,” Schuster said of the strategy. “We had a lot of attack today, and we should have made two or three more goals.”
Just three minutes into the game, Marquez stood over a 30-yard free kick from the left side. Unless you looked at the roster beforehand, Marquez did not resemble a defender; he went striker-mode with a laser into the bottom-right corner of goal beyond Dundee-Crown keeper Cristo Varela Viveros.
“He did an amazing job at striker,” senior midfielder Alex Rojas said of Marquez. “I knew he had the ability to score some goals, and I am incredibly proud of what he accomplished today.”
“He brought a lot of energy today,” Frenette said of the rostered backliner. “He is one of those 100-percent, every-play players. He’s one of the hardest workers on our team.”
Off of a free kick in the 61st minute, Marquez, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, pounced on a blocked shot from Rojas inside the 18 and shot across goal with his weaker foot to the left of Viveros and into the bottom right corner to cap off the scoring for Hampshire.
“I haven’t played striker, to be honest with you, in a few years,” Marquez admitted. “It was my first time up there and felt a little comfortable. Being in a familiar environment, I tried finishing the chances I was given. Luckily, I got two behind and in the net.”
Hampshire was the beneficiary of some tough luck for the visiting Chargers in the 10th minute. A free kick from behind midfield was headed by Dundee-Crown junior defender Jefferson Leon-Tellez, 25 yards away from goal, and up and over his goalie Viveros into the net for an own-goal.
The tally ended up building a mountain that Dundee-Crown (5-6-2, 5-4-0) could not quite overcome, even after the Chargers cut the deficit to one in the 58th minute. A free kick deflected off of senior defender Javier Hernandez to his fellow senior backline mate Edgar Lara. Lara, at the top of the 18, dribbled to his left and was able to fire a low shot past Hampshire keeper Kyle Schultz.
“I was able to locate the ball and go to the right. I was able to score,” Lara said.
He elaborated on the Chargers defensive ills.
“We didn’t communicate on these plays,” Lara continued. “All of the three goals were off of set pieces. We need to communicate more, otherwise we are going to be out of the (Fox Valley Conference) tournament right away.”
Dundee-Crown did not give up or slow down after falling behind again by two in the second half. Junior midfielder Juan David Pacheco received a beautiful through-ball in the center at the top of the 18 from senior attacking midfielder Osvaldo Rodriguez. Pacheco’s left-footed strike found its way to the right of Schultz and through to the back of the net.
After Frenette missed a chance to ice the game by clanging a penalty off the crossbar in the 72nd minute, Dundee-Crown sophomore midfielder Miguel Angel Pena had a volley that went over the bar in the 73rd minute. A minute later, a drive from teammate Israel Labrada was deflected wide of goal.
In the 77th minute, the Chargers worked deep into Hampshire territory once again, but Schultz punched away a cross into the penalty area from the right. The Chargers Rodriguez found the ball but drove a shot over the bar from long range.
Schultz was called on to make a last-minute save. He went to the ground to grab a low volley from Dundee-Crown senior midfielder Domingo Canejo.
“We were starting to lose possession a bit more in the second half,” Hampshire junior defender Evan Korabik said. “We were just trying to play conservatively, kicking the ball away, losing it at midfield, and our defense was getting hit. So we we’re just trying to clear the ball.”
Korabik was happy with the end result and the second place conference, regular-season finish.
“It means a lot. To be able to give these seniors one last ride and hopefully take them to the championship, to give them a chance,” he concluded.
It was evident that this finish was important to coach Schuster.
“We had about 50 practices when we were able to play in the summer before everything was shut down,” Schuster said. “All of our work paid off. The hard work came through.
“We have a lot of new players. We lost a ton of seniors this past year. We have been connecting a lot better, playing harder. Every game in this conference is tough, very tough. You can’t take any game for granted.”
Starting lineups
Hampshire
GK Kyle Schultz
D Carlos Segura
D Evan Korabik
D Jesse Brown
MF Alex Rojas
MF Nathan Ludwig
MF Mark Schuster
MF Juan Alva
F Kobe Frenette
F Jerry Marquez
F J.P. Serra
Dundee-Crown
GK Cristo Varela Viveros
D Edgar Lara
D Jefferson Leon-Tellez
D Bryan Mandujano Tovar
D Jason Martinez
MF Axel Conde
MF Osvaldo Rodriguez
MF Juan David Pacheco
MF Miguel Angel Pena
MF Israel Labrada
F Ashton Ajroja
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Jerry Marquez, jr., F, Hampshire
Referees: Center – Gene Mroz; AR1: Joe Wrobluski; AR2: Jim Ventrone
Scoring summary
First half
Hampshire – Marquez (free kick) -3:16
Hampshire – Own-goal (Leon-Tellez assist) - 9:20
Second half
D-C – Lara (Hernandez) – 57:28
Hampshire – Marquez (Rojas) – 61:48
D-C – Pacheco (Rodriguez) – 67:20
offense against Dundee-Crown
Defender’s shift to attacking third the difference in 3-2 FVC win
By Matt Misiek
HAMPSHIRE -- In Hampshire’s 4-0 home loss to Huntley on Thursday, a lackluster offensive display warranted a change for the Whip-Purs and head coach Rick Schuster.
“We got pounded by Huntley,” he said. “We just didn’t have enough offense. We decided that you can’t win the game if you don’t score.”
So, where do you turn to complement your already potent attack in the form of All-Fox Valley Conference forward and captain Kobe Frenette?
Um, take a step back and look to a defender?
Junior Jerry Marquez was ready for primetime, even if it was 11 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Due to the cloudy weather the stadium lights were on and so was Marquez. His hot start helped the hosts to an early lead, and they held on for a 3-2 victory over Dundee-Crown.
The win for Hampshire (7-3-0 overall, 7-2-0 in Fox Valley) clinched the school’s best Fox Valley Conference finish, second place, and gave them a bye heading into the season-ending league tournament next week.
“We thought maybe put Jerry up there, and we got Juan (Alva) back from injury and that helped a lot,” Schuster said of the strategy. “We had a lot of attack today, and we should have made two or three more goals.”
Just three minutes into the game, Marquez stood over a 30-yard free kick from the left side. Unless you looked at the roster beforehand, Marquez did not resemble a defender; he went striker-mode with a laser into the bottom-right corner of goal beyond Dundee-Crown keeper Cristo Varela Viveros.
“He did an amazing job at striker,” senior midfielder Alex Rojas said of Marquez. “I knew he had the ability to score some goals, and I am incredibly proud of what he accomplished today.”
“He brought a lot of energy today,” Frenette said of the rostered backliner. “He is one of those 100-percent, every-play players. He’s one of the hardest workers on our team.”
Off of a free kick in the 61st minute, Marquez, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, pounced on a blocked shot from Rojas inside the 18 and shot across goal with his weaker foot to the left of Viveros and into the bottom right corner to cap off the scoring for Hampshire.
“I haven’t played striker, to be honest with you, in a few years,” Marquez admitted. “It was my first time up there and felt a little comfortable. Being in a familiar environment, I tried finishing the chances I was given. Luckily, I got two behind and in the net.”
Hampshire was the beneficiary of some tough luck for the visiting Chargers in the 10th minute. A free kick from behind midfield was headed by Dundee-Crown junior defender Jefferson Leon-Tellez, 25 yards away from goal, and up and over his goalie Viveros into the net for an own-goal.
The tally ended up building a mountain that Dundee-Crown (5-6-2, 5-4-0) could not quite overcome, even after the Chargers cut the deficit to one in the 58th minute. A free kick deflected off of senior defender Javier Hernandez to his fellow senior backline mate Edgar Lara. Lara, at the top of the 18, dribbled to his left and was able to fire a low shot past Hampshire keeper Kyle Schultz.
“I was able to locate the ball and go to the right. I was able to score,” Lara said.
He elaborated on the Chargers defensive ills.
“We didn’t communicate on these plays,” Lara continued. “All of the three goals were off of set pieces. We need to communicate more, otherwise we are going to be out of the (Fox Valley Conference) tournament right away.”
Dundee-Crown did not give up or slow down after falling behind again by two in the second half. Junior midfielder Juan David Pacheco received a beautiful through-ball in the center at the top of the 18 from senior attacking midfielder Osvaldo Rodriguez. Pacheco’s left-footed strike found its way to the right of Schultz and through to the back of the net.
After Frenette missed a chance to ice the game by clanging a penalty off the crossbar in the 72nd minute, Dundee-Crown sophomore midfielder Miguel Angel Pena had a volley that went over the bar in the 73rd minute. A minute later, a drive from teammate Israel Labrada was deflected wide of goal.
In the 77th minute, the Chargers worked deep into Hampshire territory once again, but Schultz punched away a cross into the penalty area from the right. The Chargers Rodriguez found the ball but drove a shot over the bar from long range.
Schultz was called on to make a last-minute save. He went to the ground to grab a low volley from Dundee-Crown senior midfielder Domingo Canejo.
“We were starting to lose possession a bit more in the second half,” Hampshire junior defender Evan Korabik said. “We were just trying to play conservatively, kicking the ball away, losing it at midfield, and our defense was getting hit. So we we’re just trying to clear the ball.”
Korabik was happy with the end result and the second place conference, regular-season finish.
“It means a lot. To be able to give these seniors one last ride and hopefully take them to the championship, to give them a chance,” he concluded.
It was evident that this finish was important to coach Schuster.
“We had about 50 practices when we were able to play in the summer before everything was shut down,” Schuster said. “All of our work paid off. The hard work came through.
“We have a lot of new players. We lost a ton of seniors this past year. We have been connecting a lot better, playing harder. Every game in this conference is tough, very tough. You can’t take any game for granted.”
Starting lineups
Hampshire
GK Kyle Schultz
D Carlos Segura
D Evan Korabik
D Jesse Brown
MF Alex Rojas
MF Nathan Ludwig
MF Mark Schuster
MF Juan Alva
F Kobe Frenette
F Jerry Marquez
F J.P. Serra
Dundee-Crown
GK Cristo Varela Viveros
D Edgar Lara
D Jefferson Leon-Tellez
D Bryan Mandujano Tovar
D Jason Martinez
MF Axel Conde
MF Osvaldo Rodriguez
MF Juan David Pacheco
MF Miguel Angel Pena
MF Israel Labrada
F Ashton Ajroja
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Jerry Marquez, jr., F, Hampshire
Referees: Center – Gene Mroz; AR1: Joe Wrobluski; AR2: Jim Ventrone
Scoring summary
First half
Hampshire – Marquez (free kick) -3:16
Hampshire – Own-goal (Leon-Tellez assist) - 9:20
Second half
D-C – Lara (Hernandez) – 57:28
Hampshire – Marquez (Rojas) – 61:48
D-C – Pacheco (Rodriguez) – 67:20