Solorio earns neighborhood
bragging rights against Hancock
Sun Warriors more opportunistic in 3-0 CPL victory
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO — Chances and opportunities are always measured differently.
Hancock had the chances. Solorio converted their opportunities.
The point was illustrated at the start of the game. Just minutes in, Hancock midfielder Miguel Rendon-Bedolla had a free kick on the left edge.
He blasted his shot just inches over the top of the bar. Later in the half, the Eagles’ Omar Aparicio had a ball from a nearly identical spot.
He hit his off the top of the post.
By contrast, Solorio’s Alejandro Pérez appeared to freeze Hancock in place.
In the 12th minute, he made a great run off a service from Orlando Ojeda and got just enough of a touch to glide the ball inside the near post for the Sun Warriors’ opening goal.
“My midfield sent it in, and I got it into the air in the top corner,” Pérez said. “I really had to finish it.
“That goal motivated us to keep pushing forward and begetting another goal and sacrifice everything. We had to go all in and make something happen.”
One side had the chances, the other tangible results.
The Sun Warriors maintained their sharp play with a 3-0 victory over the Eagles in Chicago Public League Premier Division South play in the Gage Park neighborhood Monday afternoon.
“We probably had the majority of the possession,” Hancock coach Nestor Rico said.
“It’s frustrating for us sometimes. Solorio is a great program, and they are great competitors. We love to come here and play. With that being said, the players know each other from the local leagues.
“It’s either a good thing or a bad thing. The players get into each other’s head and forget to play Hancock soccer. That came back to bite us in the end.”
Solorio (7-2-1, 4-1-0) has been the gold standard in the city for much of the half decade. The Sun Warriors captured the Class AA state tournament in 2017.
They have appeared in the city tournament three times in the last four years, winning twice. The spring team was one of four Illinois programs to go unbeaten and untied.
Solorio knocked off Hancock during the abridged city tournament and beat Lane in the final in April.
The current iteration of the Sun Warriors is learning how to yoke together the past with a rash of new faces. The cohesion has been slower to develop.
“This is a new group, we only have about four or five seniors,” Solorio coach Adrian Calleros said. “It takes a while, and they have built into it.
“They have to know what’s going on, and they have to learn. It’s easy to come into a program, put the shirt on and think because you're wearing the jersey, you get all the accolades and the glory. The jersey comes with responsibility.”
Less than a city mile separates these two campuses on the southwest side. Rico said the hard part is disentangling neighborhood pride from the task at hand.
“On their first goal, in that situation, with my guys being super confident, they took the attitude the referee was going to call offside,” he said.
“That’s not what we teach. We teach them to go to every ball.”
Hancock (5-3-0, 2-2-0) was coming off a strong performance at the PepsiCo Showdown. The team won all three games and smashed Joliet Catholic 7-1 in their bracket final Sunday at the Lyons Soccer Complex.
Against Solorio, the Eagles displayed quickness to the point of attack and a strong possessive style. The lack of a finishing touch proved their undoing.
Bad luck also played a part. The Eagles had a goal in the 29th minute waved off by an offside call.
Solorio utilized its expert ability to switch sides very quickly and caught the Eagles off-rhythm and out of place on the counter.
The Sun Warriors sprang a trap, playing off the explosive quickness of senior midfielder Raul Mariscal.
Arguably the city’s best player, Mariscal has an intuitive knack for tempo and release, and always turning out quick transition plays.
He broke the game open in the 53rd minute off a through-ball on the right wing from defender Sebastian Gonzalez.
Mariscal found the crease on the right side and blasted home a wicked volley for the 2-0 advantage. It was his 18th goal of the season.
“I always do my run, not necessarily straight, but diagonal,” Mariscal said. “They are not always going to find me, but I know there is going to be that one ball that is going to get through.
“I’m going to be ready there to finish.”
The Sun Warriors’ fluid and possessive style works best in space, finding angles and cutting rhythm as the players move off the ball.
Mariscal is the fulcrum of the attack. He earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his outstanding play.
“I am one of the few players who has been around the last couple of years,” he said. “At first it was tough getting used to the new team. They weren’t all experienced with the varsity level.
“We started losing some games, and that was tough. Those losses turned into wins and we went from there. Now hopefully we can keep this streak going.”
Solorio suffered its only losses this season against Joliet West in the Windy City Classic quarterfinals, and rival Washington in league play.
Mariscal’s versatility opens up the attack.
“I can play either wing,” he said. “The right side is where I take most of my balls. I have a really good pace.
“If I get a good ball, I’m always there. If I am on the right side, I cross it down. If I am on the left I cut, and I shoot. It works either way.”
Hancock generated some excellent chances in the run of play, working off the combination of forward Alen Marin pushing forward and midfielders Aparicio and David Cano making their runs.
The Eagles created consistent pressure, with Aparicio twice being set up with prime free kicks just outside the top of the box. His shots sailed a bit high off frame.
Solorio worked its own brand of magic, leveraging the Eagles’ pressure against itself, unwinding those counters and exploiting those vulnerabilities through a quick turnover of possession.
Forward Yamir Gallegos applied the finishing touch by converting a penalty kick in the 74th minute. Making his run down the left flank, he was fouled from behind inside the box.
In the end, Hancock played well but came up empty. Solorio had higher moments and took care of its business.
“We played with a lot of energy, and we had fun and came out with a pretty good result,” Mariscal said.
Starting lineups
Hancock
GK: Gael Gomez
D: Francisco Mejia
D: Ramses Godinez
D: Jordi Munoz
D: Alexis Lino
MF: David Cano
MF: Miguel Rendon-Bedolla
MF: Omar Aparicio
MF: Ivan Mendoza
F: Alen Marin
F: Mateo Moreno
Solorio
GK: Yahir Hernandez
D: Bryan Puga
D: Sebastian Gonzalez
D: Ivan Lopez
D: Jesus Flores
MF: Raul Mariscal
MF: Justino Saucedo
MF: Alexander Marron
MF: Orlando Orjeda
F: Yamir Gallegos
F: Alejandro Pérez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Raul Mariscal, sr., MF, Solorio
Scoring summary
First half
Solorio—Alejandro Pérez (Orlando Ojeda), 12th minute
Second half
Solorio—Raul Mariscal (Sebastian Gonzalez), 53rd minute
Solorio—Yamir Gallegos (penalty kick), 74th minute
bragging rights against Hancock
Sun Warriors more opportunistic in 3-0 CPL victory
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO — Chances and opportunities are always measured differently.
Hancock had the chances. Solorio converted their opportunities.
The point was illustrated at the start of the game. Just minutes in, Hancock midfielder Miguel Rendon-Bedolla had a free kick on the left edge.
He blasted his shot just inches over the top of the bar. Later in the half, the Eagles’ Omar Aparicio had a ball from a nearly identical spot.
He hit his off the top of the post.
By contrast, Solorio’s Alejandro Pérez appeared to freeze Hancock in place.
In the 12th minute, he made a great run off a service from Orlando Ojeda and got just enough of a touch to glide the ball inside the near post for the Sun Warriors’ opening goal.
“My midfield sent it in, and I got it into the air in the top corner,” Pérez said. “I really had to finish it.
“That goal motivated us to keep pushing forward and begetting another goal and sacrifice everything. We had to go all in and make something happen.”
One side had the chances, the other tangible results.
The Sun Warriors maintained their sharp play with a 3-0 victory over the Eagles in Chicago Public League Premier Division South play in the Gage Park neighborhood Monday afternoon.
“We probably had the majority of the possession,” Hancock coach Nestor Rico said.
“It’s frustrating for us sometimes. Solorio is a great program, and they are great competitors. We love to come here and play. With that being said, the players know each other from the local leagues.
“It’s either a good thing or a bad thing. The players get into each other’s head and forget to play Hancock soccer. That came back to bite us in the end.”
Solorio (7-2-1, 4-1-0) has been the gold standard in the city for much of the half decade. The Sun Warriors captured the Class AA state tournament in 2017.
They have appeared in the city tournament three times in the last four years, winning twice. The spring team was one of four Illinois programs to go unbeaten and untied.
Solorio knocked off Hancock during the abridged city tournament and beat Lane in the final in April.
The current iteration of the Sun Warriors is learning how to yoke together the past with a rash of new faces. The cohesion has been slower to develop.
“This is a new group, we only have about four or five seniors,” Solorio coach Adrian Calleros said. “It takes a while, and they have built into it.
“They have to know what’s going on, and they have to learn. It’s easy to come into a program, put the shirt on and think because you're wearing the jersey, you get all the accolades and the glory. The jersey comes with responsibility.”
Less than a city mile separates these two campuses on the southwest side. Rico said the hard part is disentangling neighborhood pride from the task at hand.
“On their first goal, in that situation, with my guys being super confident, they took the attitude the referee was going to call offside,” he said.
“That’s not what we teach. We teach them to go to every ball.”
Hancock (5-3-0, 2-2-0) was coming off a strong performance at the PepsiCo Showdown. The team won all three games and smashed Joliet Catholic 7-1 in their bracket final Sunday at the Lyons Soccer Complex.
Against Solorio, the Eagles displayed quickness to the point of attack and a strong possessive style. The lack of a finishing touch proved their undoing.
Bad luck also played a part. The Eagles had a goal in the 29th minute waved off by an offside call.
Solorio utilized its expert ability to switch sides very quickly and caught the Eagles off-rhythm and out of place on the counter.
The Sun Warriors sprang a trap, playing off the explosive quickness of senior midfielder Raul Mariscal.
Arguably the city’s best player, Mariscal has an intuitive knack for tempo and release, and always turning out quick transition plays.
He broke the game open in the 53rd minute off a through-ball on the right wing from defender Sebastian Gonzalez.
Mariscal found the crease on the right side and blasted home a wicked volley for the 2-0 advantage. It was his 18th goal of the season.
“I always do my run, not necessarily straight, but diagonal,” Mariscal said. “They are not always going to find me, but I know there is going to be that one ball that is going to get through.
“I’m going to be ready there to finish.”
The Sun Warriors’ fluid and possessive style works best in space, finding angles and cutting rhythm as the players move off the ball.
Mariscal is the fulcrum of the attack. He earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his outstanding play.
“I am one of the few players who has been around the last couple of years,” he said. “At first it was tough getting used to the new team. They weren’t all experienced with the varsity level.
“We started losing some games, and that was tough. Those losses turned into wins and we went from there. Now hopefully we can keep this streak going.”
Solorio suffered its only losses this season against Joliet West in the Windy City Classic quarterfinals, and rival Washington in league play.
Mariscal’s versatility opens up the attack.
“I can play either wing,” he said. “The right side is where I take most of my balls. I have a really good pace.
“If I get a good ball, I’m always there. If I am on the right side, I cross it down. If I am on the left I cut, and I shoot. It works either way.”
Hancock generated some excellent chances in the run of play, working off the combination of forward Alen Marin pushing forward and midfielders Aparicio and David Cano making their runs.
The Eagles created consistent pressure, with Aparicio twice being set up with prime free kicks just outside the top of the box. His shots sailed a bit high off frame.
Solorio worked its own brand of magic, leveraging the Eagles’ pressure against itself, unwinding those counters and exploiting those vulnerabilities through a quick turnover of possession.
Forward Yamir Gallegos applied the finishing touch by converting a penalty kick in the 74th minute. Making his run down the left flank, he was fouled from behind inside the box.
In the end, Hancock played well but came up empty. Solorio had higher moments and took care of its business.
“We played with a lot of energy, and we had fun and came out with a pretty good result,” Mariscal said.
Starting lineups
Hancock
GK: Gael Gomez
D: Francisco Mejia
D: Ramses Godinez
D: Jordi Munoz
D: Alexis Lino
MF: David Cano
MF: Miguel Rendon-Bedolla
MF: Omar Aparicio
MF: Ivan Mendoza
F: Alen Marin
F: Mateo Moreno
Solorio
GK: Yahir Hernandez
D: Bryan Puga
D: Sebastian Gonzalez
D: Ivan Lopez
D: Jesus Flores
MF: Raul Mariscal
MF: Justino Saucedo
MF: Alexander Marron
MF: Orlando Orjeda
F: Yamir Gallegos
F: Alejandro Pérez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Raul Mariscal, sr., MF, Solorio
Scoring summary
First half
Solorio—Alejandro Pérez (Orlando Ojeda), 12th minute
Second half
Solorio—Raul Mariscal (Sebastian Gonzalez), 53rd minute
Solorio—Yamir Gallegos (penalty kick), 74th minute