Hersey continues turnaround vs. Meadows
Huskies run to 3-0 win, look to build pre-playoffs hot streak
By Mike Garofola
ROLLING MEADOWS -- Hersey headed into Tuesdays' clash with rival Rolling Meadows off the back of a 3-1 victory at Schaumburg last week that erased three-straight losses prior to its recent turnaround.
The Huskies put a damper on the Mustangs Senior Night at Robert Hoese Field with a quality all-around effort and claimed a 3-0 victory to earn three more points and solidify its spot in the upper half of the MSL table.
A Ronan Wilcox helper was turned in by Schmidt for the opener and a sensational combination effort from Major Hassan and Patryk Bujak for the Huskies (6-3-3, 6-3-1) gave the visitors their second just after the intermission to all but close out the Mustangs, who lost two players to red cards in the second half.
"We had a lot of the play in the first half," said Schmidt. "Got a great ball from Ronan to score my goal, and our last two goals were fantastic -- another good win after we went through a bit of a rough stretch."
Schmidt and his running mate Wilcox were the difference-makers in the middle of the park for manager Mike Rusniak. The pair gave their club the type of creative and purposeful play that allowed others around them to be dangerous which caused the home side far too much trouble according to its manager Brett Olson.
"We just do not respond well to adversity when it comes our way," began a disappointed Olson.
"(Hersey) had a lot of the play in the first half, we came out to play better after the break and (created) a handful of quality chances, but we just didn't play smart while we were at full strength, which led us to going a man down with 25 minutes left, and another in the 64th minute.
"We actually played quite well with just nine (played) with a lot of pace, desire, speed and energy, but that's not how you succeed in the MSL."
The Mustangs program celebrated the 11 seniors on its roster, one of whom was manager Tim Sekirka, whom Olson would include in a first 11 that featured eight seniors including Jason Pyrn, who started between the sticks in place of junior Matt Galvan.
"Our M.O. all year long has been we dominate opponents and/or have most of the play for 55-60 minutes, but then fail to turn in a complete 80-minute effort," began Rusniak.
"Tonight, we came out and really played some attractive soccer. Great focus and effort to hopefully show the entire team that we can do this when our focus is where it's supposed to be.
"It wasn't that complete 80-minute game that we're looking for, but it was pretty close."
The visitors may have enjoyed a bright start, but then so did the Mustangs (4-9-2, 3-7-0) who looked a little quicker and with more pace than it guests.
Some of this was due in part to Sergio Lucero-Herrera, Erik Martens, Michael Taskin. Sammy Olague showed to be an option for others to make the Huskies look a little vulnerable in their own end.
One of the best-looking sequences for the Mustangs in the first half hour came on the tail-end of one of several counters, this one with Martens at the controls and Olague as his partner.
Martens remained cool, calm and composed when coming forward up the left side as he waited for Olague to get deeper into his run.
When Martens saw that Olague broke free, the senior delivered a wicked helper onto the foot of Olague, who went endline - before whipping a dangerous low ball towards the six-yard box.
If not for a timely interception from Blake Johnson, the Huskies may have been in dire trouble.
That effort inspired the Mustangs attack to reach for more in the visitors end and stemmed for a high possession percentage.
However, when it appeared the home side might have a goal in them, up popped Schmidt, who stunned the Mustangs with his third of the season in the 29th minute.
"Ronan gave me a great ball to make an easy goal for me," said Schmidt of the Wilcox helper that drew keeper Jason Pyrn far off his line and left an open net for the Huskies co-captain.
That spelled trouble for Rolling Meadows.
"We really struggled after they opened the scoring," said Olson.
A Hassan 30-yard free kick, dipped and dropped at the end of its flight, causing Pyrn into action. Schmidt, who was the last man from a five-player build-up, had a go but but fired wide of Pyrn.
All the while the Huskies attack force began to find its form with steady work from its outside backs: Cade Milligan and Nicholas Bell not only kept the home side away from keeper Nick Clarizio but also jumped into the attack or delivered quality service to their mates.
"We have a lot of new players this season, so it's taken us awhile to get ourselves working together, especially defensively," said Clarizio, who claimed his seventh clean-sheet of the year. "But we are so much more confident along the back and all throughout; it's confidence in each other that can make the difference."
Rolling Meadows brought on regular keeper Matt Galvan after the break, but the junior was welcomed rather rudely by the visitors, in particular Bujak and Hassan, who were at times unstoppable with and without the ball. For their sterling efforts, the pair shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor.
The dynamic duo each enjoyed a touch on the Huskies second goal. It was initiated by Hassan, whose nifty touch up and over required a charge off the line from Galvan.
With the Mustangs keeper in full gallop on his way to a 50-50 meeting with Bujak, who sprinted to latch onto the helper. The sophomore midfielder got there first and thumped a well-paced header past Galvan, who then had to watch the ball roll into the back of the net from 16 yards.
It could have been 3-0 moments later if not for the back post which sent a Hassan curling attempt off the pitch.
Rolling Meadows Lucero-Herrera went close to slow the Hersey attack for a brief moment, but the deadly speed of Hassan caused the Mustangs faithful to express a collective sigh.
The was no sense of grievance from Olson when the officials detected one of his men taking down Hussan, who raced past a trio of defenders.
After a short consult between the referee and his assistant on that side, the Mustangs were told the booking was a result of a last man foul, and an immediate red card was served for the infraction.
The only plus was that the foul was committed outside of the box. The Huskies 22-yard free kick attempt from flew into the gloves of Galvan.
With the Huskies two goals to the good, the stadium went dark when the lights unexpectedly went out.
Nearly 16 minutes went by before the lights returned full force. When play was resumed, the Mustangs received a second red card that forced them to play two men down the rest of the way.
"We made a couple of terrible errors tonight," began Olson. "That first goal was a result of an error 40-45 yards away from out goal, the second was another misplay that Hersey took full advantage of.
"That, and two poor decisions -- both correct calls -- led to a pair of red cards.
"The positive from all of that, we didn't hang our heads playing with just nine. Instead we challenged every ball, attacked with energy and urgency, and played hard during those final 16 minutes."
Galvan made a superb save on a Hassan close-range attempt but in doing so allowed the ball to spill freely back to the Huskies senior, who buried the third goal of the evening four minutes from time."
"We put together close to (two) quality halves of soccer, which should help our confidence from here on out, including regionals which begin in two weeks," said Clarizio.
Added Rusniak: "I like the direction we're headed in right now. I know the guys are looking forward to our Homecoming game with Prospect on Thursday.
"They want to do well against one of our division rivals, and to finish with a good effort and result before our crossover next week."
Starting lineups
Hersey (4-4-2)
G- Nick Clarizio
D- Nicholas Bell
D- Thomas Steger
D- Jacob Tolwinski
D- Cade Milligan
M- Eddie Marin
M- Trey Schmidt
M- Ronan Wilcox
M- Luke Zettimeier
F- Patryk Bujak
F- Major Hassan
Rolling Meadows (4-4-2)
G- Jason Pyrn
D- Ryan Stubitsch
D- Jason Flores
D- Isaac San Roman
D- Cesar Perez
M- Michael Taskin
M- Sammy Olague
M- Sergio Lucero Herrera
M- Joao Sanchez
F- Rosendo Monteil
F- Tim Sekirka
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Major Hussan, sr., F, Hersey
Patryk Bujak, so., F, Hersey
Referee: Mark Folta
Scoring Summary
First half
Hersey: Schmidt (Wilcox) 29'
Second half
Hersey: Bujak (Hassan) 42'
Hersey: Hassan (U/A) 76'
Huskies run to 3-0 win, look to build pre-playoffs hot streak
By Mike Garofola
ROLLING MEADOWS -- Hersey headed into Tuesdays' clash with rival Rolling Meadows off the back of a 3-1 victory at Schaumburg last week that erased three-straight losses prior to its recent turnaround.
The Huskies put a damper on the Mustangs Senior Night at Robert Hoese Field with a quality all-around effort and claimed a 3-0 victory to earn three more points and solidify its spot in the upper half of the MSL table.
A Ronan Wilcox helper was turned in by Schmidt for the opener and a sensational combination effort from Major Hassan and Patryk Bujak for the Huskies (6-3-3, 6-3-1) gave the visitors their second just after the intermission to all but close out the Mustangs, who lost two players to red cards in the second half.
"We had a lot of the play in the first half," said Schmidt. "Got a great ball from Ronan to score my goal, and our last two goals were fantastic -- another good win after we went through a bit of a rough stretch."
Schmidt and his running mate Wilcox were the difference-makers in the middle of the park for manager Mike Rusniak. The pair gave their club the type of creative and purposeful play that allowed others around them to be dangerous which caused the home side far too much trouble according to its manager Brett Olson.
"We just do not respond well to adversity when it comes our way," began a disappointed Olson.
"(Hersey) had a lot of the play in the first half, we came out to play better after the break and (created) a handful of quality chances, but we just didn't play smart while we were at full strength, which led us to going a man down with 25 minutes left, and another in the 64th minute.
"We actually played quite well with just nine (played) with a lot of pace, desire, speed and energy, but that's not how you succeed in the MSL."
The Mustangs program celebrated the 11 seniors on its roster, one of whom was manager Tim Sekirka, whom Olson would include in a first 11 that featured eight seniors including Jason Pyrn, who started between the sticks in place of junior Matt Galvan.
"Our M.O. all year long has been we dominate opponents and/or have most of the play for 55-60 minutes, but then fail to turn in a complete 80-minute effort," began Rusniak.
"Tonight, we came out and really played some attractive soccer. Great focus and effort to hopefully show the entire team that we can do this when our focus is where it's supposed to be.
"It wasn't that complete 80-minute game that we're looking for, but it was pretty close."
The visitors may have enjoyed a bright start, but then so did the Mustangs (4-9-2, 3-7-0) who looked a little quicker and with more pace than it guests.
Some of this was due in part to Sergio Lucero-Herrera, Erik Martens, Michael Taskin. Sammy Olague showed to be an option for others to make the Huskies look a little vulnerable in their own end.
One of the best-looking sequences for the Mustangs in the first half hour came on the tail-end of one of several counters, this one with Martens at the controls and Olague as his partner.
Martens remained cool, calm and composed when coming forward up the left side as he waited for Olague to get deeper into his run.
When Martens saw that Olague broke free, the senior delivered a wicked helper onto the foot of Olague, who went endline - before whipping a dangerous low ball towards the six-yard box.
If not for a timely interception from Blake Johnson, the Huskies may have been in dire trouble.
That effort inspired the Mustangs attack to reach for more in the visitors end and stemmed for a high possession percentage.
However, when it appeared the home side might have a goal in them, up popped Schmidt, who stunned the Mustangs with his third of the season in the 29th minute.
"Ronan gave me a great ball to make an easy goal for me," said Schmidt of the Wilcox helper that drew keeper Jason Pyrn far off his line and left an open net for the Huskies co-captain.
That spelled trouble for Rolling Meadows.
"We really struggled after they opened the scoring," said Olson.
A Hassan 30-yard free kick, dipped and dropped at the end of its flight, causing Pyrn into action. Schmidt, who was the last man from a five-player build-up, had a go but but fired wide of Pyrn.
All the while the Huskies attack force began to find its form with steady work from its outside backs: Cade Milligan and Nicholas Bell not only kept the home side away from keeper Nick Clarizio but also jumped into the attack or delivered quality service to their mates.
"We have a lot of new players this season, so it's taken us awhile to get ourselves working together, especially defensively," said Clarizio, who claimed his seventh clean-sheet of the year. "But we are so much more confident along the back and all throughout; it's confidence in each other that can make the difference."
Rolling Meadows brought on regular keeper Matt Galvan after the break, but the junior was welcomed rather rudely by the visitors, in particular Bujak and Hassan, who were at times unstoppable with and without the ball. For their sterling efforts, the pair shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor.
The dynamic duo each enjoyed a touch on the Huskies second goal. It was initiated by Hassan, whose nifty touch up and over required a charge off the line from Galvan.
With the Mustangs keeper in full gallop on his way to a 50-50 meeting with Bujak, who sprinted to latch onto the helper. The sophomore midfielder got there first and thumped a well-paced header past Galvan, who then had to watch the ball roll into the back of the net from 16 yards.
It could have been 3-0 moments later if not for the back post which sent a Hassan curling attempt off the pitch.
Rolling Meadows Lucero-Herrera went close to slow the Hersey attack for a brief moment, but the deadly speed of Hassan caused the Mustangs faithful to express a collective sigh.
The was no sense of grievance from Olson when the officials detected one of his men taking down Hussan, who raced past a trio of defenders.
After a short consult between the referee and his assistant on that side, the Mustangs were told the booking was a result of a last man foul, and an immediate red card was served for the infraction.
The only plus was that the foul was committed outside of the box. The Huskies 22-yard free kick attempt from flew into the gloves of Galvan.
With the Huskies two goals to the good, the stadium went dark when the lights unexpectedly went out.
Nearly 16 minutes went by before the lights returned full force. When play was resumed, the Mustangs received a second red card that forced them to play two men down the rest of the way.
"We made a couple of terrible errors tonight," began Olson. "That first goal was a result of an error 40-45 yards away from out goal, the second was another misplay that Hersey took full advantage of.
"That, and two poor decisions -- both correct calls -- led to a pair of red cards.
"The positive from all of that, we didn't hang our heads playing with just nine. Instead we challenged every ball, attacked with energy and urgency, and played hard during those final 16 minutes."
Galvan made a superb save on a Hassan close-range attempt but in doing so allowed the ball to spill freely back to the Huskies senior, who buried the third goal of the evening four minutes from time."
"We put together close to (two) quality halves of soccer, which should help our confidence from here on out, including regionals which begin in two weeks," said Clarizio.
Added Rusniak: "I like the direction we're headed in right now. I know the guys are looking forward to our Homecoming game with Prospect on Thursday.
"They want to do well against one of our division rivals, and to finish with a good effort and result before our crossover next week."
Starting lineups
Hersey (4-4-2)
G- Nick Clarizio
D- Nicholas Bell
D- Thomas Steger
D- Jacob Tolwinski
D- Cade Milligan
M- Eddie Marin
M- Trey Schmidt
M- Ronan Wilcox
M- Luke Zettimeier
F- Patryk Bujak
F- Major Hassan
Rolling Meadows (4-4-2)
G- Jason Pyrn
D- Ryan Stubitsch
D- Jason Flores
D- Isaac San Roman
D- Cesar Perez
M- Michael Taskin
M- Sammy Olague
M- Sergio Lucero Herrera
M- Joao Sanchez
F- Rosendo Monteil
F- Tim Sekirka
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Major Hussan, sr., F, Hersey
Patryk Bujak, so., F, Hersey
Referee: Mark Folta
Scoring Summary
First half
Hersey: Schmidt (Wilcox) 29'
Second half
Hersey: Bujak (Hassan) 42'
Hersey: Hassan (U/A) 76'