Crystal Lake South enjoys win over Huntley
2nd-consecutive clean-sheet keeps Gators’ FVC record spotless
By Matt Misiek
CRYSTAL LAKE - When you step into Crystal Lake South’s soccer complex, it certainly doesn’t resemble a carnival.
It has green grass, freshly painted lines, all the “beautiful game” essentials.
However, lately, once the Gators (11-2-1, 3-0-0) step on the field, it morphs into a funhouse.
Thursday afternoon’s Fox Valley Conference clash with Huntley was no different. The Red Raiders were unable to solve the various obstacles and challenges as Crystal Lake South, ranked 16th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, notched their second consecutive Fox Valley shutout with a 3-0 victory.
“This is super fun,” said Gators senior defender Nick Langdon. “Not only are we playing good, but we are also having fun out here during training. At this point of the season, that’s usually not the norm. The players usually have their heads down and just tired, but we come out here day after day, have fun and try to improve.”
One Gator who is having an exceptionally fun September is Alex Canfield. The junior forward continued his goal scoring spree. After a five-goal outburst against Auburn two weeks ago and notching a tally in the Gators’ victory Tuesday over Cary-Grove, Canfield was the beneficiary of an outstanding lead pass from defender Langdon. Canfield raced a Huntley defender to the ball, won the sprint and slid a low shot underneath Huntley keeper Lucas Clemetsen at the 9:38 mark.
Canfield, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, notched his brace at the 30:45 mark. Midfielder Jake Bimbi got on a ball about 40 yards from goal on the left and played a delectable through-ball to Canfield, who took a touch and raced to the right of Clemetsen for an easy tap-in.
“I think switching up has helped,” Canfield said. “Not always going exactly the same way down the line, switching the ball to somebody else, making a slide and run-through, just changing it as you go.”
During the Alonso Sanchez Memorial Tournament in Wauconda earlier this month, Crystal Lake South coach Brian Allen mentioned that Canfield needed improvement on his finishing after narrowly missing opportunities.
It’s fair to say, with his recent form, that the striker has found the touch.
“He (Alex) is playing within himself, not trying to do too much,” Allen said. “When he presses, like the whole team, we have this idea of playing together. Our system is set up a certain way. If he stays in his role within the system, he’s going to get the looks, the opportunities. The team will expect him to score in those moments, and they will celebrate with him.”
“Movement is key with Alex,” Allen further added. “When he moves all over the place with his skill and pace, he is super dangerous. The more movement we get from him, the more spaces open up for the team and the more opportunities that arrive for others.”
Sandwiched in-between Canfield’s efforts was the Gators’ second goal at the 25:14 mark. Defender Andrew Edge came up to deliver a corner from the right side. The initial hit was sent back to Edge at, where else, the right edge of the 18. He in-swung a cross that found Langdon, whose bullet header went to the left of Clemetsen and into the net.
“Alex (Canfield) had the ball, and he was coming back to me,” said Edge. “He played the ball to me, and I had a little bit of space. I saw one green shirt in the box and that was Nick (Langdon). I tried to put it on his head, and he put it in.”
“I made my run from the original corner kick,” Langdon said. “I was just recycling the run, and there were two defenders in front of me. I was able to concentrate on getting around one of the defenders and find myself in the perfect spot and was able to throw my body in front of it.”
Huntley (1-11-0, 0-3-0) did not have many chances that troubled the Crystal Lake South defense or keeper Matt McCaleb. Their closest chance came just before halftime as junior midfielder Sam Bellantuano belted a drive over the crossbar from inside the 18. Another opportunity for the Red Raiders came in the 70th minute as the ball worked to the head of senior midfielder Connor Turkington but his header only rolled into the waiting arms of McCaleb.
A bright spot in defeat for the visitors was Clemetsen, who made several sprawling saves, including a point-blank save in the second half to keep the Gators from padding their lead.
“More communication,”Clemetsen said on the improved second half. “When the center back and right back are working together, it makes my job easier. I don’t have to come out as much. They’re not relying on me as much.”
Huntley coach Kris Grabner acknowledged Clemetsen’s second half performance, but was frustrated by the overall team performance.
“It was one of our worst games of the year, “ he said. “They (Crystal Lake South) came out with a lot of energy, and we were flat. There weren’t any stars of the game on our side.”
Coach Allen could not leave the field without praising his backline for their stellar play.
“(Tommy) McSweeney, Nick (Langdon), Evan (Carlson), Edge were all super organized,” he said. “Jack (Wruck) and Ricky (Cristante) were doing a great job inside, cleaning things up. Tom (Coughlin) and Sabien (Raymond) were great switching in front of Jack and Ricky. Matt (McCaleb) was very vocal in goal and that really helps us when he picks things up.”
Starting lineups
Crystal Lake South
GK: Matt McCaleb
D: Nick Langdon
D: Tommy McSweeney
D: Evan Carlson
D: Andrew Edge
MF: Tom Coughlin
MF: Ricky Cristante
MF: Jack Wruck
F: Brad Grabowski
F: Ryan Coughlin
F: Alex Canfield
Huntley
GK: Lucas Clemetsen
D: Logan Conary
D: Noah Michael
D: Josh Guyer
MF: Brandon Ruffner
MF: Rory Hicks
MF: Sam Bellantuano
MF: Austin Killen
F: Axel Solis
F: Josh Lopez
F: Raphael Wong
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Canfield, jr., F, Crystal Lake South
Referees: Tom Guidara (center), Bob Hansen, Neil Kregel
Scoring summary
First half
CLS – Canfield (Langdon) – 9:38
CLS – Langdon (Edge) – 25:14
CLS – Canfield (Bimbi) – 30:45
Second half
None
2nd-consecutive clean-sheet keeps Gators’ FVC record spotless
By Matt Misiek
CRYSTAL LAKE - When you step into Crystal Lake South’s soccer complex, it certainly doesn’t resemble a carnival.
It has green grass, freshly painted lines, all the “beautiful game” essentials.
However, lately, once the Gators (11-2-1, 3-0-0) step on the field, it morphs into a funhouse.
Thursday afternoon’s Fox Valley Conference clash with Huntley was no different. The Red Raiders were unable to solve the various obstacles and challenges as Crystal Lake South, ranked 16th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, notched their second consecutive Fox Valley shutout with a 3-0 victory.
“This is super fun,” said Gators senior defender Nick Langdon. “Not only are we playing good, but we are also having fun out here during training. At this point of the season, that’s usually not the norm. The players usually have their heads down and just tired, but we come out here day after day, have fun and try to improve.”
One Gator who is having an exceptionally fun September is Alex Canfield. The junior forward continued his goal scoring spree. After a five-goal outburst against Auburn two weeks ago and notching a tally in the Gators’ victory Tuesday over Cary-Grove, Canfield was the beneficiary of an outstanding lead pass from defender Langdon. Canfield raced a Huntley defender to the ball, won the sprint and slid a low shot underneath Huntley keeper Lucas Clemetsen at the 9:38 mark.
Canfield, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, notched his brace at the 30:45 mark. Midfielder Jake Bimbi got on a ball about 40 yards from goal on the left and played a delectable through-ball to Canfield, who took a touch and raced to the right of Clemetsen for an easy tap-in.
“I think switching up has helped,” Canfield said. “Not always going exactly the same way down the line, switching the ball to somebody else, making a slide and run-through, just changing it as you go.”
During the Alonso Sanchez Memorial Tournament in Wauconda earlier this month, Crystal Lake South coach Brian Allen mentioned that Canfield needed improvement on his finishing after narrowly missing opportunities.
It’s fair to say, with his recent form, that the striker has found the touch.
“He (Alex) is playing within himself, not trying to do too much,” Allen said. “When he presses, like the whole team, we have this idea of playing together. Our system is set up a certain way. If he stays in his role within the system, he’s going to get the looks, the opportunities. The team will expect him to score in those moments, and they will celebrate with him.”
“Movement is key with Alex,” Allen further added. “When he moves all over the place with his skill and pace, he is super dangerous. The more movement we get from him, the more spaces open up for the team and the more opportunities that arrive for others.”
Sandwiched in-between Canfield’s efforts was the Gators’ second goal at the 25:14 mark. Defender Andrew Edge came up to deliver a corner from the right side. The initial hit was sent back to Edge at, where else, the right edge of the 18. He in-swung a cross that found Langdon, whose bullet header went to the left of Clemetsen and into the net.
“Alex (Canfield) had the ball, and he was coming back to me,” said Edge. “He played the ball to me, and I had a little bit of space. I saw one green shirt in the box and that was Nick (Langdon). I tried to put it on his head, and he put it in.”
“I made my run from the original corner kick,” Langdon said. “I was just recycling the run, and there were two defenders in front of me. I was able to concentrate on getting around one of the defenders and find myself in the perfect spot and was able to throw my body in front of it.”
Huntley (1-11-0, 0-3-0) did not have many chances that troubled the Crystal Lake South defense or keeper Matt McCaleb. Their closest chance came just before halftime as junior midfielder Sam Bellantuano belted a drive over the crossbar from inside the 18. Another opportunity for the Red Raiders came in the 70th minute as the ball worked to the head of senior midfielder Connor Turkington but his header only rolled into the waiting arms of McCaleb.
A bright spot in defeat for the visitors was Clemetsen, who made several sprawling saves, including a point-blank save in the second half to keep the Gators from padding their lead.
“More communication,”Clemetsen said on the improved second half. “When the center back and right back are working together, it makes my job easier. I don’t have to come out as much. They’re not relying on me as much.”
Huntley coach Kris Grabner acknowledged Clemetsen’s second half performance, but was frustrated by the overall team performance.
“It was one of our worst games of the year, “ he said. “They (Crystal Lake South) came out with a lot of energy, and we were flat. There weren’t any stars of the game on our side.”
Coach Allen could not leave the field without praising his backline for their stellar play.
“(Tommy) McSweeney, Nick (Langdon), Evan (Carlson), Edge were all super organized,” he said. “Jack (Wruck) and Ricky (Cristante) were doing a great job inside, cleaning things up. Tom (Coughlin) and Sabien (Raymond) were great switching in front of Jack and Ricky. Matt (McCaleb) was very vocal in goal and that really helps us when he picks things up.”
Starting lineups
Crystal Lake South
GK: Matt McCaleb
D: Nick Langdon
D: Tommy McSweeney
D: Evan Carlson
D: Andrew Edge
MF: Tom Coughlin
MF: Ricky Cristante
MF: Jack Wruck
F: Brad Grabowski
F: Ryan Coughlin
F: Alex Canfield
Huntley
GK: Lucas Clemetsen
D: Logan Conary
D: Noah Michael
D: Josh Guyer
MF: Brandon Ruffner
MF: Rory Hicks
MF: Sam Bellantuano
MF: Austin Killen
F: Axel Solis
F: Josh Lopez
F: Raphael Wong
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Canfield, jr., F, Crystal Lake South
Referees: Tom Guidara (center), Bob Hansen, Neil Kregel
Scoring summary
First half
CLS – Canfield (Langdon) – 9:38
CLS – Langdon (Edge) – 25:14
CLS – Canfield (Bimbi) – 30:45
Second half
None