Marmion fit to be tied after Huntley rally
Star forward Serrano exhorts Cadets teammates after 3-3 tie
By Matt Le Cren
AURORA – Marmion coach Jimmy Romano didn’t have to say much in the postgame huddle Saturday.
But team co-captain James Serrano did. His impromptu post-game speech was meant to light a fire under his team, which squandered a late two-goal lead and settled for a 3-3 tie with Huntley at Fichtel Field.
Serrano, the electrifying striker who continued his brilliant senior season by scoring his 16th goal, was passionate in his criticism of the Cadets yet unshaken in his belief that they can, and must, do better.
It was a brilliant exhortation rarely seen from a high school athlete, a perfect blend of frustration and inspiration.
“With the standard that I’ve been brought up with and the standard that this team was given at the start of the summer, I would say this is probably our all-time low,” Serrano said. “The morale of this team is a little bit lower, but I have a feeling on Monday we’re just going to bring it back.
“You just got to have pride in what you’re doing. I think these guys want to be prideful of what they’re doing, but you take ups and downs during the season and this is our down, so let’s bring it up to an up.”
Marmion has struggled in recent years but is on track for its first winning season since 2013. They already have more victories than at any time during Serrano’s four-year varsity career.
Prviously in his career, the Cadets might have been satisfied with the draw. Not anymore.
After a 7-3-0 start, Marmion is 1-2-1 in its last four matches.
“I just think that we started off the season pretty strong and to go downhill from here is the total opposite of what we want to do,” Marmion junior Tyler Laurich said. “As the season progresses, we would rather start it low and go high. It seems like we’re doing the opposite.”
That was certainly the case in this match. The Cadets (8-5-1) started strong with the opening goal. After Huntley tied the game, Marmion needed just 42 seconds to retake the lead. The hosts led 3-1 with 13 minutes left before the Red Raiders (1-11-1) stunned them with two quick-strike goals.
“I thought we controlled them basically the whole game,” Laurich said. “I thought we did good controlling the midfield, but there were just a couple plays where we just lost it.”
Huntley actually outshot the Cadets 9-8 but the hosts were far superior in possession. That provided little solace after the Red Raiders capitalized on their only strong chances of the second half.
Brandon Ruffner scored his second goal of the game with 12:37 remaining when he took a long pass from defender Noah Michael and scored on a counterattack with an 18-yard shot.
That pulled the visitors to within 3-2. They got the equalizer at the 6:45 mark when Ruffner set up Josh Lopez, who headed the ball past the charging goalkeeper and tapped it in.
Both sides had a chance to win in the final 90 seconds. Huntley’s Christopher Sowers got a left-footed shot off from inside the left edge of the box, but the ball landed on top of the net with 1:30 to go.
Then the Cadets nearly took the lead at the 1:05 mark. Laurich, who earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors for recording his first-career brace, sent a lead pass into the left side of the box to the speedy Serrano, who was in the clear.
Huntley's freshman goalkeeper Ethan Kornas, who came into the game when Huntley’s starting goalie Lucas Clementsen, was ejected three minutes after intermission, charged out and knocked away Serrano’s shot.
“The first two goals, they earned them, but our shape wasn’t good in the back, and they took advantage of us,” Huntley coach Kris Grabner said. “But we bounced back.”
While it wasn’t a win, the surprising draw provided a ray of hope for the Red Raiders, who felt they have been unlucky not to have a better record.
“I’d say it’s good to get a result, but we’ve lost three shootouts and two overtime games,” Grabner said. “We’ve had seven one-goal losses, so we’ve been right there.
“Just haven’t been able to capitalize. So I feel if we can be a little bit more organized and communicate better, we can be a dangerous team.”
Marmion is already a dangerous team and hopes to make a long run in the Class AA playoffs. They have one of the top players in the Chicago area in Serrano, a quicksilver finisher who has 16 goals and eight assists despite regularly seeing double-teams.
Serrano got the scoring started in the 11th minute with an unassisted effort. He settled the ball at the top of the box, held off a challenge from a defender, turned, stopped and fired a flat-footed 15-yard shot in between Clementsen and the right post.
It was the start of another exciting performance for Serrano, who nearly had a hat-trick within the next five minutes. First, he received a ball 45 yards from the goal, sprinted through the left side of the Huntley defense and rolled a left-footed shot that was out of the reach of Clemetsen but struck the right post.
A minute later, Serrano squeezed through an opening and fired a 27-yard rocket which Clemetsen hung onto.
The excitement level always goes up when the Cadets get the ball to Serrano.
“It’s awesome,” Laurich said. “I think attacking is a lot more fun than defending, so when we get the ball up it’s always fun because we’re always getting chances with James. He’s always going on his runs and scoring.”
But he’s not the only one. Laurich now has seven goals and seven assists after a double-tap which answered Ruffner’s tying goal at the 22:56 mark of the first half.
Laurich’s first strike came only 42 seconds later and put the Cadets ahead 2-1. The midfielder broke free into the box and scored from 16 yards.
Laurich made it 3-1 on the first shot of the second half. A send from Noah Michael bounced around in the Huntly box before finding Laurich, who booted it home from eight yards with 32:35 to go.
“As I said in my speech, I truly see that T.J. is a guy who goes by leading by example,” Serrano said. “He’s showing some of the younger guys what to do, how to play.
“We were a younger team last year. He just worked in the off-season and had a good work ethic.
“I saw a lot of growth in him through the offseason and into this season. But it’s not a single player.
“Everyone has to contribute to the team. It can’t be one or two or three guys. It has to be everybody.”
It wasn’t on Saturday and that wasn’t acceptable to the Cadets coach.
“The culture has definitely changed, especially from last year,” Romano said. “Now we’ve got a winning record, we’re winning games.
“These guys expect more out of themselves now, which is awesome to see. They hold each other accountable, and they know that games we should be winning, we need to win.
“They know we’re getting closer to playoff time. We can’t be making these mistakes, and we have to be playing our best soccer.”
Despite the disappointing end, Romano is pleased that the Cadets are aiming higher.
“I like the way they want to keep pushing forward,” Romano said. “Because for a lot of them this is their first winning season in this program.”
In Serrano, Romano has the perfect player to light a fire under the troops.
“He definitely has a lot of passion for the game and wants to win and wants the team to win and wants everyone to do well,” Romano said. “He’s definitely like another coach on the field. He’s a special player.”
Starting lineups
Huntley
GK Lucas Clemetsen
D Logan Conary
D Noah Michael
D Raphael Wong
M Brandon Ruffner
M Rory Hicks
M Axel Solis
M Sam Bellantuono
M Austin Killen
F Justin Kornas
F Josh Lopez
Marmion
GK Jason Baker
D Joseph Lagman
D Michael Murray
D Sebastian Gutierrez
D Aidan Reynolds
M Tyler Laurich
M Christopher Sowers
M Adrian Ruiz
F James Lawinger
F James Serrano
F David Lawinger
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Tyler Laurich, M, Marmion.
Scoring summary
First half
Marmion – James Serrano 29:33
Huntley – Brandon Ruffner (Justin Kornas) 22:56
Marmion – Tyler Laurich (Ian Swindle) 22:14
Second half
Marmion – Laurich (Anthony Sanchez) 32:35
Huntley – Ruffner (Noah Michael) 12:37
Huntley – Josh Lopez (Ruffner) 6:45
Star forward Serrano exhorts Cadets teammates after 3-3 tie
By Matt Le Cren
AURORA – Marmion coach Jimmy Romano didn’t have to say much in the postgame huddle Saturday.
But team co-captain James Serrano did. His impromptu post-game speech was meant to light a fire under his team, which squandered a late two-goal lead and settled for a 3-3 tie with Huntley at Fichtel Field.
Serrano, the electrifying striker who continued his brilliant senior season by scoring his 16th goal, was passionate in his criticism of the Cadets yet unshaken in his belief that they can, and must, do better.
It was a brilliant exhortation rarely seen from a high school athlete, a perfect blend of frustration and inspiration.
“With the standard that I’ve been brought up with and the standard that this team was given at the start of the summer, I would say this is probably our all-time low,” Serrano said. “The morale of this team is a little bit lower, but I have a feeling on Monday we’re just going to bring it back.
“You just got to have pride in what you’re doing. I think these guys want to be prideful of what they’re doing, but you take ups and downs during the season and this is our down, so let’s bring it up to an up.”
Marmion has struggled in recent years but is on track for its first winning season since 2013. They already have more victories than at any time during Serrano’s four-year varsity career.
Prviously in his career, the Cadets might have been satisfied with the draw. Not anymore.
After a 7-3-0 start, Marmion is 1-2-1 in its last four matches.
“I just think that we started off the season pretty strong and to go downhill from here is the total opposite of what we want to do,” Marmion junior Tyler Laurich said. “As the season progresses, we would rather start it low and go high. It seems like we’re doing the opposite.”
That was certainly the case in this match. The Cadets (8-5-1) started strong with the opening goal. After Huntley tied the game, Marmion needed just 42 seconds to retake the lead. The hosts led 3-1 with 13 minutes left before the Red Raiders (1-11-1) stunned them with two quick-strike goals.
“I thought we controlled them basically the whole game,” Laurich said. “I thought we did good controlling the midfield, but there were just a couple plays where we just lost it.”
Huntley actually outshot the Cadets 9-8 but the hosts were far superior in possession. That provided little solace after the Red Raiders capitalized on their only strong chances of the second half.
Brandon Ruffner scored his second goal of the game with 12:37 remaining when he took a long pass from defender Noah Michael and scored on a counterattack with an 18-yard shot.
That pulled the visitors to within 3-2. They got the equalizer at the 6:45 mark when Ruffner set up Josh Lopez, who headed the ball past the charging goalkeeper and tapped it in.
Both sides had a chance to win in the final 90 seconds. Huntley’s Christopher Sowers got a left-footed shot off from inside the left edge of the box, but the ball landed on top of the net with 1:30 to go.
Then the Cadets nearly took the lead at the 1:05 mark. Laurich, who earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors for recording his first-career brace, sent a lead pass into the left side of the box to the speedy Serrano, who was in the clear.
Huntley's freshman goalkeeper Ethan Kornas, who came into the game when Huntley’s starting goalie Lucas Clementsen, was ejected three minutes after intermission, charged out and knocked away Serrano’s shot.
“The first two goals, they earned them, but our shape wasn’t good in the back, and they took advantage of us,” Huntley coach Kris Grabner said. “But we bounced back.”
While it wasn’t a win, the surprising draw provided a ray of hope for the Red Raiders, who felt they have been unlucky not to have a better record.
“I’d say it’s good to get a result, but we’ve lost three shootouts and two overtime games,” Grabner said. “We’ve had seven one-goal losses, so we’ve been right there.
“Just haven’t been able to capitalize. So I feel if we can be a little bit more organized and communicate better, we can be a dangerous team.”
Marmion is already a dangerous team and hopes to make a long run in the Class AA playoffs. They have one of the top players in the Chicago area in Serrano, a quicksilver finisher who has 16 goals and eight assists despite regularly seeing double-teams.
Serrano got the scoring started in the 11th minute with an unassisted effort. He settled the ball at the top of the box, held off a challenge from a defender, turned, stopped and fired a flat-footed 15-yard shot in between Clementsen and the right post.
It was the start of another exciting performance for Serrano, who nearly had a hat-trick within the next five minutes. First, he received a ball 45 yards from the goal, sprinted through the left side of the Huntley defense and rolled a left-footed shot that was out of the reach of Clemetsen but struck the right post.
A minute later, Serrano squeezed through an opening and fired a 27-yard rocket which Clemetsen hung onto.
The excitement level always goes up when the Cadets get the ball to Serrano.
“It’s awesome,” Laurich said. “I think attacking is a lot more fun than defending, so when we get the ball up it’s always fun because we’re always getting chances with James. He’s always going on his runs and scoring.”
But he’s not the only one. Laurich now has seven goals and seven assists after a double-tap which answered Ruffner’s tying goal at the 22:56 mark of the first half.
Laurich’s first strike came only 42 seconds later and put the Cadets ahead 2-1. The midfielder broke free into the box and scored from 16 yards.
Laurich made it 3-1 on the first shot of the second half. A send from Noah Michael bounced around in the Huntly box before finding Laurich, who booted it home from eight yards with 32:35 to go.
“As I said in my speech, I truly see that T.J. is a guy who goes by leading by example,” Serrano said. “He’s showing some of the younger guys what to do, how to play.
“We were a younger team last year. He just worked in the off-season and had a good work ethic.
“I saw a lot of growth in him through the offseason and into this season. But it’s not a single player.
“Everyone has to contribute to the team. It can’t be one or two or three guys. It has to be everybody.”
It wasn’t on Saturday and that wasn’t acceptable to the Cadets coach.
“The culture has definitely changed, especially from last year,” Romano said. “Now we’ve got a winning record, we’re winning games.
“These guys expect more out of themselves now, which is awesome to see. They hold each other accountable, and they know that games we should be winning, we need to win.
“They know we’re getting closer to playoff time. We can’t be making these mistakes, and we have to be playing our best soccer.”
Despite the disappointing end, Romano is pleased that the Cadets are aiming higher.
“I like the way they want to keep pushing forward,” Romano said. “Because for a lot of them this is their first winning season in this program.”
In Serrano, Romano has the perfect player to light a fire under the troops.
“He definitely has a lot of passion for the game and wants to win and wants the team to win and wants everyone to do well,” Romano said. “He’s definitely like another coach on the field. He’s a special player.”
Starting lineups
Huntley
GK Lucas Clemetsen
D Logan Conary
D Noah Michael
D Raphael Wong
M Brandon Ruffner
M Rory Hicks
M Axel Solis
M Sam Bellantuono
M Austin Killen
F Justin Kornas
F Josh Lopez
Marmion
GK Jason Baker
D Joseph Lagman
D Michael Murray
D Sebastian Gutierrez
D Aidan Reynolds
M Tyler Laurich
M Christopher Sowers
M Adrian Ruiz
F James Lawinger
F James Serrano
F David Lawinger
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Tyler Laurich, M, Marmion.
Scoring summary
First half
Marmion – James Serrano 29:33
Huntley – Brandon Ruffner (Justin Kornas) 22:56
Marmion – Tyler Laurich (Ian Swindle) 22:14
Second half
Marmion – Laurich (Anthony Sanchez) 32:35
Huntley – Ruffner (Noah Michael) 12:37
Huntley – Josh Lopez (Ruffner) 6:45