IMSA stuns St. Francis in playoff opener
Titans wins 1st postseason semifinal game 1-0
By Matt Le Cren
WHEATON -- Guy DeFeo turned away from the goal, a look of disbelief on his face.
The St. Francis senior forward had just watched his 13-yard rocket get deflected around the post by Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA) goalkeeper Quinn Verdeyen two minutes into the second half of Wednesday’s Class AA St. Francis Regional semifinal.
About 40 minutes later, DeFeo’s face registered another emotion, that of sad resignation following the Spartans’ stunning 1-0 loss.
Sixth-seeded IMSA (14-2-4) will play in the first regional championship game in program history Saturday night against top-seeded Marmion. The third-seeded Spartans (9-8-1) are out after a result few saw coming.
“They were strong defensively,” DeFeo said. “They executed their game plan well.
“We had the better chances, the better ball possession. This is why we play the game -- we don’t always end up on top when we play better than they do, so we live and we learn for next time.”
There will be no next time for DeFeo and the other nine St. Francis seniors who saw their prep careers end prematurely. DeFeo, Cameron Crawford, Anthony Metz and Brendan Yarusso are the starters who suited up for the final time for a team that won seven of its final eight regular-season matches.
“I thought we performed and worked really hard as a group,” DeFeo said. “I couldn’t ask for better guys, so it’s a shame that this is my last year. I wish I could have another shot at it.”
The Spartans had more than enough good shots at scoring against the Titans, who played defense for most of the first half. But St. Francis came up empty on 11 attempts, five of which were stopped by Verdeyen, whose two best saves came not long after intermission.
The first stop came on DeFeo, who got the ball in the middle of the box, quickly turned and fired a left-footed blast that Verdeyen somehow knocked up and over the left post with 37:40 remaining.
Two minutes later, DeFeo fed Crawford with a pass to the top of the box. Crawford maneuvered through three defenders and got off a shot which Verdeyen parried around the post.
“At that point, I’m starting to think this is going to be one of those games where you can’t hit the ocean from the beach,” St. Francis coach Jim Winslow said. “You’re doing everything you can, but you don’t get that final piece of the ball into the net.
“That’s the brutality of soccer.”
The Spartans looked like the better side from the get-go and had a great chance to break the ice in the fourth minute. Matz got a long ball over the top and had a free shot from the edge of the box, but rolled his shot wide of the left post.
The hosts got in behind the defense on several other occasions but just missed connecting with the would-be finisher in front.
“We had probably half a dozen good opportunities in the first half,” Winslow said. “We kind of had a run where our final ball in the final third was not good. It was too square.
“We talked about it at halftime and then the first 10 minutes of the second half, we’re all over them again. We’ve seen these games where they have one shot on goal, and that’s enough.”
Sure enough, the Titans broke through on an awful mistake in the back. A back pass into the box was misplayed and IMSA senior forward Mason Rinkel pounced on the error and got just enough of a piece of the ball to send it rolling slowly past St. Francis goalkeeper Simon Hartle and into the net at the 4:07 mark of the first half.
“I think they dropped it back to a defender, and he was going to pass it to his goalie, but he just whiffed it,” Rinkel said. “I ran by and scored it.”
How hard did Rinkel hit the ball?
“Not very hard,” he said. “It was all about placement.”
The Spartans still felt they were in a good place as the second half started. But the IMSA weathered the early storm and actually controlled a little more of the action than they did before intermission.
“We’ve had a lot of games where we’ve come out weak in the second half, and we just didn’t want to end this in a loss,” Rinkel said. “It’s just mentality – we wanted to win this.”
Winning postseason games is not something IMSA, a residential school for gifted STEM students in 10th through 12th grades in Aurora, is known for.
“It just means a lot,” Rinkel said. “Our school, it’s not often that we get to do well in regionals and continue to compete and go on. It’s a cool feeling.”
The result left Winslow frustrated, of course, but he complimented the Titans on their play.
“They’re a nice team,” Winslow said. “They’re fairly well-organized.
“They work hard like crazy in the middle. They really didn’t get into unnecessary turnovers until the game started to fall apart in the second half.”
Those turnovers turned into more opportunities for St. Francis, who had six corners kicks to just one for IMSA and also had several free kicks within 40 yards in both halves.
That included a 22-yard free kick from just outside the right corner of the box with 5:45 remaining in the second half, but Yarusso put his attempt over the crossbar. St. Francis also had a couple of balls rattle around inside the six in the final couple of minutes, only to have Verdeyen snag them.
“The last one bounced around, and we got a piece of it,” Winslow said. “But we didn’t get enough of it, and the kid comes down with it right in front of the line.
“We were methodical, but I’ve done this long enough to know that getting that first goal is huge. The first half, as frustrating as it was with the goal, everything else we did was great other than the final finish.”
A strong last touch never came and now the season is finished for the Spartans.
“I was happy with how we played,” Winslow said. “We played with great energy, we got in behind them.
“You’ve just got to put the darn ball in the net.”
Starting lineups
IMSA
GK Quinn Verdeyen
D Edwin Alcantara
D Marco Ilic
D Zander Davidson
M Nihar Cheruku
M Zachary Swanson-Linville
M Raymond Schumacher
M Diego Montes
M Jesse Park
F Mason Rinkel
F Julius Wardlow
St. Francis
GK Simon Hartle
D Cameron Crawford
D Justin Klein
D Aaron Cook
D Nick Madden
D Sam Wessel
M Anthony Matz
M Brendan Yarusso
M Cooper Winslow
F Luc Swiatek
F Guy DeFeo
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Mason Rinkel, sr., F, IMSA
Scoring summary
First half
IMSA – Mason Rinkel 4:07 remaining
Second half
No scoring
Titans wins 1st postseason semifinal game 1-0
By Matt Le Cren
WHEATON -- Guy DeFeo turned away from the goal, a look of disbelief on his face.
The St. Francis senior forward had just watched his 13-yard rocket get deflected around the post by Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA) goalkeeper Quinn Verdeyen two minutes into the second half of Wednesday’s Class AA St. Francis Regional semifinal.
About 40 minutes later, DeFeo’s face registered another emotion, that of sad resignation following the Spartans’ stunning 1-0 loss.
Sixth-seeded IMSA (14-2-4) will play in the first regional championship game in program history Saturday night against top-seeded Marmion. The third-seeded Spartans (9-8-1) are out after a result few saw coming.
“They were strong defensively,” DeFeo said. “They executed their game plan well.
“We had the better chances, the better ball possession. This is why we play the game -- we don’t always end up on top when we play better than they do, so we live and we learn for next time.”
There will be no next time for DeFeo and the other nine St. Francis seniors who saw their prep careers end prematurely. DeFeo, Cameron Crawford, Anthony Metz and Brendan Yarusso are the starters who suited up for the final time for a team that won seven of its final eight regular-season matches.
“I thought we performed and worked really hard as a group,” DeFeo said. “I couldn’t ask for better guys, so it’s a shame that this is my last year. I wish I could have another shot at it.”
The Spartans had more than enough good shots at scoring against the Titans, who played defense for most of the first half. But St. Francis came up empty on 11 attempts, five of which were stopped by Verdeyen, whose two best saves came not long after intermission.
The first stop came on DeFeo, who got the ball in the middle of the box, quickly turned and fired a left-footed blast that Verdeyen somehow knocked up and over the left post with 37:40 remaining.
Two minutes later, DeFeo fed Crawford with a pass to the top of the box. Crawford maneuvered through three defenders and got off a shot which Verdeyen parried around the post.
“At that point, I’m starting to think this is going to be one of those games where you can’t hit the ocean from the beach,” St. Francis coach Jim Winslow said. “You’re doing everything you can, but you don’t get that final piece of the ball into the net.
“That’s the brutality of soccer.”
The Spartans looked like the better side from the get-go and had a great chance to break the ice in the fourth minute. Matz got a long ball over the top and had a free shot from the edge of the box, but rolled his shot wide of the left post.
The hosts got in behind the defense on several other occasions but just missed connecting with the would-be finisher in front.
“We had probably half a dozen good opportunities in the first half,” Winslow said. “We kind of had a run where our final ball in the final third was not good. It was too square.
“We talked about it at halftime and then the first 10 minutes of the second half, we’re all over them again. We’ve seen these games where they have one shot on goal, and that’s enough.”
Sure enough, the Titans broke through on an awful mistake in the back. A back pass into the box was misplayed and IMSA senior forward Mason Rinkel pounced on the error and got just enough of a piece of the ball to send it rolling slowly past St. Francis goalkeeper Simon Hartle and into the net at the 4:07 mark of the first half.
“I think they dropped it back to a defender, and he was going to pass it to his goalie, but he just whiffed it,” Rinkel said. “I ran by and scored it.”
How hard did Rinkel hit the ball?
“Not very hard,” he said. “It was all about placement.”
The Spartans still felt they were in a good place as the second half started. But the IMSA weathered the early storm and actually controlled a little more of the action than they did before intermission.
“We’ve had a lot of games where we’ve come out weak in the second half, and we just didn’t want to end this in a loss,” Rinkel said. “It’s just mentality – we wanted to win this.”
Winning postseason games is not something IMSA, a residential school for gifted STEM students in 10th through 12th grades in Aurora, is known for.
“It just means a lot,” Rinkel said. “Our school, it’s not often that we get to do well in regionals and continue to compete and go on. It’s a cool feeling.”
The result left Winslow frustrated, of course, but he complimented the Titans on their play.
“They’re a nice team,” Winslow said. “They’re fairly well-organized.
“They work hard like crazy in the middle. They really didn’t get into unnecessary turnovers until the game started to fall apart in the second half.”
Those turnovers turned into more opportunities for St. Francis, who had six corners kicks to just one for IMSA and also had several free kicks within 40 yards in both halves.
That included a 22-yard free kick from just outside the right corner of the box with 5:45 remaining in the second half, but Yarusso put his attempt over the crossbar. St. Francis also had a couple of balls rattle around inside the six in the final couple of minutes, only to have Verdeyen snag them.
“The last one bounced around, and we got a piece of it,” Winslow said. “But we didn’t get enough of it, and the kid comes down with it right in front of the line.
“We were methodical, but I’ve done this long enough to know that getting that first goal is huge. The first half, as frustrating as it was with the goal, everything else we did was great other than the final finish.”
A strong last touch never came and now the season is finished for the Spartans.
“I was happy with how we played,” Winslow said. “We played with great energy, we got in behind them.
“You’ve just got to put the darn ball in the net.”
Starting lineups
IMSA
GK Quinn Verdeyen
D Edwin Alcantara
D Marco Ilic
D Zander Davidson
M Nihar Cheruku
M Zachary Swanson-Linville
M Raymond Schumacher
M Diego Montes
M Jesse Park
F Mason Rinkel
F Julius Wardlow
St. Francis
GK Simon Hartle
D Cameron Crawford
D Justin Klein
D Aaron Cook
D Nick Madden
D Sam Wessel
M Anthony Matz
M Brendan Yarusso
M Cooper Winslow
F Luc Swiatek
F Guy DeFeo
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Mason Rinkel, sr., F, IMSA
Scoring summary
First half
IMSA – Mason Rinkel 4:07 remaining
Second half
No scoring