Senior moments abound in Naperville C win
Strang, Hojsak, Agripino score in 3-0 Senior Night victory over Jacobs
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Senior Night games can be a two-edged sword for coaches.
On the one hand, it is a fitting showcase to the seniors who have contributed so much to the program over their careers, most of which will end at the high school level, and it is especially meaningful to the players who rarely get off the bench.
The hoopla, of course, often gets in the way of putting the best product on the field, so upsets can happen and play is often sloppy.
But every once in a while, a player comes along who takes advantage of the former and helps his team avoid the latter.
Naperville Central’s Yogsan Agripino was that player Monday night.
The little-used senior forward came off the bench midway through the first half and played approximately half the game, which included scoring the first goal in the Redhawks’ 3-0 win over Jacobs at Memorial Stadium.
The goal, which came on a breakaway off a feed from Rokas Krupka at the 30:35 mark of the second half. It was Agripino’s second goal of the season but his first career game-winner.
“It was really special to see,” Naperville Central senior defender Jake Crawford said. “All the forwards have been working really, really hard the entire season and some balls just haven’t been falling their way.
“So it was really nice to see Yogsan get on the score sheet, work hard for his goal.”
Crawford started the play by winning a header in his own zone and getting it to Krupka, who launched a long ball up the left side. Agripino got past the defense and ran onto the ball before finishing smartly with a left-footed shot inside the near post.
“It was really special because I haven’t really been playing that much this year,” said Agripino, who earned Chciagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors. “(Coach Troy Adams) has been telling us to keep forward the deepest and that’s what we’ve been trying to do. That’s what I’ve been trying to do, and it’s been working.”
Indeed, the Redhawks (5-5-4) dominated most of the action as the Golden Eagles (6-6-3) got only five shots, three of which were on frame. Ethan Conners saved two of those chances and Brad Palagi had the other stop, all of which were routine.
With Crawford and Cameron Strang anchoring the backline in lockdown mode, Naperville Central was able to focus on creating offense. The Redhawks did it with regularity, forcing over a dozen corner kicks and several free kicks in the attack zone.
“I thought the boys worked especially hard up-top to get us in good positions tonight, and they played really well and connected with our midfielders,” Crawford said. “Our midfielders did a wonderful job of distributing into pockets of space. and our guys really got going at them. That allowed us to get a lot of opportunities.”
Yet the Redhawks took nearly an hour to find the back of the net, though it wasn’t for lack of trying. Jacobs goalkeeper Noah Peterson made three of his five saves in the first half, including one on a 10-yard rocket from Krupka, and the Redhawks were unlucky not to break the ice in the 30th minute.
Rohan Bhargava’s corner kick from the left side struck the left post, and Strang volleyed it over the crossbar from just outside the 6 with 9:20 remaining.
But the Golden Eagles eventually wore down in the face of all the restarts and the Redhawks converted two of them late in the game to put the result out of reach.
The first came with 15:23 to go when Crawford launched a 52-yard free kick into the Jacobs box. The 6-foot-4 Strang leaped and backheaded the ball into the net for his team-high ninth goal of the season.
“We are good on dead balls this year,” Adams said. “We’ve got some guys that serve it well, and we’ve got a couple of guys that will get in and stick their head on it.
“On dead balls, half of it is courage and half of it is talent, but a lot of it is the willingness to go and stick your head on top of it.”
Strang, of course, is one of the best at that. He did it again on another free kick into the box with 6:24 left. This time his flick was bouncing toward the lower left corner of the goal and a Jacobs defender who was guarding the post.
Erik Hojsak, another senior reserve, beat the defender to the ball for the tap-in, which was his second goal of the season. The helper gave Strang three points in front of a crowd that included coaches from Northern Illinois.
“Having a goal and an assist today meant a lot,” Strang said. “It was pretty awesome.
“It was a pretty big win in front of my family and all of my friends.”
It was just the third win in the last 10 games for the Redhawks, who are much better than their record indicates but in need of positive results.
“Everybody put in effort,” Agripino said. “That’s what we needed.
“We just lost to (Naperville) North, so we’re trying to keep our heads up and trying to finish strong.”
The Redhawks certainly did that Monday, which made Crawford happy, especially considering reserves scored two of the goals.
“Cam had a fantastic finish. and Erik was there for the follow-up. That’s what coach has been talking about a lot at practice is following those kinds of balls at the 6,” Crawford said. “(Hojsak) was there to put it away.
“We’re going to celebrate tonight, but we’re going to get back at it tomorrow at practice for Morton.”
Starting lineups
Jacobs
GK Noah Peterson
D Aaron Henning
D Christopher Loizzo
D Joseph Wyslak
M Liam Armstrong
M John O’Connor
M Alex Nicastro
M Austin Snobel
M Sam Ranier
M Abraham Gomez
F Sam Colucci
Naperville Central
GK Ethan Conners
D Mitch Becker
D Andrew Zain
D Seth Lendzion
D Cameron Strang
D Jake Crawford
M Owen Jarrell
M Rokas Burnos
M Rohan Bhargava
F Anthony Saavedra
F Finn Wolfe
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Yogsan Agripino, F, Naperville Central
Scoring summary
First half
None
Second Half
Naperville Central – Yogsan Agripino (Roman Krupka) 30:35
Naperville Central – Cameron Strang (Jake Crawford) 15:23
Naperville Central – Erik Hojsak (Strang) 6:24
Strang, Hojsak, Agripino score in 3-0 Senior Night victory over Jacobs
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Senior Night games can be a two-edged sword for coaches.
On the one hand, it is a fitting showcase to the seniors who have contributed so much to the program over their careers, most of which will end at the high school level, and it is especially meaningful to the players who rarely get off the bench.
The hoopla, of course, often gets in the way of putting the best product on the field, so upsets can happen and play is often sloppy.
But every once in a while, a player comes along who takes advantage of the former and helps his team avoid the latter.
Naperville Central’s Yogsan Agripino was that player Monday night.
The little-used senior forward came off the bench midway through the first half and played approximately half the game, which included scoring the first goal in the Redhawks’ 3-0 win over Jacobs at Memorial Stadium.
The goal, which came on a breakaway off a feed from Rokas Krupka at the 30:35 mark of the second half. It was Agripino’s second goal of the season but his first career game-winner.
“It was really special to see,” Naperville Central senior defender Jake Crawford said. “All the forwards have been working really, really hard the entire season and some balls just haven’t been falling their way.
“So it was really nice to see Yogsan get on the score sheet, work hard for his goal.”
Crawford started the play by winning a header in his own zone and getting it to Krupka, who launched a long ball up the left side. Agripino got past the defense and ran onto the ball before finishing smartly with a left-footed shot inside the near post.
“It was really special because I haven’t really been playing that much this year,” said Agripino, who earned Chciagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors. “(Coach Troy Adams) has been telling us to keep forward the deepest and that’s what we’ve been trying to do. That’s what I’ve been trying to do, and it’s been working.”
Indeed, the Redhawks (5-5-4) dominated most of the action as the Golden Eagles (6-6-3) got only five shots, three of which were on frame. Ethan Conners saved two of those chances and Brad Palagi had the other stop, all of which were routine.
With Crawford and Cameron Strang anchoring the backline in lockdown mode, Naperville Central was able to focus on creating offense. The Redhawks did it with regularity, forcing over a dozen corner kicks and several free kicks in the attack zone.
“I thought the boys worked especially hard up-top to get us in good positions tonight, and they played really well and connected with our midfielders,” Crawford said. “Our midfielders did a wonderful job of distributing into pockets of space. and our guys really got going at them. That allowed us to get a lot of opportunities.”
Yet the Redhawks took nearly an hour to find the back of the net, though it wasn’t for lack of trying. Jacobs goalkeeper Noah Peterson made three of his five saves in the first half, including one on a 10-yard rocket from Krupka, and the Redhawks were unlucky not to break the ice in the 30th minute.
Rohan Bhargava’s corner kick from the left side struck the left post, and Strang volleyed it over the crossbar from just outside the 6 with 9:20 remaining.
But the Golden Eagles eventually wore down in the face of all the restarts and the Redhawks converted two of them late in the game to put the result out of reach.
The first came with 15:23 to go when Crawford launched a 52-yard free kick into the Jacobs box. The 6-foot-4 Strang leaped and backheaded the ball into the net for his team-high ninth goal of the season.
“We are good on dead balls this year,” Adams said. “We’ve got some guys that serve it well, and we’ve got a couple of guys that will get in and stick their head on it.
“On dead balls, half of it is courage and half of it is talent, but a lot of it is the willingness to go and stick your head on top of it.”
Strang, of course, is one of the best at that. He did it again on another free kick into the box with 6:24 left. This time his flick was bouncing toward the lower left corner of the goal and a Jacobs defender who was guarding the post.
Erik Hojsak, another senior reserve, beat the defender to the ball for the tap-in, which was his second goal of the season. The helper gave Strang three points in front of a crowd that included coaches from Northern Illinois.
“Having a goal and an assist today meant a lot,” Strang said. “It was pretty awesome.
“It was a pretty big win in front of my family and all of my friends.”
It was just the third win in the last 10 games for the Redhawks, who are much better than their record indicates but in need of positive results.
“Everybody put in effort,” Agripino said. “That’s what we needed.
“We just lost to (Naperville) North, so we’re trying to keep our heads up and trying to finish strong.”
The Redhawks certainly did that Monday, which made Crawford happy, especially considering reserves scored two of the goals.
“Cam had a fantastic finish. and Erik was there for the follow-up. That’s what coach has been talking about a lot at practice is following those kinds of balls at the 6,” Crawford said. “(Hojsak) was there to put it away.
“We’re going to celebrate tonight, but we’re going to get back at it tomorrow at practice for Morton.”
Starting lineups
Jacobs
GK Noah Peterson
D Aaron Henning
D Christopher Loizzo
D Joseph Wyslak
M Liam Armstrong
M John O’Connor
M Alex Nicastro
M Austin Snobel
M Sam Ranier
M Abraham Gomez
F Sam Colucci
Naperville Central
GK Ethan Conners
D Mitch Becker
D Andrew Zain
D Seth Lendzion
D Cameron Strang
D Jake Crawford
M Owen Jarrell
M Rokas Burnos
M Rohan Bhargava
F Anthony Saavedra
F Finn Wolfe
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Yogsan Agripino, F, Naperville Central
Scoring summary
First half
None
Second Half
Naperville Central – Yogsan Agripino (Roman Krupka) 30:35
Naperville Central – Cameron Strang (Jake Crawford) 15:23
Naperville Central – Erik Hojsak (Strang) 6:24