Late Lakes goal dashes Deerfield hopes
Warriors fall 3-2 in nonconference match after 1-goal leads
By Mike Garofola
DEERFIELD -- Lakes responded twice to being down a goal to beat host Deerfield in a captivating match that left the Warriors wondering what it will take to end their current losing streak.
Junior Evan Larsen capped a stellar performance for the visiting Eagles with two second half goals, then took a back seat to Matt Runyard who bagged the winner in the 72nd minute and sent the Warriors to their sixth-consecutive game without a victory.
"We came in here today as the no. 1 seed in our sectional with Deerfield the no. 8," began Larsen, who now has 13 goals in 13 games for Lakes (7-5-1). "I think all of us thought it would be a 5- or 6-0 result.
"(But) we found out they were much better than their record and their seed, and it took all we had to come back and get the victory."
Manager Kevin Kullby saw Deerfield vitalize the match.
"Deerfield had so much more energy than we did in that first half and their work rate made us look like we were just standing around and watching the game," he said. "So credit them for a great first half, and one in which they totally outplayed us."
The Warriors, who have had their share of injuries throughout the season, lost another key piece prior to Monday night when starting keeper Josh Berman fell ill.
"We've lost six starters to injury this fall and tonight Josh was unable to go, so we turned to Matthew Neumann, a freshman, who was making his first varsity start," said Deerfield manager Elliott Hurtig.
"Neumann was fantastic; (he) made a couple of point-blank saves and did a really good job of taking control of his box."
The Warriors (2-13-1), as the aforementioned Larsen said, did not look anything like the eighth seed in its sub-sectional of the Belvidere Sectional. They opened up as bright as the sun at Adams Field.
Constant pressure on the ball, pace, purpose and the ability to move the ball quickly put the visiting Eagles on their heels as they faded badly in the face of the Warriors onslaught off the opening whistle.
"That's some of the best soccer we've played in awhile," said senior Ben Taxman, who along with teammate Ben Seed formed an unyielding partnership as the Warriors central defenders.
"We were efficient, and playing really well on both sides of the ball. We showed, despite our overall record, we can play with teams like Lakes, which is the top seed in our sectional,"
"Taxman and Seed were terrific all night long for us," said Hurtig, who was thrilled with the effort from the duo.
It was a night where set-piece goals were the norm.
Nicholas Prus, Deerfield's all-action, box-to-box man in the middle of the park, whipped an inch-prefect corner serve to the back post where Peter Straus, who was left alone, redirected his header the other way in the 10th minute.
"We were not marking very well at all on their set piece chances in this game, and it nearly cost us a couple of other times," Kullby said.
With Prus running the show in the middle, and sophomore midfielder David Jotkus winning one ball after another whether on the floor or in the air, the home side enjoyed most of the play while their guests did their best to keep the game at 1-0 heading into the break.
Prus went close, as did Matthew Covaci and Ari Wainer. Wainers' effort earned the Warriors another corner. This time Lakes keeper James Leone punched it out of the area with a stern glove.
"We went to a 4-4-2 formation tonight after playing in a 4-3-3, and I really feel we adjusted to it really well," said Prus, who shared Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors with Lakes' Larsen.
"We're missing so many players to injuries, and it's affected our play. But tonight we played as well as we have in a long time, and it feels good to see us play at a much higher level with everyone making a contribution."
Kullby made a formation adjustment of his own after the break, going from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2, with the hope of his outside men putting more crosses into the area and supplying additional pressure at the same time.
"We needed to open them up a little bit more and to create chances for ourselves, which is something we rarely did in the first half," Kullby said.
Kullby also wanted to give the 6-foot-4 Larsen an opportunity to use his size inside the Warriors' box where his length and strength could make a difference.
Larsen's first goal was not due to his height but came from his sublime touch, which he used to finish a nifty one-two combination with Cyrus Daruwala at the near-side post.
The equalizer in the 49th minute was exactly what this game needed to open things up. Soon after, the Warriors grabbed the lead back.
An outstanding individual effort from Ryan Gomez led to a Warriors corner that Prus took.
His curling serve was pushed aside by Leone once again, but this time the parry went to the unmarked Wainer at the back post.
Wainer swung and missed on his first attempt on frame, but the junior remained composed and unloaded an unstoppable angled bomb into the far inside netting from 12 yards.
Lakes should have gotten back level minutes later and would have if not for a sensational reaction kick-save by Neumann on Daruwala's 35-yard smash.
"Neumann came up big for us a couple of times," said Taxman. "He did a great job in his first start."
The young keeper could do nothing on Larsen's second equalizer. This one came after he went high above the a crowd inside the six-yard box to thump in a header off a superb Dejan Djenadic corner.
"We work on corners and set-piece plays all the time, and coach tells us to set up at the six-yard box and 12 yards (at the spot) and make our runs from there," said Larsen.
The Eagles created a pair of corners, both sent in by Daruwala, with the second falling back to the Larsen on the far right side.
Daruwala delivered a bending inward swinger to the back post where Runyard guided in his attempt to give the visitors its first lead of the night at 69 minutes.
"I was really happy for Matthew, because he's a guy who doesn't get a whole lot of minutes," said Kullby. "But he really came through for us tonight."
After Deerfield's Jotkus was helped off after suffering an injury near the endline, Hurtig switched to a 3-4-3 formation, but the tactical move did not deliver anything dangerous on frame.
"We didn't play well at all in that first half, but this is a tough and resilient group, and they fought back to get ourselves back in the game, and gave ourselves a chance to win," said Kullby.
Lakes has a booked schedule ahead of it. The Eagles continue their regular season with the Northern Lake County Conference season finale with Grayslake North on Thursday, followed by nonconference matchups with McHenry, Mundelein, and finally Waukegan next week.
Deerfield plays its CSL cross-over against Glenbrook North at 7 p.m. Thursday before ending its regular season at home on Senior Night against Payton at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Hurtig concluded: "I felt like we played well enough to win tonight. The effort was there. We played with a lot of heart and desire, but we came up short."
Taxman added: "Our record is not something we're happy with, but this team plays with a lot of pride. And we always play hard for 80 minutes, and that's something that I am most proud of."
"It is a unified and tight knit team," said Hurtig. "They're a great bunch of young men to be around because of that alone. Where some teams would have folded up the tent and just played out the rest of the season, these guys will not do that."
"That's why I enjoy coaching this team so much."
Starting lineups
Lakes (4-3-3)
G- James Leone
D- Michael Pellittieri
D- Kurtis Smith
D- Anthony Kaspar
D- Patrick Mayer
M- Timothy Pollak
M- Brady Lucas
M- Dejan Djenadic
F- Cyrus Daruwala
F- Evan Larsen
F- Luke Chamernik
Deerfield (4-4-2)
G- Matthew Neumann
D- Peter Straus
D- Ben Taxman
D- Ben Seed
D- Jordan Wood
M- David Jotkus
M- Matthew Covaci
M- Nicholas Prus
M- Albert Covaci
F- Ari Wainer
F- Ryder Coleman
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Nicholas Prus, jr., MF, Deerfield
Evan Larsen, jr., F, Lakes
Scoring summary
First half
Deerfield: Straus (Prus) 10'
Second half
Lakes: Larsen (Danuwala) 49'
Deerfield: Wainer (Prus) 54'
Lakes: Larsen (Djenadic) 69'
Lakes: Runyard (Cyrus) 72'
Warriors fall 3-2 in nonconference match after 1-goal leads
By Mike Garofola
DEERFIELD -- Lakes responded twice to being down a goal to beat host Deerfield in a captivating match that left the Warriors wondering what it will take to end their current losing streak.
Junior Evan Larsen capped a stellar performance for the visiting Eagles with two second half goals, then took a back seat to Matt Runyard who bagged the winner in the 72nd minute and sent the Warriors to their sixth-consecutive game without a victory.
"We came in here today as the no. 1 seed in our sectional with Deerfield the no. 8," began Larsen, who now has 13 goals in 13 games for Lakes (7-5-1). "I think all of us thought it would be a 5- or 6-0 result.
"(But) we found out they were much better than their record and their seed, and it took all we had to come back and get the victory."
Manager Kevin Kullby saw Deerfield vitalize the match.
"Deerfield had so much more energy than we did in that first half and their work rate made us look like we were just standing around and watching the game," he said. "So credit them for a great first half, and one in which they totally outplayed us."
The Warriors, who have had their share of injuries throughout the season, lost another key piece prior to Monday night when starting keeper Josh Berman fell ill.
"We've lost six starters to injury this fall and tonight Josh was unable to go, so we turned to Matthew Neumann, a freshman, who was making his first varsity start," said Deerfield manager Elliott Hurtig.
"Neumann was fantastic; (he) made a couple of point-blank saves and did a really good job of taking control of his box."
The Warriors (2-13-1), as the aforementioned Larsen said, did not look anything like the eighth seed in its sub-sectional of the Belvidere Sectional. They opened up as bright as the sun at Adams Field.
Constant pressure on the ball, pace, purpose and the ability to move the ball quickly put the visiting Eagles on their heels as they faded badly in the face of the Warriors onslaught off the opening whistle.
"That's some of the best soccer we've played in awhile," said senior Ben Taxman, who along with teammate Ben Seed formed an unyielding partnership as the Warriors central defenders.
"We were efficient, and playing really well on both sides of the ball. We showed, despite our overall record, we can play with teams like Lakes, which is the top seed in our sectional,"
"Taxman and Seed were terrific all night long for us," said Hurtig, who was thrilled with the effort from the duo.
It was a night where set-piece goals were the norm.
Nicholas Prus, Deerfield's all-action, box-to-box man in the middle of the park, whipped an inch-prefect corner serve to the back post where Peter Straus, who was left alone, redirected his header the other way in the 10th minute.
"We were not marking very well at all on their set piece chances in this game, and it nearly cost us a couple of other times," Kullby said.
With Prus running the show in the middle, and sophomore midfielder David Jotkus winning one ball after another whether on the floor or in the air, the home side enjoyed most of the play while their guests did their best to keep the game at 1-0 heading into the break.
Prus went close, as did Matthew Covaci and Ari Wainer. Wainers' effort earned the Warriors another corner. This time Lakes keeper James Leone punched it out of the area with a stern glove.
"We went to a 4-4-2 formation tonight after playing in a 4-3-3, and I really feel we adjusted to it really well," said Prus, who shared Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors with Lakes' Larsen.
"We're missing so many players to injuries, and it's affected our play. But tonight we played as well as we have in a long time, and it feels good to see us play at a much higher level with everyone making a contribution."
Kullby made a formation adjustment of his own after the break, going from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2, with the hope of his outside men putting more crosses into the area and supplying additional pressure at the same time.
"We needed to open them up a little bit more and to create chances for ourselves, which is something we rarely did in the first half," Kullby said.
Kullby also wanted to give the 6-foot-4 Larsen an opportunity to use his size inside the Warriors' box where his length and strength could make a difference.
Larsen's first goal was not due to his height but came from his sublime touch, which he used to finish a nifty one-two combination with Cyrus Daruwala at the near-side post.
The equalizer in the 49th minute was exactly what this game needed to open things up. Soon after, the Warriors grabbed the lead back.
An outstanding individual effort from Ryan Gomez led to a Warriors corner that Prus took.
His curling serve was pushed aside by Leone once again, but this time the parry went to the unmarked Wainer at the back post.
Wainer swung and missed on his first attempt on frame, but the junior remained composed and unloaded an unstoppable angled bomb into the far inside netting from 12 yards.
Lakes should have gotten back level minutes later and would have if not for a sensational reaction kick-save by Neumann on Daruwala's 35-yard smash.
"Neumann came up big for us a couple of times," said Taxman. "He did a great job in his first start."
The young keeper could do nothing on Larsen's second equalizer. This one came after he went high above the a crowd inside the six-yard box to thump in a header off a superb Dejan Djenadic corner.
"We work on corners and set-piece plays all the time, and coach tells us to set up at the six-yard box and 12 yards (at the spot) and make our runs from there," said Larsen.
The Eagles created a pair of corners, both sent in by Daruwala, with the second falling back to the Larsen on the far right side.
Daruwala delivered a bending inward swinger to the back post where Runyard guided in his attempt to give the visitors its first lead of the night at 69 minutes.
"I was really happy for Matthew, because he's a guy who doesn't get a whole lot of minutes," said Kullby. "But he really came through for us tonight."
After Deerfield's Jotkus was helped off after suffering an injury near the endline, Hurtig switched to a 3-4-3 formation, but the tactical move did not deliver anything dangerous on frame.
"We didn't play well at all in that first half, but this is a tough and resilient group, and they fought back to get ourselves back in the game, and gave ourselves a chance to win," said Kullby.
Lakes has a booked schedule ahead of it. The Eagles continue their regular season with the Northern Lake County Conference season finale with Grayslake North on Thursday, followed by nonconference matchups with McHenry, Mundelein, and finally Waukegan next week.
Deerfield plays its CSL cross-over against Glenbrook North at 7 p.m. Thursday before ending its regular season at home on Senior Night against Payton at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Hurtig concluded: "I felt like we played well enough to win tonight. The effort was there. We played with a lot of heart and desire, but we came up short."
Taxman added: "Our record is not something we're happy with, but this team plays with a lot of pride. And we always play hard for 80 minutes, and that's something that I am most proud of."
"It is a unified and tight knit team," said Hurtig. "They're a great bunch of young men to be around because of that alone. Where some teams would have folded up the tent and just played out the rest of the season, these guys will not do that."
"That's why I enjoy coaching this team so much."
Starting lineups
Lakes (4-3-3)
G- James Leone
D- Michael Pellittieri
D- Kurtis Smith
D- Anthony Kaspar
D- Patrick Mayer
M- Timothy Pollak
M- Brady Lucas
M- Dejan Djenadic
F- Cyrus Daruwala
F- Evan Larsen
F- Luke Chamernik
Deerfield (4-4-2)
G- Matthew Neumann
D- Peter Straus
D- Ben Taxman
D- Ben Seed
D- Jordan Wood
M- David Jotkus
M- Matthew Covaci
M- Nicholas Prus
M- Albert Covaci
F- Ari Wainer
F- Ryder Coleman
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Nicholas Prus, jr., MF, Deerfield
Evan Larsen, jr., F, Lakes
Scoring summary
First half
Deerfield: Straus (Prus) 10'
Second half
Lakes: Larsen (Danuwala) 49'
Deerfield: Wainer (Prus) 54'
Lakes: Larsen (Djenadic) 69'
Lakes: Runyard (Cyrus) 72'