Wanca's double edges
Barrington past Libertyville
Senior defender stakes lead, than helps host hang on in 2-1 win
By Mike Garofola
BARRINGTON – Manager Scott Steib hailed the character of his Barrington crew who held off an impressive club from Libertyville to claim the 19th regional title in program history.
The 2-1 victory over the eighth-seeded Wildcats was neither a thing of beauty, nor an easy accomplishment on the sunny October afternoon. But it meant Steib’s club advanced to the Fremd Sectional this Tuesday to face dangerous Mundelein (13-7-2), the no. 13-seed that upset its way to victory in its own regional.
Barrington did what it needed to do to reach the sectionals, including play the last 27 minutes of the game a man down.
"I don't think any of us expected this game to be played out the way it was," began a relieved Steib, who watched his club play with 10 after a second yellow card sent off one of his players.
"We like to play possession soccer, knocking the ball around (building) our attack, especially when we play here at home on such a big pitch. We knew Libertyville likes to play that way as well. Our expectations were for that type of game today.
"However, it didn't take long for (that) idea to be all but over.
"We had to fight for this game today. The boys showed a lot of heart, passion and character to survive, to move on.
"Credit (Libertyville coach) Kevin (Thunholm) and his staff (for) the way their guys came out and gave a spirited, physical and hard-fought effort which kind of took us be surprise. They came to play. As we have of late (we) started slow, making Kyle's early goal such a huge lift."
Kyle, is Kyle Wanca, the Broncos fine senior central defender, who shared Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors with Andrew Phillips, the Wildcats classy junior.
Libertyville wasted little time in trying to shock the second-seeded Broncos. The Wildcats used a quartet of long throws into the box (quite a feat on this wide pitch) to create nervous moments. The home faithful held their breathe whenever Libertyville’s Jon Melcher went to the touchline with the ball.
"The thing about those long throws from no. 15 (Melcher) was they didn't just float into the box,” said Steib. “They all came on the line and with plenty of extra pace. We just did not go up and (head them away), which was disappointing in that we have guys who are 6-foot-2, and 6-1 in there to do that.”
Libertyville had a similar view from the offensive perspective.
"We needed to put one of those chances off of Melcher's throws into the back of their net early,” said Thunholm. “The entire game changes if we had.”
The coach watched the throws precede two blocked shots, Michael Kelly's attempt saved by Barrington keeper Iker Villagomez and a remarkable toss to the back post parried out of the area by Bronco Mathew Klujian.
"They really put us under right from the start, which we've struggled at for a while,” said Wanca. “(We) have to come out stronger if we expect to advance from here on out."
Despite being backed by a vociferous visiting army in orange, Libertyville found itself chasing the game within nine minutes of the referee's opening whistle. The opportunistic Wanca found a way to slot home the opener through a crowd of black and white shirts in front of Wildcats keeper Michael Krukonis after a Michael Vitale free kick
"I think (Kyle) Horak may have kept the ball alive with a header, and I guess I was there to clean things up," said Wanca.
The impact of the strike rippled through the team.
"We were in so much trouble off the opening whistle," said senior Jeremiah Gascho, who played the six position at a high level for 80 minutes of play. “To have us get the first goal, especially with us under so much pressure, was really big.”
With all that was at stake and with the speed of play nearing 100 MPH, nothing came easy. Every tackle, 50/50 and first and second ball challenge was enthusiastically engaged.
The uptick in intensity resulted in the referee engaging in discussions with players and coaches. The constant chirping along the touchline took the flow of this high-stakes game.
When allowed to play, both sides carved out chances. Barrington’s David Gomez, on the turn, had his left-footed blast tipped onto the roof by Krukonis.
A trio of well-driven free kicks from the Vitale forced Libertyville to defend smartly. The Wildcats turned things around a bit when junior Cole Danner went close after he ran onto a loose ball in the 25th minute and unloaded a wicked strike at Villagomez.
Two more deep throws by Melcher (he recorded eight in the first half) ended with Jake Berlowski and Alex LaRoi each having a go: the first was blocked; and second was sent wide of the post.
"We certainly had our chances in that first half and pretty much the entire game,” said Thunholm. “The one thing we lack is that true goal-scoring player. Today we could have used that type of player."
The second half opened with one whistle after another. Six fouls, plus the first yellow card booking of the day, all came in the first five minutes.
Wanca followed the choppy stretch with his second game-winner of the season. After a marvelous free kick from Gascho just off the tip of the 18 was kept alive at the back post, the ball was steered in by an unmarked Wanca.
"The ball just spilled free after one of our players flicked Jerry's serve into the box," said Wanca of his third goal of the year. “When that happened, the ball fell right to my foot."
Moments after the Broncos cushioned their advantage, Ben Yaney was shown his second yellow card thus sending the senior off and forcing the home side to play a man down for the next 27 minutes.
Given this lifeline with nearly a half hour of play remaining, Libertyville pushed its back four closer to the midline and asked Jack Huber to send quality service into the Broncos area in a quest to halve its two-goal deficit.
On the flipside, Steib and his staff countered by playing just one on top, while deploying nine behind the ball in order to soak up the expected pressure the visitors would heap upon them.
Huber went just wide with his 30-yard cracker driven to the far post in the 59th minute. Three of his deliveries into the box where cleared with expert touches by Ryan Chang, Klujian and Gascho.
"Our backline held up really well today, especially in the second half and after that second yellow’” said Steib in praise of Chang, Klujian, Vitale, and Wanca. “It was their aerial dominance that was most impressive."
Libertyville lost Melcher to an ankle injury in the 65th minute. The loss of perhaps its best weapon for the final quarter hour was a blow to the visitors.
Barrington’s Villagomez was called into action once again when he saved a Danner effort from 30 yards. Joey Yurek went with his attempt in the 67th minute.
The Wildcats would finally pulled one back in the 74th minute. LaRoi marched through the center channel before his super-sharp finish arrowed its way into the corner past a diving Villagomez.
"It was a great goal from Alek, but it took us such a long time to cut their lead in half,” said Phillips. “If we did earlier, the momentum would have shifted in our favor, and we may have had a better chance of getting back even."
"I agree with Andrew," added Thunholm. “That goal was a little bit too late. (We) spent so much energy finding that first goal. (I) would have liked to have seen if the game would have turned more in our favor if we put one in soon after they went a man down.”
Barrington brought on fresh legs up-top to offer a modicum of resistance during the last 10 minutes. However, it was the Gascho and his mates in the middle of the park with the sturdy backline that managed the narrow lead and delivered the championship.
Libertyville finished a season to be proud of.
"The real strength of this team was with the way we came together both on and off the field, and with the way we picked up our play later in the year to become a very good team," said Phillips.
Tweaks along the way were key to the Wildcats improvement.
"When we finally sorted out how we wanted to play and where we would deploy our players, (we) all saw this team turn itself into a tough team," began Thunholm, who will welcome back 13 players next fall including eight from his first 11.
"We played well today, and in my opinion we outplayed (them). But we were chasing the game from nearly the very beginning, and that's a very difficult thing to do at this time of the year, and against a quality opponent.
"We lose some very good players, but we'll have a terrific core coming back. I think we'll be back and better next year."
For Barrington, which finished at no. 3 in the final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 regular-season poll, the next test comes against upstart Mundelein, who has recovered from some midseason woes to become a team to be reckoned with.
Led by first-year manager Sebastian Falinski, who came over from Dundee-Crown where he was the girls team manager, the Mustangs have taken down third-seed Lake Zurich and six-seed Warren to advance into the sectional semifinal round.
"I have a lot of respect for Sebastian, who did a great job while at Dundee-Crown, and (now) at Mundelein,” said Steib. “He has his guys playing at a high level. (We'll) have to come out stronger than we have of late to be able to compete."
Starting lineups
Libertyville (4-3-3)
G: Michael Krukonis
D: Jon Melcher
D: Joey Yurik
D: Alek LaRoi
D: Jack Huber
M: Cole Danner
M: Jake Berlowski
M: Mateo Portillo
F: Andrew Phillips
F: Noah Finnema
F: Michael Kelly
Barrington (4-4-2)
G: Iker Villagomez
D: Michael Vitale
D: Mathew Klujian
D: Kyle Wanca
D: Ryan Chang
M: Kieran Londergan
M: David Gomez
M: Jeremiah Gascho
M: Kyle Horak
F: Jack Peterson
F: Ben Yaney
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Andrew Phillips, jr., MF/F, Libertyville; Kyle Wanca, sr., D, Barrington
Scoring summary
First half
Barrington: Wanca (U/A) 9'
Second half
Barrington: Wanca (U/A) 53'
Libertyville: LaRoi (U/A) 74'
Statistics
Libertyville
On Frame: 6
Off Frame: 9
Fouls: 14
Corners: 3
Offsides: 1
Yellow Cards: 0
Red Cards: 0
Barrington
On Frame: 4
Off Frame: 3
Fouls: 17
Corners: 1
Offsides: 0
Yellow Cards: 2
Red Cards: 1
Barrington past Libertyville
Senior defender stakes lead, than helps host hang on in 2-1 win
By Mike Garofola
BARRINGTON – Manager Scott Steib hailed the character of his Barrington crew who held off an impressive club from Libertyville to claim the 19th regional title in program history.
The 2-1 victory over the eighth-seeded Wildcats was neither a thing of beauty, nor an easy accomplishment on the sunny October afternoon. But it meant Steib’s club advanced to the Fremd Sectional this Tuesday to face dangerous Mundelein (13-7-2), the no. 13-seed that upset its way to victory in its own regional.
Barrington did what it needed to do to reach the sectionals, including play the last 27 minutes of the game a man down.
"I don't think any of us expected this game to be played out the way it was," began a relieved Steib, who watched his club play with 10 after a second yellow card sent off one of his players.
"We like to play possession soccer, knocking the ball around (building) our attack, especially when we play here at home on such a big pitch. We knew Libertyville likes to play that way as well. Our expectations were for that type of game today.
"However, it didn't take long for (that) idea to be all but over.
"We had to fight for this game today. The boys showed a lot of heart, passion and character to survive, to move on.
"Credit (Libertyville coach) Kevin (Thunholm) and his staff (for) the way their guys came out and gave a spirited, physical and hard-fought effort which kind of took us be surprise. They came to play. As we have of late (we) started slow, making Kyle's early goal such a huge lift."
Kyle, is Kyle Wanca, the Broncos fine senior central defender, who shared Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors with Andrew Phillips, the Wildcats classy junior.
Libertyville wasted little time in trying to shock the second-seeded Broncos. The Wildcats used a quartet of long throws into the box (quite a feat on this wide pitch) to create nervous moments. The home faithful held their breathe whenever Libertyville’s Jon Melcher went to the touchline with the ball.
"The thing about those long throws from no. 15 (Melcher) was they didn't just float into the box,” said Steib. “They all came on the line and with plenty of extra pace. We just did not go up and (head them away), which was disappointing in that we have guys who are 6-foot-2, and 6-1 in there to do that.”
Libertyville had a similar view from the offensive perspective.
"We needed to put one of those chances off of Melcher's throws into the back of their net early,” said Thunholm. “The entire game changes if we had.”
The coach watched the throws precede two blocked shots, Michael Kelly's attempt saved by Barrington keeper Iker Villagomez and a remarkable toss to the back post parried out of the area by Bronco Mathew Klujian.
"They really put us under right from the start, which we've struggled at for a while,” said Wanca. “(We) have to come out stronger if we expect to advance from here on out."
Despite being backed by a vociferous visiting army in orange, Libertyville found itself chasing the game within nine minutes of the referee's opening whistle. The opportunistic Wanca found a way to slot home the opener through a crowd of black and white shirts in front of Wildcats keeper Michael Krukonis after a Michael Vitale free kick
"I think (Kyle) Horak may have kept the ball alive with a header, and I guess I was there to clean things up," said Wanca.
The impact of the strike rippled through the team.
"We were in so much trouble off the opening whistle," said senior Jeremiah Gascho, who played the six position at a high level for 80 minutes of play. “To have us get the first goal, especially with us under so much pressure, was really big.”
With all that was at stake and with the speed of play nearing 100 MPH, nothing came easy. Every tackle, 50/50 and first and second ball challenge was enthusiastically engaged.
The uptick in intensity resulted in the referee engaging in discussions with players and coaches. The constant chirping along the touchline took the flow of this high-stakes game.
When allowed to play, both sides carved out chances. Barrington’s David Gomez, on the turn, had his left-footed blast tipped onto the roof by Krukonis.
A trio of well-driven free kicks from the Vitale forced Libertyville to defend smartly. The Wildcats turned things around a bit when junior Cole Danner went close after he ran onto a loose ball in the 25th minute and unloaded a wicked strike at Villagomez.
Two more deep throws by Melcher (he recorded eight in the first half) ended with Jake Berlowski and Alex LaRoi each having a go: the first was blocked; and second was sent wide of the post.
"We certainly had our chances in that first half and pretty much the entire game,” said Thunholm. “The one thing we lack is that true goal-scoring player. Today we could have used that type of player."
The second half opened with one whistle after another. Six fouls, plus the first yellow card booking of the day, all came in the first five minutes.
Wanca followed the choppy stretch with his second game-winner of the season. After a marvelous free kick from Gascho just off the tip of the 18 was kept alive at the back post, the ball was steered in by an unmarked Wanca.
"The ball just spilled free after one of our players flicked Jerry's serve into the box," said Wanca of his third goal of the year. “When that happened, the ball fell right to my foot."
Moments after the Broncos cushioned their advantage, Ben Yaney was shown his second yellow card thus sending the senior off and forcing the home side to play a man down for the next 27 minutes.
Given this lifeline with nearly a half hour of play remaining, Libertyville pushed its back four closer to the midline and asked Jack Huber to send quality service into the Broncos area in a quest to halve its two-goal deficit.
On the flipside, Steib and his staff countered by playing just one on top, while deploying nine behind the ball in order to soak up the expected pressure the visitors would heap upon them.
Huber went just wide with his 30-yard cracker driven to the far post in the 59th minute. Three of his deliveries into the box where cleared with expert touches by Ryan Chang, Klujian and Gascho.
"Our backline held up really well today, especially in the second half and after that second yellow’” said Steib in praise of Chang, Klujian, Vitale, and Wanca. “It was their aerial dominance that was most impressive."
Libertyville lost Melcher to an ankle injury in the 65th minute. The loss of perhaps its best weapon for the final quarter hour was a blow to the visitors.
Barrington’s Villagomez was called into action once again when he saved a Danner effort from 30 yards. Joey Yurek went with his attempt in the 67th minute.
The Wildcats would finally pulled one back in the 74th minute. LaRoi marched through the center channel before his super-sharp finish arrowed its way into the corner past a diving Villagomez.
"It was a great goal from Alek, but it took us such a long time to cut their lead in half,” said Phillips. “If we did earlier, the momentum would have shifted in our favor, and we may have had a better chance of getting back even."
"I agree with Andrew," added Thunholm. “That goal was a little bit too late. (We) spent so much energy finding that first goal. (I) would have liked to have seen if the game would have turned more in our favor if we put one in soon after they went a man down.”
Barrington brought on fresh legs up-top to offer a modicum of resistance during the last 10 minutes. However, it was the Gascho and his mates in the middle of the park with the sturdy backline that managed the narrow lead and delivered the championship.
Libertyville finished a season to be proud of.
"The real strength of this team was with the way we came together both on and off the field, and with the way we picked up our play later in the year to become a very good team," said Phillips.
Tweaks along the way were key to the Wildcats improvement.
"When we finally sorted out how we wanted to play and where we would deploy our players, (we) all saw this team turn itself into a tough team," began Thunholm, who will welcome back 13 players next fall including eight from his first 11.
"We played well today, and in my opinion we outplayed (them). But we were chasing the game from nearly the very beginning, and that's a very difficult thing to do at this time of the year, and against a quality opponent.
"We lose some very good players, but we'll have a terrific core coming back. I think we'll be back and better next year."
For Barrington, which finished at no. 3 in the final Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 regular-season poll, the next test comes against upstart Mundelein, who has recovered from some midseason woes to become a team to be reckoned with.
Led by first-year manager Sebastian Falinski, who came over from Dundee-Crown where he was the girls team manager, the Mustangs have taken down third-seed Lake Zurich and six-seed Warren to advance into the sectional semifinal round.
"I have a lot of respect for Sebastian, who did a great job while at Dundee-Crown, and (now) at Mundelein,” said Steib. “He has his guys playing at a high level. (We'll) have to come out stronger than we have of late to be able to compete."
Starting lineups
Libertyville (4-3-3)
G: Michael Krukonis
D: Jon Melcher
D: Joey Yurik
D: Alek LaRoi
D: Jack Huber
M: Cole Danner
M: Jake Berlowski
M: Mateo Portillo
F: Andrew Phillips
F: Noah Finnema
F: Michael Kelly
Barrington (4-4-2)
G: Iker Villagomez
D: Michael Vitale
D: Mathew Klujian
D: Kyle Wanca
D: Ryan Chang
M: Kieran Londergan
M: David Gomez
M: Jeremiah Gascho
M: Kyle Horak
F: Jack Peterson
F: Ben Yaney
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Andrew Phillips, jr., MF/F, Libertyville; Kyle Wanca, sr., D, Barrington
Scoring summary
First half
Barrington: Wanca (U/A) 9'
Second half
Barrington: Wanca (U/A) 53'
Libertyville: LaRoi (U/A) 74'
Statistics
Libertyville
On Frame: 6
Off Frame: 9
Fouls: 14
Corners: 3
Offsides: 1
Yellow Cards: 0
Red Cards: 0
Barrington
On Frame: 4
Off Frame: 3
Fouls: 17
Corners: 1
Offsides: 0
Yellow Cards: 2
Red Cards: 1