'Mr. Everything' Emena leads
Glenbard North past Lake Park
PKs play key role in deciding outcome in Panthers 2-1 DKC win
By Ken Keenan
CAROL STREAM -- Strong defense provided the backdrop, but a pair of penalty kicks -- one for each side -- grabbed the spotlight in a 2-1 win for host Glenbard North over DuKane Conference rival Lake Park Thursday night.
The Lancers were the beneficiaries of the first PK, awarded with 34:27 remaining in the first half after a foul was called on a Panther in the box. Lake Park senior midfielder Olek Melnyk converted, sending a low, left-footed strike into the left side of the net as Glenbard North junior goalkeeper Martin Argirov dove to the opposite side.
Panthers junior forward Gabriel Jurado then notched the equalizer with a dazzling goal in the 22nd minute. After taking a pass from versatile senior defender Ode Emena -- Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match -- Jurado unleashed a left-footed blast from an extreme angle on the left side that sizzled into the far top corner past leaping Lake Park junior keeper Kyle Czeremuga.
Glenbard North was granted its penalty kick after Lake Park was called for a foul in the box with 23:49 to go in the second session. In similar fashion to Melnyk's successful try, Panthers junior mid Nathaniel Enriquez tallied low-left as Czeremuga went to the right.
"I don't look at the goalie on PKs," Enriquez said. "I just choose a side, and if it goes in, it goes in."
It did, and Glenbard North held on to net its first league win of the season, improving to 7-7-0 overall (1-2-0 DuKane) in the process.
"We played a good 160 minutes the last two conference games, so we're happy to get in the win column," said Panthers head coach Spero Mandakas, referencing his team's 1-0 home loss to Wheaton North on Tuesday. "We had to get that first one off our back. We dropped our first two in DuKane (play), and the boys are excited to get this one."
Mandakas continued: "Both PKs ... it kind of balanced out. All in all, it's a win in the DuKane."
Emena said, "It's an amazing feeling. We put our heads down early (trailing 1-0), but we picked our heads up and fought through it."
Added Enriquez: "The loss on Tuesday made us want to work harder and play our style. This win, at home, maybe we can get more fans and get even more confidence."
One player with plenty of fans is Emena, an unwavering presence on defense, in the midfield and on the attack throughout the match.
In the 37th minute, Emena kick-started a multi-touch possession that resulted in a 25-yard strike by Panthers junior forward Nestor Dominguez which was smothered by Lancers' keeper Czeremuga. Back in his own end merely 30 seconds later, Emena nicely blocked a hard drive by the ever-dangerous Melnyk.
Early in the second half, Emena headed away a 40-yard free kick by Lake Park junior mid Anthony Bartlett. Just over a minute later, Emena cleared a ball out of danger after steady Lancers senior forward Grayden McClellan attacked in-close on the left side.
"He's been a good player for three years," said Lake Park skipper Sean Crosby, whose squad fell to 6-6-2, 1-1-1 with the loss. "He's quick ... really good soccer knowledge. He can sneak around the field ... great defender and great attacker. Hats off to him. He's certainly a player you want on your team."
Mandakas simply called Emena, "Mr. Everything," adding, "Our outside backs can get into the attack, and Ode knows he can ignite that attack. But he's all over the field. He just does what's best for his team on and off the field."
Emena simply said, "I try to make the most out of what we have ... try to take advantage of the space (opponents) give me and make the most out of it."
Enriquez, who was part of several strong, east-west Glenbard North possessions involving Emena, said, "Ode is one of the most athletic players on the field. He can take the ball away on defense and make a difference up-top and in the middle."
On the flip-side, Lake Park didn't exactly run and hide from Emena and Co., collectively rising to the occasion on defense while creating a reasonable number of scoring chances along the way.
Shortly after taking the 1-0 lead, the Lancers had a good opportunity when Melnyk cranked a turnaround shot from 20 yards just high, and the shifty McClellan also missed high on a running chip shot with 32:50 to in the first half.
Lake Park senior defender Konrad Sagan missed wide-left with a 30-yard attempt in the 18th minute; Melnyk sent a quick rocket wide-left in the 21st minute; and McClellan barely missed when he cut in from the right side in the 23rd minute and booted a low shot that trickled just outside of the far post.
"We probably should have capitalized more," Crosby said. "In the first half, the first 10 to 20 minutes, we had chances. Glenbard North, they're a good team. But we needed to do more on the attack. The second half, it was tight both ways. They had speed and physicality, and we worked hard to get the ball. But overall, not our best soccer on the attack."
Added McClellan: "I feel like something was missing ... a touch off a little tonight. If those touches turn into shots, maybe we get one in."
Crosby had no such qualms with his team's defensive performance. Though the Panthers had more possession time, most of it was of the east-west variety.
"Their switching the field doesn't affect us too dangerously," Crosby said. "It's not a dangerous movement. Dangerous is in the middle, and nothing came through the backline. The defense was a huge positive for us tonight."
The Lancers' skipper name-checked sophomore mids Edgar Villagran and Francesco Caira, junior defenders Logan Pobloske and Max Panek and Anthony Magner, and Sagan as key contributors in helping to hold down the Panthers.
After converting on the PK, Glenbard North had a few looks the rest of the way, including a header by Erik Hernandez Flores that Czeremuga stopped in the 62nd minute, a 25-yard riser by Dominguez that sailed high with 3:10 remaining, and a wide-angle shot by junior mid Raul Pasillas that Czeremuga easily snared with 2 minutes left.
"We took the lead the lead early but the second half ... if they didn't get the PK, we could've pushed for the win, for sure," Melnyk said.
Added McClellan: "That PK call? It hurts. But at the end of the day, you gotta bounce back."
Starting lineups
Lake Park
G: Kyle Czeremuga
D: Max Panek
D: Konrad Sagan
D: Logan Pobloske
D: Anthony Magner
M: Francesco Caira
M: Olek Melnyk
M: Edgar Villagran
M: Riccardo Ciaccio
F: Grayden McClellan
F: Max Armas
Glenbard North
G: Martin Argirov
D: Ode Emena
D: Christopher Arroyo
D: Ren Santillan
D: Ramon Acosta
M: Raul Pasillas
M: Emmanuel Castonon
M: Erik Hernandez Flores
M: Nathaniel Enriquez
F: Nestor Dominguez
F: Gabriel Jurado
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ode Emena, sr., M, Glenbard North
Officials: Guy Ross, Alex Bargamian, John Guild
Scoring summary
First half
Lake Park: Olek Melnyk (PK) in 6th minute
Glenbard North: Gabriel Jurado (assisted by Ode Emena) in 22nd minute
Second half
Glenbard North: Nathaniel Enriquez (PK) in 47th minute
Glenbard North past Lake Park
PKs play key role in deciding outcome in Panthers 2-1 DKC win
By Ken Keenan
CAROL STREAM -- Strong defense provided the backdrop, but a pair of penalty kicks -- one for each side -- grabbed the spotlight in a 2-1 win for host Glenbard North over DuKane Conference rival Lake Park Thursday night.
The Lancers were the beneficiaries of the first PK, awarded with 34:27 remaining in the first half after a foul was called on a Panther in the box. Lake Park senior midfielder Olek Melnyk converted, sending a low, left-footed strike into the left side of the net as Glenbard North junior goalkeeper Martin Argirov dove to the opposite side.
Panthers junior forward Gabriel Jurado then notched the equalizer with a dazzling goal in the 22nd minute. After taking a pass from versatile senior defender Ode Emena -- Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match -- Jurado unleashed a left-footed blast from an extreme angle on the left side that sizzled into the far top corner past leaping Lake Park junior keeper Kyle Czeremuga.
Glenbard North was granted its penalty kick after Lake Park was called for a foul in the box with 23:49 to go in the second session. In similar fashion to Melnyk's successful try, Panthers junior mid Nathaniel Enriquez tallied low-left as Czeremuga went to the right.
"I don't look at the goalie on PKs," Enriquez said. "I just choose a side, and if it goes in, it goes in."
It did, and Glenbard North held on to net its first league win of the season, improving to 7-7-0 overall (1-2-0 DuKane) in the process.
"We played a good 160 minutes the last two conference games, so we're happy to get in the win column," said Panthers head coach Spero Mandakas, referencing his team's 1-0 home loss to Wheaton North on Tuesday. "We had to get that first one off our back. We dropped our first two in DuKane (play), and the boys are excited to get this one."
Mandakas continued: "Both PKs ... it kind of balanced out. All in all, it's a win in the DuKane."
Emena said, "It's an amazing feeling. We put our heads down early (trailing 1-0), but we picked our heads up and fought through it."
Added Enriquez: "The loss on Tuesday made us want to work harder and play our style. This win, at home, maybe we can get more fans and get even more confidence."
One player with plenty of fans is Emena, an unwavering presence on defense, in the midfield and on the attack throughout the match.
In the 37th minute, Emena kick-started a multi-touch possession that resulted in a 25-yard strike by Panthers junior forward Nestor Dominguez which was smothered by Lancers' keeper Czeremuga. Back in his own end merely 30 seconds later, Emena nicely blocked a hard drive by the ever-dangerous Melnyk.
Early in the second half, Emena headed away a 40-yard free kick by Lake Park junior mid Anthony Bartlett. Just over a minute later, Emena cleared a ball out of danger after steady Lancers senior forward Grayden McClellan attacked in-close on the left side.
"He's been a good player for three years," said Lake Park skipper Sean Crosby, whose squad fell to 6-6-2, 1-1-1 with the loss. "He's quick ... really good soccer knowledge. He can sneak around the field ... great defender and great attacker. Hats off to him. He's certainly a player you want on your team."
Mandakas simply called Emena, "Mr. Everything," adding, "Our outside backs can get into the attack, and Ode knows he can ignite that attack. But he's all over the field. He just does what's best for his team on and off the field."
Emena simply said, "I try to make the most out of what we have ... try to take advantage of the space (opponents) give me and make the most out of it."
Enriquez, who was part of several strong, east-west Glenbard North possessions involving Emena, said, "Ode is one of the most athletic players on the field. He can take the ball away on defense and make a difference up-top and in the middle."
On the flip-side, Lake Park didn't exactly run and hide from Emena and Co., collectively rising to the occasion on defense while creating a reasonable number of scoring chances along the way.
Shortly after taking the 1-0 lead, the Lancers had a good opportunity when Melnyk cranked a turnaround shot from 20 yards just high, and the shifty McClellan also missed high on a running chip shot with 32:50 to in the first half.
Lake Park senior defender Konrad Sagan missed wide-left with a 30-yard attempt in the 18th minute; Melnyk sent a quick rocket wide-left in the 21st minute; and McClellan barely missed when he cut in from the right side in the 23rd minute and booted a low shot that trickled just outside of the far post.
"We probably should have capitalized more," Crosby said. "In the first half, the first 10 to 20 minutes, we had chances. Glenbard North, they're a good team. But we needed to do more on the attack. The second half, it was tight both ways. They had speed and physicality, and we worked hard to get the ball. But overall, not our best soccer on the attack."
Added McClellan: "I feel like something was missing ... a touch off a little tonight. If those touches turn into shots, maybe we get one in."
Crosby had no such qualms with his team's defensive performance. Though the Panthers had more possession time, most of it was of the east-west variety.
"Their switching the field doesn't affect us too dangerously," Crosby said. "It's not a dangerous movement. Dangerous is in the middle, and nothing came through the backline. The defense was a huge positive for us tonight."
The Lancers' skipper name-checked sophomore mids Edgar Villagran and Francesco Caira, junior defenders Logan Pobloske and Max Panek and Anthony Magner, and Sagan as key contributors in helping to hold down the Panthers.
After converting on the PK, Glenbard North had a few looks the rest of the way, including a header by Erik Hernandez Flores that Czeremuga stopped in the 62nd minute, a 25-yard riser by Dominguez that sailed high with 3:10 remaining, and a wide-angle shot by junior mid Raul Pasillas that Czeremuga easily snared with 2 minutes left.
"We took the lead the lead early but the second half ... if they didn't get the PK, we could've pushed for the win, for sure," Melnyk said.
Added McClellan: "That PK call? It hurts. But at the end of the day, you gotta bounce back."
Starting lineups
Lake Park
G: Kyle Czeremuga
D: Max Panek
D: Konrad Sagan
D: Logan Pobloske
D: Anthony Magner
M: Francesco Caira
M: Olek Melnyk
M: Edgar Villagran
M: Riccardo Ciaccio
F: Grayden McClellan
F: Max Armas
Glenbard North
G: Martin Argirov
D: Ode Emena
D: Christopher Arroyo
D: Ren Santillan
D: Ramon Acosta
M: Raul Pasillas
M: Emmanuel Castonon
M: Erik Hernandez Flores
M: Nathaniel Enriquez
F: Nestor Dominguez
F: Gabriel Jurado
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ode Emena, sr., M, Glenbard North
Officials: Guy Ross, Alex Bargamian, John Guild
Scoring summary
First half
Lake Park: Olek Melnyk (PK) in 6th minute
Glenbard North: Gabriel Jurado (assisted by Ode Emena) in 22nd minute
Second half
Glenbard North: Nathaniel Enriquez (PK) in 47th minute