Glenbard North in good hands
with Veremis against Lake Park
Panthers keeper makes 12 saves in 3-0 home win
By Bill McLean
CAROL STREAM — Glenbard North sophomore midfielder Jorge Roman no longer needs a cumbersome cast to protect the broken right pinky he suffered earlier this season.
But the Panther and his mates celebrated someone else’s healthy digits Tuesday, when Glenbard North hosted Lake Park at Weber Field in a DuKane Conference matchup on an oh-so-pleasant 66-degree night.
All 10 fingers belonged to reliable Glenbard North junior goalkeeper Stavros Veremis, who used them — and other body parts — to amass 12 saves in the Panthers’ 3-0 win.
“Amazing goalkeeper,” Roman said.
The blanking upped Veremis’ shutout total to six, which happened to match Glenbard North’s victory total through 14 matches (6-5-3, 1-1-2, in the DuKane). The keeper made five stops in the first seven minutes Tuesday night, as a determined, sharp-passing Lake Park side dominated possession until Glenbard North senior forward Carlos Villagrana redirected junior defender Diego Chicas’ back-post corner from three yards in the 13th minute.
The hosts struck for two more goals in the first half.
“I thought we outplayed and outhustled them in the first 20 minutes and then played solid soccer again in the final 20 minutes,” said Lake Park coach Sean Crosby, whose 2021 spring edition went 1-0-1 versus Glenbard North. “We weren’t organized enough to stop those first two goals.
"Glenbard North’s counterattack showed up after our strong start. That’s a well-coached team; their coach Spero [Mandakas] certainly knows what he’s doing, runs a tremendous program and his players are very good in transition.
“You never want to be disorganized, at any point in a game, against a team like that,” he added. “It’s too good of a team.”
The cast-less Roman scored the second goal of the game and his second goal of the season in the 26th minute. He stole the ball deep in Lake Park real estate and executed three — maybe four — dazzling moves before striking a 15-yard goal past Lancers junior keeper Andrew Swacha (six saves).
“Went with some sauce,” a smiling Roman said of the entertaining maneuvers.
Roman came out for a sub late in the first half and immediately got enveloped by a throng of impressed and giddy and high-fiving teammates near the Panthers’ bench.
His older brother, junior midfielder Luis Roman, fielded a lengthy service from sophomore midfielder Christian Escobedo following a deflection in the box and buried the final goal with only 52 ticks left in the first half.
Neither Roman started Tuesday night.
“We played well as a team,” Jorge Roman said after the Panthers’ first DuKane Conference triumph in four games.
“It was,” Veremis added, “our best performance of the season.”
Lake Park (4-8-3, 1-2-1) received marvelous efforts from senior midfielder and tri-captain Frankie Caira and junior back Oscar Sagan. Caira’s motor, once again, was stuck in full-go mode for 80 minutes. When he wasn’t taking shots on goal, he was creating chances for his mates. About a minute after nearly scoring a goal following consecutive passes from junior defender Shane Donnelly and junior forward Nick Gironda in the 76th minute, Caira orchestrated another dangerous moment via a pass to Donnelly in the box.
“The last 25 minutes tonight — that was us,” Caira said. “That was the level of play we’re capable of playing, and it’s the level we have to play at for all 80.
“There was a lot on the line tonight,” he added. “There always is in a conference game.”
Sagan?
His booming kicks dwarfed most NFL punts and came close to resembling Halley’s Comet’s path (the next view will appear in the night sky in 2062, when Sagan turns 58). And Sagan’s defense on the speedy Jorge Roman in the 58th minute exuded toughness and resilience.
Early in the first half nobody on the pitch passed the ball better than the Lake Park trio of sophomore midfielder Anthony Juarez, senior Jason Salwach and senior tri-captain Raim Ramani did. Each either initiated a pretty give-and-go sequence or provided the lead pass in the middle of the slick connection.
Glenbard North took the offensive spotlight in the middle 40 minutes of the match. Luis Roman’s ventures near Lake Park backs were part explosive, part piercing. Junior forward Pablo DeLaCruz hustled before lofting a threatening cross five minutes before the break.
Three first half goals and Veremis’ stellar work in front of the nets spelled I-N-S-U-R-M-O-U-N-T-A-B-L-E for the visitors.
“We’d been struggling to score goals in the first half,” Mandakas said. “Getting three goals tonight … good to see. We settled after the first 12 minutes, took advantage of some quick counters.”
Lake Park hosts Batavia (5-7-0, 2-2-0) in another DuKane Conference action Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Batavia, which beat Glenbard North 3-0 on Sept. 21, is 1-5 in its last six contests. Lake Park edged Batavia 3-2 and 1-0 in their 2021 spring meetings on March 11 and April 1, respectively.
Glenbard North, 3-1-1 in its last five matches, heads to Burlington, Iowa, this weekend to compete in the Great River Classic. The Panthers face Normal in an opener Friday at 4:45 p.m., and battle in two more games on Saturday.
It’ll mark Glenbard North’s first out-of-state trip under Spero. The bracket also includes Evanston (ranked no. 4 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25) and Wheaton Academy.
“We’re looking forward to playing very good teams and bonding as a team,” Mandakas said.
Footnotes
Veremis doesn’t just record shutouts for Glenbard North; he notched a late, game-tying goal in the Panthers’ 1-1 tie with Wheaton North’s Falcons on Sept. 23. Veremis has played all but two minutes in goal this fall. … Glenbard North senior defender Ren Santillan absorbed a point-blank Lake Park shot to his face in the 71st minute Tuesday night. The loud smack drew gasps from some spectators and bench players. But Santillan’s reaction was stone-faced. Seconds later, as he continued to focus on defending just north of the box, he touched his face briefly, perhaps making sure it was still all there.
Starting lineups
Lake Park
GK Andrew Swacha
D Oscar Sagan
D Shane Donnelly
D Erdet Agaj
D Eric Reyes
D Aidan Killmer
MF Frankie Caira
MF Anthony Juarez
MF Edgar Villagran
MF Jason Salwach
F Raim Ramani
Glenbard North
GK Stavros Veremis
D Steve Gospodinov
D Ren Santillan
D Diego Chicas
D Lucas Tran
D Christopher Arroyo
MF Christian Escobedo
MF Colin Hernandez
F Pablo DeLaCruz
F Azael Nino Velazquez
F Carlos Villagrana
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Stavros Veremis, jr., GK, Glenbard North
Scoring summary
First half
Glenbard North — Villagrana (Chicas), 13’
Glenbard North — Jorge Roman (UA), 26’
Glenbard North — Luis Roman (Escobedo), 40’
Second half
No scoring
with Veremis against Lake Park
Panthers keeper makes 12 saves in 3-0 home win
By Bill McLean
CAROL STREAM — Glenbard North sophomore midfielder Jorge Roman no longer needs a cumbersome cast to protect the broken right pinky he suffered earlier this season.
But the Panther and his mates celebrated someone else’s healthy digits Tuesday, when Glenbard North hosted Lake Park at Weber Field in a DuKane Conference matchup on an oh-so-pleasant 66-degree night.
All 10 fingers belonged to reliable Glenbard North junior goalkeeper Stavros Veremis, who used them — and other body parts — to amass 12 saves in the Panthers’ 3-0 win.
“Amazing goalkeeper,” Roman said.
The blanking upped Veremis’ shutout total to six, which happened to match Glenbard North’s victory total through 14 matches (6-5-3, 1-1-2, in the DuKane). The keeper made five stops in the first seven minutes Tuesday night, as a determined, sharp-passing Lake Park side dominated possession until Glenbard North senior forward Carlos Villagrana redirected junior defender Diego Chicas’ back-post corner from three yards in the 13th minute.
The hosts struck for two more goals in the first half.
“I thought we outplayed and outhustled them in the first 20 minutes and then played solid soccer again in the final 20 minutes,” said Lake Park coach Sean Crosby, whose 2021 spring edition went 1-0-1 versus Glenbard North. “We weren’t organized enough to stop those first two goals.
"Glenbard North’s counterattack showed up after our strong start. That’s a well-coached team; their coach Spero [Mandakas] certainly knows what he’s doing, runs a tremendous program and his players are very good in transition.
“You never want to be disorganized, at any point in a game, against a team like that,” he added. “It’s too good of a team.”
The cast-less Roman scored the second goal of the game and his second goal of the season in the 26th minute. He stole the ball deep in Lake Park real estate and executed three — maybe four — dazzling moves before striking a 15-yard goal past Lancers junior keeper Andrew Swacha (six saves).
“Went with some sauce,” a smiling Roman said of the entertaining maneuvers.
Roman came out for a sub late in the first half and immediately got enveloped by a throng of impressed and giddy and high-fiving teammates near the Panthers’ bench.
His older brother, junior midfielder Luis Roman, fielded a lengthy service from sophomore midfielder Christian Escobedo following a deflection in the box and buried the final goal with only 52 ticks left in the first half.
Neither Roman started Tuesday night.
“We played well as a team,” Jorge Roman said after the Panthers’ first DuKane Conference triumph in four games.
“It was,” Veremis added, “our best performance of the season.”
Lake Park (4-8-3, 1-2-1) received marvelous efforts from senior midfielder and tri-captain Frankie Caira and junior back Oscar Sagan. Caira’s motor, once again, was stuck in full-go mode for 80 minutes. When he wasn’t taking shots on goal, he was creating chances for his mates. About a minute after nearly scoring a goal following consecutive passes from junior defender Shane Donnelly and junior forward Nick Gironda in the 76th minute, Caira orchestrated another dangerous moment via a pass to Donnelly in the box.
“The last 25 minutes tonight — that was us,” Caira said. “That was the level of play we’re capable of playing, and it’s the level we have to play at for all 80.
“There was a lot on the line tonight,” he added. “There always is in a conference game.”
Sagan?
His booming kicks dwarfed most NFL punts and came close to resembling Halley’s Comet’s path (the next view will appear in the night sky in 2062, when Sagan turns 58). And Sagan’s defense on the speedy Jorge Roman in the 58th minute exuded toughness and resilience.
Early in the first half nobody on the pitch passed the ball better than the Lake Park trio of sophomore midfielder Anthony Juarez, senior Jason Salwach and senior tri-captain Raim Ramani did. Each either initiated a pretty give-and-go sequence or provided the lead pass in the middle of the slick connection.
Glenbard North took the offensive spotlight in the middle 40 minutes of the match. Luis Roman’s ventures near Lake Park backs were part explosive, part piercing. Junior forward Pablo DeLaCruz hustled before lofting a threatening cross five minutes before the break.
Three first half goals and Veremis’ stellar work in front of the nets spelled I-N-S-U-R-M-O-U-N-T-A-B-L-E for the visitors.
“We’d been struggling to score goals in the first half,” Mandakas said. “Getting three goals tonight … good to see. We settled after the first 12 minutes, took advantage of some quick counters.”
Lake Park hosts Batavia (5-7-0, 2-2-0) in another DuKane Conference action Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Batavia, which beat Glenbard North 3-0 on Sept. 21, is 1-5 in its last six contests. Lake Park edged Batavia 3-2 and 1-0 in their 2021 spring meetings on March 11 and April 1, respectively.
Glenbard North, 3-1-1 in its last five matches, heads to Burlington, Iowa, this weekend to compete in the Great River Classic. The Panthers face Normal in an opener Friday at 4:45 p.m., and battle in two more games on Saturday.
It’ll mark Glenbard North’s first out-of-state trip under Spero. The bracket also includes Evanston (ranked no. 4 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25) and Wheaton Academy.
“We’re looking forward to playing very good teams and bonding as a team,” Mandakas said.
Footnotes
Veremis doesn’t just record shutouts for Glenbard North; he notched a late, game-tying goal in the Panthers’ 1-1 tie with Wheaton North’s Falcons on Sept. 23. Veremis has played all but two minutes in goal this fall. … Glenbard North senior defender Ren Santillan absorbed a point-blank Lake Park shot to his face in the 71st minute Tuesday night. The loud smack drew gasps from some spectators and bench players. But Santillan’s reaction was stone-faced. Seconds later, as he continued to focus on defending just north of the box, he touched his face briefly, perhaps making sure it was still all there.
Starting lineups
Lake Park
GK Andrew Swacha
D Oscar Sagan
D Shane Donnelly
D Erdet Agaj
D Eric Reyes
D Aidan Killmer
MF Frankie Caira
MF Anthony Juarez
MF Edgar Villagran
MF Jason Salwach
F Raim Ramani
Glenbard North
GK Stavros Veremis
D Steve Gospodinov
D Ren Santillan
D Diego Chicas
D Lucas Tran
D Christopher Arroyo
MF Christian Escobedo
MF Colin Hernandez
F Pablo DeLaCruz
F Azael Nino Velazquez
F Carlos Villagrana
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Stavros Veremis, jr., GK, Glenbard North
Scoring summary
First half
Glenbard North — Villagrana (Chicas), 13’
Glenbard North — Jorge Roman (UA), 26’
Glenbard North — Luis Roman (Escobedo), 40’
Second half
No scoring