Wheaton N., Lake Park still in hunt after tie
Offenses shutdown in DuKane clash, shot at title remains
By Chris Walker
WHEATON – A couple of weeks from now teams will take the field for playoff games and one squad has to be the winner and the other has to be the loser.
But during the DuKane Conference season there doesn’t have to be a winner. In fact, teams aren’t even afforded additional time to score a game-winning goal in an overtime or two, or win via a shootout. Those are the rules in the new conference. If the teams are tied after regulation then the game is over. That’s it. They tie.
Wheaton North and Lake Park tied 0-0 Thursday.
The Lancers are ranked no. 11 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25; the Falcons are listed among the honorable mention teams.
It was a huge game as far as the conference race was concerned so it probably makes perfect sense that neither would gain any ground on each other.
Neither coach knew right afterward either that they received some huge help from Wheaton Warrenville South, a team that had been winless in conference before this week. The Tigers upset no. 20 St. Charles East 2-0.
That put the Falcons (4-1-1 DKC) in first place with 13 points. The Lancers are 3-1-1 for sit in third with 10 points and a game in hand. St. Charles East dropped to 4-2-0.
“What I like about this conference so far is anyone can win on any given day, and the results have shown it,” Wheaton North coach Rob Stassen said. “Some teams might seem to be having a bad game, and then they’re creeping up on your back. So it makes the conference exciting. Everyone is playing to win it and not just playing for second place.”
On Tuesday, the Falcons lost 3-1 to St. Charles East.
“Unfortunately we fell off the conference train against a great St. Charles East team, but they accepted the challenge and came out today and played their game,” Stassen said. “Ideally we wanted to get the win, but (Lake Park coach) Sean's (Crosby) boys are an unbelievable team over there. Our motto is “Day by day and there’s always tomorrow,” and we had a hiccup on Tuesday. It happens, but we came back today and hopefully tomorrow is tomorrow.”
While it goes without saying that a lot of men dislike wearing ties, special occasions often require one. So they grit their teeth and follow protocol. When it comes to ties in soccer, it leaves many uttering an exclamation of their choice.
On the one hand, you can’t be disappointed with a strong enough performance that thankfully doesn’t result in a loss because of one miscue or one bad bounce or slip-up on the turf. But on that other hand, you’re scratching your head because you believe you did plenty of good things and didn't earn a victory.
One could argue that both teams did enough things to win but neither deserved to lose either, so a tie is an agreeable meeting point. If it were the playoffs, there would’ve been tears and sadness. As for now, it’s simply a hard-earned point that kept both teams alive in the conference race.
“We want to score, but the way we played is what’s most important for us at this time of the year,” Crosby said. “It would’ve been great to get the win, because we had so many chances. But Wheaton North is a very good team. They are composed and have a strong backline and their keeper played great, making some point-blank saves on us.”
Crosby considered it a victory in itself that the Lancers played so well. They came out of the gate strongly this fall but recently haven’t been nearly as dominant. Some of that strength returned Thursday, and Crosby was ecstatic to see it back on display.
“We had a little bit of a bobble the last two weeks or so,” Crosby said. “We’re trying to finish strong and get prepared for the postseason. We’ve played a lot of matches, and I thought we were closer to the form we started the season with, and we had a great start to the season.
“Today it felt like it was the start of the season again. The focus was there; and we were able to get numbers and subs in, and there wasn’t a change in the attack which was great.”
A week ago the Lancers may have lost this game.
“The mental piece of playing 80 minutes is huge because just one play can change the game,” Crosby said. “When things don’t go our way we’ve got to keep our composure. In the past two weeks when things weren’t going our way we’d get so frustrated that we were scoreless that we’d do something silly or have mental errors or get on each other, and it could lead to a goal-scoring chance. That didn’t happen because we were focused, we were plugged in in our play and not worrying about our opponent but just playing, and that’s another thing I’m proud of. We were mentally strong even when things didn’t go our way.”
Despite being scoreless, the action was anything but boring. Possessions were earned and the ball was swarmed, providing very little room and time for teams to do much. When they did threaten, finishes just didn’t happen.
Erik Rozanski, Ethan Shikany, Jack Morrissey, Lael Mondragon, Jack Mancuso and Jack Tegart each created some of the better offensive threats for the Falcons.
“It’s always disappointing to lose, but so is tying,” Falcons midfielder Erik Rozanski said. “But at this point of the season we’ll take it. We’re still looking forward to close out the season strong, and we’ll see to that and hopefully get a win our next one.”
Jesus Juarez, Matteo Costa and Franco Presto proved to be most dangerous pieces for the Lancers.
“They have such quick triggers,” Crosby said. “They don’t even look like they’re releasing, and they’re line drives with a lot of pace.”
Wheaton North goalkeeper Ray Min, who was named Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, stopped a missile off the right foot of Juarez with 13:42 left in the first half.
He denied another from Costa with 8:51 remaining in the game.
One could attribute his strong stops to his lucky hat, which he had in his hand during a post-game interview, but the hat had nothing to do with it. It was all skill.
“It just hyped me up and made me play better,” Min said. “I think our defense did an amazing job. They do every game. Our midfield were dropping back and stopping the space, so they couldn’t get any good shots.”
Crosby isn’t whispering in the ear of Juarez these days, he’s flat out telling him to take his shots when the opportunities are there.
“I keep encouraging Jesus to keep shooting,” Crosby said. “He’ll hit three in a game and hit the post on everyone of them or their keeper will make a great save. So you’ve got to have a short memory. He’s so dangerous, and he’s playing with strength and confidence.”
One of the better scoring opportunities for the Falcons came with 23:45 left in the game when Will Wanzenberg was able to get a foot ahead of the Lake Park backline, but Victor Pawlik was able to sneak in front of him, getting his body on the shot and deflecting it away.
“We’ve played some tough opponents lately, and that was the first time we’ve had a shutout in awhile,” Crosby said. “And we had to keep three guys at bay with high forwards and still had to be careful on the counterattack.
When the teams met in the Hillner Classic, the Lancers won 2-0 and controlled things from start to finish. But that was on grass and in August. This was on turf, and the teams have had plenty of practices and games to fine tune their play.
“It was night and day,” Stassen said. “And it was not only for us. The last time we played them it was our third game in three days in 110 degree heat, and we were playing on grass. We’re not a grass team. We like speed, we like to open up the field, and we like to spread the ball. It’s a gorgeous field, but we weren’t used to it. I don’t want to make that excuse, but they outplayed us last time.”
And it should go without saying, regardless of how good a team is on paper, they still have to play the game and each day is different. Especially when teenage kids are involved. Their lives may evolve around playing soccer but there are definitely lots of other things going on off the field.
“The hard thing with kids is they look at sectional seeds to see where they stand in conference and with high school boys it all depends on who shows up that day,” Stassen said. “We had that in the DVC with a group that would show-up everyday and now we gave a conference where anyone can win depending on who shows up.
“We’ve got a nice bunch of young coaches with young programs and we’re all in it together. Today I sat with Sean (Crosby) for 45 minutes before the game. When would you do that with an opposing coach? That’s how much we’re enjoying it.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
GK: Ray Min
D:Jack Mancuso
D:Kyle Schauer
D:Jack Tegart
D:Sunday Moo
MF: Ajay Patel
MF: Ethan Shikany
MF: Erik Rozanski
F:Alex Beausoleil
F:Joseph Gaither
F:Jack Morrissey
Lake Park
GK: Christian Lekki
D:Max Ellenbecker
D:Anthony Magner
D:Victor Pawlik
D:Thomas Zakic
MF: Matteo Costa
MF: Paul Grzybowicz
MF: Jesus Juarez
MF: Gabriel Mendrano
MF: Franco Presta
F:Gray McClellan
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ray Min, jr., GK, Wheaton North
Scoring Summary
First half
None
Second half
None
Offenses shutdown in DuKane clash, shot at title remains
By Chris Walker
WHEATON – A couple of weeks from now teams will take the field for playoff games and one squad has to be the winner and the other has to be the loser.
But during the DuKane Conference season there doesn’t have to be a winner. In fact, teams aren’t even afforded additional time to score a game-winning goal in an overtime or two, or win via a shootout. Those are the rules in the new conference. If the teams are tied after regulation then the game is over. That’s it. They tie.
Wheaton North and Lake Park tied 0-0 Thursday.
The Lancers are ranked no. 11 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25; the Falcons are listed among the honorable mention teams.
It was a huge game as far as the conference race was concerned so it probably makes perfect sense that neither would gain any ground on each other.
Neither coach knew right afterward either that they received some huge help from Wheaton Warrenville South, a team that had been winless in conference before this week. The Tigers upset no. 20 St. Charles East 2-0.
That put the Falcons (4-1-1 DKC) in first place with 13 points. The Lancers are 3-1-1 for sit in third with 10 points and a game in hand. St. Charles East dropped to 4-2-0.
“What I like about this conference so far is anyone can win on any given day, and the results have shown it,” Wheaton North coach Rob Stassen said. “Some teams might seem to be having a bad game, and then they’re creeping up on your back. So it makes the conference exciting. Everyone is playing to win it and not just playing for second place.”
On Tuesday, the Falcons lost 3-1 to St. Charles East.
“Unfortunately we fell off the conference train against a great St. Charles East team, but they accepted the challenge and came out today and played their game,” Stassen said. “Ideally we wanted to get the win, but (Lake Park coach) Sean's (Crosby) boys are an unbelievable team over there. Our motto is “Day by day and there’s always tomorrow,” and we had a hiccup on Tuesday. It happens, but we came back today and hopefully tomorrow is tomorrow.”
While it goes without saying that a lot of men dislike wearing ties, special occasions often require one. So they grit their teeth and follow protocol. When it comes to ties in soccer, it leaves many uttering an exclamation of their choice.
On the one hand, you can’t be disappointed with a strong enough performance that thankfully doesn’t result in a loss because of one miscue or one bad bounce or slip-up on the turf. But on that other hand, you’re scratching your head because you believe you did plenty of good things and didn't earn a victory.
One could argue that both teams did enough things to win but neither deserved to lose either, so a tie is an agreeable meeting point. If it were the playoffs, there would’ve been tears and sadness. As for now, it’s simply a hard-earned point that kept both teams alive in the conference race.
“We want to score, but the way we played is what’s most important for us at this time of the year,” Crosby said. “It would’ve been great to get the win, because we had so many chances. But Wheaton North is a very good team. They are composed and have a strong backline and their keeper played great, making some point-blank saves on us.”
Crosby considered it a victory in itself that the Lancers played so well. They came out of the gate strongly this fall but recently haven’t been nearly as dominant. Some of that strength returned Thursday, and Crosby was ecstatic to see it back on display.
“We had a little bit of a bobble the last two weeks or so,” Crosby said. “We’re trying to finish strong and get prepared for the postseason. We’ve played a lot of matches, and I thought we were closer to the form we started the season with, and we had a great start to the season.
“Today it felt like it was the start of the season again. The focus was there; and we were able to get numbers and subs in, and there wasn’t a change in the attack which was great.”
A week ago the Lancers may have lost this game.
“The mental piece of playing 80 minutes is huge because just one play can change the game,” Crosby said. “When things don’t go our way we’ve got to keep our composure. In the past two weeks when things weren’t going our way we’d get so frustrated that we were scoreless that we’d do something silly or have mental errors or get on each other, and it could lead to a goal-scoring chance. That didn’t happen because we were focused, we were plugged in in our play and not worrying about our opponent but just playing, and that’s another thing I’m proud of. We were mentally strong even when things didn’t go our way.”
Despite being scoreless, the action was anything but boring. Possessions were earned and the ball was swarmed, providing very little room and time for teams to do much. When they did threaten, finishes just didn’t happen.
Erik Rozanski, Ethan Shikany, Jack Morrissey, Lael Mondragon, Jack Mancuso and Jack Tegart each created some of the better offensive threats for the Falcons.
“It’s always disappointing to lose, but so is tying,” Falcons midfielder Erik Rozanski said. “But at this point of the season we’ll take it. We’re still looking forward to close out the season strong, and we’ll see to that and hopefully get a win our next one.”
Jesus Juarez, Matteo Costa and Franco Presto proved to be most dangerous pieces for the Lancers.
“They have such quick triggers,” Crosby said. “They don’t even look like they’re releasing, and they’re line drives with a lot of pace.”
Wheaton North goalkeeper Ray Min, who was named Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, stopped a missile off the right foot of Juarez with 13:42 left in the first half.
He denied another from Costa with 8:51 remaining in the game.
One could attribute his strong stops to his lucky hat, which he had in his hand during a post-game interview, but the hat had nothing to do with it. It was all skill.
“It just hyped me up and made me play better,” Min said. “I think our defense did an amazing job. They do every game. Our midfield were dropping back and stopping the space, so they couldn’t get any good shots.”
Crosby isn’t whispering in the ear of Juarez these days, he’s flat out telling him to take his shots when the opportunities are there.
“I keep encouraging Jesus to keep shooting,” Crosby said. “He’ll hit three in a game and hit the post on everyone of them or their keeper will make a great save. So you’ve got to have a short memory. He’s so dangerous, and he’s playing with strength and confidence.”
One of the better scoring opportunities for the Falcons came with 23:45 left in the game when Will Wanzenberg was able to get a foot ahead of the Lake Park backline, but Victor Pawlik was able to sneak in front of him, getting his body on the shot and deflecting it away.
“We’ve played some tough opponents lately, and that was the first time we’ve had a shutout in awhile,” Crosby said. “And we had to keep three guys at bay with high forwards and still had to be careful on the counterattack.
When the teams met in the Hillner Classic, the Lancers won 2-0 and controlled things from start to finish. But that was on grass and in August. This was on turf, and the teams have had plenty of practices and games to fine tune their play.
“It was night and day,” Stassen said. “And it was not only for us. The last time we played them it was our third game in three days in 110 degree heat, and we were playing on grass. We’re not a grass team. We like speed, we like to open up the field, and we like to spread the ball. It’s a gorgeous field, but we weren’t used to it. I don’t want to make that excuse, but they outplayed us last time.”
And it should go without saying, regardless of how good a team is on paper, they still have to play the game and each day is different. Especially when teenage kids are involved. Their lives may evolve around playing soccer but there are definitely lots of other things going on off the field.
“The hard thing with kids is they look at sectional seeds to see where they stand in conference and with high school boys it all depends on who shows up that day,” Stassen said. “We had that in the DVC with a group that would show-up everyday and now we gave a conference where anyone can win depending on who shows up.
“We’ve got a nice bunch of young coaches with young programs and we’re all in it together. Today I sat with Sean (Crosby) for 45 minutes before the game. When would you do that with an opposing coach? That’s how much we’re enjoying it.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton North
GK: Ray Min
D:Jack Mancuso
D:Kyle Schauer
D:Jack Tegart
D:Sunday Moo
MF: Ajay Patel
MF: Ethan Shikany
MF: Erik Rozanski
F:Alex Beausoleil
F:Joseph Gaither
F:Jack Morrissey
Lake Park
GK: Christian Lekki
D:Max Ellenbecker
D:Anthony Magner
D:Victor Pawlik
D:Thomas Zakic
MF: Matteo Costa
MF: Paul Grzybowicz
MF: Jesus Juarez
MF: Gabriel Mendrano
MF: Franco Presta
F:Gray McClellan
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ray Min, jr., GK, Wheaton North
Scoring Summary
First half
None
Second half
None