No place like Homecoming for Loyola
Ramblers post 5-0 win over substitute foe Mansueto
By Bill McLean
GLENVIEW — Adrian Calleros did not play a minute in Loyola’s Homecoming match against Mansueto on Saturday morning. That is appropriate because the Solorio boys soccer coach's high school eligibility has long been expired.
But the Sun Warriors coach still deserves to be credited with an assist for what he did to ensure the Ramblers had a game to play on their big day.
“Solorio, our original opponent today, had to play in a Public School League playoff,” Loyola coach Baer Fisher explained Saturday at the school’s Munz Athetic Campus. “Washington was our original backup opponent, but could not play us either because of the playoffs in the city.
“[Calleros] connected me to Mansueto’s coach, and here we are, getting ready to play.”
Mansueto’s Leopards traveled to Glenview without their head coach, Victoria Dunn, who had committed to proctoring an SAT exam Saturday morning. Mansueto JV boys soccer coach Adrian Gonzalez filled in for her.
For Loyola on a brisk, windy day, there was no substitute for pinpoint, rapid ball movement, particularly in the early going. The Ramblers struck for four goals, from four booters in the first 15 minutes, en route to a 5-0 victory.
“Good effort,” Fisher said after noting his club (10-4-2) was coming off a tough setback on PKs to Brother Rice on Oct. 3. “Everybody got to play a lot today. It’s what you want when you play a Homecoming game.”
Ramblers junior defender/midfielder Oscar Blazer started the first half surge thanks to a dandy corner kick from junior defender Mario Hrvojevic in the sixth minute. A snappy four minutes later, Loyola sophomore defender Ryan Leider stunned the Leopards’ defense with a high, hard tally from about 35 yards.
Hrvojevic upped the advantage to 3-0, and junior co-captain Tommy Zipprich, a midfielder/forward, capped the scoring in the first half off a sharp feed from senior midfielder/defender Andrew Hoepfner, the squad’s other co-captain.
Hoepfner raced around the pitch with a wrist-to-elbow cast protecting the fractured left wrist he’d incurred in a 1-0 win over Marmion on Sept. 19. It didn’t appear to bother him in the least.
Mansueto (11-5-2) went against the wind in the first half and generated its best scoring opportunity in the 23rd minute. Leopards sophomore forward Saul Limon delivered a pass to wide-open junior forward Osmar Damian, who collected the offering, dribble-sprinted near the Ramblers’ backline and found daylight for a shot. The attempt flew high and to the right.
Mansueto goalkeeper Alejandro Rivera suffered an injury in the 18th minute and was replaced by sophomore Rudy Flores, a junior varsity player from Day One this fall. Flores came up big with brave saves off several point-blank shots in his varsity debut. He exited the game with a pristine sheet after sustaining an injury in the 67th minute.
“What he did today, how he played will help his confidence,” Gonzalez said.
Loyola senior forward Austin Agyemang administered constant heat on Flores and his defenders, blending textbook crosses and creating scoring chance after scoring chance with his speed and savvy dribbling skills. The St. Mary of the Lake Catholic School product nearly notched a goal on a header in the 23rd minute and again alone against the keeper in the 51st minute.
Agyemang’s attempt to chip a shot over a daring Flores was too strong.
Perhaps Agyemang’s best chance to add to Loyola’s lead came nearly 11 minutes later, but Flores stopped the blistering, point-blank shot five yards in front of the goal.
“Austin created a lot of chances for himself today,” Hoepfner said. “Just a little off today.”
Loyola produced its fifth goal — the most goals the Rambles netted since an 8-0 defeat of De La Salle on Sept. 10 — in the 72nd minute when junior midfielder Colin Redmond (goal) and Dylan Gripman connected five minutes after Flores had to get his injury checked out on the sideline.
“I try to stay calm,” Flores, a goalkeeper since he started playing the sport, said after the post-match handshakes. “Communication is important, probably the most important part of goalkeeping.
“I talk a lot out there.”
So does Loyola sophomore keeper Alex Ainsworth, who helped his side claim its sixth shutout of the autumn and first since Sept. 19.
The Ramblers hos Mount Carmel — ranked no. 23 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 — at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in a Chicago Catholic League Blue Division match; Mansueto entertains Muchin College Prep at 5:30 p.m. Monday.
Footnotes
Former Loyola forward David Gripman (Class of ’19), a native of Morton Grove, is a member of the DePaul University men’s soccer team. … The Ramblers slipped to 1-2-1 in the Chicago Catholic League Blue when it fell to Brother Rice on PKs Oct. 3. “We played great; we just didn’t finish the chances we had,” Fisher said. … Middlebury College graduate Fisher planned to watch college football on TV after Saturday’s match. His favorite Division I team is Notre Dame. Wife Caroline’s favorite team? “USC,” a smiling Fisher said. ND hosts the intense USC-ND rivalry game at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 12 … Gonzalez on Loyola after the match Saturday: “Solid team. We wish Loyola the best of luck for the rest of the season.” … The Ramblers are still talking about the two shutout wins in three days on their East Coast trip Sept. 13-15. LA blanked Deerfield (Mass.) Academy 2-0 on Sept. 13 and matched that final score against Suffield (Conn.) Academy on Sept. 15. “Great trip for us,” Fisher said. “We’ll do that again.” Added co-captain Hoepfner: “Our team bonded during that weekend.” … Seven sophomores made Fisher’s varsity in August. “We’re young, yes,” Fisher said before Saturday’s Mansueto-LA kickoff. “We’ve had some ups and downs, like a lot of young teams. But we’re finding our way.” … One of the two referees Saturday morning, Brian Maisel, grew up in Niles and attended Notre Dame High School (Class of 2008) and Dominican University in River Forest. Though he didn’t play organized soccer at the prep or college level, he enjoyed engaging in pick-up matches and followed DU men’s soccer contests, especially when the Stars reached the NCAA Division III Final Four in 2009.
Starting lineups
Mansueto
GK: Alejandro Rivera
D: Geovani Galarza
D: Hector Lozano
D: Gael Rangel
MF: Daniel Aguilar
MF: Edgar Dominguez
MF: Christian Ruiz
MF: Omar Ortiz
F: Octavio Ochoa
F: Damian Osmar
F: Saul Limon
Loyola
GK Alex Ainsworth
D: Mario Hrvojevic
D: Oscar Blazer
D: Niko Douvalakis
D: Ryan Leider
MF: Michael Sullivan
MF: Andrew Hoepfner
MF: Colin Redmond
MF: Nick Roscoe
F: Tommy Zipprich
F: Dylan Gripman
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Mario Hrvojevic, junior, D, Loyola
Austin Agyemang, senior, F, Loyola
Referees: Brian Maisel, Vic Walker
Scoring summary
First half
L — Blazer (Hrvojevic), 6’
L — Leider (UA), 10’
L — Hrvojevic (UA), 12’
L — Zipprich (Hoepfner), 15’
Second half
L — Redmond (Gripman), 72
Ramblers post 5-0 win over substitute foe Mansueto
By Bill McLean
GLENVIEW — Adrian Calleros did not play a minute in Loyola’s Homecoming match against Mansueto on Saturday morning. That is appropriate because the Solorio boys soccer coach's high school eligibility has long been expired.
But the Sun Warriors coach still deserves to be credited with an assist for what he did to ensure the Ramblers had a game to play on their big day.
“Solorio, our original opponent today, had to play in a Public School League playoff,” Loyola coach Baer Fisher explained Saturday at the school’s Munz Athetic Campus. “Washington was our original backup opponent, but could not play us either because of the playoffs in the city.
“[Calleros] connected me to Mansueto’s coach, and here we are, getting ready to play.”
Mansueto’s Leopards traveled to Glenview without their head coach, Victoria Dunn, who had committed to proctoring an SAT exam Saturday morning. Mansueto JV boys soccer coach Adrian Gonzalez filled in for her.
For Loyola on a brisk, windy day, there was no substitute for pinpoint, rapid ball movement, particularly in the early going. The Ramblers struck for four goals, from four booters in the first 15 minutes, en route to a 5-0 victory.
“Good effort,” Fisher said after noting his club (10-4-2) was coming off a tough setback on PKs to Brother Rice on Oct. 3. “Everybody got to play a lot today. It’s what you want when you play a Homecoming game.”
Ramblers junior defender/midfielder Oscar Blazer started the first half surge thanks to a dandy corner kick from junior defender Mario Hrvojevic in the sixth minute. A snappy four minutes later, Loyola sophomore defender Ryan Leider stunned the Leopards’ defense with a high, hard tally from about 35 yards.
Hrvojevic upped the advantage to 3-0, and junior co-captain Tommy Zipprich, a midfielder/forward, capped the scoring in the first half off a sharp feed from senior midfielder/defender Andrew Hoepfner, the squad’s other co-captain.
Hoepfner raced around the pitch with a wrist-to-elbow cast protecting the fractured left wrist he’d incurred in a 1-0 win over Marmion on Sept. 19. It didn’t appear to bother him in the least.
Mansueto (11-5-2) went against the wind in the first half and generated its best scoring opportunity in the 23rd minute. Leopards sophomore forward Saul Limon delivered a pass to wide-open junior forward Osmar Damian, who collected the offering, dribble-sprinted near the Ramblers’ backline and found daylight for a shot. The attempt flew high and to the right.
Mansueto goalkeeper Alejandro Rivera suffered an injury in the 18th minute and was replaced by sophomore Rudy Flores, a junior varsity player from Day One this fall. Flores came up big with brave saves off several point-blank shots in his varsity debut. He exited the game with a pristine sheet after sustaining an injury in the 67th minute.
“What he did today, how he played will help his confidence,” Gonzalez said.
Loyola senior forward Austin Agyemang administered constant heat on Flores and his defenders, blending textbook crosses and creating scoring chance after scoring chance with his speed and savvy dribbling skills. The St. Mary of the Lake Catholic School product nearly notched a goal on a header in the 23rd minute and again alone against the keeper in the 51st minute.
Agyemang’s attempt to chip a shot over a daring Flores was too strong.
Perhaps Agyemang’s best chance to add to Loyola’s lead came nearly 11 minutes later, but Flores stopped the blistering, point-blank shot five yards in front of the goal.
“Austin created a lot of chances for himself today,” Hoepfner said. “Just a little off today.”
Loyola produced its fifth goal — the most goals the Rambles netted since an 8-0 defeat of De La Salle on Sept. 10 — in the 72nd minute when junior midfielder Colin Redmond (goal) and Dylan Gripman connected five minutes after Flores had to get his injury checked out on the sideline.
“I try to stay calm,” Flores, a goalkeeper since he started playing the sport, said after the post-match handshakes. “Communication is important, probably the most important part of goalkeeping.
“I talk a lot out there.”
So does Loyola sophomore keeper Alex Ainsworth, who helped his side claim its sixth shutout of the autumn and first since Sept. 19.
The Ramblers hos Mount Carmel — ranked no. 23 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 — at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in a Chicago Catholic League Blue Division match; Mansueto entertains Muchin College Prep at 5:30 p.m. Monday.
Footnotes
Former Loyola forward David Gripman (Class of ’19), a native of Morton Grove, is a member of the DePaul University men’s soccer team. … The Ramblers slipped to 1-2-1 in the Chicago Catholic League Blue when it fell to Brother Rice on PKs Oct. 3. “We played great; we just didn’t finish the chances we had,” Fisher said. … Middlebury College graduate Fisher planned to watch college football on TV after Saturday’s match. His favorite Division I team is Notre Dame. Wife Caroline’s favorite team? “USC,” a smiling Fisher said. ND hosts the intense USC-ND rivalry game at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 12 … Gonzalez on Loyola after the match Saturday: “Solid team. We wish Loyola the best of luck for the rest of the season.” … The Ramblers are still talking about the two shutout wins in three days on their East Coast trip Sept. 13-15. LA blanked Deerfield (Mass.) Academy 2-0 on Sept. 13 and matched that final score against Suffield (Conn.) Academy on Sept. 15. “Great trip for us,” Fisher said. “We’ll do that again.” Added co-captain Hoepfner: “Our team bonded during that weekend.” … Seven sophomores made Fisher’s varsity in August. “We’re young, yes,” Fisher said before Saturday’s Mansueto-LA kickoff. “We’ve had some ups and downs, like a lot of young teams. But we’re finding our way.” … One of the two referees Saturday morning, Brian Maisel, grew up in Niles and attended Notre Dame High School (Class of 2008) and Dominican University in River Forest. Though he didn’t play organized soccer at the prep or college level, he enjoyed engaging in pick-up matches and followed DU men’s soccer contests, especially when the Stars reached the NCAA Division III Final Four in 2009.
Starting lineups
Mansueto
GK: Alejandro Rivera
D: Geovani Galarza
D: Hector Lozano
D: Gael Rangel
MF: Daniel Aguilar
MF: Edgar Dominguez
MF: Christian Ruiz
MF: Omar Ortiz
F: Octavio Ochoa
F: Damian Osmar
F: Saul Limon
Loyola
GK Alex Ainsworth
D: Mario Hrvojevic
D: Oscar Blazer
D: Niko Douvalakis
D: Ryan Leider
MF: Michael Sullivan
MF: Andrew Hoepfner
MF: Colin Redmond
MF: Nick Roscoe
F: Tommy Zipprich
F: Dylan Gripman
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Mario Hrvojevic, junior, D, Loyola
Austin Agyemang, senior, F, Loyola
Referees: Brian Maisel, Vic Walker
Scoring summary
First half
L — Blazer (Hrvojevic), 6’
L — Leider (UA), 10’
L — Hrvojevic (UA), 12’
L — Zipprich (Hoepfner), 15’
Second half
L — Redmond (Gripman), 72