Carmel defense shuts down Marist
Defender Cloe, GK Murua lead way in 3-0 league victory
By Rusty Silber
MUNDELEIN -- If you don't remember seeing a Carmel varsity soccer result lately, it's not you. The Corsairs haven't played a match in 10 days.
That could have been a problem when Marist came for East Suburban Catholic Conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon. But the hosts put three in the net and produced a shutout with the help of its defense led by the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match Brett Cloe. Coupled with reserve keeper Ricardo Murua's six saves, Carmel posted its first shutout win of the season, a 3-0 victory over the RedHawks.
Austin Ehren and De Paul-bound Rob Rao each scored a goal and picked up an assist. Their production was enhanced by a Henry Barnes a goal and Sean Seidl helper.
The Corsairs clean-sheet increased their win streak to four games and upped the season record to 4-1-0. Carmel has rebounded nicely after their opening-season 3-2 loss against Round Lake in the quarterfinal round of the North Shore Shootout in Lake Forest.
Cloe liked the effort he saw on defense.
"I think just the communication that we have on the defense," Cloe pegged as a reason for the turnaround effort. Carmel had been given up 2.25 goals per game in its opening quartet of games. "We're getting closer and getting to know each other better. There's constant communication between the centerbacks and the outside backs. We're doing a good job shifting as a unit, and it's working well for us.
Cloe is joined in the back by juniors Michael Handel and Eli Larson along with senior Nate Passerelli. All have made the defense come together in a short period off time.
"Coach (Ray Krawzak) puts it on me to direct the defense, and it helps to have (Kyle) Knauer in goal," Cloe said. "He sees my back, and I like to see my defenders back to let them when there's a run coming in or when they're coming too far in or too far out. We just work well as a unit."
On this day, Knauer was out with an injury. Reserve keeper Ricardo Murua stepped in and made five of his six saves in the second half.
"Our keeper made some good saves," Cloe said. "I thought the intangible thing with the defense is that we have a lot of heart. We're not afraid to go for the big tackle, even it's a risk of getting an injury. I think that's a good thing that benefits our defense."
Carmel set the tone with its 11th minute. Rao's seventh score of the season came off a pass from Scott Seidl. Despite the early success, the Corsairs couldn't find another and went into halftime with the 1-0 lead.
"It took us a long time to get that second goal," Krawzak said, "We thought our offense could've done a better job for the majority of the game. Once we got the second one, we knew the third one was going to come.
"We had gotten so many good chances. It was nice to finally see it come. And on the other side of it was to see our first shutout of the season. I'm happy with the backline and Ricardo's (Murua) goalkeeping. He did a nice job stepping into Knauer's spot getting the shutout."
Rao set up the second Corsairs goal in the 70th minute of play with a head flick that Ehren picked up while moving down the middle for his sixth goal of the season.
"I feel it's the runs people are making," Rao said. "I don't know if its me seeing it or their making the runs. I trust they're going to be there. But them making the runs helps a lot."
Carmel added one more goal in the 75th minute, when Barnes found the back of the net off an assist from Ehren for the three-goal advantage.
Marist keeper John Kennedy made it tough for the Corsairs offense for most of the game with 11 stops.
"(Carmel) was a really strong team, and they have big guys," Kennedy said. "Their passes are really strong with their through-balls. They're just an overall very good team. Some of the shots were difficult. But I love playing goalie, and when I get those shots. It's always fun to block those type of shots."
For the RedHawks, the effort was there and really made it tough for Carmel to get comfortable for most of the match. Carmel had the advantage and play for a while until Marist (3-3-1, 0-1-0) almost worked their way back into it.
"I thought we played better in the second half In terms of what we were doing and how we adjusted," Marist coach Sean Maxwell said. "The guys played better and just had some clinical things that lead to their goals. The second goal (for Carmel) was just beautiful, and we were pushing up late in the game. I was happy in the second half with the first unit even though we gave up the two goals."
Carmel is back on the pitch for three games this week, two in the East Suburban Catholic Conference. The Corsairs travel to Notre Dame on Wednesday and host Joliet Catholic on Saturday in hopes of improving to 3-0-0 in the league. Lake Forest Academy visits Mundelein on Friday.
Starting lineups
Marist
GK-John Kennedy
D-Ricky Cave
D-Patrick Clancy
D-Quinn Kennedy
D-Jacob Robinson
D-Dan Poncer
MF-Alexis Arreola
MF-Brian Garza
MF-Miles Griffen
MF-Nick Marks
F-Ethan Fit
Carmel
GK-Ricardo Murua
D-Nate Passerelli
D-Brett Cloe
D-Michael Handel
D-Eli Larson
MF-Casten Murgas
MF-Sean Seidl
MF-Matt Fix
MF-Henry Barnes
F-Rob Rao
F-Austin Ehren
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Brett Cloe sr., D, Carmel
Officials: Julio Negron (center); Allen Garlock; Mike Smolosky
Scoring summary
First half
Carmel-Rao (Seidl)
Second half
Ehren (Rao), Barnes (Ehren)
Defender Cloe, GK Murua lead way in 3-0 league victory
By Rusty Silber
MUNDELEIN -- If you don't remember seeing a Carmel varsity soccer result lately, it's not you. The Corsairs haven't played a match in 10 days.
That could have been a problem when Marist came for East Suburban Catholic Conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon. But the hosts put three in the net and produced a shutout with the help of its defense led by the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match Brett Cloe. Coupled with reserve keeper Ricardo Murua's six saves, Carmel posted its first shutout win of the season, a 3-0 victory over the RedHawks.
Austin Ehren and De Paul-bound Rob Rao each scored a goal and picked up an assist. Their production was enhanced by a Henry Barnes a goal and Sean Seidl helper.
The Corsairs clean-sheet increased their win streak to four games and upped the season record to 4-1-0. Carmel has rebounded nicely after their opening-season 3-2 loss against Round Lake in the quarterfinal round of the North Shore Shootout in Lake Forest.
Cloe liked the effort he saw on defense.
"I think just the communication that we have on the defense," Cloe pegged as a reason for the turnaround effort. Carmel had been given up 2.25 goals per game in its opening quartet of games. "We're getting closer and getting to know each other better. There's constant communication between the centerbacks and the outside backs. We're doing a good job shifting as a unit, and it's working well for us.
Cloe is joined in the back by juniors Michael Handel and Eli Larson along with senior Nate Passerelli. All have made the defense come together in a short period off time.
"Coach (Ray Krawzak) puts it on me to direct the defense, and it helps to have (Kyle) Knauer in goal," Cloe said. "He sees my back, and I like to see my defenders back to let them when there's a run coming in or when they're coming too far in or too far out. We just work well as a unit."
On this day, Knauer was out with an injury. Reserve keeper Ricardo Murua stepped in and made five of his six saves in the second half.
"Our keeper made some good saves," Cloe said. "I thought the intangible thing with the defense is that we have a lot of heart. We're not afraid to go for the big tackle, even it's a risk of getting an injury. I think that's a good thing that benefits our defense."
Carmel set the tone with its 11th minute. Rao's seventh score of the season came off a pass from Scott Seidl. Despite the early success, the Corsairs couldn't find another and went into halftime with the 1-0 lead.
"It took us a long time to get that second goal," Krawzak said, "We thought our offense could've done a better job for the majority of the game. Once we got the second one, we knew the third one was going to come.
"We had gotten so many good chances. It was nice to finally see it come. And on the other side of it was to see our first shutout of the season. I'm happy with the backline and Ricardo's (Murua) goalkeeping. He did a nice job stepping into Knauer's spot getting the shutout."
Rao set up the second Corsairs goal in the 70th minute of play with a head flick that Ehren picked up while moving down the middle for his sixth goal of the season.
"I feel it's the runs people are making," Rao said. "I don't know if its me seeing it or their making the runs. I trust they're going to be there. But them making the runs helps a lot."
Carmel added one more goal in the 75th minute, when Barnes found the back of the net off an assist from Ehren for the three-goal advantage.
Marist keeper John Kennedy made it tough for the Corsairs offense for most of the game with 11 stops.
"(Carmel) was a really strong team, and they have big guys," Kennedy said. "Their passes are really strong with their through-balls. They're just an overall very good team. Some of the shots were difficult. But I love playing goalie, and when I get those shots. It's always fun to block those type of shots."
For the RedHawks, the effort was there and really made it tough for Carmel to get comfortable for most of the match. Carmel had the advantage and play for a while until Marist (3-3-1, 0-1-0) almost worked their way back into it.
"I thought we played better in the second half In terms of what we were doing and how we adjusted," Marist coach Sean Maxwell said. "The guys played better and just had some clinical things that lead to their goals. The second goal (for Carmel) was just beautiful, and we were pushing up late in the game. I was happy in the second half with the first unit even though we gave up the two goals."
Carmel is back on the pitch for three games this week, two in the East Suburban Catholic Conference. The Corsairs travel to Notre Dame on Wednesday and host Joliet Catholic on Saturday in hopes of improving to 3-0-0 in the league. Lake Forest Academy visits Mundelein on Friday.
Starting lineups
Marist
GK-John Kennedy
D-Ricky Cave
D-Patrick Clancy
D-Quinn Kennedy
D-Jacob Robinson
D-Dan Poncer
MF-Alexis Arreola
MF-Brian Garza
MF-Miles Griffen
MF-Nick Marks
F-Ethan Fit
Carmel
GK-Ricardo Murua
D-Nate Passerelli
D-Brett Cloe
D-Michael Handel
D-Eli Larson
MF-Casten Murgas
MF-Sean Seidl
MF-Matt Fix
MF-Henry Barnes
F-Rob Rao
F-Austin Ehren
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Brett Cloe sr., D, Carmel
Officials: Julio Negron (center); Allen Garlock; Mike Smolosky
Scoring summary
First half
Carmel-Rao (Seidl)
Second half
Ehren (Rao), Barnes (Ehren)