Loyola tops Marmion in physical
Chicago Catholic League showdown
Ramblers give visiting Cadets 1st Blue loss with 3-1 victory
By Gary Larsen
GLENVIEW — Growing up in Oregon, Loyola’s Frank Miedema went on long elk hunts in freezing, snowy weather, beginning when he was a young boy.
“It’s 10 degrees out, it’s a 17-mile hike, you’re packing out meat so it’s 10 miles of hiking with even more on your back,” Miedema said. “The longest we’ve been out there in the field was 26 hours and the whole time you’re thinking ‘Okay, let’s just get to that next step’.
“I really think that helped me so much with my mentality overall.”
Miedema arrived at Loyola from Oregon last year as a junior, and his mentality as a senior striker for the Ramblers is a trait highly-prized by coach Justin Dunn.
“His work ethic is what we strive to have for every player,” Dunn said. “His movement off the ball is fantastic and so is his leadership by example. He leads the charge. He may not be wearing the armband on his sleeve, but people know that he’s our leader.”
Work ethic was especially vital for both teams during Loyola’s 3-1 win over visiting Marmion, in a pivotal Chicago Catholic League Blue division tilt at Loyola’s Munz Campus in Glenview.
Miedema buried an 80th-minute goal to slap a bow on the win for Loyola.
Hard, emotional play often creates similar game scripts. Physical play can lead to quibbles over officiating, subsequent yellow and red cards, heated fan participation, and ultimately a wild celebration by the winners at game’s end.
This game had all of that. Dunn received an early yellow card for questioning a call and was ejected in the first half after Loyola’s bench players received a second yellow card.
Marmion coach Gerardo Alvarez also earned a yellow card in the second half as fouls on the field piled up and emotions both ways were on full display.
Miedema’s finish was the icing on the cake for Loyola (9-1-2, 2-0-1) in a game that still hung in the balance with less than five minutes remaining in regulation.
Loyola led 1-0 at halftime on a Liam Drehkoff goal set up by a Joey Roscoe corner kick. But in Marmion (7-4-2, 3-1-0), the Ramblers knew they faced a tough team that would be stepping hard for a tying goal after halftime.
“We knew it would be a battle against a very good team,” Dunn said. “There’s a reason they were 3-0-0 in the CCL so props to them. They’re very organized, their two center backs are very good, and they had a good game plan that they executed great.”
Chasing a 1-0 deficit, Marmion brought the thunder for the first 15 minutes of the second half. Matt Powell, Ricardo Saucedo, Barry O’Neill, and Giovanni Magana all had roles in earning and taking free and corner kicks for the Cadets.
Loyola was up to the task as big, athletic keeper Alex Ainsworth aggressively left his line to cut off serves and was in perfect position whenever Marmion put a ball on frame.
Ainsworth earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors for his play, but he was quick to tip his hat to a pair of teammates after the win.
“I was really proud of our center backs, Niko Douvalakis and Liam Drehkoff,” Ainsworth said. “Those are my boys. They block shots, they put their bodies on the line for me, and they make my job a lot easier.”
Douvalakis tracked back hard at 64 minutes when a Marmion through-ball aiming to spring Harley Karner got behind the Loyola defense. Douvalakis ran Karner off the ball to thwart the threat.
Loyola’s Oliver Szorc got his head on a cross from the right corner at 65 minutes, but sent his shot over the bar. Ainsworth fielded a hard-hit one hopper from distance off Karner’s foot a minute later as back-and-forth action took hold of the game.
O’Neill’s shot from 16 yards on the right side at 66 minutes was partially deflected by a Loyola defender, but Ainsworth saved it to keep the slate clean.
Marmion finally tied the game at 70 minutes when O’Neill converted a penalty kick after a tripping call in the box.
The game’s final 10 minutes were frenetic. Miedema centered a ball from the right side that found Joey Vehovsky, who poked a shot just wide of the far post at 71 minutes, and Ainsworth elevated in the box to punch away a Magana free kick two minutes later.
The ultimate game-winner for Loyola came at 76 minutes. Szorc lined up a free kick from just outside the top of Marmion’s box and blistered a low shot past diving Marmion keeper Kyle Hydra that hit the right post and caromed to the back of the net.
The game's temperature ratcheted up even more over the final four minutes, and included a diving save by Ainsworth on an O’Neill free kick from 19 yards at 78 minutes. With a crowd in front of him, Ainsworth located the ball after it cleared a wall of players and went airborne to his left.
“You set up the wall so you can see the ball and my wall was okay, but then Marmion players started getting on the end of the wall which made it difficult to see,” Ainsworth said. “That turned a 19-yard shot into about a 12-yard shot, which made it more difficult. It just took a quicker reaction.”
Marmion had an apparent tying Karner goal waved off on an offside call in the 80th minute. While players milled around the field in the aftermath of the call, Ainsworth sent the ensuing goal kick downfield and Miedema got onto it with only 21 seconds remaining to score the game’s final goal.
Miedema was proud of the way his side altered its play to counter Marmion’s strategy.
“We adjusted our game and focused more on getting it out wide,” Miedema said. “We try to go through the middle a lot and try to find splitting balls. But today, Ryan Leider and John Phillips did a great job of making runs up and down the field. We knew (Marmion) was strong in the middle so we wanted to switch the ball as much as we can.”
Marmion captain and central defender Nate Sowers is one of the best in the business.
“(Sowers) is difficult to deal with,” Miedema said. “We have a set press we’ve been working on, but it can be broken down by a (defender) who really knows how to launch a perfect long ball. He’s good at that.
“Luckily our center backs and center mids are really good in the air. Niko (Douvalakis) and Liam (Drehkoff) stepped up for us in winning a lot of those balls.”
Dunn got team-wide contributions on Thursday.
“I thought Ryan Leider and Andrew Newton played out of their minds,” Dunn said. “Niko (Douvalakis) threw up at halftime but he absolutely killed it, and John Phillips led the squad as a senior leader through a hard, emotional game.”
Starting lineups
Marmion
GK Kyle Wydra
D Diego Tellez
D Nate Sowers
D Mactzil Uriel Lopez
D Lucas Brummel
MF Giovanni Magana
MF Alvaro Alanis
MF Barry O’Neill
MF Jesus Covarrubias
F Ricardo Saucedo
F Harley Karner
Loyola
GK Alex Ainsworth
D Liam Drehkoff
D Niko Douvalakis
D Ryan Leider
D John Phillips
MF Oskar Duenkel
MF Joey Roscoe
MF Townes Robertson
F Joey Vehovsky
F Bryan Ramsay
F Frank Miedema
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Ainsworth, sr., GK, Loyola
Scoring summary
First half
Loyola — Drehkoff (Roscoe) 32 minutes
Second half
Marmion — O’Neill (PK) 70th minute
Loyola — Szorc (FK) 76th minute
Loyola — Miedema (Ainsworth) 80th minute
Chicago Catholic League showdown
Ramblers give visiting Cadets 1st Blue loss with 3-1 victory
By Gary Larsen
GLENVIEW — Growing up in Oregon, Loyola’s Frank Miedema went on long elk hunts in freezing, snowy weather, beginning when he was a young boy.
“It’s 10 degrees out, it’s a 17-mile hike, you’re packing out meat so it’s 10 miles of hiking with even more on your back,” Miedema said. “The longest we’ve been out there in the field was 26 hours and the whole time you’re thinking ‘Okay, let’s just get to that next step’.
“I really think that helped me so much with my mentality overall.”
Miedema arrived at Loyola from Oregon last year as a junior, and his mentality as a senior striker for the Ramblers is a trait highly-prized by coach Justin Dunn.
“His work ethic is what we strive to have for every player,” Dunn said. “His movement off the ball is fantastic and so is his leadership by example. He leads the charge. He may not be wearing the armband on his sleeve, but people know that he’s our leader.”
Work ethic was especially vital for both teams during Loyola’s 3-1 win over visiting Marmion, in a pivotal Chicago Catholic League Blue division tilt at Loyola’s Munz Campus in Glenview.
Miedema buried an 80th-minute goal to slap a bow on the win for Loyola.
Hard, emotional play often creates similar game scripts. Physical play can lead to quibbles over officiating, subsequent yellow and red cards, heated fan participation, and ultimately a wild celebration by the winners at game’s end.
This game had all of that. Dunn received an early yellow card for questioning a call and was ejected in the first half after Loyola’s bench players received a second yellow card.
Marmion coach Gerardo Alvarez also earned a yellow card in the second half as fouls on the field piled up and emotions both ways were on full display.
Miedema’s finish was the icing on the cake for Loyola (9-1-2, 2-0-1) in a game that still hung in the balance with less than five minutes remaining in regulation.
Loyola led 1-0 at halftime on a Liam Drehkoff goal set up by a Joey Roscoe corner kick. But in Marmion (7-4-2, 3-1-0), the Ramblers knew they faced a tough team that would be stepping hard for a tying goal after halftime.
“We knew it would be a battle against a very good team,” Dunn said. “There’s a reason they were 3-0-0 in the CCL so props to them. They’re very organized, their two center backs are very good, and they had a good game plan that they executed great.”
Chasing a 1-0 deficit, Marmion brought the thunder for the first 15 minutes of the second half. Matt Powell, Ricardo Saucedo, Barry O’Neill, and Giovanni Magana all had roles in earning and taking free and corner kicks for the Cadets.
Loyola was up to the task as big, athletic keeper Alex Ainsworth aggressively left his line to cut off serves and was in perfect position whenever Marmion put a ball on frame.
Ainsworth earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors for his play, but he was quick to tip his hat to a pair of teammates after the win.
“I was really proud of our center backs, Niko Douvalakis and Liam Drehkoff,” Ainsworth said. “Those are my boys. They block shots, they put their bodies on the line for me, and they make my job a lot easier.”
Douvalakis tracked back hard at 64 minutes when a Marmion through-ball aiming to spring Harley Karner got behind the Loyola defense. Douvalakis ran Karner off the ball to thwart the threat.
Loyola’s Oliver Szorc got his head on a cross from the right corner at 65 minutes, but sent his shot over the bar. Ainsworth fielded a hard-hit one hopper from distance off Karner’s foot a minute later as back-and-forth action took hold of the game.
O’Neill’s shot from 16 yards on the right side at 66 minutes was partially deflected by a Loyola defender, but Ainsworth saved it to keep the slate clean.
Marmion finally tied the game at 70 minutes when O’Neill converted a penalty kick after a tripping call in the box.
The game’s final 10 minutes were frenetic. Miedema centered a ball from the right side that found Joey Vehovsky, who poked a shot just wide of the far post at 71 minutes, and Ainsworth elevated in the box to punch away a Magana free kick two minutes later.
The ultimate game-winner for Loyola came at 76 minutes. Szorc lined up a free kick from just outside the top of Marmion’s box and blistered a low shot past diving Marmion keeper Kyle Hydra that hit the right post and caromed to the back of the net.
The game's temperature ratcheted up even more over the final four minutes, and included a diving save by Ainsworth on an O’Neill free kick from 19 yards at 78 minutes. With a crowd in front of him, Ainsworth located the ball after it cleared a wall of players and went airborne to his left.
“You set up the wall so you can see the ball and my wall was okay, but then Marmion players started getting on the end of the wall which made it difficult to see,” Ainsworth said. “That turned a 19-yard shot into about a 12-yard shot, which made it more difficult. It just took a quicker reaction.”
Marmion had an apparent tying Karner goal waved off on an offside call in the 80th minute. While players milled around the field in the aftermath of the call, Ainsworth sent the ensuing goal kick downfield and Miedema got onto it with only 21 seconds remaining to score the game’s final goal.
Miedema was proud of the way his side altered its play to counter Marmion’s strategy.
“We adjusted our game and focused more on getting it out wide,” Miedema said. “We try to go through the middle a lot and try to find splitting balls. But today, Ryan Leider and John Phillips did a great job of making runs up and down the field. We knew (Marmion) was strong in the middle so we wanted to switch the ball as much as we can.”
Marmion captain and central defender Nate Sowers is one of the best in the business.
“(Sowers) is difficult to deal with,” Miedema said. “We have a set press we’ve been working on, but it can be broken down by a (defender) who really knows how to launch a perfect long ball. He’s good at that.
“Luckily our center backs and center mids are really good in the air. Niko (Douvalakis) and Liam (Drehkoff) stepped up for us in winning a lot of those balls.”
Dunn got team-wide contributions on Thursday.
“I thought Ryan Leider and Andrew Newton played out of their minds,” Dunn said. “Niko (Douvalakis) threw up at halftime but he absolutely killed it, and John Phillips led the squad as a senior leader through a hard, emotional game.”
Starting lineups
Marmion
GK Kyle Wydra
D Diego Tellez
D Nate Sowers
D Mactzil Uriel Lopez
D Lucas Brummel
MF Giovanni Magana
MF Alvaro Alanis
MF Barry O’Neill
MF Jesus Covarrubias
F Ricardo Saucedo
F Harley Karner
Loyola
GK Alex Ainsworth
D Liam Drehkoff
D Niko Douvalakis
D Ryan Leider
D John Phillips
MF Oskar Duenkel
MF Joey Roscoe
MF Townes Robertson
F Joey Vehovsky
F Bryan Ramsay
F Frank Miedema
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Ainsworth, sr., GK, Loyola
Scoring summary
First half
Loyola — Drehkoff (Roscoe) 32 minutes
Second half
Marmion — O’Neill (PK) 70th minute
Loyola — Szorc (FK) 76th minute
Loyola — Miedema (Ainsworth) 80th minute