Win over Metea Valley prepares
Marmion for upcoming challenges
Cadets blank Mustangs in Aurora Cup
By Curt Herron
AURORA -- Marmion left Metea Valley's stadium Saturday with a 3-0 victory over the hosts in an Aurora Cup match and hoped that continued success in its next three matches could result in one accomplishment which might be a catalyst for another achievement or two down the road.
From Tuesday through Oct. 4, Cadets will compete in their final three matches in the competitive Chicago Catholic League Blue Division.
The second goal is a good run Oct. 18- 26 in the wide-open Class AA Glenbard South Sectional. The icing on top would be something that the program has only achieved once. In 2011, IHSSCA Hall of Fame coach Kevin O'Connor led the Cadets to a fourth place state finish.
Marmion (5-5-4, 1-1-1) is one of six teams in its seven-school Blue Division that are within three points of each other in the standings in one of the state's most competitive conferences.
Click here for the Chicago Catholic League Blue Division standings
The Cadets host: Brother Rice on Tuesday; and Loyola on Thursday. They finish the conference campaign at Mount Carmel on Oct. 4.
Three nonconference matches follow to close the regular-season, Marmion competes in a sub-sectional of the Class AA Glenbard South Sectional. Defending Class AA champion Boylan heads the other sub-sectional with the winner advancing to the Sterling Supersectional.
Marmion bounced back Saturday from a 2-0 loss at St. Ignatius on Sept. 22 by capitalizing on a pair of set pieces to collect their first two goals against Metea Valley (4-9-1) in the final match for each in the five-team Aurora Cup.
The Mustangs (0-3-0) can play spoiler against West Aurora (2-0-1) in their match October 13. East Aurora (2-0-2), Waubonsie Valley (2-2-0) and the Cadets (1-2-1) have all completed the round-robin competition.
Senior Ricardo Saucedo put Marmion up for good when he scored following a free kick from sophomore Giovanni Magana in the 21st minute. The Cadets went ahead 2-0 in the 50th minute when junior Mactzil Uriel Lopez scored off an assist from junior Alvaro Alanis. Senior Barry O'Neill scored the final goal in the 78th minute.
Cadets coach Gerardo Alvarez is a Marmion Hall of Famer who's the school's all-time goal and points leader. He also made a huge impact at Northwestern, where he stills ranks high in all offensive categories. His 2003-06 production still ranks tied for second in career points for the Wildcats.
Alvarez likes the makeup of Marmion and looks forward to the challenges that they face this week in their division and also down the road in the state playoffs.
"The league is brutal, but I'm really happy that we're in the league. It's the best private school league in the state," said Alvarez, who played for O'Connor.
"Even in our nonconference games we try to prepare for conference. It's wide open, and I think that anybody could win the league at this point. So, we have to take care of our business on Tuesday and Thursday and see where we're at. I know we're capable of playing good soccer and having possession of the ball.
"One of the things that we're focused on is that we have enough clear opportunities to score goals, and I think we did today. We had maybe 10 opportunities to score and made three of them. That's the difference in the game.
"I think that we have a good team, and we have players who know how to play the game and understand the game. I think that we play differently than any other team that we've played this year. We're capable of playing in a very possessive manner that other teams just don't have the personnel to do. But it all goes back to how we are using that to create opportunities to score, which is the most important part of the game."
Metea Valley (4-9-1) started Saturday's match with a pair of attempts that were stopped by sophomore goalkeeper Adam Ozsvath, the first of which was a liner from senior Bartosz Chmielewski and the second was a long free kick from senior Arjo Basu.
Marmion took control just past the midway point of the opening half when Magana sent a free kick from near the midfield stripe into the box, and Saucedo was there to put in the close-range attempt in the 21st minute.
"This is something that we've been doing in training pretty much all season," said Saucedo. "He (Alvarez) was asking us to get more aggressive on the set plays like that, and that was just an example of all of the training that we've been doing.
“At training, the big thing is our shape and when we choose to attack as defenders and when we slow the play down. It's just about managing the game. Game management, organizing and communicating are the biggest things for us.
"Another big thing for us is just the mental focus and going into every game ready to give 100 percent. Every team in the Catholic League is amazing; it's really great competition.
”Another one of the biggest things that we emphasize at Marmion is the whole sense of brotherhood. So, the team camaraderie that we have is just great. As a senior, I can say that every single one of these guys is my brother."
Metea Valley attempted to draw even with a shot from the side by senior Daniel Wilkinson and a corner kick from junior Tony Cuautle that was headed away by Uriel Lopez. Meanwhile, the Cadets also threatened during the last part of the first half with a corner kick from Alanis that was tipped away by Mustangs senior goalkeeper Orlando Velazquez, who also halted a shot from freshman Andres Alvarez.
In the second half, Cuautle sent in a liner to Marmion’s Ozsvath whose team was poised to double the lead. A few minutes later, Magana lined up for another free kick, this time from about 30 yards. Instead of firing an attempt toward the net, he sent a pass to the side to Alanis, who placed a cross to Uriel Lopez, who put in the short attempt to make it 2-0 in the 50th minute.
"The free kick was pretty far out. I saw a gap, and I just told Gio to let me have the ball," Alanis said. "We've really improved over the last few weeks, even though we missed some players due to injuries.
“Now that we're back to our full strength, we've started to play better. We know that we can possess the ball and that we can play. We wanted to make sure that we put chances in.
"We just want to play the hardest teams that we can to get us prepared for the postseason and for the league to help us improve and hopefully win games. Really we're just all together. And no matter where we are, we're always picking each other up."
After Cadet junior Mateo Ramirez was denied on a short shot by the Mustangs new goalie, junior Ravi Shah, Metea Valley senior Erick Mena sent in a corner kick that Ozsvath first had to punch away and then secure the loose ball.
Marmion concluded the scoring in the 79th minute when senior Harley Karner sent in an attempt that was blocked by the keeper, but O'Neill was there to connect.
Metea Valley coach Josh Robinson experienced the joy of being an assistant coach along with his assistant Rachel Bostick, for girls head coach Chris Whaley who took the Mustangs to the Class 3A championship in their first state appearance.
Robinson feels badly that his squad is working so hard and fighting against tough opposition but has yet to find its footing.
The Mustangs season started out fast. They had a shot at a berth in the St. Charles Invitational final before Wheaton Academy struck with a 72nd-minute goal on August 31 in the pool final. Since then, been mired in a slump. The lineup of opponents has not been shoddy. The Mustangs will play no less than 11-ranked teams before the playoffs start.
The match Saturday was the 12th time in 14 matches that the team has either been shutout or scored one goal.
The Metea Valley coach hopes that the challenging schedule will pay off for them as a dark horse candidate in the rugged Class 3A Bolingbrook Sectional, which features five teams that are ranked in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
"They're great kids, and they work hard. We care about them a lot, so we want a little bit more for them," Robinson said. "Today we started off by winning balls up high. Then we gave up a bad goal on a set piece, which has kind of been our Achilles' heel this year. So, for us, it's emphasizing work-rate.
"For the juniors and seniors, it's discouraging to not get the results. We tell our boys that our schedule is one of the toughest, but we need to start to find ways to put the ball into the net and put some pressure on other teams.
"For us as coaches, it's our responsibility to keep them going. We want to hold them responsible, but we also keep them driven, so they keep playing for something. So, let's be rallying at the right point.
“Our goal is to have some high-seed be really upset that they have to play us, because all of a sudden, we're starting to play well at the right time.
‘Because of this spring, we want them to experience something special, so we'll keep fighting and pushing them along."
The Mustangs have another tough week ahead of them with fourth-ranked Naperville North on Tuesday and honorable mention squad Oswego East on Saturday before closing out regular-season play with matches in the WarStang Invitational, which the school co-hosts with Waubonsie Valley, next week.
Starting lineups
Marmion
GK: Adam Ozsvath
D: Ricardo Saucedo
D: Mactzil Uriel Lopez
D: Matthew Powell
D: Diego Tellez
MF: Alvaro Alanis
MF: Barry O'Neill
MF: Giovanni Magana
MF: Mateo Ramirez
F: Harley Karner
F: Patrick Fitzgerald
Metea Valley
GK: Orlando Velazquez
D: Arjo Basu
D: Cameron Leys
D: Josh Forden
D: Eric Jernigan
MF: Bartosz Chmielewski
MF: Tony Cuautle
MF: Anthony Hildreth
MF: Michael Senese
F: Erick Mena
F: Abel Lopez
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match
Ricardo Saucedo, sr., D, Marmion
Giovanni Magana, so., MF, Marmion
Scoring summary
First half
M: Ricardo Saucedo (Giovanni Magana), 21'
Second half
M: Mactzil Uriel Lopez (Alvaro Alanis), 50'
Marmion: Barry O'Neill, 78'
Marmion for upcoming challenges
Cadets blank Mustangs in Aurora Cup
By Curt Herron
AURORA -- Marmion left Metea Valley's stadium Saturday with a 3-0 victory over the hosts in an Aurora Cup match and hoped that continued success in its next three matches could result in one accomplishment which might be a catalyst for another achievement or two down the road.
From Tuesday through Oct. 4, Cadets will compete in their final three matches in the competitive Chicago Catholic League Blue Division.
The second goal is a good run Oct. 18- 26 in the wide-open Class AA Glenbard South Sectional. The icing on top would be something that the program has only achieved once. In 2011, IHSSCA Hall of Fame coach Kevin O'Connor led the Cadets to a fourth place state finish.
Marmion (5-5-4, 1-1-1) is one of six teams in its seven-school Blue Division that are within three points of each other in the standings in one of the state's most competitive conferences.
Click here for the Chicago Catholic League Blue Division standings
The Cadets host: Brother Rice on Tuesday; and Loyola on Thursday. They finish the conference campaign at Mount Carmel on Oct. 4.
Three nonconference matches follow to close the regular-season, Marmion competes in a sub-sectional of the Class AA Glenbard South Sectional. Defending Class AA champion Boylan heads the other sub-sectional with the winner advancing to the Sterling Supersectional.
Marmion bounced back Saturday from a 2-0 loss at St. Ignatius on Sept. 22 by capitalizing on a pair of set pieces to collect their first two goals against Metea Valley (4-9-1) in the final match for each in the five-team Aurora Cup.
The Mustangs (0-3-0) can play spoiler against West Aurora (2-0-1) in their match October 13. East Aurora (2-0-2), Waubonsie Valley (2-2-0) and the Cadets (1-2-1) have all completed the round-robin competition.
Senior Ricardo Saucedo put Marmion up for good when he scored following a free kick from sophomore Giovanni Magana in the 21st minute. The Cadets went ahead 2-0 in the 50th minute when junior Mactzil Uriel Lopez scored off an assist from junior Alvaro Alanis. Senior Barry O'Neill scored the final goal in the 78th minute.
Cadets coach Gerardo Alvarez is a Marmion Hall of Famer who's the school's all-time goal and points leader. He also made a huge impact at Northwestern, where he stills ranks high in all offensive categories. His 2003-06 production still ranks tied for second in career points for the Wildcats.
Alvarez likes the makeup of Marmion and looks forward to the challenges that they face this week in their division and also down the road in the state playoffs.
"The league is brutal, but I'm really happy that we're in the league. It's the best private school league in the state," said Alvarez, who played for O'Connor.
"Even in our nonconference games we try to prepare for conference. It's wide open, and I think that anybody could win the league at this point. So, we have to take care of our business on Tuesday and Thursday and see where we're at. I know we're capable of playing good soccer and having possession of the ball.
"One of the things that we're focused on is that we have enough clear opportunities to score goals, and I think we did today. We had maybe 10 opportunities to score and made three of them. That's the difference in the game.
"I think that we have a good team, and we have players who know how to play the game and understand the game. I think that we play differently than any other team that we've played this year. We're capable of playing in a very possessive manner that other teams just don't have the personnel to do. But it all goes back to how we are using that to create opportunities to score, which is the most important part of the game."
Metea Valley (4-9-1) started Saturday's match with a pair of attempts that were stopped by sophomore goalkeeper Adam Ozsvath, the first of which was a liner from senior Bartosz Chmielewski and the second was a long free kick from senior Arjo Basu.
Marmion took control just past the midway point of the opening half when Magana sent a free kick from near the midfield stripe into the box, and Saucedo was there to put in the close-range attempt in the 21st minute.
"This is something that we've been doing in training pretty much all season," said Saucedo. "He (Alvarez) was asking us to get more aggressive on the set plays like that, and that was just an example of all of the training that we've been doing.
“At training, the big thing is our shape and when we choose to attack as defenders and when we slow the play down. It's just about managing the game. Game management, organizing and communicating are the biggest things for us.
"Another big thing for us is just the mental focus and going into every game ready to give 100 percent. Every team in the Catholic League is amazing; it's really great competition.
”Another one of the biggest things that we emphasize at Marmion is the whole sense of brotherhood. So, the team camaraderie that we have is just great. As a senior, I can say that every single one of these guys is my brother."
Metea Valley attempted to draw even with a shot from the side by senior Daniel Wilkinson and a corner kick from junior Tony Cuautle that was headed away by Uriel Lopez. Meanwhile, the Cadets also threatened during the last part of the first half with a corner kick from Alanis that was tipped away by Mustangs senior goalkeeper Orlando Velazquez, who also halted a shot from freshman Andres Alvarez.
In the second half, Cuautle sent in a liner to Marmion’s Ozsvath whose team was poised to double the lead. A few minutes later, Magana lined up for another free kick, this time from about 30 yards. Instead of firing an attempt toward the net, he sent a pass to the side to Alanis, who placed a cross to Uriel Lopez, who put in the short attempt to make it 2-0 in the 50th minute.
"The free kick was pretty far out. I saw a gap, and I just told Gio to let me have the ball," Alanis said. "We've really improved over the last few weeks, even though we missed some players due to injuries.
“Now that we're back to our full strength, we've started to play better. We know that we can possess the ball and that we can play. We wanted to make sure that we put chances in.
"We just want to play the hardest teams that we can to get us prepared for the postseason and for the league to help us improve and hopefully win games. Really we're just all together. And no matter where we are, we're always picking each other up."
After Cadet junior Mateo Ramirez was denied on a short shot by the Mustangs new goalie, junior Ravi Shah, Metea Valley senior Erick Mena sent in a corner kick that Ozsvath first had to punch away and then secure the loose ball.
Marmion concluded the scoring in the 79th minute when senior Harley Karner sent in an attempt that was blocked by the keeper, but O'Neill was there to connect.
Metea Valley coach Josh Robinson experienced the joy of being an assistant coach along with his assistant Rachel Bostick, for girls head coach Chris Whaley who took the Mustangs to the Class 3A championship in their first state appearance.
Robinson feels badly that his squad is working so hard and fighting against tough opposition but has yet to find its footing.
The Mustangs season started out fast. They had a shot at a berth in the St. Charles Invitational final before Wheaton Academy struck with a 72nd-minute goal on August 31 in the pool final. Since then, been mired in a slump. The lineup of opponents has not been shoddy. The Mustangs will play no less than 11-ranked teams before the playoffs start.
The match Saturday was the 12th time in 14 matches that the team has either been shutout or scored one goal.
The Metea Valley coach hopes that the challenging schedule will pay off for them as a dark horse candidate in the rugged Class 3A Bolingbrook Sectional, which features five teams that are ranked in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
"They're great kids, and they work hard. We care about them a lot, so we want a little bit more for them," Robinson said. "Today we started off by winning balls up high. Then we gave up a bad goal on a set piece, which has kind of been our Achilles' heel this year. So, for us, it's emphasizing work-rate.
"For the juniors and seniors, it's discouraging to not get the results. We tell our boys that our schedule is one of the toughest, but we need to start to find ways to put the ball into the net and put some pressure on other teams.
"For us as coaches, it's our responsibility to keep them going. We want to hold them responsible, but we also keep them driven, so they keep playing for something. So, let's be rallying at the right point.
“Our goal is to have some high-seed be really upset that they have to play us, because all of a sudden, we're starting to play well at the right time.
‘Because of this spring, we want them to experience something special, so we'll keep fighting and pushing them along."
The Mustangs have another tough week ahead of them with fourth-ranked Naperville North on Tuesday and honorable mention squad Oswego East on Saturday before closing out regular-season play with matches in the WarStang Invitational, which the school co-hosts with Waubonsie Valley, next week.
Starting lineups
Marmion
GK: Adam Ozsvath
D: Ricardo Saucedo
D: Mactzil Uriel Lopez
D: Matthew Powell
D: Diego Tellez
MF: Alvaro Alanis
MF: Barry O'Neill
MF: Giovanni Magana
MF: Mateo Ramirez
F: Harley Karner
F: Patrick Fitzgerald
Metea Valley
GK: Orlando Velazquez
D: Arjo Basu
D: Cameron Leys
D: Josh Forden
D: Eric Jernigan
MF: Bartosz Chmielewski
MF: Tony Cuautle
MF: Anthony Hildreth
MF: Michael Senese
F: Erick Mena
F: Abel Lopez
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match
Ricardo Saucedo, sr., D, Marmion
Giovanni Magana, so., MF, Marmion
Scoring summary
First half
M: Ricardo Saucedo (Giovanni Magana), 21'
Second half
M: Mactzil Uriel Lopez (Alvaro Alanis), 50'
Marmion: Barry O'Neill, 78'