Marmion's Serrano takes down St. Ignatius
Star scores all Cadets goals in 4-3 Catholic Blue road win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Marmion senior forward James Serrano plays with a bounce and swagger. He has a gliding style and a free-floating nervous intensity.
As a sophomore and junior Serrano led the Cadets in scoring and assists. The possibility of him achieving elite status has always been in his reach. The four-year starter has pushed himself to new levels of achievement. The natural growth and development explains part of his leap.
The most significant aspect of his game is harder to measure or calculate, an innate desire, a push to excel and move beyond his previous standards. It is as much state of mind as physical prowess.
As a player, Serrano is a perfectionist.
“I still have to work on finishing, because I had a few more opportunities,” he said. That seems like niggling over petty details considering his play against St. Ignatius.
Serrano put on a display virtually impossible to improve upon as he scored three first half goals to power the Cadets’ early advantage and created some breathing space with his fourth goal in the 52nd minute the Cadets rode to the impressive 4-3 victory over the Wolfpack in Chicago Catholic League Blue Division play Tuesday night.
James Serrano earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his superb play.
He has scored 15 goals in 12 games, easily surpassing the 10 goals and five assists he scored as a junior. The four goals tied a personal best.
“I thought I did a fantastic job today, especially when you play a team that puts their entire backline against you,” Serrano said.
“I enjoyed it.”
Coming to the beautiful, tree-lined West Loop campus of St. Ignatius is always a thrill for suburban kids. It was no exception for the Marmion players.
“We got here, and we thought it was a college,” Serrano said. “With the trees and the buildings it looked like Hogwarts from Harry Potter. When you step on the field, our mentality changed, and we came at them very strong the first half.”
Indeed, Serrano was a wizard. His speed and explosiveness in space proved impossible for the Wolfpack to contain. The Cadets (8-4-0, 2-1-0) enjoyed terrific early ball movement and proved quicker to the ball.
“He is just so creative, so fast and so quick on the ball,” Marmion coach Jimmy Romano said. “He’s fast, physical and aggressive. Every game this year he has been double- and triple-teamed. As crazy as this sounds he is able to get through that and create his own chances. He is able to take advantage of that and find the open guys.”
Serrano collaborated twice with junior midfielder T.J. Laurich in the 12th and 16th minute, for the 2-0 Marmion lead before St. Ignatius had a moment to catch its breath.
The Wolfpack (7-4-0, 1-1-0) have been an enigma for coach Ryan Kearns. At times, St. Ignatius has played with breathtaking precision and aggression demonstrating they are capable of playing with most teams.
Consistency and effort have been up and down.
“It boils down to effort, but the root of the problem is our mental approach to the game,” Kearns said. “We were not ready to play this team tonight. We treat teams that we are think we are better than on paper as such, and we play as such.
“One of our three captains, Keenan Troy, brought up after the game how we beat them pretty easily last year. It was probably a lot of the same guys from last year, and we thought it would be a cakewalk. It obviously was not.”
Serrano extended the score to 3-0 in the 32nd minute by converting a penalty kick after the official ruled a Wolfpack defender committed a handball in the box.
Marmion is on the move, in large part, said Serrano, because of Romano and his imprint on the program.
“We changed our culture over the summer with weightlifting, and our strength and conditioning coach changed our mentality,” Serrano said. “Same with Jimmy [Romano]. He is always on us and always motivating us. I love it. I never played on a high school team that has this kind of culture and motivation. It’s very nice to play with this group.
“It’s my last year, and I have to take full advantage of it.”
St. Ignatius has shown a knack for playing high-wire and momentum-changing affairs. At the start of the season, the Wolfpack watched Oak Park and River Forest melt away a three-goal deficit for a stunning 4-3 victory.
Kearns’s halftime talk clearly lit a fire under his team. Senior Wolfpack striker Matt Griffin, long and athletic, turbo-charged the St. Ignatius attack and matched Serrano’s intensity within seconds of the start of the second half.
The Wolfpack created ideal pressure and scored two goals in the first seven minutes of the second half. Operating from the left wing, midfielder Ryan Fitzpatrick served a beautiful volley that Griffin perfectly timed for for his finish inside the six in the 42nd minute.
Maintaining its pressure, defender Christian Telles delivered a long throw-in from the right edge that midfielder Daniel Fernandez pounced on for another textbook goal in the 47th minute. Like that, the Cadets’ lead was manageable.
“The team that played in the second half is the team that we need for the entirety of every game,” Kearns said.
Serrano snatched the momentum away in the 52nd minute, pressuring a loose ball and scoring what turned out to be his easiest goal of the night, blasting the ball into the open net, for the crucial two-goal lead.
“My dad always told me never give up on the ball,” Serrano said. “Jimmy says the same thing. I saw there was a miscommunication between the keeper and center back, and I just said I am going to keep on it.
“They messed up, and I just continued up on the play.”
Romano was the lead assistant for Matt Polovin at Streamwood for five years. He was on the staff of the 2014 Class 3A fourth place team that won the first state trophy in the Sabres’ history.
His first year was a learning experience for him and his players. The Cadets finished just 5-13-1, and they went 2-5-0 in Chciago Catholic League Blue Division play.
“My biggest thing was getting the kids to believe in me and believe in my goals and what I wanted for the team,” Romano said. “It took a year to get that into them. It’d be nice to have these results last year. We had seven or eight one-goal games last year.
“We are getting those wins now. The culture has changed, and their work ethic and the system and a belief in each other and players who have put the work in during the offseason. This game last year probably would not have turned out for us.”
Griffin closed the gap again with a header in the 75th minute. St. Ignatius forward Keith Bevans had some dangerous opportunities, including a laser from the top of the box that Marmion keeper Nathaniel Gelsomino made a diving stop on. St. Ignatius proved what it was capable of.
But time ran out for the Wolfpack.
“In the second half we were able to get back into the game and make them nervous, but that fourth goal, a simple miscommunication between our keeper and center back hurt obviously,” Kearns said.
“It is what it is. We have to learn how not to play this way.”
Starting lineups
Marmion
GK: Nathaniel Gelsomino
D: Cristian Cardenas
D: Andre Cerda
D: Sebastian Gutierrez
D: Joseph Lagman
D: Michael Murray
MF: Jack Kavanaugh
MF: Tyler Laurich
MF: Christopher Sowers
F: James Lawinger
F: James Serrano
St. Ignatius
GK: Alexander Beckwith
D: Ethan Belnap
D: Jack Galante
D: Christian Telles
D: Talcott Malven
MF: Ronan Sullivan
MF: Max Hanlon
MF: Daniel Hernandez
MF: Ryan Fitzpatrick
F: Keith Bevans
F: Matt Griffin
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: James Serrano, sr., F, Marmion
Scoring summary
First half
Marmion—James Serrano (T.J. Laurich), 12th minute
Marmion—Serrano (Laurich), 16th minute
Marmion—Serrano (penalty kick), 32nd minute
Second half
St. Ignatius—Matt Griffin (Ryan Fitzpatrick), 42nd minute
St. Ignatius—Daniel Fernandez (Christian Telles), 47th minute
Marmion—Serrano (unassisted), 52nd minute
St. Ignatius—Griffin (Fitzpatrick), 75th minute
Star scores all Cadets goals in 4-3 Catholic Blue road win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Marmion senior forward James Serrano plays with a bounce and swagger. He has a gliding style and a free-floating nervous intensity.
As a sophomore and junior Serrano led the Cadets in scoring and assists. The possibility of him achieving elite status has always been in his reach. The four-year starter has pushed himself to new levels of achievement. The natural growth and development explains part of his leap.
The most significant aspect of his game is harder to measure or calculate, an innate desire, a push to excel and move beyond his previous standards. It is as much state of mind as physical prowess.
As a player, Serrano is a perfectionist.
“I still have to work on finishing, because I had a few more opportunities,” he said. That seems like niggling over petty details considering his play against St. Ignatius.
Serrano put on a display virtually impossible to improve upon as he scored three first half goals to power the Cadets’ early advantage and created some breathing space with his fourth goal in the 52nd minute the Cadets rode to the impressive 4-3 victory over the Wolfpack in Chicago Catholic League Blue Division play Tuesday night.
James Serrano earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his superb play.
He has scored 15 goals in 12 games, easily surpassing the 10 goals and five assists he scored as a junior. The four goals tied a personal best.
“I thought I did a fantastic job today, especially when you play a team that puts their entire backline against you,” Serrano said.
“I enjoyed it.”
Coming to the beautiful, tree-lined West Loop campus of St. Ignatius is always a thrill for suburban kids. It was no exception for the Marmion players.
“We got here, and we thought it was a college,” Serrano said. “With the trees and the buildings it looked like Hogwarts from Harry Potter. When you step on the field, our mentality changed, and we came at them very strong the first half.”
Indeed, Serrano was a wizard. His speed and explosiveness in space proved impossible for the Wolfpack to contain. The Cadets (8-4-0, 2-1-0) enjoyed terrific early ball movement and proved quicker to the ball.
“He is just so creative, so fast and so quick on the ball,” Marmion coach Jimmy Romano said. “He’s fast, physical and aggressive. Every game this year he has been double- and triple-teamed. As crazy as this sounds he is able to get through that and create his own chances. He is able to take advantage of that and find the open guys.”
Serrano collaborated twice with junior midfielder T.J. Laurich in the 12th and 16th minute, for the 2-0 Marmion lead before St. Ignatius had a moment to catch its breath.
The Wolfpack (7-4-0, 1-1-0) have been an enigma for coach Ryan Kearns. At times, St. Ignatius has played with breathtaking precision and aggression demonstrating they are capable of playing with most teams.
Consistency and effort have been up and down.
“It boils down to effort, but the root of the problem is our mental approach to the game,” Kearns said. “We were not ready to play this team tonight. We treat teams that we are think we are better than on paper as such, and we play as such.
“One of our three captains, Keenan Troy, brought up after the game how we beat them pretty easily last year. It was probably a lot of the same guys from last year, and we thought it would be a cakewalk. It obviously was not.”
Serrano extended the score to 3-0 in the 32nd minute by converting a penalty kick after the official ruled a Wolfpack defender committed a handball in the box.
Marmion is on the move, in large part, said Serrano, because of Romano and his imprint on the program.
“We changed our culture over the summer with weightlifting, and our strength and conditioning coach changed our mentality,” Serrano said. “Same with Jimmy [Romano]. He is always on us and always motivating us. I love it. I never played on a high school team that has this kind of culture and motivation. It’s very nice to play with this group.
“It’s my last year, and I have to take full advantage of it.”
St. Ignatius has shown a knack for playing high-wire and momentum-changing affairs. At the start of the season, the Wolfpack watched Oak Park and River Forest melt away a three-goal deficit for a stunning 4-3 victory.
Kearns’s halftime talk clearly lit a fire under his team. Senior Wolfpack striker Matt Griffin, long and athletic, turbo-charged the St. Ignatius attack and matched Serrano’s intensity within seconds of the start of the second half.
The Wolfpack created ideal pressure and scored two goals in the first seven minutes of the second half. Operating from the left wing, midfielder Ryan Fitzpatrick served a beautiful volley that Griffin perfectly timed for for his finish inside the six in the 42nd minute.
Maintaining its pressure, defender Christian Telles delivered a long throw-in from the right edge that midfielder Daniel Fernandez pounced on for another textbook goal in the 47th minute. Like that, the Cadets’ lead was manageable.
“The team that played in the second half is the team that we need for the entirety of every game,” Kearns said.
Serrano snatched the momentum away in the 52nd minute, pressuring a loose ball and scoring what turned out to be his easiest goal of the night, blasting the ball into the open net, for the crucial two-goal lead.
“My dad always told me never give up on the ball,” Serrano said. “Jimmy says the same thing. I saw there was a miscommunication between the keeper and center back, and I just said I am going to keep on it.
“They messed up, and I just continued up on the play.”
Romano was the lead assistant for Matt Polovin at Streamwood for five years. He was on the staff of the 2014 Class 3A fourth place team that won the first state trophy in the Sabres’ history.
His first year was a learning experience for him and his players. The Cadets finished just 5-13-1, and they went 2-5-0 in Chciago Catholic League Blue Division play.
“My biggest thing was getting the kids to believe in me and believe in my goals and what I wanted for the team,” Romano said. “It took a year to get that into them. It’d be nice to have these results last year. We had seven or eight one-goal games last year.
“We are getting those wins now. The culture has changed, and their work ethic and the system and a belief in each other and players who have put the work in during the offseason. This game last year probably would not have turned out for us.”
Griffin closed the gap again with a header in the 75th minute. St. Ignatius forward Keith Bevans had some dangerous opportunities, including a laser from the top of the box that Marmion keeper Nathaniel Gelsomino made a diving stop on. St. Ignatius proved what it was capable of.
But time ran out for the Wolfpack.
“In the second half we were able to get back into the game and make them nervous, but that fourth goal, a simple miscommunication between our keeper and center back hurt obviously,” Kearns said.
“It is what it is. We have to learn how not to play this way.”
Starting lineups
Marmion
GK: Nathaniel Gelsomino
D: Cristian Cardenas
D: Andre Cerda
D: Sebastian Gutierrez
D: Joseph Lagman
D: Michael Murray
MF: Jack Kavanaugh
MF: Tyler Laurich
MF: Christopher Sowers
F: James Lawinger
F: James Serrano
St. Ignatius
GK: Alexander Beckwith
D: Ethan Belnap
D: Jack Galante
D: Christian Telles
D: Talcott Malven
MF: Ronan Sullivan
MF: Max Hanlon
MF: Daniel Hernandez
MF: Ryan Fitzpatrick
F: Keith Bevans
F: Matt Griffin
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: James Serrano, sr., F, Marmion
Scoring summary
First half
Marmion—James Serrano (T.J. Laurich), 12th minute
Marmion—Serrano (Laurich), 16th minute
Marmion—Serrano (penalty kick), 32nd minute
Second half
St. Ignatius—Matt Griffin (Ryan Fitzpatrick), 42nd minute
St. Ignatius—Daniel Fernandez (Christian Telles), 47th minute
Marmion—Serrano (unassisted), 52nd minute
St. Ignatius—Griffin (Fitzpatrick), 75th minute