Marmion edges St. Joseph on Serrano goal
Cadets win 1-0 battle on defending Class A runnerup's pitch
By Dave Owen
WESTCHESTER – A day of firsts for Marmion contained one familiar element.
High-scoring junior James Serrano’s ninth goal of the season 23 minutes into the second half powered the Cadets (3-11-1, 1-5-0) to their first Chicago Catholic League Green Division win of the season, a 1-0 decision Thursday at defending Class 1A state runner-up St. Joseph (7-9-0, 2-4-0).
A send from just inside midfield by T.J. Laurich connected with Serrano right of the box. He settled the ball, turned and lined an 18-yard shot into the lower right corner of the net.
“Off a free kick it was cleared out, and then it came to T.J.,” said Serrano, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “We’ve been practicing when it gets cleared out to see if we can make a run in behind. And that’s exactly what happened.
“When he crossed it in, it was a touch and simple shot. I’ve been working on that in practice.”
Goalkeeper Jason Baker and Marmion’s defense was the other big story of the day, earning their first shutout of 2017.
“Our entire back line plays well entire games and sometimes comes away unlucky, whether it’s on set pieces or what,” Marmion coach Jimmy Romano said. “Johan (Muscutt) and Luke (Salamon) are our solid rocks in the back, and our outside backs Robert (Quintana), Aidan (Reynolds) and C.J. (Sowers). It was nice for them to have a solid game and get a shutout.
“Those guys work hard every single game, and it doesn’t always show on the scoreboard, but it’s always not the result of them. Those guys definitely deserve a lot of credit.”
The Cadets’ record has been hindered by a relentless schedule -- their first six matches were against Class 3A schools. A recent four-game skid included losses to ranked or previously ranked Loyola, Mt. Carmel and St. Ignatius. Some of the performances against higher-level opponents have instilled confidence.
“We played St. Charles North tough and tied them 1-1,” Cadets senior co-captain Matt Lagman said. “They went on to win the PepsiCo Showdown. We have the potential to hold up with those better teams, and we’ve proven it against St. Charles North.
“We’ve been playing such a tough schedule. I think that’s important for us from all these losses, understanding that some of the scores may not have shown it, but we’ve been fighting constantly against some great competition.”
Facing St. Joseph on its fast, small grass field has been a nightmare for opponents over the years – the Chargers even upset Hinsdale Central there in a regional final a decade ago.
But after enduring some early threats, Marmion was in control much of the match (including 10 corner kicks to St. Joseph’s four) until Serrano struck gold.
“With the season how it’s been going, any win is a good one for us,” Lagman said. “I thought we played well today, played more possession-style soccer. And looking at the field, the ball was bouncing all over.
“Taking good shots like that and getting quality chances like we were, one is bound to go in. We just had to keep pushing for that goal and not get down on ourselves.”
To Serrano, the field conditions were hard to adjust to.
“We’d pass the ball and it takes at least 10 bounces,” Serrano said. “The grass was a little dead, a little dry.
“But you don’t feel anxious to score. If the chance comes to you, you calm down and shoot. To be honest with you, the reason we couldn’t put in more goals was because of the ground.”
St. Joseph was on the attack early. After having two corner kicks repelled in the first five minutes (one headed wide, the second cleared by Marmion’s Lagman), the Chargers had a good chance denied in a strange way 12 minutes in.
Elijah Wooten was fouled outside the box on a run towards the net and finished the play for a goal – but the officials’ whistle for the foul produced a free kick instead of a 1-0 St. Joseph lead.
“We scored a goal,” Chargers coach Matt Sinacore insisted. “I understand why the center ref made the call – there’s a foul. But the referee’s job is to let play advance if it’s there, which it was.
“My forward (Wooten) is a class sprinter in track and field -- you can’t call it off until there’s a touch by the defender, not in that scenario. (The official) blew a whistle on the assumption that the goalkeeper would have a touch, which he didn’t. I would have preferred to wait for that one or two seconds (for the call). Then we have a goal and that changes the whole complexion of the game.
“But all in all you can’t blame a ref,” Sinacore added. “As a team who’s been really clicking offensively lately scoring three, five goals, we’ve had some good results against good teams. We can’t blame anybody but ourselves for not putting away more chances. We didn’t challenge enough.”
Marmion did challenge often, with the first great chance coming nine minutes in. David Lawinger’s cross came loose, setting up an Ian Swindle 6-yard try that was blocked by St. Joseph defender Quincy Sowell.
Then in the 22nd minute, defender Johan Muscutt made a great offensive zone run past three Chargers defenders, but sent his 15-yard drive just over the net.
Another great chance 32 minutes in produced a Serrano touch just wide of the right post of an Aidan Reynolds cross.
The persistent Marmion attack and style earned praise across the field.
“I’d say for about 20 minutes of the first half we didn’t make it past the center circle (offensively),” Sinacore said. “They really had our number.
“Marmion was a very physical team with a couple of guys who could dribble and a lot of big boys, really strong. They’re Cadets – they live up to their name.
“No. 13 (Lagman) was huge for them going both directions,” Sinacore added. “And 14 (Johan Muscott) really cleaned up for them. First balls were huge, and we gave up so many first balls to them.
“I’m not sure if it was being tired from us playing five games in seven days, but we kind of conceded (on 50-50 balls). You either play for the first ball or plan for the second, and we really weren’t doing either. That really hurt us.”
Marmion kept pushing in the second half. Four minutes in, a Lagman cross produced a high header on goal by Serrano caught at the right post.
On a Serrano corner kick 14 minutes into the second half, Reynolds produced an 8-yard header caught by St. Joseph second half goalkeeper Jacob Garza.
Then nine minutes later, Serrano’s knack for scoring kicked in, and the Cadets had their 1-0 final margin of victory.
“We kept possession a lot, and have been trying to do that,” Romano said. “We’ve had a lot of set pieces all season, and we haven’t really capitalized on them. We have to keep working on those – those can be the difference in playoff games.
“We know what we need to work on, but we stayed solid in the back today which was important for us, and now it’s about getting momentum for the playoffs.”
Marmion continued to push for an insurance goal. One of the best chances included a Garza chest-high save of a Serrano 12-yard right-side shot off a Swindle pass in the 28th minute.
Then on a Serrano corner kick two minutes later, James Lawinger sent a 20-yard chip just over the crossbar.
The Marmion defense limited St. Joseph threats in the box, and didn’t waver late in that effort. The last decent chance came off a Chargers corner kick with four minutes left, when Sebastian Gutierrez’s block and clear repelled that threat.
“Even though we’ve had tough losses, we’ve played great even if the scoreboard hasn’t shown it,” Romano said. “I’ve stressed, ‘Today’s a new day, focus on today and try to get momentum starting today.’
“Hopefully with four games left we get a little winning streak going into the playoffs. We have tough opponents coming up.”
Facing a tough schedule all fall, Marmion has hung tough.
“We’ve been having a not very excellent season looking at our record,” Serrano said. “But we’ve had a couple games where it’s been one-goal losses.
“We’re just trying to build motivation and rally around each other. It’s tough when you play a game that doesn’t go your way. You get to practice and try a new technique for the next game, and if doesn’t work it’s another try and another try.
You can’t give up. That’s our motivation.”
A hard-fought road win Thursday was the payoff. St. Joseph is a historically strong program with 11 state finals trips and eight trophies -- though no championships. It has two state runner-up trophies in the last three years (in 2A in 2014, then last year in 1A), and a third from 1997. The Chargers remain formidable despite heavy losses to graduation from last fall.
“Despite this loss we had won two in a row convincingly (by a 9-1 combined margin),” Sinacore said. “We have to be positive. We have seniors that are hungry and want to play as long as they can.
“Our eyes are on regionals. It’s a standard for us that if we don’t get those, we’ve had a bad season. We’re still growing and meshing. It was just an unfortunate lack of potency on offense today.”
After his deciding goal and his teammates’ strong defensive showing, Serrano hopes Thursday is the start of good times ahead.
“Of course every win feels nice,” Serrano said. “But we have to get a streak of wins going. That’ll motivate our team to get better for the playoffs.”
Starting lineups
Marmion
GK Jason Baker
D C.J. Sowers
D Luke Salamon
D Johan Muscutt
D Robert Quintana
M David Lawinger
M James Lawinger
M TJ Laurich
M Ian Swindle
F James Serrano
F Matt Lagman
St. Joseph
GK Carlos Gomez
D Quincy Sowell
D Lucas Hansen
D Abraham Rivera
D Francisco Ponce
M Nick Dowdle
M Joe Stiso
M Rron Baraku
M Jose Salizar
F Elijah Wooten
F Allen Serrano
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: James Serrano, jr. F, Marmion
Scoring summary
2nd half: Marmion – Serrano (Laurich assist).
Cadets win 1-0 battle on defending Class A runnerup's pitch
By Dave Owen
WESTCHESTER – A day of firsts for Marmion contained one familiar element.
High-scoring junior James Serrano’s ninth goal of the season 23 minutes into the second half powered the Cadets (3-11-1, 1-5-0) to their first Chicago Catholic League Green Division win of the season, a 1-0 decision Thursday at defending Class 1A state runner-up St. Joseph (7-9-0, 2-4-0).
A send from just inside midfield by T.J. Laurich connected with Serrano right of the box. He settled the ball, turned and lined an 18-yard shot into the lower right corner of the net.
“Off a free kick it was cleared out, and then it came to T.J.,” said Serrano, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “We’ve been practicing when it gets cleared out to see if we can make a run in behind. And that’s exactly what happened.
“When he crossed it in, it was a touch and simple shot. I’ve been working on that in practice.”
Goalkeeper Jason Baker and Marmion’s defense was the other big story of the day, earning their first shutout of 2017.
“Our entire back line plays well entire games and sometimes comes away unlucky, whether it’s on set pieces or what,” Marmion coach Jimmy Romano said. “Johan (Muscutt) and Luke (Salamon) are our solid rocks in the back, and our outside backs Robert (Quintana), Aidan (Reynolds) and C.J. (Sowers). It was nice for them to have a solid game and get a shutout.
“Those guys work hard every single game, and it doesn’t always show on the scoreboard, but it’s always not the result of them. Those guys definitely deserve a lot of credit.”
The Cadets’ record has been hindered by a relentless schedule -- their first six matches were against Class 3A schools. A recent four-game skid included losses to ranked or previously ranked Loyola, Mt. Carmel and St. Ignatius. Some of the performances against higher-level opponents have instilled confidence.
“We played St. Charles North tough and tied them 1-1,” Cadets senior co-captain Matt Lagman said. “They went on to win the PepsiCo Showdown. We have the potential to hold up with those better teams, and we’ve proven it against St. Charles North.
“We’ve been playing such a tough schedule. I think that’s important for us from all these losses, understanding that some of the scores may not have shown it, but we’ve been fighting constantly against some great competition.”
Facing St. Joseph on its fast, small grass field has been a nightmare for opponents over the years – the Chargers even upset Hinsdale Central there in a regional final a decade ago.
But after enduring some early threats, Marmion was in control much of the match (including 10 corner kicks to St. Joseph’s four) until Serrano struck gold.
“With the season how it’s been going, any win is a good one for us,” Lagman said. “I thought we played well today, played more possession-style soccer. And looking at the field, the ball was bouncing all over.
“Taking good shots like that and getting quality chances like we were, one is bound to go in. We just had to keep pushing for that goal and not get down on ourselves.”
To Serrano, the field conditions were hard to adjust to.
“We’d pass the ball and it takes at least 10 bounces,” Serrano said. “The grass was a little dead, a little dry.
“But you don’t feel anxious to score. If the chance comes to you, you calm down and shoot. To be honest with you, the reason we couldn’t put in more goals was because of the ground.”
St. Joseph was on the attack early. After having two corner kicks repelled in the first five minutes (one headed wide, the second cleared by Marmion’s Lagman), the Chargers had a good chance denied in a strange way 12 minutes in.
Elijah Wooten was fouled outside the box on a run towards the net and finished the play for a goal – but the officials’ whistle for the foul produced a free kick instead of a 1-0 St. Joseph lead.
“We scored a goal,” Chargers coach Matt Sinacore insisted. “I understand why the center ref made the call – there’s a foul. But the referee’s job is to let play advance if it’s there, which it was.
“My forward (Wooten) is a class sprinter in track and field -- you can’t call it off until there’s a touch by the defender, not in that scenario. (The official) blew a whistle on the assumption that the goalkeeper would have a touch, which he didn’t. I would have preferred to wait for that one or two seconds (for the call). Then we have a goal and that changes the whole complexion of the game.
“But all in all you can’t blame a ref,” Sinacore added. “As a team who’s been really clicking offensively lately scoring three, five goals, we’ve had some good results against good teams. We can’t blame anybody but ourselves for not putting away more chances. We didn’t challenge enough.”
Marmion did challenge often, with the first great chance coming nine minutes in. David Lawinger’s cross came loose, setting up an Ian Swindle 6-yard try that was blocked by St. Joseph defender Quincy Sowell.
Then in the 22nd minute, defender Johan Muscutt made a great offensive zone run past three Chargers defenders, but sent his 15-yard drive just over the net.
Another great chance 32 minutes in produced a Serrano touch just wide of the right post of an Aidan Reynolds cross.
The persistent Marmion attack and style earned praise across the field.
“I’d say for about 20 minutes of the first half we didn’t make it past the center circle (offensively),” Sinacore said. “They really had our number.
“Marmion was a very physical team with a couple of guys who could dribble and a lot of big boys, really strong. They’re Cadets – they live up to their name.
“No. 13 (Lagman) was huge for them going both directions,” Sinacore added. “And 14 (Johan Muscott) really cleaned up for them. First balls were huge, and we gave up so many first balls to them.
“I’m not sure if it was being tired from us playing five games in seven days, but we kind of conceded (on 50-50 balls). You either play for the first ball or plan for the second, and we really weren’t doing either. That really hurt us.”
Marmion kept pushing in the second half. Four minutes in, a Lagman cross produced a high header on goal by Serrano caught at the right post.
On a Serrano corner kick 14 minutes into the second half, Reynolds produced an 8-yard header caught by St. Joseph second half goalkeeper Jacob Garza.
Then nine minutes later, Serrano’s knack for scoring kicked in, and the Cadets had their 1-0 final margin of victory.
“We kept possession a lot, and have been trying to do that,” Romano said. “We’ve had a lot of set pieces all season, and we haven’t really capitalized on them. We have to keep working on those – those can be the difference in playoff games.
“We know what we need to work on, but we stayed solid in the back today which was important for us, and now it’s about getting momentum for the playoffs.”
Marmion continued to push for an insurance goal. One of the best chances included a Garza chest-high save of a Serrano 12-yard right-side shot off a Swindle pass in the 28th minute.
Then on a Serrano corner kick two minutes later, James Lawinger sent a 20-yard chip just over the crossbar.
The Marmion defense limited St. Joseph threats in the box, and didn’t waver late in that effort. The last decent chance came off a Chargers corner kick with four minutes left, when Sebastian Gutierrez’s block and clear repelled that threat.
“Even though we’ve had tough losses, we’ve played great even if the scoreboard hasn’t shown it,” Romano said. “I’ve stressed, ‘Today’s a new day, focus on today and try to get momentum starting today.’
“Hopefully with four games left we get a little winning streak going into the playoffs. We have tough opponents coming up.”
Facing a tough schedule all fall, Marmion has hung tough.
“We’ve been having a not very excellent season looking at our record,” Serrano said. “But we’ve had a couple games where it’s been one-goal losses.
“We’re just trying to build motivation and rally around each other. It’s tough when you play a game that doesn’t go your way. You get to practice and try a new technique for the next game, and if doesn’t work it’s another try and another try.
You can’t give up. That’s our motivation.”
A hard-fought road win Thursday was the payoff. St. Joseph is a historically strong program with 11 state finals trips and eight trophies -- though no championships. It has two state runner-up trophies in the last three years (in 2A in 2014, then last year in 1A), and a third from 1997. The Chargers remain formidable despite heavy losses to graduation from last fall.
“Despite this loss we had won two in a row convincingly (by a 9-1 combined margin),” Sinacore said. “We have to be positive. We have seniors that are hungry and want to play as long as they can.
“Our eyes are on regionals. It’s a standard for us that if we don’t get those, we’ve had a bad season. We’re still growing and meshing. It was just an unfortunate lack of potency on offense today.”
After his deciding goal and his teammates’ strong defensive showing, Serrano hopes Thursday is the start of good times ahead.
“Of course every win feels nice,” Serrano said. “But we have to get a streak of wins going. That’ll motivate our team to get better for the playoffs.”
Starting lineups
Marmion
GK Jason Baker
D C.J. Sowers
D Luke Salamon
D Johan Muscutt
D Robert Quintana
M David Lawinger
M James Lawinger
M TJ Laurich
M Ian Swindle
F James Serrano
F Matt Lagman
St. Joseph
GK Carlos Gomez
D Quincy Sowell
D Lucas Hansen
D Abraham Rivera
D Francisco Ponce
M Nick Dowdle
M Joe Stiso
M Rron Baraku
M Jose Salizar
F Elijah Wooten
F Allen Serrano
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: James Serrano, jr. F, Marmion
Scoring summary
2nd half: Marmion – Serrano (Laurich assist).