Freshman Adams debuts with hat-trick,
Naperville Central stuns Morton
Prep newbie takes care of the scoring in 3-1 Redhawks win
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Naperville Central’s lineup is chock full of talented veteran players who have enjoyed their fair share of success.
But it was a high school rookie who went to the head of the class Monday.
Freshman forward Chase Adams made a sensational high school debut, scoring every Redhawk goal as the host Redhawks rallied to upset Morton 3-1 at Memorial Stadium.
For Naperville Central, which is ranked 10th in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 poll, the victory over the 2021 state semifinalist and 2019 runnerup was a statement victory to open a season in which the Redhawks have high hopes. They include taking their their first sectional title since 2015.
For Adams, who is the youngest son of Redhawks coach Troy Adams and the younger brother of fellow starter and junior midfielder Carter Adams, it was an auspicious beginning to what many think will be a great career.
“We couldn’t handle him,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said. “He’s a really skillful, tactical player, and he knows the game, knows how to draw fouls.
“He’s a really smart player. We had no one that could answer him today.”
The visiting Mustangs, who are ranked fourth in the First 50, took a 1-0 lead just six minutes into the match on Edgar Quintero’s rebound goal.
Forward Alexis Meza ran onto a through-ball just inside the top of the box and fired a low liner that was blocked by charging goalkeeper Austin Waite. But the rebound went straight to Quintero and the senior midfielder buried a 22-yard shot into the open net.
Instead of panicing, the Redhawks stepped up their game to collect their first win over Morton since 2013.
“I think they played well,” Quintero said. “I thought the first 10 minutes of the first half, we had it, and then after that first goal, they just picked up their intensity.”
Indeed, the tide changed nine minutes later when Chase Adams was knocked down in the Morton box. His teammates allowed him to take the resulting penalty kick, and he buried it into the upper right corner to tie things up 15 minutes into the game.
“We got really excited once we scored that first goal,” Chase Adams said. “I think it gave us a boost of hope and a glimpse of what we could see in the future.”
The future is bright for Chase Adams and his teammates. They demonstrated attacking depth and situational awareness against one of the top teams in the state.
“We recognize ways that we could beat a team,” Troy Adams said. “We’re not going to beat every team the same way.
“I reference Bill Belichick all the time. What does he do? He changes his game to meet the team they’re playing to take advantage of that.”
The Redhawks did that Monday, switching their preferred method of attacking to create some havoc in Morton’s defense.
“We want to possess out of the back and string passes together, but there are times when the pockets of space are there,” Troy Adams said. “Not just Chase but Nathan (Kwon) and Joey (LoDuca), all of them had a lot of success when they can get on a guy and really go at them."
The Redhawks went at the Mustangs with gusto, and it wasn’t just the older players.
Another freshman, Eli Jarrell, set up his classmate for the go-ahead goal with 11:55 left in the second half with a tremendous cross from 35 yards on the right wing.
The serve sailed into the middle of the box, where Adams beat Morton goalkeeper Brandon Flores to the ball and headed it home.
“It was a beautiful ball from Eli,” Chase Adams said. “I think the goalie got caught. I couldn’t really see, but I think (he was) maybe three or four yards (away).”
Jarrell, whose older brother Owen was a four-year varsity player for the Redhawks and now plays for IUPUI, is quickly developing a rapport with Chase Adams.
“Me and Chase always like to pass it to each other in practice,” Jarrell said. “We have a little connection there.
“I got the ball at about the 40 and I saw him up. I saw him waving his hand, and I passed it over. I thought the goalie was going to get it, but Chase got the ball.”
Jarrell wasn’t stunned that Chase Adams would find the back of the net, even against such a prestigious opponent.
“I’ve seen Chase play a lot, it’s not that surprising to me,” Jarrell said. “I knew he was going to score at least one today.”
Troy Adams said before the season started that his freshmen were going to have to play meaningful minutes for his team to be at its best. But even he was impressed with what he saw from Jarrell on his son’s second score.
“Eli hit a great ball in,” Troy Adams said. “I was super impressed by the amount of composure he had.
“That’s hard. (Playing against players) three years (older) can be really challenging.”
It became glaringly apparent, however, that stopping the youngest Adams is going to be challenging. He completed his amazing hat trick with 55 seconds remaining when he took a lead pass from Kwon and scored on a short shot.
“He earned it, without a doubt,” Bageanis said. “He’s a phenomenal player.”
Quintero, who has played with and against many top players, agreed.
“I thought he did really well,” he said. “As a freshman, that’s impressive, especially against Morton.”
The result was Morton’s first regular-season loss to an Illinois opponent in two seasons. But the outcome was in doubt until the final minute as the Mustangs generated plenty of free kick opportunities within 35 yards, including an indirect free kick inside Naperville Central’s box.
Most were blocked by the defensive wall, and two were saved.
“We haven’t worked on them enough, and I blame myself for that,” Bageanis said. “But we’ve still got to put them in dangerous spots, and we weren’t putting them in spots where we could do something with it.
“That’s a big problem. We have a lot of young guys and we’ll just have to battle through it and find the guys that are willing to step up for us.”
Quintero didn’t seem too worried.
“We’re still going to be solid,” Quintero said. “It’s one loss.
“We’ll learn from this, and we’ve got a long way to go. We’ll be there.”
The Redhawks figure to be, too. They seem solid at every position, even ones staffed by newcomers.
The first-timers included junior goalkeeper Dylan Scott, who made his varsity debut when he relieved Waite at halftime and made two saves in the final 40 minutes after the starter recorded three in the first half.
How did it feel to get a win in his varsity debut?
“I was a little surprised, because I think they’re ranked eighth in the country, so that’s pretty intimidating,” Scott said. “And we hadn’t beaten them since 2013, so it felt pretty good.
“I think we put in more effort than them on the field. Usually that’s how they beat us.”
Even though he’s only 14, Chase Adams is no stranger to high school soccer, having grown up around the Redhawks while watching his dad coach the team. So, he’s been well-schooled on how to properly handle success and notoriety.
What led to his great performance?
“I think it was the preparation for us as a team,” Chase Adams said. “It wasn’t just focused around me.
“Obviously, the stat line is going to say that I had three, but it’s a team goal, so we all scored three. I was just lucky to be at the receiving end of it, and I’m really glad to have these teammates that are willing to support me and are willing to give me the ball and trust me to score.”
Starting lineups
Morton
GK Brandon Flores
D Leo Ramirez
D David Cisneros
D Francisco Berrera
D Jose Trujillo
M Alexis Meza
M Edgar Quintero
M Sergio Villegas
M Ivan Ramirez
F Deyair Ruiz
F Ismael Zepeda
Naperville Central
GK Austin Waite
D Patrick Bohan
D Patrick Berryman
D Carter Bilik
D Michael Cavalleri
M Carter Adams
M Sean O’Reilly
M Josh Weigel
F Joey LoDuca
F Nathan Kwon
F Chase Adams
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Chase Adams, fr., F, Naperville Central
Scoring summary
First half
Morton – Edgar Quintero 34:06 remaining
Naperville Central – Chase Adams (PK) 25:00 remaining
Second half
Naperville Central – Adams (Eli Jarrell) 11:55 remaining
Naperville Central – Adams (Nathan Kwon) :55 remaining
Naperville Central stuns Morton
Prep newbie takes care of the scoring in 3-1 Redhawks win
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Naperville Central’s lineup is chock full of talented veteran players who have enjoyed their fair share of success.
But it was a high school rookie who went to the head of the class Monday.
Freshman forward Chase Adams made a sensational high school debut, scoring every Redhawk goal as the host Redhawks rallied to upset Morton 3-1 at Memorial Stadium.
For Naperville Central, which is ranked 10th in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 poll, the victory over the 2021 state semifinalist and 2019 runnerup was a statement victory to open a season in which the Redhawks have high hopes. They include taking their their first sectional title since 2015.
For Adams, who is the youngest son of Redhawks coach Troy Adams and the younger brother of fellow starter and junior midfielder Carter Adams, it was an auspicious beginning to what many think will be a great career.
“We couldn’t handle him,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said. “He’s a really skillful, tactical player, and he knows the game, knows how to draw fouls.
“He’s a really smart player. We had no one that could answer him today.”
The visiting Mustangs, who are ranked fourth in the First 50, took a 1-0 lead just six minutes into the match on Edgar Quintero’s rebound goal.
Forward Alexis Meza ran onto a through-ball just inside the top of the box and fired a low liner that was blocked by charging goalkeeper Austin Waite. But the rebound went straight to Quintero and the senior midfielder buried a 22-yard shot into the open net.
Instead of panicing, the Redhawks stepped up their game to collect their first win over Morton since 2013.
“I think they played well,” Quintero said. “I thought the first 10 minutes of the first half, we had it, and then after that first goal, they just picked up their intensity.”
Indeed, the tide changed nine minutes later when Chase Adams was knocked down in the Morton box. His teammates allowed him to take the resulting penalty kick, and he buried it into the upper right corner to tie things up 15 minutes into the game.
“We got really excited once we scored that first goal,” Chase Adams said. “I think it gave us a boost of hope and a glimpse of what we could see in the future.”
The future is bright for Chase Adams and his teammates. They demonstrated attacking depth and situational awareness against one of the top teams in the state.
“We recognize ways that we could beat a team,” Troy Adams said. “We’re not going to beat every team the same way.
“I reference Bill Belichick all the time. What does he do? He changes his game to meet the team they’re playing to take advantage of that.”
The Redhawks did that Monday, switching their preferred method of attacking to create some havoc in Morton’s defense.
“We want to possess out of the back and string passes together, but there are times when the pockets of space are there,” Troy Adams said. “Not just Chase but Nathan (Kwon) and Joey (LoDuca), all of them had a lot of success when they can get on a guy and really go at them."
The Redhawks went at the Mustangs with gusto, and it wasn’t just the older players.
Another freshman, Eli Jarrell, set up his classmate for the go-ahead goal with 11:55 left in the second half with a tremendous cross from 35 yards on the right wing.
The serve sailed into the middle of the box, where Adams beat Morton goalkeeper Brandon Flores to the ball and headed it home.
“It was a beautiful ball from Eli,” Chase Adams said. “I think the goalie got caught. I couldn’t really see, but I think (he was) maybe three or four yards (away).”
Jarrell, whose older brother Owen was a four-year varsity player for the Redhawks and now plays for IUPUI, is quickly developing a rapport with Chase Adams.
“Me and Chase always like to pass it to each other in practice,” Jarrell said. “We have a little connection there.
“I got the ball at about the 40 and I saw him up. I saw him waving his hand, and I passed it over. I thought the goalie was going to get it, but Chase got the ball.”
Jarrell wasn’t stunned that Chase Adams would find the back of the net, even against such a prestigious opponent.
“I’ve seen Chase play a lot, it’s not that surprising to me,” Jarrell said. “I knew he was going to score at least one today.”
Troy Adams said before the season started that his freshmen were going to have to play meaningful minutes for his team to be at its best. But even he was impressed with what he saw from Jarrell on his son’s second score.
“Eli hit a great ball in,” Troy Adams said. “I was super impressed by the amount of composure he had.
“That’s hard. (Playing against players) three years (older) can be really challenging.”
It became glaringly apparent, however, that stopping the youngest Adams is going to be challenging. He completed his amazing hat trick with 55 seconds remaining when he took a lead pass from Kwon and scored on a short shot.
“He earned it, without a doubt,” Bageanis said. “He’s a phenomenal player.”
Quintero, who has played with and against many top players, agreed.
“I thought he did really well,” he said. “As a freshman, that’s impressive, especially against Morton.”
The result was Morton’s first regular-season loss to an Illinois opponent in two seasons. But the outcome was in doubt until the final minute as the Mustangs generated plenty of free kick opportunities within 35 yards, including an indirect free kick inside Naperville Central’s box.
Most were blocked by the defensive wall, and two were saved.
“We haven’t worked on them enough, and I blame myself for that,” Bageanis said. “But we’ve still got to put them in dangerous spots, and we weren’t putting them in spots where we could do something with it.
“That’s a big problem. We have a lot of young guys and we’ll just have to battle through it and find the guys that are willing to step up for us.”
Quintero didn’t seem too worried.
“We’re still going to be solid,” Quintero said. “It’s one loss.
“We’ll learn from this, and we’ve got a long way to go. We’ll be there.”
The Redhawks figure to be, too. They seem solid at every position, even ones staffed by newcomers.
The first-timers included junior goalkeeper Dylan Scott, who made his varsity debut when he relieved Waite at halftime and made two saves in the final 40 minutes after the starter recorded three in the first half.
How did it feel to get a win in his varsity debut?
“I was a little surprised, because I think they’re ranked eighth in the country, so that’s pretty intimidating,” Scott said. “And we hadn’t beaten them since 2013, so it felt pretty good.
“I think we put in more effort than them on the field. Usually that’s how they beat us.”
Even though he’s only 14, Chase Adams is no stranger to high school soccer, having grown up around the Redhawks while watching his dad coach the team. So, he’s been well-schooled on how to properly handle success and notoriety.
What led to his great performance?
“I think it was the preparation for us as a team,” Chase Adams said. “It wasn’t just focused around me.
“Obviously, the stat line is going to say that I had three, but it’s a team goal, so we all scored three. I was just lucky to be at the receiving end of it, and I’m really glad to have these teammates that are willing to support me and are willing to give me the ball and trust me to score.”
Starting lineups
Morton
GK Brandon Flores
D Leo Ramirez
D David Cisneros
D Francisco Berrera
D Jose Trujillo
M Alexis Meza
M Edgar Quintero
M Sergio Villegas
M Ivan Ramirez
F Deyair Ruiz
F Ismael Zepeda
Naperville Central
GK Austin Waite
D Patrick Bohan
D Patrick Berryman
D Carter Bilik
D Michael Cavalleri
M Carter Adams
M Sean O’Reilly
M Josh Weigel
F Joey LoDuca
F Nathan Kwon
F Chase Adams
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Chase Adams, fr., F, Naperville Central
Scoring summary
First half
Morton – Edgar Quintero 34:06 remaining
Naperville Central – Chase Adams (PK) 25:00 remaining
Second half
Naperville Central – Adams (Eli Jarrell) 11:55 remaining
Naperville Central – Adams (Nathan Kwon) :55 remaining