Alvarez, Morton on target vs. St. Ignatius
Sophomore's hat-trick drives Mustangs to 3-0 sectional semi win
By Dave Owen
WESTERN SPRINGS – Morton’s Giovanni Alvarez picked a great time for his offensive game of the year.
The Mustangs sophomore entered Tuesday’s Class 3A Lyons Sectional semifinal match against St. Ignatius with three goals this fall.
Alvarez needed only 44 minutes of play to double that total. His hat-trick provided all the offense for top-seeded Morton (19-3-2) in a 3-0 win over the fourth-seeded Wolfpack (10-8-1).
“It felt good because it was my first hat trick for the varsity team,” said Alvarez, who was elevated to the top club midway through his freshman season.
“We all worked as a team – it wasn’t just my work. The team helped me get the hat-trick.”
But teamwork and humility aside, it was Alvarez’s extra effort on two plays near the net that produced Morton’s 2-0 halftime lead.
The Mustangs, who are the top-ranked team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, came out at top speed. Setting the tone were a Jesus Perez end line attack and shot over the net in the 3rd minute, then a Cristian Perez 35-yard free kick that a running Juan Hernandez headed just over the net one minute later.
The third quality chance with 33:47 left in the first half paid off with what would become the game-winning goal.
Edwin Zizumbo’s hard one-hop liner from 20 yards was saved by St. Ignatius goalkeeper Paul Smith. Alvarez pounced on the loose ball in front with two rebound shots, the second a point-blank header into the net just under the crossbar.
“I kind of missed it the first time (on the rebound shot): it hit the crossbar,” Alvarez said. “Then I just knew I had to put it in the net when it came back. I couldn’t miss the second time.”
Alvarez’s second goal 11:16 before halftime came off a similar rebound scramble.
Adrian Salto’s header off a Jesus Perez corner kick was saved by Smith but spun loose.
A clearing attempt by a St. Ignatius defender then deflected back towards the net, where Alvarez slid in for a powerful putaway at the doorstep for a 2-0 Morton lead.
“I’ve just got to get to the ball,” Alvarez said of his gung-ho approach near the net. “That’s what I do. And that’s what I’ve got to do.
“I knew it was an important game, so I wanted to give everything I’ve got.”
Alvarez has made a big impact all season with great ballhandling and passing, and adopted the finisher role Tuesday.
“He’s always been dangerous out there,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said of Alvarez. “He does a lot of clever things with the ball, and today he was all over the ball.
“We know he has scoring ability too. He likes being the playmaker, but today he was hungry and got on to a few of those balls that we needed someone to poke in. He had a great game today.”
Zizumbo was also an offensive force in the first half, with numerous great chances.
Smith’s sliding save denied a Zizumbo 8-yard shot in the 10th minute.
Then on an offensive zone threat initiated by Romario Iniguez and Jesus Perez 22 minutes in, Zizumbo’s interception of a clearing attempt produced a 30-yard drive that was deflected wide by a diving Smith.
Zizumbo also nearly cashed in on a creative Morton burst in the 31st minute. On a Jesus Perez run, Perez headed the ball back to Zizumbo for a 30-yard rocket just wide left.
“We were touching the ball good, moving around,” Zizumbo said of Morton’s early offensive dominance. “Slowly we started getting our chances, and we took care of our chances.”
As in the pair of first half goals, Morton’s quickness also caused havoc in the box with the score 1-0 in the 27th minute.
A Jesus Perez corner kick drew Smith off his line into the crowd in front. After Cristian Perez’s header was blocked, a Julian Yanez resend towards the net required a clear off the goal line by St. Ignatius standout Aidan Hurst to deny a Morton goal.
“We came into it knowing they (Morton) would be strong on the ball, and they would be creating chances,” St. Ignatius coach Matt Miller said. “We wanted to limit isolation 1-v.-1’s, so we got back behind the ball and defended with numbers.
“When one of their players got the ball they had three or four Ignatians on them. We tried to avoid the distribution into their three key players, and were trying to catch them on a break (for a counterattack). Unfortunately we made a couple errors, and as soon as you go behind in a game to the top-seeded team, you make it difficult for yourself.”
Coming up with a strategy to defend Morton’s speed and skill is a near impossible roll of the dice.
“They (St. Ignatius) were laying back a little bit (defensively) in the first half,” Bageanis said. “I think they gave us too much space to play our game. Giving us that possession, I thought we would eventually get through. And we did.”
St. Ignatius faced another 2019-specific challenge. The good news coming in: the Wolfpack won a regional title. The bad news: both wins were teachers’ strike-produced forfeits to Chicago Public League teams, meaning St. Ignatius hadn’t played a game since an Oct. 17 loss to Evanston.
“I definitely think a playoff run (with two regional games) would have been beneficial for us,” Miller said. “We’ve had two weeks without a competitive game.”
Jumping right into the fire against mighty Morton was no easy task.
“We planned accordingly and were able to practice a little more,” Miller said. “But we were lacking a little bit in match sharpness, and that little bit of competitive edge that you need to take into a big game like this. It definitely affected us.”
The second half started with more of the same Morton success, but ended with a surprising St. Ignatius surge in the final 30 minutes.
First, Alvarez capped his hat trick in style with 36:51 left. Off a perfect through-ball from Zizumbo, Alvarez powered a 22-yard drive inside the upper left corner to put Morton up 3-0.
St. Ignatius’ offense snapped to life just 90 seconds later and never let up the rest of the way.
Morton goalkeeper Andres Calderon made one save in the first half, grabbing a Talcott Malven header off a free kick in the 11th minute.
But 34 minutes after that save, Calderon and the Mustangs needed maximum effort to repel a Wolfpack swarm with 35:15 to go.
Calderon’s diving save denied an Ethan Gould left-side run and shot. Then on Ronan Sullivan’s rebound try, Morton midfielder Salto’s block at the right post kept the score 3-0.
Sullivan followed in the next three minutes with a 8-yarder just wide left and a 28-yarder saved by Calderon, as the Wolfpack tried to claw back.
“I had to adjust to how aggressive they were becoming in the final half,” Calderon said. “We were slacking off a little bit, and they’re good offensively.
“The first half they were holding back, but we saw (in the second) what they were holding back. They tested us.”
St. Ignatius again narrowly missed a breakthrough with 31:50 to go, when Christian Yonan’s 16-yard right side drive caromed off the crossbar.
“They got going,” Bageanis said, “and sometimes we’re our own worst enemy. Sometimes we sit back when we get a lead, and we don’t have that killer instinct.”
As soon as the scoreboard clicked to a 3-0 Morton lead, St. Ignatius flicked a switch of its own.
“Quite honestly we reverted back to the system we’ve been playing most of the season, which was the 4-3-3 (formation),” Miller said. “We introduced a few hungry sophomores and juniors as well. They brought their positive energy, and it transcended across the team.
“We made a few scary moments for them (Morton). We broke their lines, we got some crosses in. We just couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net.”
St. Ignatius continued its relentless burst of chances with 30:45 to go, when
Calderon made a great one-handed swat away on a Luke Hogan shot.
Jaden Rice lined a 19-yard free kick wide left with 27 minutes left, and Daniel Fernandez’s sliding redirect off a corner kick went just over the net with 25:40 to play.
“We were aggressive early,” Calderon said, “but then we started slacking off and they came at us. We weren’t ready for them. They came at us pretty good.”
Morton’s offense also kept coming. With 21:20 to go, Alvarez made a bid for his fourth goal with a left-side rush. But Smith’s diving save and a Wolfpack block of Salto’s rebound try kept the score 3-0.
After Smith’s save on a Iniguez 23-yard shot with 16 minutes left, St. Ignatius was back on the attack.
But the Morton defense refused to relent en route to its fifth-straight shutout and 10th of the season.
Consecutive blocked shots by Cristian Perez and Saul Juarez denied the Wolfpack with 13:20 to go.
Then with 11:10 left, Calderon’s acrobatic leaping deflection over the crossbar of a Jack Lannon 22-yarder continued the Morton goalkeeper’s highlight-film half.
“Andres had three nice saves, three A-plus saves,” Bageanis said. “Knock on wood, he’s been hot lately, and you want to ride a hot keeper into the playoffs is the philosophy. He’s been doing well for us.”
Morton’s defense also got a big boost off the bench to finally calm the wild second half waters.
“Saul Juarez came in late and did a good job for us,” Bageanis said, “just balancing us back there and getting clears out. They were putting pressure on us the last 30 minutes. We’d bend a little bit, but it was good we didn’t break.”
Juarez’s presence was huge with 9:05 left, when he blocked two-consecutive passes/crosses in the box (the second cleared upfield by Juan Hernandez).
St. Ignatius goalkeeper Smith also finished strong, with a leaping deflection over the crossbar of a Zizumbo rocket with 7:50 to play and a nice save on Cristian Perez’s steal and left-side shot with 5:10 to go.
Calderon’s short-hop save on a low Sullivan liner with 20 seconds left sealed the Morton win.
“We’re blessed with all the talent we have here,” Bageanis said. “It’s the kids. We’re just trying to fit the pieces in where they need to go to keep us successful.
“They put in the work. They’ve got the skills, so it’s just plugging people in.”
The Mustangs now seek their fourth sectional title in the last five years, when they face Hinsdale Central (9-7-2) in the Lyons sectional final at 6 p.m. Friday.
The sixth-seeded Red Devils come off an impressive 3-0 upset win over second-seed Lyons in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
“Friday’s game is going to be a great game,” Bageanis said. “It’s just going to be the team that has the luckiest chances and finishes them.”
Said Calderon: “We’re just going to take it step by step and not get ahead of ourselves. And just hope we come home with a win this Friday.”
That short-term focus is a playoff necessity.
“One thing we talk about every year going into the playoffs: you can’t rest on whatever your record is,” Bageanis said. “A couple of our guys at the start of the playoffs said, ‘We’re taking it step by step, day by day. Not even game by game.’
“We want to keep getting better day by day, game planning, strategizing and being ready for game day each playoff game. That’s our goal.”
The Mustangs players are buying into that approach.
“We have to work as a team, and step by step we’ll get our results,” Zizumbo said.
“At times we’re nervous, but it’s the big stage now. Sectional final Friday, and we’ll see what happens.”
Starting lineups
Morton
GK Andres Calderon
D Juan Hernandez
D Julian Yanez
D Juan Ramirez
M Julian Vargas
M Adrian Salto
M Cristian Perez
M Uriel Sotelo
M Jesus Perez
F Giovanni Alvarez
F Edwin Zizumbo
St. Ignatius
GK Paul Smith
D Charlie Kennedy
D Talcott Malven
D Jack Lannon
D Aidan Hurst
M Daniel Fernandez
M Max Hanlon
M Luke Hogan
M Jaden Rice
F Ronan Sullivan
F Lloyd Rice
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Giovanni Alvarez, so. F, Morton
Scoring summary
First half
M- Giovanni Alvarez (rebound), 7’
M- Alvarez (rebound), 29’
Second half
M- Alvarez (Edwin Zizumbo assist), 44’
Sophomore's hat-trick drives Mustangs to 3-0 sectional semi win
By Dave Owen
WESTERN SPRINGS – Morton’s Giovanni Alvarez picked a great time for his offensive game of the year.
The Mustangs sophomore entered Tuesday’s Class 3A Lyons Sectional semifinal match against St. Ignatius with three goals this fall.
Alvarez needed only 44 minutes of play to double that total. His hat-trick provided all the offense for top-seeded Morton (19-3-2) in a 3-0 win over the fourth-seeded Wolfpack (10-8-1).
“It felt good because it was my first hat trick for the varsity team,” said Alvarez, who was elevated to the top club midway through his freshman season.
“We all worked as a team – it wasn’t just my work. The team helped me get the hat-trick.”
But teamwork and humility aside, it was Alvarez’s extra effort on two plays near the net that produced Morton’s 2-0 halftime lead.
The Mustangs, who are the top-ranked team in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, came out at top speed. Setting the tone were a Jesus Perez end line attack and shot over the net in the 3rd minute, then a Cristian Perez 35-yard free kick that a running Juan Hernandez headed just over the net one minute later.
The third quality chance with 33:47 left in the first half paid off with what would become the game-winning goal.
Edwin Zizumbo’s hard one-hop liner from 20 yards was saved by St. Ignatius goalkeeper Paul Smith. Alvarez pounced on the loose ball in front with two rebound shots, the second a point-blank header into the net just under the crossbar.
“I kind of missed it the first time (on the rebound shot): it hit the crossbar,” Alvarez said. “Then I just knew I had to put it in the net when it came back. I couldn’t miss the second time.”
Alvarez’s second goal 11:16 before halftime came off a similar rebound scramble.
Adrian Salto’s header off a Jesus Perez corner kick was saved by Smith but spun loose.
A clearing attempt by a St. Ignatius defender then deflected back towards the net, where Alvarez slid in for a powerful putaway at the doorstep for a 2-0 Morton lead.
“I’ve just got to get to the ball,” Alvarez said of his gung-ho approach near the net. “That’s what I do. And that’s what I’ve got to do.
“I knew it was an important game, so I wanted to give everything I’ve got.”
Alvarez has made a big impact all season with great ballhandling and passing, and adopted the finisher role Tuesday.
“He’s always been dangerous out there,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said of Alvarez. “He does a lot of clever things with the ball, and today he was all over the ball.
“We know he has scoring ability too. He likes being the playmaker, but today he was hungry and got on to a few of those balls that we needed someone to poke in. He had a great game today.”
Zizumbo was also an offensive force in the first half, with numerous great chances.
Smith’s sliding save denied a Zizumbo 8-yard shot in the 10th minute.
Then on an offensive zone threat initiated by Romario Iniguez and Jesus Perez 22 minutes in, Zizumbo’s interception of a clearing attempt produced a 30-yard drive that was deflected wide by a diving Smith.
Zizumbo also nearly cashed in on a creative Morton burst in the 31st minute. On a Jesus Perez run, Perez headed the ball back to Zizumbo for a 30-yard rocket just wide left.
“We were touching the ball good, moving around,” Zizumbo said of Morton’s early offensive dominance. “Slowly we started getting our chances, and we took care of our chances.”
As in the pair of first half goals, Morton’s quickness also caused havoc in the box with the score 1-0 in the 27th minute.
A Jesus Perez corner kick drew Smith off his line into the crowd in front. After Cristian Perez’s header was blocked, a Julian Yanez resend towards the net required a clear off the goal line by St. Ignatius standout Aidan Hurst to deny a Morton goal.
“We came into it knowing they (Morton) would be strong on the ball, and they would be creating chances,” St. Ignatius coach Matt Miller said. “We wanted to limit isolation 1-v.-1’s, so we got back behind the ball and defended with numbers.
“When one of their players got the ball they had three or four Ignatians on them. We tried to avoid the distribution into their three key players, and were trying to catch them on a break (for a counterattack). Unfortunately we made a couple errors, and as soon as you go behind in a game to the top-seeded team, you make it difficult for yourself.”
Coming up with a strategy to defend Morton’s speed and skill is a near impossible roll of the dice.
“They (St. Ignatius) were laying back a little bit (defensively) in the first half,” Bageanis said. “I think they gave us too much space to play our game. Giving us that possession, I thought we would eventually get through. And we did.”
St. Ignatius faced another 2019-specific challenge. The good news coming in: the Wolfpack won a regional title. The bad news: both wins were teachers’ strike-produced forfeits to Chicago Public League teams, meaning St. Ignatius hadn’t played a game since an Oct. 17 loss to Evanston.
“I definitely think a playoff run (with two regional games) would have been beneficial for us,” Miller said. “We’ve had two weeks without a competitive game.”
Jumping right into the fire against mighty Morton was no easy task.
“We planned accordingly and were able to practice a little more,” Miller said. “But we were lacking a little bit in match sharpness, and that little bit of competitive edge that you need to take into a big game like this. It definitely affected us.”
The second half started with more of the same Morton success, but ended with a surprising St. Ignatius surge in the final 30 minutes.
First, Alvarez capped his hat trick in style with 36:51 left. Off a perfect through-ball from Zizumbo, Alvarez powered a 22-yard drive inside the upper left corner to put Morton up 3-0.
St. Ignatius’ offense snapped to life just 90 seconds later and never let up the rest of the way.
Morton goalkeeper Andres Calderon made one save in the first half, grabbing a Talcott Malven header off a free kick in the 11th minute.
But 34 minutes after that save, Calderon and the Mustangs needed maximum effort to repel a Wolfpack swarm with 35:15 to go.
Calderon’s diving save denied an Ethan Gould left-side run and shot. Then on Ronan Sullivan’s rebound try, Morton midfielder Salto’s block at the right post kept the score 3-0.
Sullivan followed in the next three minutes with a 8-yarder just wide left and a 28-yarder saved by Calderon, as the Wolfpack tried to claw back.
“I had to adjust to how aggressive they were becoming in the final half,” Calderon said. “We were slacking off a little bit, and they’re good offensively.
“The first half they were holding back, but we saw (in the second) what they were holding back. They tested us.”
St. Ignatius again narrowly missed a breakthrough with 31:50 to go, when Christian Yonan’s 16-yard right side drive caromed off the crossbar.
“They got going,” Bageanis said, “and sometimes we’re our own worst enemy. Sometimes we sit back when we get a lead, and we don’t have that killer instinct.”
As soon as the scoreboard clicked to a 3-0 Morton lead, St. Ignatius flicked a switch of its own.
“Quite honestly we reverted back to the system we’ve been playing most of the season, which was the 4-3-3 (formation),” Miller said. “We introduced a few hungry sophomores and juniors as well. They brought their positive energy, and it transcended across the team.
“We made a few scary moments for them (Morton). We broke their lines, we got some crosses in. We just couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net.”
St. Ignatius continued its relentless burst of chances with 30:45 to go, when
Calderon made a great one-handed swat away on a Luke Hogan shot.
Jaden Rice lined a 19-yard free kick wide left with 27 minutes left, and Daniel Fernandez’s sliding redirect off a corner kick went just over the net with 25:40 to play.
“We were aggressive early,” Calderon said, “but then we started slacking off and they came at us. We weren’t ready for them. They came at us pretty good.”
Morton’s offense also kept coming. With 21:20 to go, Alvarez made a bid for his fourth goal with a left-side rush. But Smith’s diving save and a Wolfpack block of Salto’s rebound try kept the score 3-0.
After Smith’s save on a Iniguez 23-yard shot with 16 minutes left, St. Ignatius was back on the attack.
But the Morton defense refused to relent en route to its fifth-straight shutout and 10th of the season.
Consecutive blocked shots by Cristian Perez and Saul Juarez denied the Wolfpack with 13:20 to go.
Then with 11:10 left, Calderon’s acrobatic leaping deflection over the crossbar of a Jack Lannon 22-yarder continued the Morton goalkeeper’s highlight-film half.
“Andres had three nice saves, three A-plus saves,” Bageanis said. “Knock on wood, he’s been hot lately, and you want to ride a hot keeper into the playoffs is the philosophy. He’s been doing well for us.”
Morton’s defense also got a big boost off the bench to finally calm the wild second half waters.
“Saul Juarez came in late and did a good job for us,” Bageanis said, “just balancing us back there and getting clears out. They were putting pressure on us the last 30 minutes. We’d bend a little bit, but it was good we didn’t break.”
Juarez’s presence was huge with 9:05 left, when he blocked two-consecutive passes/crosses in the box (the second cleared upfield by Juan Hernandez).
St. Ignatius goalkeeper Smith also finished strong, with a leaping deflection over the crossbar of a Zizumbo rocket with 7:50 to play and a nice save on Cristian Perez’s steal and left-side shot with 5:10 to go.
Calderon’s short-hop save on a low Sullivan liner with 20 seconds left sealed the Morton win.
“We’re blessed with all the talent we have here,” Bageanis said. “It’s the kids. We’re just trying to fit the pieces in where they need to go to keep us successful.
“They put in the work. They’ve got the skills, so it’s just plugging people in.”
The Mustangs now seek their fourth sectional title in the last five years, when they face Hinsdale Central (9-7-2) in the Lyons sectional final at 6 p.m. Friday.
The sixth-seeded Red Devils come off an impressive 3-0 upset win over second-seed Lyons in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
“Friday’s game is going to be a great game,” Bageanis said. “It’s just going to be the team that has the luckiest chances and finishes them.”
Said Calderon: “We’re just going to take it step by step and not get ahead of ourselves. And just hope we come home with a win this Friday.”
That short-term focus is a playoff necessity.
“One thing we talk about every year going into the playoffs: you can’t rest on whatever your record is,” Bageanis said. “A couple of our guys at the start of the playoffs said, ‘We’re taking it step by step, day by day. Not even game by game.’
“We want to keep getting better day by day, game planning, strategizing and being ready for game day each playoff game. That’s our goal.”
The Mustangs players are buying into that approach.
“We have to work as a team, and step by step we’ll get our results,” Zizumbo said.
“At times we’re nervous, but it’s the big stage now. Sectional final Friday, and we’ll see what happens.”
Starting lineups
Morton
GK Andres Calderon
D Juan Hernandez
D Julian Yanez
D Juan Ramirez
M Julian Vargas
M Adrian Salto
M Cristian Perez
M Uriel Sotelo
M Jesus Perez
F Giovanni Alvarez
F Edwin Zizumbo
St. Ignatius
GK Paul Smith
D Charlie Kennedy
D Talcott Malven
D Jack Lannon
D Aidan Hurst
M Daniel Fernandez
M Max Hanlon
M Luke Hogan
M Jaden Rice
F Ronan Sullivan
F Lloyd Rice
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Giovanni Alvarez, so. F, Morton
Scoring summary
First half
M- Giovanni Alvarez (rebound), 7’
M- Alvarez (rebound), 29’
Second half
M- Alvarez (Edwin Zizumbo assist), 44’