GKs come up big for Naperville C., Metea Cruz, Conners and Palagi all play well in 0-0 draw
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE -- Some scoreless draws are dull and others are packed with action.
Tuesday’s DuPage Valley Conference opener between Naperville Central and visiting Metea Valley was one of the latter matches.
Two teams struggling to find consistency for different reasons fought hard for 100 minutes and didn’t get what they wanted, but rather what they needed.
The 0-0 tie left the Memorial Stadium crowd entertained if not fully satisfied after the double-overtime drama.
“The game was enjoyable,” Metea Valley coach Josh Robinson said. “It was intense.
“If we’re trying to market and brand what we do in the DVC, this is it. The game was back-and-forth, and people were entertained.”
Indeed, there were 22 shots, eight saves and countless stretches of end-to-end action as the Redhawks and Mustangs battled for every loose ball, and both defenses consistently disrupted the opponent’s attacks until literally the last moment.
Both sides had chances to win with buzzer-beaters.
Naperville Central’s Jake Crawford uncorked a terrific 33-yard volley that was stopped by Metea Valley goalkeeper Gandhi Cruz as time expired in regulation.
Cruz then was thwarted on the final play of the game. The clock stopped with seven seconds left when a Naperville Central player was given a yellow card after a foul and Cruz ran up to take the resulting 37-yard free kick from the left wing.
Cruz sent his serve into the middle of the box, but Naperville Central goalie Brad Palagi rushed out of the net and secured the ball as the horn sounded.
“You’d love to get a win,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “But at the end of the day, as I told my players, I’m not upset with the game.
“But I told them if we had played with this kind of passion and enthusiasm our first six games, at worst we’d be 6-1-0 because we would have made the Best of the West finals. Today was the first time I’d say we played with the passion -- the desire and the effort that we need.”
The Redhawks (2-2-3, 0-0-1) did so despite playing without their two starting outside backs. Andrew Zain, Kenny Li and junior varsity callup Evan Lukhoff combined to fill the minutes usually played by Brandon Saper and A.J. Davenport and combined with the stellar play from Crawford and fellow center back Cameron Strang to hold Metea’s high-powered offense at bay.
Naperville Central enjoyed a 14-8 shot advantage, though the Mustangs (3-2-2, 0-0-1) had their moments. The Redhawks’ starting goalie, Ethan Conners, had to make three saves in the first half, including a diving stop on Evan Lang’s header off a long ball over the top from Spencer Collins and another lunge to deny James Lynch.
Palagi, though, had the save of the game 12 minutes after entering the game at halftime. Lynch had the left side of the goal open but his left-footed drive was parried past the post by the sprawling Palagi.
“Just doing what I can do to keep the team in the game,” Palagi said.
Palagi secured the draw with his last-second play on Cruz, who opted not to put the ball on frame but send it to a predetermined spot in front. Cruz placed the ball where he wanted it, but Palagi’s decisive play thwarted the plan.
“I don’t really get to go up that much,” Cruz said. “But just being up there the last play of the game, the intensity was really high.
“The keeper came out well. There was nothing we could do.”
Indeed, Palagi knew he had to do something.
“Coach had the backline moved forward to get me some more space to operate,” Palagi said. “When the ball was floated in I did my best to win the ball in the air.
“The only way I can be certain is if I go get it myself. (We were) just battling to the end.”
That effort left both coaches pleased, and the players tired. The game left indications of what will be needed if either team is to make noise in the postseason.
“It was a long game of soccer today,” Palagi said. “The work rate is what we are looking for, and it was there today more than it has been in a couple of our past games.”
That’s good news for the Redhawks, who actually are on a three-game winless streak. They lost a pair of one-goal decisions at the Best of the West, though Strang missed one of those games due to illness.
“Even my 10-year-old son said that was a great game to watch,” Adams said. “I think you saw two teams that came out and really worked their tails off with an incredible work rate.
“I think you saw two teams that know that if they are going to be successful this year, it’s going to take hard work and everyone buying in in order to be successful.”
Robinson said the Mustangs have bought in. The best part of the result for Metea was getting the clean-sheet after several games of mediocre play on defense.
“We would have liked a little bit better (result),” Robinson said. “The guys were fatigued at the end, but it was awesome.
“For us, the moral win doesn’t get there, but we’ve struggled defensively and our guys locked down today. Kid had the opportunity on the crossbar and then maybe a save here and there but otherwise our guys handled their business in the back.
“Spencer and Tony (Sanchez) played great, Abe (Antar) and Andrew (Wang) did really well, but it was a team effort.”
Cruz did his part, making four saves, including three in the first half. The only shot that got past him was a 25-yard liner off the foot of Ivan Dosen, who pinged the crossbar at the 18:20 mark of the first half.
Ironically, the Mustangs couldn’t take advantage of the stellar defensive effort as the Redhawks lived up to their reputation for stingy defense.
“I think we could have played better offensively, connecting our passes through the midfield,” Cruz said. “But we’ve just got to keep working.
“It was a tough match. Both teams started off real well. I think we had a tough game today, but we just try to take the best out of it and continue to work hard.”
If they do, the desired results should come.
“We’re trying to preach consistency, consistently playing well,” Robinson said. “But it was 100 percent solid effort tonight.
“(The Redhawks) work hard, they don’t give up goals. We’ve been giving them up so it was like, what would break. It ended up what it was.
“It’s a nice way to start off conference. You’d like to have a result but the kids can walk away knowing we can shut teams down and truly defend.”
The Redhawks, meanwhile, figured out how to put a complete effort together despite being undermanned against a quality opponent.
“We were happy with how we played and we worked hard, stayed strong in the back, kept the shutout,” Palagi said. “The effort was there, we’re just looking for that goal.”
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
GK Gandhi Cruz
D Tony Sanchez
D Andrew Wang
D Spencer Collins
D Abraham Antar
M Matthew Berry
M Joey Donovan
M Evan Lang
F Jaylen Brooks
F James Lynch
F Dominic Capezzuto
Naperville Central
GK Ethan Conners
D Andrew Zain
D Jake Crawford
D Cameron Strang
D Kenneth Li
M Rohan Bhargava
M Owen Jarrell
M Rokas Burnos
F Anthony Saavedra
F Roman Krupka
F Finn Wolfe
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Brad Palagi, sr., GK, Naperville Central
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE -- Some scoreless draws are dull and others are packed with action.
Tuesday’s DuPage Valley Conference opener between Naperville Central and visiting Metea Valley was one of the latter matches.
Two teams struggling to find consistency for different reasons fought hard for 100 minutes and didn’t get what they wanted, but rather what they needed.
The 0-0 tie left the Memorial Stadium crowd entertained if not fully satisfied after the double-overtime drama.
“The game was enjoyable,” Metea Valley coach Josh Robinson said. “It was intense.
“If we’re trying to market and brand what we do in the DVC, this is it. The game was back-and-forth, and people were entertained.”
Indeed, there were 22 shots, eight saves and countless stretches of end-to-end action as the Redhawks and Mustangs battled for every loose ball, and both defenses consistently disrupted the opponent’s attacks until literally the last moment.
Both sides had chances to win with buzzer-beaters.
Naperville Central’s Jake Crawford uncorked a terrific 33-yard volley that was stopped by Metea Valley goalkeeper Gandhi Cruz as time expired in regulation.
Cruz then was thwarted on the final play of the game. The clock stopped with seven seconds left when a Naperville Central player was given a yellow card after a foul and Cruz ran up to take the resulting 37-yard free kick from the left wing.
Cruz sent his serve into the middle of the box, but Naperville Central goalie Brad Palagi rushed out of the net and secured the ball as the horn sounded.
“You’d love to get a win,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “But at the end of the day, as I told my players, I’m not upset with the game.
“But I told them if we had played with this kind of passion and enthusiasm our first six games, at worst we’d be 6-1-0 because we would have made the Best of the West finals. Today was the first time I’d say we played with the passion -- the desire and the effort that we need.”
The Redhawks (2-2-3, 0-0-1) did so despite playing without their two starting outside backs. Andrew Zain, Kenny Li and junior varsity callup Evan Lukhoff combined to fill the minutes usually played by Brandon Saper and A.J. Davenport and combined with the stellar play from Crawford and fellow center back Cameron Strang to hold Metea’s high-powered offense at bay.
Naperville Central enjoyed a 14-8 shot advantage, though the Mustangs (3-2-2, 0-0-1) had their moments. The Redhawks’ starting goalie, Ethan Conners, had to make three saves in the first half, including a diving stop on Evan Lang’s header off a long ball over the top from Spencer Collins and another lunge to deny James Lynch.
Palagi, though, had the save of the game 12 minutes after entering the game at halftime. Lynch had the left side of the goal open but his left-footed drive was parried past the post by the sprawling Palagi.
“Just doing what I can do to keep the team in the game,” Palagi said.
Palagi secured the draw with his last-second play on Cruz, who opted not to put the ball on frame but send it to a predetermined spot in front. Cruz placed the ball where he wanted it, but Palagi’s decisive play thwarted the plan.
“I don’t really get to go up that much,” Cruz said. “But just being up there the last play of the game, the intensity was really high.
“The keeper came out well. There was nothing we could do.”
Indeed, Palagi knew he had to do something.
“Coach had the backline moved forward to get me some more space to operate,” Palagi said. “When the ball was floated in I did my best to win the ball in the air.
“The only way I can be certain is if I go get it myself. (We were) just battling to the end.”
That effort left both coaches pleased, and the players tired. The game left indications of what will be needed if either team is to make noise in the postseason.
“It was a long game of soccer today,” Palagi said. “The work rate is what we are looking for, and it was there today more than it has been in a couple of our past games.”
That’s good news for the Redhawks, who actually are on a three-game winless streak. They lost a pair of one-goal decisions at the Best of the West, though Strang missed one of those games due to illness.
“Even my 10-year-old son said that was a great game to watch,” Adams said. “I think you saw two teams that came out and really worked their tails off with an incredible work rate.
“I think you saw two teams that know that if they are going to be successful this year, it’s going to take hard work and everyone buying in in order to be successful.”
Robinson said the Mustangs have bought in. The best part of the result for Metea was getting the clean-sheet after several games of mediocre play on defense.
“We would have liked a little bit better (result),” Robinson said. “The guys were fatigued at the end, but it was awesome.
“For us, the moral win doesn’t get there, but we’ve struggled defensively and our guys locked down today. Kid had the opportunity on the crossbar and then maybe a save here and there but otherwise our guys handled their business in the back.
“Spencer and Tony (Sanchez) played great, Abe (Antar) and Andrew (Wang) did really well, but it was a team effort.”
Cruz did his part, making four saves, including three in the first half. The only shot that got past him was a 25-yard liner off the foot of Ivan Dosen, who pinged the crossbar at the 18:20 mark of the first half.
Ironically, the Mustangs couldn’t take advantage of the stellar defensive effort as the Redhawks lived up to their reputation for stingy defense.
“I think we could have played better offensively, connecting our passes through the midfield,” Cruz said. “But we’ve just got to keep working.
“It was a tough match. Both teams started off real well. I think we had a tough game today, but we just try to take the best out of it and continue to work hard.”
If they do, the desired results should come.
“We’re trying to preach consistency, consistently playing well,” Robinson said. “But it was 100 percent solid effort tonight.
“(The Redhawks) work hard, they don’t give up goals. We’ve been giving them up so it was like, what would break. It ended up what it was.
“It’s a nice way to start off conference. You’d like to have a result but the kids can walk away knowing we can shut teams down and truly defend.”
The Redhawks, meanwhile, figured out how to put a complete effort together despite being undermanned against a quality opponent.
“We were happy with how we played and we worked hard, stayed strong in the back, kept the shutout,” Palagi said. “The effort was there, we’re just looking for that goal.”
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
GK Gandhi Cruz
D Tony Sanchez
D Andrew Wang
D Spencer Collins
D Abraham Antar
M Matthew Berry
M Joey Donovan
M Evan Lang
F Jaylen Brooks
F James Lynch
F Dominic Capezzuto
Naperville Central
GK Ethan Conners
D Andrew Zain
D Jake Crawford
D Cameron Strang
D Kenneth Li
M Rohan Bhargava
M Owen Jarrell
M Rokas Burnos
F Anthony Saavedra
F Roman Krupka
F Finn Wolfe
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Brad Palagi, sr., GK, Naperville Central