Naperville North tops
Metea Valley in Koenig’s return
Senior scores after missing 10 games with ankle injury in 3-0 win
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Naperville North’s game of musical chairs continued Tuesday night as Bowling Green recruit Patrick Koenig returned to the lineup, while key midfielder Nata Rojas joined Myles Barry on the sidelines with an injury.
But the Huskies were singing a happy tune and not only because Koenig scored the game-winning goal after missing nearly a month with a high ankle sprain.
Junior defensive midfielder Josh Kaufman and senior defender Nathan Marassa each tallied their first varsity goals in the second half to break open a close match as the host Huskies knocked off Metea Valley 3-0 in DuPage Valley Conference action.
Both of the landmark goals came on familiar plays – long throw-ins from senior defender Christian Romano. Kaufman’s strike came with 16:06 remaining when Romano’s heave from the right side sailed over all of the Metea defenders and outside the far post, where Kaufman was waiting for the right-footed finish.
Marassa, a varsity rookie, followed suit with 2:32 to go on a similar play, only his shot came from within more traffic in the middle of the box.
“It feels amazing because I’ve been working hard all four years, and it feels really good to get a final product out of it,” Marassa said. “I’m really grateful for the opportunity to not only be on the team but to get some minutes.
“I’m glad I was able to make the most of it today and put one away.”
Players like Kaufman and Marassa don’t get a lot of attention outside of the team because they don’t play high-profile positions and, in Marassa’s case, haven’t been able to crack the starting lineup. But that doesn’t mean they lack talent or desire.
“The tough thing about playing at big schools is you’re always going to be on a good team,” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said. “The problem is some good players might not get as many chances as they might somewhere else.
“We’ve got some great guys who don’t play a lot just, because they’re behind guys who are a little bit better. So I was thrilled for Nathan.
“It was a great goal. His face lit up when he scored, so that’s a neat thing.”
For stars like Koenig and Ohio State-bound striker Ty Konrad who are used to the limelight, seeing less-heralded teammates get a moment in the sun is a fun experience.
“It was awesome that they both scored,” Koenig said. “It’s nice to see everyone get a chance to get one in the back of the net.
“It’s just a different feeling. Not everybody gets that chance to score. It’s an awesome feeling when everyone gets around you and is all excited.”
That was definitely the case for Marassa, whose primary job is to prevent goals, not score them. It’s an often thankless task that often goes unnoticed.
“That’s awesome, especially for defenders because obviously they don’t get a lot of credit, when they deserve a lot more,” Ty Konrad said. “So it’s awesome when they get an opportunity to score, and they put it away.”
The late first strikes allowed the Huskies (8-2-2, 3-0-0) to put away the pesky Mustangs, who fought hard and were in contention for the first 65 minutes.
Metea Valley (4-5-3, 0-1-1) had allowed one or fewer goals in each of its first 10 games before giving up two in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Glenbard North. Giving up three, albeit to the three-time defending state champions, was a disappointing first for the Mustangs.
“It was one of our toughest games,” Metea defender Matthew Dovalovsky said. “We had a lot of adversity.
“I feel like we hung in there with them in the first half. (Second half) they had a couple long throw-ins that got to us.
“We have to keep going and stay on those. That’s personal responsibility for me, because I know some of those got over my head, but as a team I think we played well.”
Indeed, though the Mustangs have struggled offensively this fall, they were not without chances. They put all but one of their six shots against the Huskies on frame.
The only one that went astray came on the visitors’ best scoring opportunity, a 19-yard free kick from the top of the box. Facing a four-man wall, Abraham Antar drove his kick over the crossbar with 17:00 left in the first half.
The miss proved to be costly as the Huskies broke the ice just 38 seconds later. Ty Konrad led a fast counterattack up the left wing and took the ball into the box before ripping a shot toward the far post.
Metea goalkeeper Gandhi Cruz dove and made a great stop, but the ball rolled away into space in the right side of the box. Koenig raced after it and got to the ball before a defender, then turned and fired a cut-back shot under the crossbar.
It was a brilliant stroke from Koenig, who was moving away from the goal toward the right corner when he shot the ball. Equally impressive was the fact that Cruz was able to get to his feet and race back to the goal line, where he nearly got his hands on the shot.
“I was hoping to get a goal,” Koenig said. “Every time Ty got the ball I wanted to get in the box for him and kind of give him an option.
“Ty brought it down, had a nice shot. Gandhi made a great save.”
Cruz barely missed making the second save, which made the goal even more special to Koenig because it came against a star keeper.
“It was a pretty nice goal,” Koenig said. “Gandhi, I really thought he was going to save it.
“His reactions are ridiculous. He gets up off the ground, and he springs to every ball.
“He always wants to attack that ball. He’s very aggressive, great goalkeeper, but it was well-placed, just out of his reach.”
The Huskies, who have won seven straight, know that a fourth state title is within their reach, but they will need to be completely healthy to win it. They haven’t been at full strength since the season opener, when Koenig went down with his injury not long after scoring North’s first goal of the season in a 2-2 tie against West Chicago.
Koenig spent 2½ weeks in a walking boot and another week in ankle brace. It was a frustrating time, made more so when the Huskies won only once in their first five games.
“Honestly, in the beginning I was really upset,” Koenig said. “I thought, ‘Why did it happen to me?’
“But I got over it. I had to cheer my team on, make sure they got up off their feet because they did struggle at the beginning, but we’re doing good right now. Hopefully we can keep it up and keep rolling.”
The Huskies know the best way to roll is with Koenig and Ty Konrad both at full speed up-top. When Koenig is in the lineup, defenses can’t key as much on his running mate, which makes both of them more dangerous.
“We’re really excited to have him back up top again,” Ty Konrad said. “Not only is it really fun because he’s one of my close friends, but obviously he’s a great player.
“He pulls his weight and then some so it’s just super helpful.”
Jim Konrad feared Koenig would be out even longer than he was, but credited Koenig’s fitness and attitude for coming back a little under a month after the injury.
“I’m thrilled for Patrick,” Jim Konrad said. “This summer he worked really hard. When he committed to Bowling Green, you could tell that he’s at another level.
“He crushed our fitness test, which is a tough test, and I think that helped him get back so quickly. He was like a professional athlete in the last month working to get back.
“To see a kid work that hard for his teammates to get back to help the team and then to score a goal in the first half of the first game back, I’m thrilled for him. He’s a huge part of our success.”
While still far from their best, the Huskies are gaining momentum despite the injuries. Barry is out with a broken foot and may not return until the playoffs, while Rojas suffered an ankle injury last week.
“Proud of the boys who have strung together a little run here without (Koenig) and having him back is a big boost,” Jim Konrad said. “Now we’ve got to get Nata and Myles back so we’re at full strength.”
One silver lining to the injury woes is that bench players like Marassa and senior defender Sebastian Babayan have gotten more playing time. Babayan has been starting.
“We did have a shaky start,” Marassa said. “We changed some things up and everyone started working harder at practice.
“Now we’re starting to get results, and I feel like as a team we’re really jelling and playing well. Hopefully it continues.”
For the Mustangs, the wanted results have yet to come. With only six returning varsity players, they have yet to completely jell and that process was made much harder ter aseason-ending injury to senior midfielder Joey Donovan.
But thanks to Cruz and the backline, Metea has been in every game. Four of their five losses have been by one goal, including three on penalty kicks.
“Sometimes it’s a little frustrating not being able to put it in the back of the net, but we’re getting those chances so we’ll get there,” Dovalovsky said. “We’re still learning. We’re still getting that chemistry.
“There’s more we can learn from this. This may be one of the best teams we’ve played, so we can grow from this and keep practicing and do our best.”
The Mustangs get another chance to do so Thursday when they host DeKalb in DVC action.
“This is the first time we got popped,” Metea Valley coach Josh Robinson said. “The guys for the most part worked really hard.
“We struggled to find goals but the guys in the back and Gandhi have just been amazing all year long. We need other kids to step up and lead.
“The hope is we can rebound well on Thursday against DeKalb, who has been tremendous this year.”
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
GK Gandhi Cruz
D Matthew Dovalovsky
D Tyler Kero
D Joseph Fitzgerald
D Clarke Simonvich
M Nick Sanchez
M Abraham Antar
M Davis Quarles
F Colin Bastianoni
F Drew Marquardt
F Alex Krehl
Naperville North
GK Jason Barba
D Evan Thompson
D Alex Barger
D Christian Romano
D Sebastian Babayan
M Zach Smith
M Ali Khorfan
M Cesar Recendez
M Josh Kaufman
F Patrick Koenig
F Ty Konrad
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Patrick Koenig, sr., F, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
Naperville North – Patrick Koenig 16:22
Second half
Naperville North – Josh Kauffman (Christian Romano) 16:06
Naperville North – Nathan Marassa (Romano) 2:32
Metea Valley in Koenig’s return
Senior scores after missing 10 games with ankle injury in 3-0 win
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Naperville North’s game of musical chairs continued Tuesday night as Bowling Green recruit Patrick Koenig returned to the lineup, while key midfielder Nata Rojas joined Myles Barry on the sidelines with an injury.
But the Huskies were singing a happy tune and not only because Koenig scored the game-winning goal after missing nearly a month with a high ankle sprain.
Junior defensive midfielder Josh Kaufman and senior defender Nathan Marassa each tallied their first varsity goals in the second half to break open a close match as the host Huskies knocked off Metea Valley 3-0 in DuPage Valley Conference action.
Both of the landmark goals came on familiar plays – long throw-ins from senior defender Christian Romano. Kaufman’s strike came with 16:06 remaining when Romano’s heave from the right side sailed over all of the Metea defenders and outside the far post, where Kaufman was waiting for the right-footed finish.
Marassa, a varsity rookie, followed suit with 2:32 to go on a similar play, only his shot came from within more traffic in the middle of the box.
“It feels amazing because I’ve been working hard all four years, and it feels really good to get a final product out of it,” Marassa said. “I’m really grateful for the opportunity to not only be on the team but to get some minutes.
“I’m glad I was able to make the most of it today and put one away.”
Players like Kaufman and Marassa don’t get a lot of attention outside of the team because they don’t play high-profile positions and, in Marassa’s case, haven’t been able to crack the starting lineup. But that doesn’t mean they lack talent or desire.
“The tough thing about playing at big schools is you’re always going to be on a good team,” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said. “The problem is some good players might not get as many chances as they might somewhere else.
“We’ve got some great guys who don’t play a lot just, because they’re behind guys who are a little bit better. So I was thrilled for Nathan.
“It was a great goal. His face lit up when he scored, so that’s a neat thing.”
For stars like Koenig and Ohio State-bound striker Ty Konrad who are used to the limelight, seeing less-heralded teammates get a moment in the sun is a fun experience.
“It was awesome that they both scored,” Koenig said. “It’s nice to see everyone get a chance to get one in the back of the net.
“It’s just a different feeling. Not everybody gets that chance to score. It’s an awesome feeling when everyone gets around you and is all excited.”
That was definitely the case for Marassa, whose primary job is to prevent goals, not score them. It’s an often thankless task that often goes unnoticed.
“That’s awesome, especially for defenders because obviously they don’t get a lot of credit, when they deserve a lot more,” Ty Konrad said. “So it’s awesome when they get an opportunity to score, and they put it away.”
The late first strikes allowed the Huskies (8-2-2, 3-0-0) to put away the pesky Mustangs, who fought hard and were in contention for the first 65 minutes.
Metea Valley (4-5-3, 0-1-1) had allowed one or fewer goals in each of its first 10 games before giving up two in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Glenbard North. Giving up three, albeit to the three-time defending state champions, was a disappointing first for the Mustangs.
“It was one of our toughest games,” Metea defender Matthew Dovalovsky said. “We had a lot of adversity.
“I feel like we hung in there with them in the first half. (Second half) they had a couple long throw-ins that got to us.
“We have to keep going and stay on those. That’s personal responsibility for me, because I know some of those got over my head, but as a team I think we played well.”
Indeed, though the Mustangs have struggled offensively this fall, they were not without chances. They put all but one of their six shots against the Huskies on frame.
The only one that went astray came on the visitors’ best scoring opportunity, a 19-yard free kick from the top of the box. Facing a four-man wall, Abraham Antar drove his kick over the crossbar with 17:00 left in the first half.
The miss proved to be costly as the Huskies broke the ice just 38 seconds later. Ty Konrad led a fast counterattack up the left wing and took the ball into the box before ripping a shot toward the far post.
Metea goalkeeper Gandhi Cruz dove and made a great stop, but the ball rolled away into space in the right side of the box. Koenig raced after it and got to the ball before a defender, then turned and fired a cut-back shot under the crossbar.
It was a brilliant stroke from Koenig, who was moving away from the goal toward the right corner when he shot the ball. Equally impressive was the fact that Cruz was able to get to his feet and race back to the goal line, where he nearly got his hands on the shot.
“I was hoping to get a goal,” Koenig said. “Every time Ty got the ball I wanted to get in the box for him and kind of give him an option.
“Ty brought it down, had a nice shot. Gandhi made a great save.”
Cruz barely missed making the second save, which made the goal even more special to Koenig because it came against a star keeper.
“It was a pretty nice goal,” Koenig said. “Gandhi, I really thought he was going to save it.
“His reactions are ridiculous. He gets up off the ground, and he springs to every ball.
“He always wants to attack that ball. He’s very aggressive, great goalkeeper, but it was well-placed, just out of his reach.”
The Huskies, who have won seven straight, know that a fourth state title is within their reach, but they will need to be completely healthy to win it. They haven’t been at full strength since the season opener, when Koenig went down with his injury not long after scoring North’s first goal of the season in a 2-2 tie against West Chicago.
Koenig spent 2½ weeks in a walking boot and another week in ankle brace. It was a frustrating time, made more so when the Huskies won only once in their first five games.
“Honestly, in the beginning I was really upset,” Koenig said. “I thought, ‘Why did it happen to me?’
“But I got over it. I had to cheer my team on, make sure they got up off their feet because they did struggle at the beginning, but we’re doing good right now. Hopefully we can keep it up and keep rolling.”
The Huskies know the best way to roll is with Koenig and Ty Konrad both at full speed up-top. When Koenig is in the lineup, defenses can’t key as much on his running mate, which makes both of them more dangerous.
“We’re really excited to have him back up top again,” Ty Konrad said. “Not only is it really fun because he’s one of my close friends, but obviously he’s a great player.
“He pulls his weight and then some so it’s just super helpful.”
Jim Konrad feared Koenig would be out even longer than he was, but credited Koenig’s fitness and attitude for coming back a little under a month after the injury.
“I’m thrilled for Patrick,” Jim Konrad said. “This summer he worked really hard. When he committed to Bowling Green, you could tell that he’s at another level.
“He crushed our fitness test, which is a tough test, and I think that helped him get back so quickly. He was like a professional athlete in the last month working to get back.
“To see a kid work that hard for his teammates to get back to help the team and then to score a goal in the first half of the first game back, I’m thrilled for him. He’s a huge part of our success.”
While still far from their best, the Huskies are gaining momentum despite the injuries. Barry is out with a broken foot and may not return until the playoffs, while Rojas suffered an ankle injury last week.
“Proud of the boys who have strung together a little run here without (Koenig) and having him back is a big boost,” Jim Konrad said. “Now we’ve got to get Nata and Myles back so we’re at full strength.”
One silver lining to the injury woes is that bench players like Marassa and senior defender Sebastian Babayan have gotten more playing time. Babayan has been starting.
“We did have a shaky start,” Marassa said. “We changed some things up and everyone started working harder at practice.
“Now we’re starting to get results, and I feel like as a team we’re really jelling and playing well. Hopefully it continues.”
For the Mustangs, the wanted results have yet to come. With only six returning varsity players, they have yet to completely jell and that process was made much harder ter aseason-ending injury to senior midfielder Joey Donovan.
But thanks to Cruz and the backline, Metea has been in every game. Four of their five losses have been by one goal, including three on penalty kicks.
“Sometimes it’s a little frustrating not being able to put it in the back of the net, but we’re getting those chances so we’ll get there,” Dovalovsky said. “We’re still learning. We’re still getting that chemistry.
“There’s more we can learn from this. This may be one of the best teams we’ve played, so we can grow from this and keep practicing and do our best.”
The Mustangs get another chance to do so Thursday when they host DeKalb in DVC action.
“This is the first time we got popped,” Metea Valley coach Josh Robinson said. “The guys for the most part worked really hard.
“We struggled to find goals but the guys in the back and Gandhi have just been amazing all year long. We need other kids to step up and lead.
“The hope is we can rebound well on Thursday against DeKalb, who has been tremendous this year.”
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
GK Gandhi Cruz
D Matthew Dovalovsky
D Tyler Kero
D Joseph Fitzgerald
D Clarke Simonvich
M Nick Sanchez
M Abraham Antar
M Davis Quarles
F Colin Bastianoni
F Drew Marquardt
F Alex Krehl
Naperville North
GK Jason Barba
D Evan Thompson
D Alex Barger
D Christian Romano
D Sebastian Babayan
M Zach Smith
M Ali Khorfan
M Cesar Recendez
M Josh Kaufman
F Patrick Koenig
F Ty Konrad
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Patrick Koenig, sr., F, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
Naperville North – Patrick Koenig 16:22
Second half
Naperville North – Josh Kauffman (Christian Romano) 16:06
Naperville North – Nathan Marassa (Romano) 2:32