Addison Trail falls short in title match
Late Maine West flurry gives Warriors 5-2 edge, tourney win
By Dave Owen
ADDISON – An impromptu round of penalty kicks was just one unexpected element in Saturday’s Al Novy Tournament title game a Addison Trail.
The host Blazers (3-2-0) and Maine West (4-1-0) combined to take four penalty kicks, two in each half, with the Warriors converting both of their attempts and Addison Trail one of two. Those plays figured into a freewheeling, high-scoring result, a 5-2 Maine West win.
“Credit to them (Maine West),” Blazers coach Ryan Dini said. “Their dynamic up-top caused us fits. They capitalized, and we didn’t. We had a lot of chances and just could not finish.
“And four PKs in a game too, they changed the game. It is what it is though.”
Addison Trail senior co-captain Melvin Mora is one of the holdovers from the Blazers’ 22-2-0, sectional final squad of 2016. And even with the current squad’s run to the tournament final and early-season success, results like the Maine West match sting.
“I’m a little bit emotional,” Mora said, “because when I first started (sophomore year in 2016) we won everything. It’s hard to lose.
“At first I thought we were doing pretty good (this season), but today was a hard loss where we just couldn’t come back.”
It was Maine West that needed the first comeback Saturday. After enduring a shot off the post by the Warriors’ Emerson Herrera in the second minute, Addison Trail took a 1-0 lead with Anthony Hernandez’s rebound putaway of a Lukas Rodriguez shot.
Hernandez nearly struck again in the 18th minute, but his 15-yard drive off an Eduardo Gomez pass was denied on a diving save by Maine West goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski.
From there, the rest of the first half was dominated by Warriors’ high-scoring striker Jason Ybarra, and the first wave of penalty kick drama.
Those two elements merged 20:01 before halftime. Ybarra was taken down in the box, and his ensuing penalty kick tied the game 1-1.
Then just over two minutes later, the PK factor returned when a Blazers give-and-go from Gomez to Julio Acosta resulted in Acosta being tripped in the box – and an Addison Trail PK.
But Dabrowski’s nice diving save at the right post denied Acosta’s PK try with 17:38 left in the half, briefly maintaining the 1-1 tie.
“After they got that first (PK) I got a little nervous,” Ybarra said, “But our keeper came up big and got the save.”
Ybarra’s offensive excellence quickly calmed any nerves for his side. In the 27th minute, he lined a 30-yard free kick high inside the left post to put Maine West ahead for good at 2-1.
“We’ve been scoring goals all season long,” Warriors coach Alan Matan said. “We had six against Fenton, three vs. Willowbrook.
“We want that attacking mentality right off the bat, and we had it (Saturday). The first couple minutes when Emerson hit the ball off the post, we knew eventually those were going to go in.
“Even though they (the Blazers) put that first one in, none of us thought ‘That’s it,’” Matan added. “With this team this year, the heads don’t go down at all. They know they will score goals and come back.”
Maine West’s momentum continued in the 30th minute. Ybarra’s end line shot was saved by Addison Trail goalkeeper Sam Sandoval at the near post, and Justin Scholler’s rebound went off the post.
Addison Trail had the last threat of the first half in the 36th minute, an Eduardo Huerta 8-yard shot just over the crossbar off a nice Matthew Moran send to the box.
“Our defense bent, bent, bent but didn’t break,” Matan said. “They played well.”
Early in the second half, that Maine West defense would be tested further.
Just 50 seconds in, Hernandez’s nice left side attack set up a cross that was deflected wide right – with Gomez’s rebound end line drive hitting the right post.
Three minutes later, Gomez nicely drove past two defenders into the box. But a sliding block by Maine West’s David Dohse and Martin Murillo’s rebound try over the net ended that chance.
Then as the pace settled a bit and a defensive battle to the end seemed likely, the penalty kick effect kicked in.
Off a Ybarra corner kick with 15:24 left to play, Maine West’s Angel Contreras was tripped left of the net. Ybarra’s ensuing PK put the Warriors up 3-1, completing a hat trick for the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
“At the beginning we had a couple shots on goal, and we kept going at it and kept going at them,” said Ybarra, who has scored nine goals in five games this season. “We didn’t lose our pressure or lose our heads.
“They had some chances as well. They put them in, but we didn’t give up, and we ended up with the win.”
Addison Trail’s next chance didn’t take long to arrive.
Just 59 seconds after the Ybarra PK goal, the Blazers’ Mora was lining up for his own try after he was pulled down in the box on a nice left side end line run.
Mora lasered his PK try into the upper right corner, his seventh goal of 2018, and made the score 3-2 with 14:25 to play.
“Melvin Mora is so tough,” Dini said. “You can put him anywhere -- in the middle, up-top. And Julio Acosta in the middle is very good with the ball. We’re trying to push him up a little more to be offensive.
“He’s one of our club guys, and it’s a little different style. In club you have a little more possession. So he’s adjusting to that. It’s his first year playing high school soccer.”
Mora nearly struck again with 9:50 to play. Sprinting in on net off a Gomez send, Mora got a foot on the ball a millisecond before goalkeeper Dabrowski arrived in the race for the ball. But Mora's chip went just over the crossbar.
“It wasn’t really anything they (Maine West) did,” Mora said. “It was just we didn’t finish enough.”
Inches from seeing their once 3-1 lead dissolve into a potential tie, Maine West responded with a big finish.
Cristian Correa's right-side rush and six-yard shot was denied by a great Sandoval one-handed deflection at the right post, but Scholler was there for the rebound goal to up the Warriors lead to 4-2 with 7:22 left.
Then after enduring a threat in the box by Addison Trail’s Rodriguez and Leonardo Acosta with 4:05 to play, Maine West went up 5-2 with 3:10 left. Off a midfield block, Correa burst in right for a breakaway score inside the right post.
The Warriors’ late push broke open a close game, finally wearing down the depleted Blazers.
“We had a couple guys come off (with second half injuries) where we had to switch around our midfield a little bit and move guys back,” Dini said. “And we had a couple starters (Uriel Rojo and Brian Hernandez) who didn’t even play today, who were hurt. But we just didn’t respond.”
But with the bulk of the season ahead, Dini remains very positive.
“The good thing is, it’s an early tournament,” he said. “And we did get to the final. We’ve played Lake Park (a 2-1 loss) and Maine West, both quality teams. So we’re hoping when it really, really matters, we’ll start hitting on all cylinders and start finishing a little more.”
Mora is certainly driven to make that goal a reality.
“It’s going to take energy and heart, Mora said. “Especially heart.”
Starting lineups
Maine West
GK Kevin Dabrowski
D Bob Kulanda
D David Dohse
D Mason Robbins
D Dominik Jablonski
M Jason Ybarra
M Justin Scholler
M Emerson Herrera
M Brandon Murillo
M Steve Abbinante
F Cristian Correa
Addison Trail
GK Sam Sandoval
D Matthew Moran
D Eduardo Huerta
D Joseph Macedo
D Ernesto Padua
M Martin Murillo
M Leo Acosta
M Lukas Rodriguez
M Julio Acosta
F Melvin Mora
F Anthony Hernandez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jason Ybarra, jr. F, Maine West
Scoring summary
First half
AT – Anthony Hernandez (Lukas Rodriguez)
MW – Jason Ybarra (penalty kick)
MW – Jason Ybarra (free kick)
Second half
MW – Jason Ybarra (penalty kick)
AT – Melvin Mora (penalty kick)
MW – Justin Scholler (Cristian Correa)
MW – Correa (unassisted)
Late Maine West flurry gives Warriors 5-2 edge, tourney win
By Dave Owen
ADDISON – An impromptu round of penalty kicks was just one unexpected element in Saturday’s Al Novy Tournament title game a Addison Trail.
The host Blazers (3-2-0) and Maine West (4-1-0) combined to take four penalty kicks, two in each half, with the Warriors converting both of their attempts and Addison Trail one of two. Those plays figured into a freewheeling, high-scoring result, a 5-2 Maine West win.
“Credit to them (Maine West),” Blazers coach Ryan Dini said. “Their dynamic up-top caused us fits. They capitalized, and we didn’t. We had a lot of chances and just could not finish.
“And four PKs in a game too, they changed the game. It is what it is though.”
Addison Trail senior co-captain Melvin Mora is one of the holdovers from the Blazers’ 22-2-0, sectional final squad of 2016. And even with the current squad’s run to the tournament final and early-season success, results like the Maine West match sting.
“I’m a little bit emotional,” Mora said, “because when I first started (sophomore year in 2016) we won everything. It’s hard to lose.
“At first I thought we were doing pretty good (this season), but today was a hard loss where we just couldn’t come back.”
It was Maine West that needed the first comeback Saturday. After enduring a shot off the post by the Warriors’ Emerson Herrera in the second minute, Addison Trail took a 1-0 lead with Anthony Hernandez’s rebound putaway of a Lukas Rodriguez shot.
Hernandez nearly struck again in the 18th minute, but his 15-yard drive off an Eduardo Gomez pass was denied on a diving save by Maine West goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski.
From there, the rest of the first half was dominated by Warriors’ high-scoring striker Jason Ybarra, and the first wave of penalty kick drama.
Those two elements merged 20:01 before halftime. Ybarra was taken down in the box, and his ensuing penalty kick tied the game 1-1.
Then just over two minutes later, the PK factor returned when a Blazers give-and-go from Gomez to Julio Acosta resulted in Acosta being tripped in the box – and an Addison Trail PK.
But Dabrowski’s nice diving save at the right post denied Acosta’s PK try with 17:38 left in the half, briefly maintaining the 1-1 tie.
“After they got that first (PK) I got a little nervous,” Ybarra said, “But our keeper came up big and got the save.”
Ybarra’s offensive excellence quickly calmed any nerves for his side. In the 27th minute, he lined a 30-yard free kick high inside the left post to put Maine West ahead for good at 2-1.
“We’ve been scoring goals all season long,” Warriors coach Alan Matan said. “We had six against Fenton, three vs. Willowbrook.
“We want that attacking mentality right off the bat, and we had it (Saturday). The first couple minutes when Emerson hit the ball off the post, we knew eventually those were going to go in.
“Even though they (the Blazers) put that first one in, none of us thought ‘That’s it,’” Matan added. “With this team this year, the heads don’t go down at all. They know they will score goals and come back.”
Maine West’s momentum continued in the 30th minute. Ybarra’s end line shot was saved by Addison Trail goalkeeper Sam Sandoval at the near post, and Justin Scholler’s rebound went off the post.
Addison Trail had the last threat of the first half in the 36th minute, an Eduardo Huerta 8-yard shot just over the crossbar off a nice Matthew Moran send to the box.
“Our defense bent, bent, bent but didn’t break,” Matan said. “They played well.”
Early in the second half, that Maine West defense would be tested further.
Just 50 seconds in, Hernandez’s nice left side attack set up a cross that was deflected wide right – with Gomez’s rebound end line drive hitting the right post.
Three minutes later, Gomez nicely drove past two defenders into the box. But a sliding block by Maine West’s David Dohse and Martin Murillo’s rebound try over the net ended that chance.
Then as the pace settled a bit and a defensive battle to the end seemed likely, the penalty kick effect kicked in.
Off a Ybarra corner kick with 15:24 left to play, Maine West’s Angel Contreras was tripped left of the net. Ybarra’s ensuing PK put the Warriors up 3-1, completing a hat trick for the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
“At the beginning we had a couple shots on goal, and we kept going at it and kept going at them,” said Ybarra, who has scored nine goals in five games this season. “We didn’t lose our pressure or lose our heads.
“They had some chances as well. They put them in, but we didn’t give up, and we ended up with the win.”
Addison Trail’s next chance didn’t take long to arrive.
Just 59 seconds after the Ybarra PK goal, the Blazers’ Mora was lining up for his own try after he was pulled down in the box on a nice left side end line run.
Mora lasered his PK try into the upper right corner, his seventh goal of 2018, and made the score 3-2 with 14:25 to play.
“Melvin Mora is so tough,” Dini said. “You can put him anywhere -- in the middle, up-top. And Julio Acosta in the middle is very good with the ball. We’re trying to push him up a little more to be offensive.
“He’s one of our club guys, and it’s a little different style. In club you have a little more possession. So he’s adjusting to that. It’s his first year playing high school soccer.”
Mora nearly struck again with 9:50 to play. Sprinting in on net off a Gomez send, Mora got a foot on the ball a millisecond before goalkeeper Dabrowski arrived in the race for the ball. But Mora's chip went just over the crossbar.
“It wasn’t really anything they (Maine West) did,” Mora said. “It was just we didn’t finish enough.”
Inches from seeing their once 3-1 lead dissolve into a potential tie, Maine West responded with a big finish.
Cristian Correa's right-side rush and six-yard shot was denied by a great Sandoval one-handed deflection at the right post, but Scholler was there for the rebound goal to up the Warriors lead to 4-2 with 7:22 left.
Then after enduring a threat in the box by Addison Trail’s Rodriguez and Leonardo Acosta with 4:05 to play, Maine West went up 5-2 with 3:10 left. Off a midfield block, Correa burst in right for a breakaway score inside the right post.
The Warriors’ late push broke open a close game, finally wearing down the depleted Blazers.
“We had a couple guys come off (with second half injuries) where we had to switch around our midfield a little bit and move guys back,” Dini said. “And we had a couple starters (Uriel Rojo and Brian Hernandez) who didn’t even play today, who were hurt. But we just didn’t respond.”
But with the bulk of the season ahead, Dini remains very positive.
“The good thing is, it’s an early tournament,” he said. “And we did get to the final. We’ve played Lake Park (a 2-1 loss) and Maine West, both quality teams. So we’re hoping when it really, really matters, we’ll start hitting on all cylinders and start finishing a little more.”
Mora is certainly driven to make that goal a reality.
“It’s going to take energy and heart, Mora said. “Especially heart.”
Starting lineups
Maine West
GK Kevin Dabrowski
D Bob Kulanda
D David Dohse
D Mason Robbins
D Dominik Jablonski
M Jason Ybarra
M Justin Scholler
M Emerson Herrera
M Brandon Murillo
M Steve Abbinante
F Cristian Correa
Addison Trail
GK Sam Sandoval
D Matthew Moran
D Eduardo Huerta
D Joseph Macedo
D Ernesto Padua
M Martin Murillo
M Leo Acosta
M Lukas Rodriguez
M Julio Acosta
F Melvin Mora
F Anthony Hernandez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jason Ybarra, jr. F, Maine West
Scoring summary
First half
AT – Anthony Hernandez (Lukas Rodriguez)
MW – Jason Ybarra (penalty kick)
MW – Jason Ybarra (free kick)
Second half
MW – Jason Ybarra (penalty kick)
AT – Melvin Mora (penalty kick)
MW – Justin Scholler (Cristian Correa)
MW – Correa (unassisted)