Glenbrook North attack blitzes Maine West
No. 9 Spartans score five goals in 18-minute, 1st half span
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NORTHBROOK -- The technological changes underpinning the game tend toward the evolutionary: small, subtle, sometimes even imperceptible. One indisputable fact is the prevalence of the clean, evenly uniform and undisturbed qualities of the turf surface have impacted the game.
The game is faster and more explosive, which benefits the offensively and technically skilled. When good teams get cooking, everything runs downhill -- pace, momentum and dominance of play. The attacking players have also adjusted accordingly. They have learned how to make the ball bend to their own will.
In the ninth minute against Maine West, Glenbrook North senior midfielder Matt Metzger had the ball on the left wing about 24 yards out. The Spartans scored eight goals against Vernon Hills Monday night. They were still smoldering. In the second minute senior forward Deng Deng Kur played a beautiful through-ball over the top that unleashed senior midfielder Robbie Fraser for a one-on-one confrontation with Warriors’ keeper Elmer Vega, who made a great kick-save.
Glenbrook North was just getting started. Seizing up his chances, Metzger blasted a low and skidding shot that torqued in front of Vega with wicked spin and danced over his head for the first goal. The Spartans’ onslaught was just getting started, and the Maine West was soon buried underneath.
Playing fast and aggressively, the no. 9 Spartans rocked the Warriors with two goals in the first nine minute and five players scored during a opening half blitz in host Glenbrook North’s impressive 5-1 victory in Central Suburban league North Division play Wednesday night.
“From my perspective I thought (Vega) had that angle covered,” Metzger said. “I looked up, and we were making runs to the front post, and I just wanted to hit it there and see what happened. Against Vernon Hills the other night we did not start that strong, and we wanted to change that today.
“I think we did.”
Glenbrook North (7-2-1, 2-0-0) played its most impressive offensive game of the year. With two of his backline still out with injuries, Spartans’ coach Paul Vignocchi experimented with an unorthodox 3-6-1 formation. The two center midfielders, Fraser and Brandon Mankoff, dropped into coverage when the situation demanded it. The Spartans controlled the middle, and their attack flourished.
“This is the best I have seen us play, against a good team,” Vignocchi said. “The speed of play, attacking-wise, was phenomenal. We thought Robbie Fraser and Brandon Mankoff, our two center midfielders, did not do a very good job against Vernon Hills with their spacing. We really focused on that in practice, and I thought today they were great starting our transition and connecting their passes.”
The Spartans’ style was clean, pure and exhilarating, and the Warriors could not slow them down. Maine West had some decent early play with standout forward Emerson Herrera nearly getting a clean header inside the box before the ball was cleared out.
Glenbrook North scored five goals in 18 minutes, and it was something to watch. The Metzger goal was just the opening salvo. For strong play and starting his team on the impressive roll, Metzger earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor.
In the ninth minute, the Spartans maintained their grip over tempo and rhythm as junior midfielder Max Marquez played the ball wide to Kur, who bolted down the right edge before serving a sharp cross that senior midfielder Sahil Modi finished with a header for the quick 2-0 Spartans’ advantage.
“It was a great ball. Max played it to Deng, and he just wanted to get it to the front post, because we had runners there,” Modi said. “It might have bounced off Matt and then one of their defenders, and I was luckily in the right position, right place at the right time and I put it in.”
Maine West (4-4-1, 1-1-0) was flattened.
“We were trying to keep the game close, try not to lose that badly, or try to get a tie,” Herrera said. “The two early goals really got to our heads. It made us go down. I felt like we could have done better, but those first two goals really brought us down.”
The Warriors got caught in a buzzsaw, and they had few options available to stop the Spartans’ attack. In the 15th minute, junior defender Nate Aronson slotted a ball to Fraser on the left wing. Fraser made a quick juke move to create space, and he launched a laser from about 23 yards inside the near post.
“When you are down two-nil nine minutes into the game, it is hard to pick their spirits back up,” Maine West coach Alan Mattan said. The Spartans beat Maine West twice last year, in conference play and a Class 3A regional championship game.
“I was talking about this with my assistant,” Mattan said. “Watching this time live, as well as on film, they win the 50-50 ball. They come in hard, and they didn’t give us a chance to breathe. We had to know we had to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible. If we don’t they are going to be on you right away. That was evident right away. They counter very quickly. That’s a very good team, one of the top 10 teams in the state.”
Kur was responsible for the Spartans’ last two goals. In the 21st minute he scored his 11th of the year with a beautifully struck free kick with his left foot from about 19 yards. In the 25th minute, he punctuated the dominant performance by breaking free to create a two-on-one. He left the ball wide for a streaking sophomore Joey Martens, who finished with authority on the break.
“Deng played some great balls in,” Vignocchi said. “He was great with his passing today. I think Sahil is really starting to get into form, and he is starting to play his best soccer.” The extraordinary first half performance allowed Glenbrook North to play its entire roster, and most of the starters left in the 60th minute.
Maine West averted the shutout in the 80th minute as Everton Scheunemann finished off a corner kick by Reynoso. That was a “moral victory,” in the words of Mattan. Herrera had two shots on goal that starter Daniel Spencer corralled.
“I think this was an important conference game for us,” Vignocchi said. “We have talked about protecting our home field. Our guys really came out with a lot of energy. I thought defensively they have a handful of guys who are tough to defend. I thought our backs did a good job. They are getting better every game they play.”
Starting lineups
Maine West
GK: Elmer Vega
D: Dennis Gaitan
D: Cory Scholler
D: Victor Ordonez
D: Osmar Vega
MF: Connor Hilliard
MF: Jason Ybarra
MF: Ozzie Espinosa
MF: Alex Marron
F: Jonathan Reynoso
F: Emerson Herrera
Glenbrook North
GK: Daniel Spencer
D: Sam Heydt
D: Ben Gordon
D: Nate Aronson
MF: Brandon Mankoff
MF: Max Marquez
MF: Matt Metzger
MF: Robbie Fraser
MF; Sahil Modi
MF: George Luke
F: Deng Deng Kur
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Matt Metzger, sr., MF, Glenbrook North
Scoring summary
First half
Glenbrook North—Matt Metzger, 7th minute
Glenbrook North—Sahil Modi (Max Marquez, Deng Deng Kur), 9th minute
Glenbrook North—Robbie Fraser (Nate Aronson), 16th minute
Glenbrook North—Deng Kur, 21st minute
Glenbrook North—Joey Martens (Deng Kur), 25th minute
Second half
Maine West—Everton Scheunemann (Jonathan Reynoso), 80th minute
No. 9 Spartans score five goals in 18-minute, 1st half span
By Patrick Z. McGavin
NORTHBROOK -- The technological changes underpinning the game tend toward the evolutionary: small, subtle, sometimes even imperceptible. One indisputable fact is the prevalence of the clean, evenly uniform and undisturbed qualities of the turf surface have impacted the game.
The game is faster and more explosive, which benefits the offensively and technically skilled. When good teams get cooking, everything runs downhill -- pace, momentum and dominance of play. The attacking players have also adjusted accordingly. They have learned how to make the ball bend to their own will.
In the ninth minute against Maine West, Glenbrook North senior midfielder Matt Metzger had the ball on the left wing about 24 yards out. The Spartans scored eight goals against Vernon Hills Monday night. They were still smoldering. In the second minute senior forward Deng Deng Kur played a beautiful through-ball over the top that unleashed senior midfielder Robbie Fraser for a one-on-one confrontation with Warriors’ keeper Elmer Vega, who made a great kick-save.
Glenbrook North was just getting started. Seizing up his chances, Metzger blasted a low and skidding shot that torqued in front of Vega with wicked spin and danced over his head for the first goal. The Spartans’ onslaught was just getting started, and the Maine West was soon buried underneath.
Playing fast and aggressively, the no. 9 Spartans rocked the Warriors with two goals in the first nine minute and five players scored during a opening half blitz in host Glenbrook North’s impressive 5-1 victory in Central Suburban league North Division play Wednesday night.
“From my perspective I thought (Vega) had that angle covered,” Metzger said. “I looked up, and we were making runs to the front post, and I just wanted to hit it there and see what happened. Against Vernon Hills the other night we did not start that strong, and we wanted to change that today.
“I think we did.”
Glenbrook North (7-2-1, 2-0-0) played its most impressive offensive game of the year. With two of his backline still out with injuries, Spartans’ coach Paul Vignocchi experimented with an unorthodox 3-6-1 formation. The two center midfielders, Fraser and Brandon Mankoff, dropped into coverage when the situation demanded it. The Spartans controlled the middle, and their attack flourished.
“This is the best I have seen us play, against a good team,” Vignocchi said. “The speed of play, attacking-wise, was phenomenal. We thought Robbie Fraser and Brandon Mankoff, our two center midfielders, did not do a very good job against Vernon Hills with their spacing. We really focused on that in practice, and I thought today they were great starting our transition and connecting their passes.”
The Spartans’ style was clean, pure and exhilarating, and the Warriors could not slow them down. Maine West had some decent early play with standout forward Emerson Herrera nearly getting a clean header inside the box before the ball was cleared out.
Glenbrook North scored five goals in 18 minutes, and it was something to watch. The Metzger goal was just the opening salvo. For strong play and starting his team on the impressive roll, Metzger earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor.
In the ninth minute, the Spartans maintained their grip over tempo and rhythm as junior midfielder Max Marquez played the ball wide to Kur, who bolted down the right edge before serving a sharp cross that senior midfielder Sahil Modi finished with a header for the quick 2-0 Spartans’ advantage.
“It was a great ball. Max played it to Deng, and he just wanted to get it to the front post, because we had runners there,” Modi said. “It might have bounced off Matt and then one of their defenders, and I was luckily in the right position, right place at the right time and I put it in.”
Maine West (4-4-1, 1-1-0) was flattened.
“We were trying to keep the game close, try not to lose that badly, or try to get a tie,” Herrera said. “The two early goals really got to our heads. It made us go down. I felt like we could have done better, but those first two goals really brought us down.”
The Warriors got caught in a buzzsaw, and they had few options available to stop the Spartans’ attack. In the 15th minute, junior defender Nate Aronson slotted a ball to Fraser on the left wing. Fraser made a quick juke move to create space, and he launched a laser from about 23 yards inside the near post.
“When you are down two-nil nine minutes into the game, it is hard to pick their spirits back up,” Maine West coach Alan Mattan said. The Spartans beat Maine West twice last year, in conference play and a Class 3A regional championship game.
“I was talking about this with my assistant,” Mattan said. “Watching this time live, as well as on film, they win the 50-50 ball. They come in hard, and they didn’t give us a chance to breathe. We had to know we had to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible. If we don’t they are going to be on you right away. That was evident right away. They counter very quickly. That’s a very good team, one of the top 10 teams in the state.”
Kur was responsible for the Spartans’ last two goals. In the 21st minute he scored his 11th of the year with a beautifully struck free kick with his left foot from about 19 yards. In the 25th minute, he punctuated the dominant performance by breaking free to create a two-on-one. He left the ball wide for a streaking sophomore Joey Martens, who finished with authority on the break.
“Deng played some great balls in,” Vignocchi said. “He was great with his passing today. I think Sahil is really starting to get into form, and he is starting to play his best soccer.” The extraordinary first half performance allowed Glenbrook North to play its entire roster, and most of the starters left in the 60th minute.
Maine West averted the shutout in the 80th minute as Everton Scheunemann finished off a corner kick by Reynoso. That was a “moral victory,” in the words of Mattan. Herrera had two shots on goal that starter Daniel Spencer corralled.
“I think this was an important conference game for us,” Vignocchi said. “We have talked about protecting our home field. Our guys really came out with a lot of energy. I thought defensively they have a handful of guys who are tough to defend. I thought our backs did a good job. They are getting better every game they play.”
Starting lineups
Maine West
GK: Elmer Vega
D: Dennis Gaitan
D: Cory Scholler
D: Victor Ordonez
D: Osmar Vega
MF: Connor Hilliard
MF: Jason Ybarra
MF: Ozzie Espinosa
MF: Alex Marron
F: Jonathan Reynoso
F: Emerson Herrera
Glenbrook North
GK: Daniel Spencer
D: Sam Heydt
D: Ben Gordon
D: Nate Aronson
MF: Brandon Mankoff
MF: Max Marquez
MF: Matt Metzger
MF: Robbie Fraser
MF; Sahil Modi
MF: George Luke
F: Deng Deng Kur
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Matt Metzger, sr., MF, Glenbrook North
Scoring summary
First half
Glenbrook North—Matt Metzger, 7th minute
Glenbrook North—Sahil Modi (Max Marquez, Deng Deng Kur), 9th minute
Glenbrook North—Robbie Fraser (Nate Aronson), 16th minute
Glenbrook North—Deng Kur, 21st minute
Glenbrook North—Joey Martens (Deng Kur), 25th minute
Second half
Maine West—Everton Scheunemann (Jonathan Reynoso), 80th minute