Answers blowin' in the wind for Carmel
Corsairs don't capitalize in gusty conditions, fall to Nazareth 2-0
By Bill McLean
MUNDELEIN — A relentless wind served as the “12th man” in each half of an East Suburban Catholic Conference match between Carmel and visiting Nazareth on Saturday morning.
It also played a major role in a scary-turned-hilarious moment following a Carmel throw-in near the Corsairs’ bench. A sudden gust whipped the ball hard to the left and out of bounds. The ball almost nailed Carmel coach Ray Krawzak in the head.
Krawzak cracked up after the close call on a sunny day that would have been a pleasant one without the blustery force.
But Nazareth’s Roadrunners sported smiles afterward, because their two goals in the first half — with the wind behind them — ended up being the only two tallies of the match which doubled as Carmel’s Senior Day at Baker Stadium. Nazareth senior goalkeeper Nicholas Rozmus and his defenders, led by rugged senior center back Adrian Komperda, withstood Mother Nature and Carmel’s innumerable scoring threats in the second half to win 2-0.
“No comfort at any point,” Nazareth coach Alex Wilkinson said of his mindset, along with that of his athletes, during the final 40 minutes. “We knew, with a wind like that, it would be a 50-50 game. We knew it would be challenging no matter what, because every team in the ESCC is a tough team.
“We stuck with our game plan, applying pressure and making Carmel play fast. At no point did we want Carmel to be able to relax with the ball.”
Nazareth junior midfielder Michael Jozwiak played at a high level all day. His running, curling shot from the left flank beat Corsairs senior keeper Camden Krautsack in the 18th minute; then he came through with the best corner kick of the contest some five minutes later.
Jozwiak’s corner delivery found a surging Komperda. The service bounced off the chest of the 6-foot-2, 187-pounder and past Krautsack.
“Adrian is unbelievable in the air,” said the 5-foot-6, 135-pound Rozmus, whose fifth shutout of the fall improved Nazareth’s overall record to 6-15-1 (2-6-0 in the ESCC). “I can never count the number of times he wins 50-50 balls in front of me; too many to count.”
The victory doubled the number of ESCC wins Nazareth had notched last year, and Rozmus heard the LaGrange Park-based academy had bested a Carmel side only once in program history before Saturday’s meeting in Mundelein.
“A win like this excites us and boosts our confidence, for sure,” said Rozmus, who has been working on his vocal leadership from the outset of the 2019 season.
Carmel (5-9-1, 2-5-1), fittingly, started an all-senior lineup on the day it celebrated the career of its 11 members of the Class of 2020. It used a modified lineup in another way — three backs, instead of four in the first half. Krawzak deployed four backs in the second half.
“We started figuring it out, playing better, at the end of the first half,” Corsairs senior center back Tim Milner said of the makeshift scheme.
Carmel’s Jack Wojcik, another senior center back, noted he and his mates never believed they were out of it, especially with a jersey-less ally like the wind joining them after the break.
“We always compete believing we can beat anybody,” Wojcik said. “Even against a great team like Libertyville, when we got down 2-0 [before losing 2-1 to a then 12-0-3 Wildcats club Oct. 10], none of us stopped believing.”
Carmel dominated the possession battle in the second half Saturday morning, dribbling and rushing and shooting and essentially living on Nazareth’s end of the pitch for close to 90 percent of the time. The Corsairs earned six corner kicks, including two in the 55th minute.
Corsairs seniors Aidan Harrison and Ian McKernan emerged as constant threats for the hosts. Harrison blasted wind-backed shots and produced another scoring chance following a steal in the 51st minute, when he worked his way diligently and smoothly around traffic and booted a left-footed shot that skipped behind a few backs.
But inspired stops by Rozmus, along with determined efforts by Komperda and tireless, tenacious sophomore defender Kevin Fantozzi (one of four sophs in Wilkinson’s starting lineup), lifted the visitors.
“Nazareth used the wind better than we did today,” said Krawzak, standing in the school’s cafeteria after a post-match Senior Day presentation, admitted. “We’re disappointed, very much so, that we lost. Tough; this was a tough day. It would have been nice to win on our Senior Day.
“If we get better at set pieces and corner kicks — things we’ve been working on often in practice, and things we need to fix — we’ll give ourselves better chances to win.”
Nazareth next plays Monday at 4:30 p.m. at the Chicago Catholic League Blue Division's St. Laurence club; Carmel visits nonconference foe Lake Zurich on Tuesday for a
match at 6:30 p.m.
Footnotes
Carmel, seeded second in the a Class AA Belvidere Sub-Sectional, opens its postseason against either no. 8 Deerfield or no. 9 North Chicago in a Deerfield Regional semifinal Oct. 23. Nazareth, seeded 12th in its own Class AA sectional, hosts sixth-seeded Back of the Yards in a regional semifinal Oct. 23 in LaGrange Park. … Nazareth played against a opponent on the opponent’s Senior Day for the second time in four days Saturday morning. Benet — ranked no. 5 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 — recognized its seniors when it downed Nazareth 5-0 Oct. 9. … Nazareth coach Alex Wilkinson (Nazareth, Class of 2011), the Roadrunners’ varsity coach since 2017, played striker in high school and for two years at Elmhurst College, where he majored in criminal justice and minored in Spanish and psychology. Wilkinson is also a PE/health teacher at Nazareth. … Nazareth freshman midfielder Nikolas DiFoggio — the Roadrunners’ youngest starter Saturday — struck a shot on goal moments after a side of his face, at close range, had absorbed a ball kicked by a Carmel defender. The smack was a loud one, and it occurred with the temperature in the high 30s. But DiFoggio, showing no signs of discomfort and kept hustling and kept competing.
Starting lineups
Nazareth
GK: Nicholas Rozmus
D: Adrian Komperda
D: Kevin Fantozzi
D: Josh Fowler
M: Owen Almer
M: Andrew Rozmus
M: Nikolas DiFoggio
M: Michael Jozwiak
F: Alexandre Gamboa
F: Victor Garcia
F: Cole Kosanovich
Carmel
GK: Camden Krautsack
D: Will Nickles
D: Tim Milner
D: Jack Wojcik
M: Tyler Kelly
M: Ian McKernan
M: Matt Grzesiak
M: Ben Moseley
F: Matt Duffy
F: Aidan Harrison
F: Francesco Santucci
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Adrian Komperda, sr., D,Nazareth
Nicholas Rozmus, sr., GK, Nazareth
Referees: Paul McMahon (center); Oleg Podtynov; Demetre Sarikoudis
Scoring summary
First half
Nazareth — Jozwiak (UA), 18'
Nazareth — Komperda (Jozwiak), 23'
Second half
No scoring
Corsairs don't capitalize in gusty conditions, fall to Nazareth 2-0
By Bill McLean
MUNDELEIN — A relentless wind served as the “12th man” in each half of an East Suburban Catholic Conference match between Carmel and visiting Nazareth on Saturday morning.
It also played a major role in a scary-turned-hilarious moment following a Carmel throw-in near the Corsairs’ bench. A sudden gust whipped the ball hard to the left and out of bounds. The ball almost nailed Carmel coach Ray Krawzak in the head.
Krawzak cracked up after the close call on a sunny day that would have been a pleasant one without the blustery force.
But Nazareth’s Roadrunners sported smiles afterward, because their two goals in the first half — with the wind behind them — ended up being the only two tallies of the match which doubled as Carmel’s Senior Day at Baker Stadium. Nazareth senior goalkeeper Nicholas Rozmus and his defenders, led by rugged senior center back Adrian Komperda, withstood Mother Nature and Carmel’s innumerable scoring threats in the second half to win 2-0.
“No comfort at any point,” Nazareth coach Alex Wilkinson said of his mindset, along with that of his athletes, during the final 40 minutes. “We knew, with a wind like that, it would be a 50-50 game. We knew it would be challenging no matter what, because every team in the ESCC is a tough team.
“We stuck with our game plan, applying pressure and making Carmel play fast. At no point did we want Carmel to be able to relax with the ball.”
Nazareth junior midfielder Michael Jozwiak played at a high level all day. His running, curling shot from the left flank beat Corsairs senior keeper Camden Krautsack in the 18th minute; then he came through with the best corner kick of the contest some five minutes later.
Jozwiak’s corner delivery found a surging Komperda. The service bounced off the chest of the 6-foot-2, 187-pounder and past Krautsack.
“Adrian is unbelievable in the air,” said the 5-foot-6, 135-pound Rozmus, whose fifth shutout of the fall improved Nazareth’s overall record to 6-15-1 (2-6-0 in the ESCC). “I can never count the number of times he wins 50-50 balls in front of me; too many to count.”
The victory doubled the number of ESCC wins Nazareth had notched last year, and Rozmus heard the LaGrange Park-based academy had bested a Carmel side only once in program history before Saturday’s meeting in Mundelein.
“A win like this excites us and boosts our confidence, for sure,” said Rozmus, who has been working on his vocal leadership from the outset of the 2019 season.
Carmel (5-9-1, 2-5-1), fittingly, started an all-senior lineup on the day it celebrated the career of its 11 members of the Class of 2020. It used a modified lineup in another way — three backs, instead of four in the first half. Krawzak deployed four backs in the second half.
“We started figuring it out, playing better, at the end of the first half,” Corsairs senior center back Tim Milner said of the makeshift scheme.
Carmel’s Jack Wojcik, another senior center back, noted he and his mates never believed they were out of it, especially with a jersey-less ally like the wind joining them after the break.
“We always compete believing we can beat anybody,” Wojcik said. “Even against a great team like Libertyville, when we got down 2-0 [before losing 2-1 to a then 12-0-3 Wildcats club Oct. 10], none of us stopped believing.”
Carmel dominated the possession battle in the second half Saturday morning, dribbling and rushing and shooting and essentially living on Nazareth’s end of the pitch for close to 90 percent of the time. The Corsairs earned six corner kicks, including two in the 55th minute.
Corsairs seniors Aidan Harrison and Ian McKernan emerged as constant threats for the hosts. Harrison blasted wind-backed shots and produced another scoring chance following a steal in the 51st minute, when he worked his way diligently and smoothly around traffic and booted a left-footed shot that skipped behind a few backs.
But inspired stops by Rozmus, along with determined efforts by Komperda and tireless, tenacious sophomore defender Kevin Fantozzi (one of four sophs in Wilkinson’s starting lineup), lifted the visitors.
“Nazareth used the wind better than we did today,” said Krawzak, standing in the school’s cafeteria after a post-match Senior Day presentation, admitted. “We’re disappointed, very much so, that we lost. Tough; this was a tough day. It would have been nice to win on our Senior Day.
“If we get better at set pieces and corner kicks — things we’ve been working on often in practice, and things we need to fix — we’ll give ourselves better chances to win.”
Nazareth next plays Monday at 4:30 p.m. at the Chicago Catholic League Blue Division's St. Laurence club; Carmel visits nonconference foe Lake Zurich on Tuesday for a
match at 6:30 p.m.
Footnotes
Carmel, seeded second in the a Class AA Belvidere Sub-Sectional, opens its postseason against either no. 8 Deerfield or no. 9 North Chicago in a Deerfield Regional semifinal Oct. 23. Nazareth, seeded 12th in its own Class AA sectional, hosts sixth-seeded Back of the Yards in a regional semifinal Oct. 23 in LaGrange Park. … Nazareth played against a opponent on the opponent’s Senior Day for the second time in four days Saturday morning. Benet — ranked no. 5 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 — recognized its seniors when it downed Nazareth 5-0 Oct. 9. … Nazareth coach Alex Wilkinson (Nazareth, Class of 2011), the Roadrunners’ varsity coach since 2017, played striker in high school and for two years at Elmhurst College, where he majored in criminal justice and minored in Spanish and psychology. Wilkinson is also a PE/health teacher at Nazareth. … Nazareth freshman midfielder Nikolas DiFoggio — the Roadrunners’ youngest starter Saturday — struck a shot on goal moments after a side of his face, at close range, had absorbed a ball kicked by a Carmel defender. The smack was a loud one, and it occurred with the temperature in the high 30s. But DiFoggio, showing no signs of discomfort and kept hustling and kept competing.
Starting lineups
Nazareth
GK: Nicholas Rozmus
D: Adrian Komperda
D: Kevin Fantozzi
D: Josh Fowler
M: Owen Almer
M: Andrew Rozmus
M: Nikolas DiFoggio
M: Michael Jozwiak
F: Alexandre Gamboa
F: Victor Garcia
F: Cole Kosanovich
Carmel
GK: Camden Krautsack
D: Will Nickles
D: Tim Milner
D: Jack Wojcik
M: Tyler Kelly
M: Ian McKernan
M: Matt Grzesiak
M: Ben Moseley
F: Matt Duffy
F: Aidan Harrison
F: Francesco Santucci
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Adrian Komperda, sr., D,Nazareth
Nicholas Rozmus, sr., GK, Nazareth
Referees: Paul McMahon (center); Oleg Podtynov; Demetre Sarikoudis
Scoring summary
First half
Nazareth — Jozwiak (UA), 18'
Nazareth — Komperda (Jozwiak), 23'
Second half
No scoring