'Garbage' man Aquino boosts
Morton past Naperville Central
Heads-up play from soph leads to 2-0 season-opening win
By Matt Le Cren
BERWYN – Max Aquino’s debut as a full-fledged member of Morton’s varsity was a memorable one.
The sophomore midfielder, who appeared in one game as a freshman, scored the game-winning goal on a spectacular second half effort to help the host Mustangs knock off Naperville Central 2-0 in the season opener.
The game was scoreless when Morton, ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 preseason poll, was awarded a free kick just outside the top right corner of the Naperville Central penalty area.
Senior forward Giovanni Alvarez and senior midfielder Daniel Diaz stood over the ball as the Redhawks set up a three-man wall. Both players had shots hit the left post in the first half, so it figured one of them would crack the ball on frame.
But instead of shooting, Alvarez rolled the ball back outside the top of the box, where an onrushing Luis Gonzalez ripped a shot toward the left corner of the Naperville Central net.
The shot, however, was heading wide of the left post. That’s when Aquino raced in and slid to redirect the ball past goalkeeper Austin Waite with 24:33 remaining.
“Every time a free kick happens, I like to stay back post, just in case it ends up back there and the goalie fumbles it or something like that,” Aquino said. “I saw Luis Gonzalez let go a strong shot, and I’m right there to pick it up. I saw it go out wide, and I slide-tackled it.”
The play brought Morton’s fans to their feet and a smile to the faces of Aquino and his teammates.
“It’s crazy,” Aquino said. “First day out here with all these fans and the lights.
“It was an amazing experience hearing the crowd cheer after the goal. It was cool.”
Aquino’s play was a cool finish of the kind expected from players like Alvarez, who deliberately passed up the opportunity to put his free kick on frame.
“The defense was definitely giving me space,” Alvarez said. “I saw out of the corner of my eye Luis Gonzalez at the top of the box, and I was hoping he was going to rip it.
“He ripped it the wrong way but luckily Max was there and put it in the back of the net. He came out of nowhere, slide-tackled it and everything.”
Aquino is one of only two sophomores on Morton’s roster – defender Ivan Ramirez is the other – but big things are expected of him. Alvarez, who scored Morton’s second goal when he blasted a penalty kick past Waite with 4:51 to go, wasn’t surprised to see his young teammate succeed.
“He’s a high-potential player already as a sophomore,” Alvarez said. “I’ve been playing with him since we were younger, and we’ve grown up.
“He’s been in club academies. This is only the beginning for him.”
The victory was a good beginning for the Mustangs, who controlled a majority of the possession, especially in the first half, and did not allow a shot.
“We had three or four A-plus chances that first half,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said. “I was a little nervous at halftime, but we played well defensively.
“We held strong in the middle, didn’t give any big opportunities up. We’ve got to work on our fouls, because we gave up some long throws and those could come back to bite us.”
So can near-misses, of which the Mustangs had several in the first half. Alvarez hit the left post off an 18-yard free kick four minutes into the match and two minutes later curled a 25-yard free kick over the crossbar.
Five minutes after that, Diaz pinged the pipe with a drive from the right side of the box.
So the irony of Aquino scoring on what easily could have been a wasted opportunity wasn’t lost on Bageanis.
“We stress getting those garbage goals,” Bageanis said. “It doesn’t matter how we score it.
“Sometimes some of us want to rip the back of the net out of the goal, sometimes it just has to cross the line. We’ll take it either way; it still counts as a goal.”
Indeed, Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said the goal illustrates a point he often makes to his players.
“We talk about it – how many goals are scored on what I call that back box,” Adams said. “The back post to the top of the six to the side of the six, that little rectangle.
“If you want to score 10 goals a year, every time there’s a dead ball or a cross, just go sit there and tap. It counts just as much as the upper-90 half volley.”
While the result counts as a loss for the no. 13 Redhawks, Adams said it was a good measuring stick against a traditional power.
“You know you’re going to concede 60-70 percent possession,” Adams said. “But that’s the great thing about soccer; you can do that and still win.
“What you can’t do is make continuous small mistakes. There wasn’t a massive problem. It was little problems and when you play a team like Morton, they will expose little problems.
“But that’s also why you play teams like Morton early in the season. Now we have film, we can look at it and find what we need to correct.”
A look at the film also will highlight positives for the Redhawks. Senior goalkeeper Dean Scott made his varsity debut and made three saves in the first half before being replaced by Waite.
Two of Scott’s stops came on point-blank shots from just outside the 6. He came off his line both times to deny 1-v-1 attempts.
“He made some great reads to come out and cover the ball really well,” Adams said. “I thought he played very well.”
Goalkeeper is one of the positions Adams is still figuring out. Scott, Waite and senior Trevor Fewkes are all new to varsity.
“I came in nervous but I think I play better when I’m nervous,” Scott said. “I just turn my brain off.
“I did what I could. I got lucky on the free kicks that hit the post, but besides that I’m happy with my performance, for sure.”
Scott also was satisfied with the team’s showing.
“I think we played pretty good,” Scott said. “We definitely can work on things in practice, but it’s the first game of the season, so it’s bound to happen.
“I definitely think we’ll go up from here. This is one of the hardest teams we’ll play.”
Indeed, Morton is once again considered a strong contender for the state championship. Alvarez said the Mustangs win and lose as a team, and Aquino is looking forward to more of the former than the latter.
“I’m very excited,” Aquino said. “It’s my first year out here with all these new players. I like our chances this year.”
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
GK Dean Scott
D Mateo Lopez
D Patrick Berryman
D Patrick Bohan
D Evan King
M Matt Driessens
M Johnny Kim
M Josh Weigel
M Sean O’Reilly
F Ben Teitjen
F Joseph LoDuca
Morton
GK Sebastian Mayorga
D Eddie Barraza
D Luis Gonzalez
D Juan Ramirez
D Ivan Ramirez
M Jonathon Murillo
M Edgar Quintero
M Daniel Diaz
M Max Aquino
F Giovanni Alvarez
F Ismael Zepeda
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Giovanni Alvarez, sr., F, Morton
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Morton – Max Aquino (Luis Gonzalez, Giovanni Alvarez), 24:33 remaining
Morton – Alvarez (PK), 4:51 remaining
Morton past Naperville Central
Heads-up play from soph leads to 2-0 season-opening win
By Matt Le Cren
BERWYN – Max Aquino’s debut as a full-fledged member of Morton’s varsity was a memorable one.
The sophomore midfielder, who appeared in one game as a freshman, scored the game-winning goal on a spectacular second half effort to help the host Mustangs knock off Naperville Central 2-0 in the season opener.
The game was scoreless when Morton, ranked second in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 preseason poll, was awarded a free kick just outside the top right corner of the Naperville Central penalty area.
Senior forward Giovanni Alvarez and senior midfielder Daniel Diaz stood over the ball as the Redhawks set up a three-man wall. Both players had shots hit the left post in the first half, so it figured one of them would crack the ball on frame.
But instead of shooting, Alvarez rolled the ball back outside the top of the box, where an onrushing Luis Gonzalez ripped a shot toward the left corner of the Naperville Central net.
The shot, however, was heading wide of the left post. That’s when Aquino raced in and slid to redirect the ball past goalkeeper Austin Waite with 24:33 remaining.
“Every time a free kick happens, I like to stay back post, just in case it ends up back there and the goalie fumbles it or something like that,” Aquino said. “I saw Luis Gonzalez let go a strong shot, and I’m right there to pick it up. I saw it go out wide, and I slide-tackled it.”
The play brought Morton’s fans to their feet and a smile to the faces of Aquino and his teammates.
“It’s crazy,” Aquino said. “First day out here with all these fans and the lights.
“It was an amazing experience hearing the crowd cheer after the goal. It was cool.”
Aquino’s play was a cool finish of the kind expected from players like Alvarez, who deliberately passed up the opportunity to put his free kick on frame.
“The defense was definitely giving me space,” Alvarez said. “I saw out of the corner of my eye Luis Gonzalez at the top of the box, and I was hoping he was going to rip it.
“He ripped it the wrong way but luckily Max was there and put it in the back of the net. He came out of nowhere, slide-tackled it and everything.”
Aquino is one of only two sophomores on Morton’s roster – defender Ivan Ramirez is the other – but big things are expected of him. Alvarez, who scored Morton’s second goal when he blasted a penalty kick past Waite with 4:51 to go, wasn’t surprised to see his young teammate succeed.
“He’s a high-potential player already as a sophomore,” Alvarez said. “I’ve been playing with him since we were younger, and we’ve grown up.
“He’s been in club academies. This is only the beginning for him.”
The victory was a good beginning for the Mustangs, who controlled a majority of the possession, especially in the first half, and did not allow a shot.
“We had three or four A-plus chances that first half,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said. “I was a little nervous at halftime, but we played well defensively.
“We held strong in the middle, didn’t give any big opportunities up. We’ve got to work on our fouls, because we gave up some long throws and those could come back to bite us.”
So can near-misses, of which the Mustangs had several in the first half. Alvarez hit the left post off an 18-yard free kick four minutes into the match and two minutes later curled a 25-yard free kick over the crossbar.
Five minutes after that, Diaz pinged the pipe with a drive from the right side of the box.
So the irony of Aquino scoring on what easily could have been a wasted opportunity wasn’t lost on Bageanis.
“We stress getting those garbage goals,” Bageanis said. “It doesn’t matter how we score it.
“Sometimes some of us want to rip the back of the net out of the goal, sometimes it just has to cross the line. We’ll take it either way; it still counts as a goal.”
Indeed, Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said the goal illustrates a point he often makes to his players.
“We talk about it – how many goals are scored on what I call that back box,” Adams said. “The back post to the top of the six to the side of the six, that little rectangle.
“If you want to score 10 goals a year, every time there’s a dead ball or a cross, just go sit there and tap. It counts just as much as the upper-90 half volley.”
While the result counts as a loss for the no. 13 Redhawks, Adams said it was a good measuring stick against a traditional power.
“You know you’re going to concede 60-70 percent possession,” Adams said. “But that’s the great thing about soccer; you can do that and still win.
“What you can’t do is make continuous small mistakes. There wasn’t a massive problem. It was little problems and when you play a team like Morton, they will expose little problems.
“But that’s also why you play teams like Morton early in the season. Now we have film, we can look at it and find what we need to correct.”
A look at the film also will highlight positives for the Redhawks. Senior goalkeeper Dean Scott made his varsity debut and made three saves in the first half before being replaced by Waite.
Two of Scott’s stops came on point-blank shots from just outside the 6. He came off his line both times to deny 1-v-1 attempts.
“He made some great reads to come out and cover the ball really well,” Adams said. “I thought he played very well.”
Goalkeeper is one of the positions Adams is still figuring out. Scott, Waite and senior Trevor Fewkes are all new to varsity.
“I came in nervous but I think I play better when I’m nervous,” Scott said. “I just turn my brain off.
“I did what I could. I got lucky on the free kicks that hit the post, but besides that I’m happy with my performance, for sure.”
Scott also was satisfied with the team’s showing.
“I think we played pretty good,” Scott said. “We definitely can work on things in practice, but it’s the first game of the season, so it’s bound to happen.
“I definitely think we’ll go up from here. This is one of the hardest teams we’ll play.”
Indeed, Morton is once again considered a strong contender for the state championship. Alvarez said the Mustangs win and lose as a team, and Aquino is looking forward to more of the former than the latter.
“I’m very excited,” Aquino said. “It’s my first year out here with all these new players. I like our chances this year.”
Starting lineups
Naperville Central
GK Dean Scott
D Mateo Lopez
D Patrick Berryman
D Patrick Bohan
D Evan King
M Matt Driessens
M Johnny Kim
M Josh Weigel
M Sean O’Reilly
F Ben Teitjen
F Joseph LoDuca
Morton
GK Sebastian Mayorga
D Eddie Barraza
D Luis Gonzalez
D Juan Ramirez
D Ivan Ramirez
M Jonathon Murillo
M Edgar Quintero
M Daniel Diaz
M Max Aquino
F Giovanni Alvarez
F Ismael Zepeda
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Giovanni Alvarez, sr., F, Morton
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Morton – Max Aquino (Luis Gonzalez, Giovanni Alvarez), 24:33 remaining
Morton – Alvarez (PK), 4:51 remaining