Fenwick takes revenge over Notre Dame
Friars' 1st half goals lead to 3-1 win in sectional final rematch
By Curt Herron
RIVER FOREST -- Whenever two teams meet deep in the playoffs and then see each other again early in the following regular-season, there will always be some degree of revenge sought by the team that saw its previous season end earlier than it hoped.
Tuesday's nonconference tilt between Fenwick and Notre Dame was one of those matchups. It was the teams first meeting since the Dons scored a goal in the final two minutes to claim a 4-3 victory over the Friars in the Class AA Speer Sectional final to earn a trip to the supersectional.
The Friars, with more returners back from that game than their opponent, were happy to jump out to a 2-0 first half lead and responded to the Dons second half goal with an answer of their own to claim a 3-1 victory at Priory Park in River Forest.
Junior Jake Brecknock converted on a penalty in the 23rd minute to put the hosts in front, and senior Frank Felice connected on a close-range shot following a header from junior James Zimmer in the 33rd minute to put the Friars in the catbird’s seat near the midway point of the match.
Notre Dame (3-3-0) pulled to within 2-1 in the 60th minute when sophomore Sebastian Dzierzanowski found senior Daniel Deano, who connected in front of the net. But Fenwick (3-1-0) regained control a bit later when senior Ian Martinello scored on a header following an assist from junior Lucas Garcia in the 65th minute.
The Friars return 15 players from last year's sectional finals while the Dons have nine individuals back. While nearly two-thirds of Fenwick's team are seniors and juniors, just under half of Notre Dame's squad are sophomores.
"We played a really good game the other day against Latin and didn't come away with a tie so the guys were disappointed," Friars coach Craig Blazer said. "But other than that the effort was great, and we were trying to come out of that as focused as we were at the end of that game. And today we did enough to get on the board early and be in control.
"Notre Dame hit the crossbar in the beginning of the game, and there are so many things that can happen. But on this day, it went in our favor. And now we have a huge match on Friday. We have a couple of days to recover, and we're really looking forward to it."
In the big picture, Fenwick is more focused on the near future than in the past. Capturing a third victory in four tries and bouncing back from a 3-2 defeat to Latin in its last match, and preparing for Friday's clash with crosstown rival Oak Park and River Forest at Oak Park Stadium, were more significant to the squad than if the Friars and Notre Dame meet again in the playoffs.
After graduating 10 players from a year ago and not having some other younger players back from that team, the Dons are still trying to find the right mix as they prepare to kick off East Suburban Catholic Conference play next Wednesday at Saint Viator.
Coach Mike Smith's squad has beaten Senn, Northside and Lake View while falling to Loyola and getting edged out on penalties by North Shore Country Day School and finishing in the runnerup spot of the Don Raider Cup.
"We've got a young team this year, and I think we've shown some positives during the start of the season," Smith said. "This was another good experience to get us ready for conference. They're a quality side. … We hope to see them again in the postseason.
"We were out a couple of guys who were injured or sick, and we've got a new makeup this year. I think we got a little unlucky hitting the crossbar two minutes in. … We had a couple of other chances. Our issue early on in the season has been finishing."
The first good opportunity of the match came off Dzierzanowski foot and bounced off the crossbar in the third minute. The Dons had another try stopped by Friars senior goalkeeper Finnegan Williams not long after that.
Fenwick countered with a shot by Felice that was deflected by senior goalkeeper Luca LoBianco, and Brecknock followed with a corner kick that was threatening.
Notre Dame followed with good attempts from sophomore Joey Sorce, and Deano, before Fenwick’s Martinello was denied on the other side on a corner kick. A short time later, Dons sophomore Jack McNamara had a try headed away by Garcia.
Things finally clicked for the Friars in the 23rd minute after Brecknock had a corner kick punched away by LoBianco. Shortly after that, the Friars junior was fouled in the box. He converted on the subsequent penalty to put the hosts up 1-0.
Not long after the initial score, Notre Dame senior Jack Plovanich shut down Felice as he was driving toward the net. Deano sent in a dangerous corner kick which was headed away by Fenwick junior John Ballarin, and his sophomore teammate Sam Allaire launched a long attempt that was halted by LoBianco.
In the 33rd minute, the Friars put together a nice combination to record their second goal. Ian MacKinnon started the sequence with a throw-in to Zimmer, who sent in a header to \to Felice, who connected from just in front of the Dons' net to give the hosts a 2-0 lead that they would take into the break.
"I think it was a good bounce-back game, and it was good for our confidence," Zimmer said. "And it was big for our huge rivalry this week with OPRF, so it was a much-needed win. We've been looking great and are making a lot of progress. We have a lot of young kids who are returning from last year.
"I think we've come out strong going 3-1-0, and it's a good start to the season. Everybody wants to get better. It's all teamwork, and we're all on the same page."
During the first part of the final half, Notre Dame got good attempts from McNamara, Dzierzanowski and Ian Martinez. Fenwick countered with threatening efforts from Brecknock and Felice.
The Dons made things interesting in the 60th minute when Dzierzanowski sent a pass inside to Deano, who fired in an attempt from about 10 yards to make it a 2-1 match.
"I like how we play together and how we pass the ball around," Dzierzanowski said. "We have good midfielders and Daniel Deano is one of our best guys. We like to play it to him and play it to our wingers and get it to guys in the box so we can score. We've been trying to do that.
"We have a bunch of quality players, but we just need to connect more and have that chemistry, which will help us."
Fenwick capped the scoring in the 65th minute when Garcia sent a pass inside and Martinello headed the ball into the net.
Fenwick did a nice job of limiting Notre Dame's chances down the stretch to assure itself of the victory. The Friars have four matches next week before kicking off Chicago Catholic League Blue Division on September 13 when they host Mount Carmel at Priory Park.
The win had Fenwick feeling good.
"Last year we played them in a big game in the sectional finals, and it was a tough loss," Garcia said. "So, it felt really good to get this one on the board. We were looking forward to this, especially for returning guys. We really needed this as a morale boost.
"We have a lot of returning players. We lost some big, key players from last year, so we just had to fill those positions. I think we're going to do well. We have a lot of chemistry and a lot of technical players that we can work with. I like our depth. We have a lot of people on the bench who are ready to fill those spots. And during practice, everyone is always fighting for those spots, since we're very competitive."
Starting lineups
Notre Dame
GK: Luca LoBianco
D: Colin Sorce
D: Max Stalencyzk
D: Jack McNamara
D: Jack Plovanich
MF: Ryan Shanahan
MF: Daniel Deano
MF: Jake Schmucker
MF: Ian Martinez
F: Joey Sorce
F: Sebastian Dzierzanowski
Fenwick
GK: Finnegan Williams
D: John Ballarin
D: Evan Hickman
D: Max Ballarin
D: Ian MacKinnon
MF: Lucas Garcia
MF: Frank Felice
MF: James Zimmer
MF: Matt Bero
F: Ian Martinello
F: Jake Brecknock
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Jake Brecknock, jr., F, Fenwick
Frank Felice, sr., MF, Fenwick
Scoring summary
First half
Fenwick: Jake Brecknock (PK), 23'
Fenwick: Frank Felice (James Zimmer), 33'
Second half
Notre Dame: Daniel Deano (Sebastian Dzierzanowski), 60'
Fenwick: Ian Martinello (Lucas Garcia), 65'
Friars' 1st half goals lead to 3-1 win in sectional final rematch
By Curt Herron
RIVER FOREST -- Whenever two teams meet deep in the playoffs and then see each other again early in the following regular-season, there will always be some degree of revenge sought by the team that saw its previous season end earlier than it hoped.
Tuesday's nonconference tilt between Fenwick and Notre Dame was one of those matchups. It was the teams first meeting since the Dons scored a goal in the final two minutes to claim a 4-3 victory over the Friars in the Class AA Speer Sectional final to earn a trip to the supersectional.
The Friars, with more returners back from that game than their opponent, were happy to jump out to a 2-0 first half lead and responded to the Dons second half goal with an answer of their own to claim a 3-1 victory at Priory Park in River Forest.
Junior Jake Brecknock converted on a penalty in the 23rd minute to put the hosts in front, and senior Frank Felice connected on a close-range shot following a header from junior James Zimmer in the 33rd minute to put the Friars in the catbird’s seat near the midway point of the match.
Notre Dame (3-3-0) pulled to within 2-1 in the 60th minute when sophomore Sebastian Dzierzanowski found senior Daniel Deano, who connected in front of the net. But Fenwick (3-1-0) regained control a bit later when senior Ian Martinello scored on a header following an assist from junior Lucas Garcia in the 65th minute.
The Friars return 15 players from last year's sectional finals while the Dons have nine individuals back. While nearly two-thirds of Fenwick's team are seniors and juniors, just under half of Notre Dame's squad are sophomores.
"We played a really good game the other day against Latin and didn't come away with a tie so the guys were disappointed," Friars coach Craig Blazer said. "But other than that the effort was great, and we were trying to come out of that as focused as we were at the end of that game. And today we did enough to get on the board early and be in control.
"Notre Dame hit the crossbar in the beginning of the game, and there are so many things that can happen. But on this day, it went in our favor. And now we have a huge match on Friday. We have a couple of days to recover, and we're really looking forward to it."
In the big picture, Fenwick is more focused on the near future than in the past. Capturing a third victory in four tries and bouncing back from a 3-2 defeat to Latin in its last match, and preparing for Friday's clash with crosstown rival Oak Park and River Forest at Oak Park Stadium, were more significant to the squad than if the Friars and Notre Dame meet again in the playoffs.
After graduating 10 players from a year ago and not having some other younger players back from that team, the Dons are still trying to find the right mix as they prepare to kick off East Suburban Catholic Conference play next Wednesday at Saint Viator.
Coach Mike Smith's squad has beaten Senn, Northside and Lake View while falling to Loyola and getting edged out on penalties by North Shore Country Day School and finishing in the runnerup spot of the Don Raider Cup.
"We've got a young team this year, and I think we've shown some positives during the start of the season," Smith said. "This was another good experience to get us ready for conference. They're a quality side. … We hope to see them again in the postseason.
"We were out a couple of guys who were injured or sick, and we've got a new makeup this year. I think we got a little unlucky hitting the crossbar two minutes in. … We had a couple of other chances. Our issue early on in the season has been finishing."
The first good opportunity of the match came off Dzierzanowski foot and bounced off the crossbar in the third minute. The Dons had another try stopped by Friars senior goalkeeper Finnegan Williams not long after that.
Fenwick countered with a shot by Felice that was deflected by senior goalkeeper Luca LoBianco, and Brecknock followed with a corner kick that was threatening.
Notre Dame followed with good attempts from sophomore Joey Sorce, and Deano, before Fenwick’s Martinello was denied on the other side on a corner kick. A short time later, Dons sophomore Jack McNamara had a try headed away by Garcia.
Things finally clicked for the Friars in the 23rd minute after Brecknock had a corner kick punched away by LoBianco. Shortly after that, the Friars junior was fouled in the box. He converted on the subsequent penalty to put the hosts up 1-0.
Not long after the initial score, Notre Dame senior Jack Plovanich shut down Felice as he was driving toward the net. Deano sent in a dangerous corner kick which was headed away by Fenwick junior John Ballarin, and his sophomore teammate Sam Allaire launched a long attempt that was halted by LoBianco.
In the 33rd minute, the Friars put together a nice combination to record their second goal. Ian MacKinnon started the sequence with a throw-in to Zimmer, who sent in a header to \to Felice, who connected from just in front of the Dons' net to give the hosts a 2-0 lead that they would take into the break.
"I think it was a good bounce-back game, and it was good for our confidence," Zimmer said. "And it was big for our huge rivalry this week with OPRF, so it was a much-needed win. We've been looking great and are making a lot of progress. We have a lot of young kids who are returning from last year.
"I think we've come out strong going 3-1-0, and it's a good start to the season. Everybody wants to get better. It's all teamwork, and we're all on the same page."
During the first part of the final half, Notre Dame got good attempts from McNamara, Dzierzanowski and Ian Martinez. Fenwick countered with threatening efforts from Brecknock and Felice.
The Dons made things interesting in the 60th minute when Dzierzanowski sent a pass inside to Deano, who fired in an attempt from about 10 yards to make it a 2-1 match.
"I like how we play together and how we pass the ball around," Dzierzanowski said. "We have good midfielders and Daniel Deano is one of our best guys. We like to play it to him and play it to our wingers and get it to guys in the box so we can score. We've been trying to do that.
"We have a bunch of quality players, but we just need to connect more and have that chemistry, which will help us."
Fenwick capped the scoring in the 65th minute when Garcia sent a pass inside and Martinello headed the ball into the net.
Fenwick did a nice job of limiting Notre Dame's chances down the stretch to assure itself of the victory. The Friars have four matches next week before kicking off Chicago Catholic League Blue Division on September 13 when they host Mount Carmel at Priory Park.
The win had Fenwick feeling good.
"Last year we played them in a big game in the sectional finals, and it was a tough loss," Garcia said. "So, it felt really good to get this one on the board. We were looking forward to this, especially for returning guys. We really needed this as a morale boost.
"We have a lot of returning players. We lost some big, key players from last year, so we just had to fill those positions. I think we're going to do well. We have a lot of chemistry and a lot of technical players that we can work with. I like our depth. We have a lot of people on the bench who are ready to fill those spots. And during practice, everyone is always fighting for those spots, since we're very competitive."
Starting lineups
Notre Dame
GK: Luca LoBianco
D: Colin Sorce
D: Max Stalencyzk
D: Jack McNamara
D: Jack Plovanich
MF: Ryan Shanahan
MF: Daniel Deano
MF: Jake Schmucker
MF: Ian Martinez
F: Joey Sorce
F: Sebastian Dzierzanowski
Fenwick
GK: Finnegan Williams
D: John Ballarin
D: Evan Hickman
D: Max Ballarin
D: Ian MacKinnon
MF: Lucas Garcia
MF: Frank Felice
MF: James Zimmer
MF: Matt Bero
F: Ian Martinello
F: Jake Brecknock
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Jake Brecknock, jr., F, Fenwick
Frank Felice, sr., MF, Fenwick
Scoring summary
First half
Fenwick: Jake Brecknock (PK), 23'
Fenwick: Frank Felice (James Zimmer), 33'
Second half
Notre Dame: Daniel Deano (Sebastian Dzierzanowski), 60'
Fenwick: Ian Martinello (Lucas Garcia), 65'