Ryu tips seesaw in Naperville North’s
favor at St. Charles East
Midfielder’s header the difference in 3-2 win in ranked matchup
By Matt Le Cren
ST. CHARLES – The names on the jerseys change, the seasons pass by one after the other, but one thing remains the same for Naperville North.
The Huskies are lethal on restarts.
That stopped being a secret long ago, but knowing what the Huskies do doesn’t mean it's easy to stop.
St. Charles East, ranked sixth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, is the latest team to find that out. Jacob Ryu scored on a header off a perfectly placed corner kick from Alex Barger and that turned out to be the difference in no. 13 Naperville North’s 3-2 win over the Saints on Thursday night.
“We run that play all the time,” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said. “Alex played a perfect ball, and Ryu obviously made the right run and was in the right spot to hit it home. So, that was a great play.”
It was the fifth goal of the season for Ryu, who had a dominant performance in the midfield and helped swing the matchup of potential state-title contenders in favor of the Huskies.
“I know Alex is pretty trustworthy with those balls, and we’re always practicing them,” Ryu said. “He played a beautiful ball, I found my way and got an easy touch on it with my head.”
Ryu’s strike came with 17:55 left in the second half and was the last of three great goals scored by the Huskies (13-5-2), who needed every one of them. St. Charles East (14-3-0) rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game on back-to-back shots in the second half.
Star striker Sebastian Carranza got the Saints on the board when he scored on a penalty kick at the 29:41 mark. Then Luca Avendano alertly took advantage of a giveaway in the back to score on a short breakaway with 24:57 to bring the hosts even.
“At halftime we were making sure that we kept the same energy from the first half and wanted to keep it coming,” Ryu said. “When they scored that second goal, it was definitely a wakeup call.
“We were so focused on the game and then out of nowhere, our heads weren’t in it.”
But not for long. The Huskies regained their mojo and only gave up one shot after that -- a header off a corner kick that sailed over the crossbar with a minute left.
“I think the boys taking that punch in the mouth, giving up two goals and then coming back and still getting chances to score was great,” Konrad said. “We held them, and it was a great high school game.”
St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo didn’t think it was so great for his team, which came out of the gate rather slowly before picking up steam in the second half.
“We had a little bit more energy and enthusiasm in the second half,” DiNuzzo said. “We talked about that at halftime, but we still lack that ability to win that ball in the air, get it down and play the soccer we want to.
“Credit to them, and the way they play with the big ball over the top, forcing us to make decisions. We were forced into a lot of tough decisions today, couldn’t really get in a rhythm. Hopefully we learn from it.”
Naperville North did indeed play long ball and used it to open the scoring with 22:53 remaining in the first half. Defender Cole Ritzmann launched a long diagonal ball from the right wing to Keegan Flaherty, who was 1-on-1 with a defender in the left side of the Saints’ box.
Flaherty settled the ball and lofted a right-footed shot over the head of St. Charles East goalkeeper Jordan Rolon. What made the goal noteworthy was Flaherty’s momentum was carrying him away from the goal when he got the shot off.
“It was weird,” Flaherty said. “It kind of got stuck between me and another guy. It came down on my knee, and I just flicked it over the goalie.
“It all happened so fast.”
The lead doubled after Bryan Higgs scored 3:17 into the second half. Cam Radeke’s lead pass found the senior midfielder in space outside the top of the box and Higgs ripped a 25-yard shot inside the left post for a 2-0 lead.
“Me, Keegan and Cam kind of had a combination around the 25-yard line,” Higgs said. “I was on the far side so I made a run in behind the defenders, and Cam just threaded it through.
“It hit off my knee, and I half-volleyed it near post.”
Flaherty and Higgs now have four goals each. Both players have been unsung performers at their respective positions. Flaherty is the third option on the forward line behind Barger and Radeke, who are tied for the team scoring lead with eight goals. Higgs is the lone newcomer in a midfield that features longtime stalwarts Ryu and Tyson Amoo-Mensah.
“We’ve been waiting for Bryan to score. As you saw, Cam gave him a great ball. He took a great touch and buried a great shot,” Konrad said. “I want to see more of that from him.”
Ryu, who has five goals, doesn’t mind sharing the wealth, either.
“It’s definitely another person to look for,” Ryu said. “We’ve always been looking at every side and playing the ball to every person, because we know we’re all lethal, We all want to be up-top.
“Definitely, the more people who can score, the better for our team.”
The Huskies were the better offensive team in this one. They forcing Rolon and his second half successor Tyler Benhart to make a combined seven saves. On the flip side, Patrick Horn made one save for the North. That gives DiNuzzo a measuring stick to evaluate his team.
“You’re always looking for times and ways to exploit weaknesses in your own team,” DiNuzzo said. “We’ve been able to find those through games like this, so credit to Naperville North. They showed us some things we need to fix.”
Konrad has no doubt the Saints will fix them and be a handful moving forward.
“That’s a great team,” Konrad said. “They’re an incredible team.
“You always say nice things about your opponent, but they really are. I would not want to play them again.
“They are loaded. They’re going to be a super-dangerous team come tournament time. They’re built to compete at that level.”
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK Patrick Horn
D Cole Ritzmann
D Adam Zielke
D Ryan Konrad
D Alex Arredondo
M Tyson Amoo-Mensah
M Jacob Ryu
M Bryan Higgs
F Cam Radeke
F Keegan Flaherty
F Alex Barger
St. Charles East
GK Jordan Rolon
D Phil Anton
D Connor King
D Aaron Frost
D Jake Walker
M Luca Avendano
M Mason Blenner
M Josh Ruiz
M Jack Harrington
F Sebastian Carranza
F Will Orloff
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jacob Ryu, sr., MF, Naperville North.
Scoring summary
First half
Naperville North – Keegan Flaherty (Cole Ritzmann), 22:53 remaining
Second half
Naperville North – Bryan Higgs (Cam Radeke) 36:43 remaining
St. Charles East – Sebastian Carranza (PK) 29:41 remaining
St. Charles East – Luca Avendano (unassisted) 24:57 remaining
Naperville North – Jacob Ryu (Alex Barger) 17:55 remaining
favor at St. Charles East
Midfielder’s header the difference in 3-2 win in ranked matchup
By Matt Le Cren
ST. CHARLES – The names on the jerseys change, the seasons pass by one after the other, but one thing remains the same for Naperville North.
The Huskies are lethal on restarts.
That stopped being a secret long ago, but knowing what the Huskies do doesn’t mean it's easy to stop.
St. Charles East, ranked sixth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, is the latest team to find that out. Jacob Ryu scored on a header off a perfectly placed corner kick from Alex Barger and that turned out to be the difference in no. 13 Naperville North’s 3-2 win over the Saints on Thursday night.
“We run that play all the time,” Naperville North coach Jim Konrad said. “Alex played a perfect ball, and Ryu obviously made the right run and was in the right spot to hit it home. So, that was a great play.”
It was the fifth goal of the season for Ryu, who had a dominant performance in the midfield and helped swing the matchup of potential state-title contenders in favor of the Huskies.
“I know Alex is pretty trustworthy with those balls, and we’re always practicing them,” Ryu said. “He played a beautiful ball, I found my way and got an easy touch on it with my head.”
Ryu’s strike came with 17:55 left in the second half and was the last of three great goals scored by the Huskies (13-5-2), who needed every one of them. St. Charles East (14-3-0) rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game on back-to-back shots in the second half.
Star striker Sebastian Carranza got the Saints on the board when he scored on a penalty kick at the 29:41 mark. Then Luca Avendano alertly took advantage of a giveaway in the back to score on a short breakaway with 24:57 to bring the hosts even.
“At halftime we were making sure that we kept the same energy from the first half and wanted to keep it coming,” Ryu said. “When they scored that second goal, it was definitely a wakeup call.
“We were so focused on the game and then out of nowhere, our heads weren’t in it.”
But not for long. The Huskies regained their mojo and only gave up one shot after that -- a header off a corner kick that sailed over the crossbar with a minute left.
“I think the boys taking that punch in the mouth, giving up two goals and then coming back and still getting chances to score was great,” Konrad said. “We held them, and it was a great high school game.”
St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo didn’t think it was so great for his team, which came out of the gate rather slowly before picking up steam in the second half.
“We had a little bit more energy and enthusiasm in the second half,” DiNuzzo said. “We talked about that at halftime, but we still lack that ability to win that ball in the air, get it down and play the soccer we want to.
“Credit to them, and the way they play with the big ball over the top, forcing us to make decisions. We were forced into a lot of tough decisions today, couldn’t really get in a rhythm. Hopefully we learn from it.”
Naperville North did indeed play long ball and used it to open the scoring with 22:53 remaining in the first half. Defender Cole Ritzmann launched a long diagonal ball from the right wing to Keegan Flaherty, who was 1-on-1 with a defender in the left side of the Saints’ box.
Flaherty settled the ball and lofted a right-footed shot over the head of St. Charles East goalkeeper Jordan Rolon. What made the goal noteworthy was Flaherty’s momentum was carrying him away from the goal when he got the shot off.
“It was weird,” Flaherty said. “It kind of got stuck between me and another guy. It came down on my knee, and I just flicked it over the goalie.
“It all happened so fast.”
The lead doubled after Bryan Higgs scored 3:17 into the second half. Cam Radeke’s lead pass found the senior midfielder in space outside the top of the box and Higgs ripped a 25-yard shot inside the left post for a 2-0 lead.
“Me, Keegan and Cam kind of had a combination around the 25-yard line,” Higgs said. “I was on the far side so I made a run in behind the defenders, and Cam just threaded it through.
“It hit off my knee, and I half-volleyed it near post.”
Flaherty and Higgs now have four goals each. Both players have been unsung performers at their respective positions. Flaherty is the third option on the forward line behind Barger and Radeke, who are tied for the team scoring lead with eight goals. Higgs is the lone newcomer in a midfield that features longtime stalwarts Ryu and Tyson Amoo-Mensah.
“We’ve been waiting for Bryan to score. As you saw, Cam gave him a great ball. He took a great touch and buried a great shot,” Konrad said. “I want to see more of that from him.”
Ryu, who has five goals, doesn’t mind sharing the wealth, either.
“It’s definitely another person to look for,” Ryu said. “We’ve always been looking at every side and playing the ball to every person, because we know we’re all lethal, We all want to be up-top.
“Definitely, the more people who can score, the better for our team.”
The Huskies were the better offensive team in this one. They forcing Rolon and his second half successor Tyler Benhart to make a combined seven saves. On the flip side, Patrick Horn made one save for the North. That gives DiNuzzo a measuring stick to evaluate his team.
“You’re always looking for times and ways to exploit weaknesses in your own team,” DiNuzzo said. “We’ve been able to find those through games like this, so credit to Naperville North. They showed us some things we need to fix.”
Konrad has no doubt the Saints will fix them and be a handful moving forward.
“That’s a great team,” Konrad said. “They’re an incredible team.
“You always say nice things about your opponent, but they really are. I would not want to play them again.
“They are loaded. They’re going to be a super-dangerous team come tournament time. They’re built to compete at that level.”
Starting lineups
Naperville North
GK Patrick Horn
D Cole Ritzmann
D Adam Zielke
D Ryan Konrad
D Alex Arredondo
M Tyson Amoo-Mensah
M Jacob Ryu
M Bryan Higgs
F Cam Radeke
F Keegan Flaherty
F Alex Barger
St. Charles East
GK Jordan Rolon
D Phil Anton
D Connor King
D Aaron Frost
D Jake Walker
M Luca Avendano
M Mason Blenner
M Josh Ruiz
M Jack Harrington
F Sebastian Carranza
F Will Orloff
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jacob Ryu, sr., MF, Naperville North.
Scoring summary
First half
Naperville North – Keegan Flaherty (Cole Ritzmann), 22:53 remaining
Second half
Naperville North – Bryan Higgs (Cam Radeke) 36:43 remaining
St. Charles East – Sebastian Carranza (PK) 29:41 remaining
St. Charles East – Luca Avendano (unassisted) 24:57 remaining
Naperville North – Jacob Ryu (Alex Barger) 17:55 remaining