Green GK helps Timothy block Northridge
Newbie Steiner impresses in net, Cruz scores twice in 4-1 win
By Dave Owen
ELMHURST – With an offense on Cruz control and a fast learner at goalkeeper, Timothy had plenty to celebrate in Monday’s season opener against Northridge.
Chris Cruz’s two extra-effort goals provided the scoring spark in the host Trojans’ 4-1 win. But it was the rapid rise of junior Kyle Steiner at goalkeeper that was the story of the match.
In his first official appearance in the nets at any level, Steiner looked like a seasoned veteran in shutting out the Knights until Timothy surrendered a penalty kick goal more than 66 minutes into the match.
By that time, Timothy led 4-0 and an impressive result was assured.
Steiner’s successful debut would have seemed far-fetched even six months ago. The previously two-sport athlete at Timothy had never stepped foot on a soccer field in his life, even as a five-year-old park district player.
“There was a spring break scrimmage last year,” Steiner said. “Coach (Joel Zielke) asked me if I wanted to play goalie for one game, and I said ‘Absolutely, I’ll try it out.’ It went well, so he texted me this summer and said he wanted me to come to camp and try out for the team.
“Coach was interested in me playing, so why not give it a shot?
“I play basketball and volleyball here at Timothy and played baseball my whole life,” Steiner added, “so I’ve always been an athlete. That makes it easier to make those big saves in goal. That’s always fun.”
The goalkeeper depth chart hardly looked amusing when Zielke recruited his new netminder.
“Obviously goalkeeper was a big question coming into tonight,” Zielke said. “We graduated our senior last year, and a freshman who played (starting midfielder Caleb Bode) took a pretty big injury in a game, and he’s not interested in going back in net. So Kyle stepped up.
“I’ve known his family forever – we go to church together, and I was actually his fifth-grade teacher. I know he’s athletic, and as a keeper hands are the most important. He’s very teachable, a great kid, willing to learn. He’s really stepped up and filled that space.”
Steiner’s first test came in the 17th minute, when he made a low save on a 20-yard shot by Northridge’s Thomas Smith. Seven minutes later came his best moment of the match, a leaping grab at the upper right corner of the net of a Ben Hanretty drive that would have tied the match 1-1.
Before saves like that and the eventual win, Steiner had a different pregame emotion.
“Very nerve-wracking,” he said. “We had summer games, and it was good to get used to soccer, and I played one scrimmage game last year.
“And our defense is great. They’re a brick wall. They don’t let much get through, so it makes the job way easier on me.
“It’s been very fun,” Steiner added. “I’ve bonded with them too, so we’re building that connection.”
A nice passing connection 26:50 before halftime gave the Trojans a 1-0 lead.
Cam Baker’s pass sprung forward Eddie Favela on a run up the middle. The ensuing low line drive shot from 15 yards put Timothy ahead to stay.
Then Cruz took a turn.
After being denied on saves off a high free kick in the 15th minute and a belt-high drive in the 19th minute, he turned a nice dribble to open space into a 2-0 Timothy lead 17:36 before the half.
After a Josh McMillan throw-in was initially cleared by Northridge, Cruz corralled the loose ball left of the box. Dribbling all the way across the top of the box, he finally found enough open space to power a low line drive inside the post.
“I was trying to get an open shot and there wasn’t one,” said Cruz, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “So I just kept going and going, and I finally found an opening and placed it.”
Four minutes later, similar perfect aim by Hendrik Devries upped the Timothy lead to 3-0.
With Baker’s second assist of the night setting the table, Devries did the rest with a rush on goal and low liner inside the right post.
“Cam’s a junior for us and it’s going to be a breakout season for him,” Zielke said. “He played a lot of minutes for the varsity last year, so he’s starting to feel really comfortable with this group and becoming more of a leader in the midfield. It’s good to have him.”
Said Cruz: “We were just trying to possess a lot through the midfield and not just dump the ball forward. And eventually building up through the middle we got some balls through and had some good finishes to the corners.”
With the usual mystery of a season-opener exacerbated by having a new goalkeeper, Zielke was pleased with the first 40 minutes.
“We played a pretty good first half,” he said. “We did a lot of good things and created some good scoring opportunities and finished three of our chances.
“A few times defensively we could have been a little bit tighter when they had a couple good looks in the box, but overall to go into halftime up 3-0, I was very pleased.”
Things were understandably less perfect on the other side.
“I just think they (Timothy) were precise in their finishing,” Northridge coach Alvaro Vargas said. “We missed the chances we had. If we had been more complete, we would have been tied or up at the end of the first half.”
The second half was be better for the Knights, especially scoring after going down one player from a red card with 15:30 left in the match.
But the half began with Timothy adding to its lead eight minutes in, again off a great individual effort by Cruz.
After his first shot was blocked, Cruz pounced on the loose rebound to make the score 4-0.
“I heard the defender yell for the keeper to get it, and he wasn’t going,” Cruz said, “so I was like ‘I’ll take it.’ I just went for it and finished.”
Said Zielke: “Chris is going to be a huge player for us this season. With the ball at his feet he demands a lot of attention. He’s able to create on his own, get a lot of guys involved and plays great balls into space.”
Nathan Canada (liner just over the net) and Caleb Hoekstra (left side run and low shot just wide of the back post) would follow with quality chances in the next 15 minutes of play.
Then a red card on Northridge that would have seemed to cement the Timothy win instead provided a spark for the visitors.
A foul in the box on Smith’s left-side shot with 14 minutes left produced a Northridge penalty kick.
Jack Brown’s PK drive into the lower right corner spoiled Steiner’s bid for a shutout in his debut, but hardly blemished a solid opener for Timothy and its fast-learning goalkeeper.
“The one goal on the penalty kick, there’s not much you can do about that,” Steiner said. “Overall it’s a great win. Four goals for the team, w e didn’t let much through. It was an excellent job by the team today.”
Said Zielke: “Kyle stepped up. He’s got great hands – he has to work on positioning a little bit, but every game he’s going to get that much better.”
Other Trojans were worthy of special praise from their coach.
“Ethan Lemkull started up-top and dropped to the middle a lot,” Zielke said. “He’s going to be a big piece for us.
“And I thought Jake Alex our left back – he’s been on the backline for three years for us -- and he does a good job of solidifying that group. It’s the first time the four of them have played together, so it will take some continuity and understanding each other.
“I was most pleased with our composure when it got quite chippy towards the end,” Zielke added. “To let that go and leave without any injuries, it’s a big win for us tonight.”
The early season result leaves Northridge with optimism as well.
“It was our first game so there were a lot of things to learn,” Vargas said. “We’ll work on finishing, but more than anything it’s composure throughout the match, making sure we keep our calm and manage our game.”
One player is already earning high marks.
“Our number 17 (Brown) is amazing with the work he does in the middle,” Vargas said, “covering and putting through-balls for our forwards.”
On the Timothy side, enthusiasm is already sky high.
“I think we can go as far as we want,” Cruz said. “Our coaches push us really hard. We want a state championship – we’re at a refuse-to-lose point. We’re not going to settle for less, that’s for sure.”
Starting lineups
Northridge
GK Owen Mongoven
D Linus Coleman
D Tomas Acosta
D Isaiah Fletcher
D Raphael Camara
M Joseph Mullen
M Jacob Reitzel
M Franco Chapello
M Jack Brown
F Ben Hanretty
F Isaiah Echavez
Timothy
GK Kyle Steiner
D Jake Firnsin
D Carter Day
D Ethan Monk
D Jake Alex
M Cam Baker
M Chris Cruz
M Caleb Bode
M Josh McMillan
F Ethan Lemkull
F Eddie Favela
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Chris Cruz, sr. MF, Timothy
Scoring summary
First half
T: Eddie Favela (Cam Baker assist), 14th min
T: Chris Cruz, 23rd min
T: Hendrik Devries (Baker), 27th min
Second half
T: Cruz, 48th min
N: Jack Brown (PK), 67th min
Newbie Steiner impresses in net, Cruz scores twice in 4-1 win
By Dave Owen
ELMHURST – With an offense on Cruz control and a fast learner at goalkeeper, Timothy had plenty to celebrate in Monday’s season opener against Northridge.
Chris Cruz’s two extra-effort goals provided the scoring spark in the host Trojans’ 4-1 win. But it was the rapid rise of junior Kyle Steiner at goalkeeper that was the story of the match.
In his first official appearance in the nets at any level, Steiner looked like a seasoned veteran in shutting out the Knights until Timothy surrendered a penalty kick goal more than 66 minutes into the match.
By that time, Timothy led 4-0 and an impressive result was assured.
Steiner’s successful debut would have seemed far-fetched even six months ago. The previously two-sport athlete at Timothy had never stepped foot on a soccer field in his life, even as a five-year-old park district player.
“There was a spring break scrimmage last year,” Steiner said. “Coach (Joel Zielke) asked me if I wanted to play goalie for one game, and I said ‘Absolutely, I’ll try it out.’ It went well, so he texted me this summer and said he wanted me to come to camp and try out for the team.
“Coach was interested in me playing, so why not give it a shot?
“I play basketball and volleyball here at Timothy and played baseball my whole life,” Steiner added, “so I’ve always been an athlete. That makes it easier to make those big saves in goal. That’s always fun.”
The goalkeeper depth chart hardly looked amusing when Zielke recruited his new netminder.
“Obviously goalkeeper was a big question coming into tonight,” Zielke said. “We graduated our senior last year, and a freshman who played (starting midfielder Caleb Bode) took a pretty big injury in a game, and he’s not interested in going back in net. So Kyle stepped up.
“I’ve known his family forever – we go to church together, and I was actually his fifth-grade teacher. I know he’s athletic, and as a keeper hands are the most important. He’s very teachable, a great kid, willing to learn. He’s really stepped up and filled that space.”
Steiner’s first test came in the 17th minute, when he made a low save on a 20-yard shot by Northridge’s Thomas Smith. Seven minutes later came his best moment of the match, a leaping grab at the upper right corner of the net of a Ben Hanretty drive that would have tied the match 1-1.
Before saves like that and the eventual win, Steiner had a different pregame emotion.
“Very nerve-wracking,” he said. “We had summer games, and it was good to get used to soccer, and I played one scrimmage game last year.
“And our defense is great. They’re a brick wall. They don’t let much get through, so it makes the job way easier on me.
“It’s been very fun,” Steiner added. “I’ve bonded with them too, so we’re building that connection.”
A nice passing connection 26:50 before halftime gave the Trojans a 1-0 lead.
Cam Baker’s pass sprung forward Eddie Favela on a run up the middle. The ensuing low line drive shot from 15 yards put Timothy ahead to stay.
Then Cruz took a turn.
After being denied on saves off a high free kick in the 15th minute and a belt-high drive in the 19th minute, he turned a nice dribble to open space into a 2-0 Timothy lead 17:36 before the half.
After a Josh McMillan throw-in was initially cleared by Northridge, Cruz corralled the loose ball left of the box. Dribbling all the way across the top of the box, he finally found enough open space to power a low line drive inside the post.
“I was trying to get an open shot and there wasn’t one,” said Cruz, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “So I just kept going and going, and I finally found an opening and placed it.”
Four minutes later, similar perfect aim by Hendrik Devries upped the Timothy lead to 3-0.
With Baker’s second assist of the night setting the table, Devries did the rest with a rush on goal and low liner inside the right post.
“Cam’s a junior for us and it’s going to be a breakout season for him,” Zielke said. “He played a lot of minutes for the varsity last year, so he’s starting to feel really comfortable with this group and becoming more of a leader in the midfield. It’s good to have him.”
Said Cruz: “We were just trying to possess a lot through the midfield and not just dump the ball forward. And eventually building up through the middle we got some balls through and had some good finishes to the corners.”
With the usual mystery of a season-opener exacerbated by having a new goalkeeper, Zielke was pleased with the first 40 minutes.
“We played a pretty good first half,” he said. “We did a lot of good things and created some good scoring opportunities and finished three of our chances.
“A few times defensively we could have been a little bit tighter when they had a couple good looks in the box, but overall to go into halftime up 3-0, I was very pleased.”
Things were understandably less perfect on the other side.
“I just think they (Timothy) were precise in their finishing,” Northridge coach Alvaro Vargas said. “We missed the chances we had. If we had been more complete, we would have been tied or up at the end of the first half.”
The second half was be better for the Knights, especially scoring after going down one player from a red card with 15:30 left in the match.
But the half began with Timothy adding to its lead eight minutes in, again off a great individual effort by Cruz.
After his first shot was blocked, Cruz pounced on the loose rebound to make the score 4-0.
“I heard the defender yell for the keeper to get it, and he wasn’t going,” Cruz said, “so I was like ‘I’ll take it.’ I just went for it and finished.”
Said Zielke: “Chris is going to be a huge player for us this season. With the ball at his feet he demands a lot of attention. He’s able to create on his own, get a lot of guys involved and plays great balls into space.”
Nathan Canada (liner just over the net) and Caleb Hoekstra (left side run and low shot just wide of the back post) would follow with quality chances in the next 15 minutes of play.
Then a red card on Northridge that would have seemed to cement the Timothy win instead provided a spark for the visitors.
A foul in the box on Smith’s left-side shot with 14 minutes left produced a Northridge penalty kick.
Jack Brown’s PK drive into the lower right corner spoiled Steiner’s bid for a shutout in his debut, but hardly blemished a solid opener for Timothy and its fast-learning goalkeeper.
“The one goal on the penalty kick, there’s not much you can do about that,” Steiner said. “Overall it’s a great win. Four goals for the team, w e didn’t let much through. It was an excellent job by the team today.”
Said Zielke: “Kyle stepped up. He’s got great hands – he has to work on positioning a little bit, but every game he’s going to get that much better.”
Other Trojans were worthy of special praise from their coach.
“Ethan Lemkull started up-top and dropped to the middle a lot,” Zielke said. “He’s going to be a big piece for us.
“And I thought Jake Alex our left back – he’s been on the backline for three years for us -- and he does a good job of solidifying that group. It’s the first time the four of them have played together, so it will take some continuity and understanding each other.
“I was most pleased with our composure when it got quite chippy towards the end,” Zielke added. “To let that go and leave without any injuries, it’s a big win for us tonight.”
The early season result leaves Northridge with optimism as well.
“It was our first game so there were a lot of things to learn,” Vargas said. “We’ll work on finishing, but more than anything it’s composure throughout the match, making sure we keep our calm and manage our game.”
One player is already earning high marks.
“Our number 17 (Brown) is amazing with the work he does in the middle,” Vargas said, “covering and putting through-balls for our forwards.”
On the Timothy side, enthusiasm is already sky high.
“I think we can go as far as we want,” Cruz said. “Our coaches push us really hard. We want a state championship – we’re at a refuse-to-lose point. We’re not going to settle for less, that’s for sure.”
Starting lineups
Northridge
GK Owen Mongoven
D Linus Coleman
D Tomas Acosta
D Isaiah Fletcher
D Raphael Camara
M Joseph Mullen
M Jacob Reitzel
M Franco Chapello
M Jack Brown
F Ben Hanretty
F Isaiah Echavez
Timothy
GK Kyle Steiner
D Jake Firnsin
D Carter Day
D Ethan Monk
D Jake Alex
M Cam Baker
M Chris Cruz
M Caleb Bode
M Josh McMillan
F Ethan Lemkull
F Eddie Favela
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Chris Cruz, sr. MF, Timothy
Scoring summary
First half
T: Eddie Favela (Cam Baker assist), 14th min
T: Chris Cruz, 23rd min
T: Hendrik Devries (Baker), 27th min
Second half
T: Cruz, 48th min
N: Jack Brown (PK), 67th min