Phillips’ versatility comes through for Loyola
Defender’s goal and assist lead 3-0 win over Northridge
By Patrick Z. McGavin
GLENVIEW -- The way soccer is played today, positions have less hard meaning. The game is fluid and changes on a dime, and the best teams find ways to put their best players on the field, working out roles and placement in the process.
A player like Loyola senior Luke Phillips has inherent value.
“Before last season I was a midfielder,” Phillips said. “I have been a midfielder my whole life. I’d say my strength is that I can get up and down the field. It’s a treat to be able to play up a little bit. One of our players, Daniel Montaquila, a midfielder, was coming back from an injury, and it helped me recycle through the midfield a little.”
As adefender, Phillips embodies the versatility of the hybrid model, the backliner who moves up and takes a more active role in the attack. It proved even more valuable as the Ramblers found themselves needing extra offense with catalyst David Gripman, a top junior, out with a slight hamstring injury.
Phillips stepped into the void by assisting the Ramblers’ first goal and adding his own score in the second half as the Ramblers awoke from a lethargic start to handle Northridge 3-0 in a nonconference match Friday at Munz Field.
“We were sloppy in the first half,” Loyola coach Baer Fisher said. “I thought defensively we held strong, but we were sloppy. As the first half progressed and we moved into the second half, we got our act together and guys played better and cleaner.
“The one break helped at the end of the first half.”
Throughout the first half, pushing up into the middle, Phillips was able to use his speed and quickness to repeatedly get to the right flank and create scoring opportunities. The Ramblers were just a little off rhythm throughout the first half. Shots were high or wide, and the team struggled to find a precise shape.
The Knights (2-1-0) were responsible for some of that havoc. Keeper Matthew Kelly made a couple of accomplished saves. The Loyola players recognized the need for smoother execution. Phillips came up huge at the end of the half to change the momentum.
In the 39th minute, Phillips worked the right wing and pushed the ball to the end in administering a blistering cross that junior midfielder Collin Leider timed beautifully and finished inside the box for the crucial first score.
Just as he did in the Ramblers’ season-opening 4-0 victory over Lake View on Tuesday, Leider showed an elusiveness in space and presence for the ball to make the dangerous last touch.
“We had a nice sequence there,” Phillips said. “We had a lot of good passes before and just like a textbook play I had there on the assist. You just take it down the endline and cross it there at about the 6-yard line, and Collin made a great play to finish.”
The sequence changed the scope of the game. A Knights’ team eager to get to halftime clean and regroup was suddenly behind. Last year, in the teams’ early-season meeting, Loyola jumped on the Knights right off the starting gun, and the team never got untracked.
This was different.
“I thought in the first half we had a lot of energy,” Northridge coach Paolo Rossi said. “I thought we were organized in the back. I thought we played really good team defense. At the end of the first half, on the goal, a couple of weak side runs, guys did not realize the ball would be pushed so fast.”
With their feet underneath them and developing confidence, Loyola was more aggressive and fluid in the second half. Phillips delivered another game-altering moment in the 49th minute for Loyola, which played with the advantage of the wind in the second half.
From the left edge Phillips smashed a ball with speed that the wind appeared to put additional top-spin on before it hit the netting for a goal. Phillips earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction for his achievements in the game.
His assist to Leider effectively set up his own goal, he said.
“In that first half, we kept thinking we were bound to get one. Finally getting one through at the end of the first half really set the tone for the second half,” Phillips said. “I think we were dominant.” He said his offensively-tinged performance was less a function of the absence of Gripman than fulfilling his role of team leader.
“I think we have enough raw talent on our roster offensively,” Phillips. “That being said, being a captain, you have to let the other guys know that just because one of our best players [Gripman] is out that we don’t have to play at a lower level. They really stepped up to the occasion.”
Leider agreed with Phillips. His late first half goal, his second of the year, set up a more consistent second half performance.
“We started to play a little bit the last 10 minutes of the first half,” Leider said. “When we put that second goal away it killed their morale. We got into a groove, and we started to play really well. I would not say it was a great performance, but a shutout, a win, I will take it.”
Junior midfielder Christian Jimenez converted a penalty kick in the 61st minute to close out the victory.
Northridge showed some mettle and determination. Sophomore forward Dan Kane and senior midfielder Johnny Presburg each generated strong shots at the start of the second half with the game still in the balance. Loyola keeper Frank Baio denied each attempt.
The Knights showed clear improvement from a year ago. Loyola maintained the upper hand.
“Some of forwards had some great runs and it generated some chances,” Rossi said. “I thought overall we could have possessed a little more. Going into the second half I thought we played a little too much long ball, and I thought we could have controlled the ball a little more. They were able to read that and keep everything in front of them. At that point we really needed to possess the ball.”
Fisher likes Loyola's 2-0-0, though he admits the team has repeated work necessary to improve. Leider said the early narrative of starting slow and finishing strong has to be addressed as the level of competition increases.
“Obviously we are looking for getting numbers forward and defending, but our biggest thing is the team chemistry,” Fisher said. “What is each player, whether they are on the field or bench, what are they doing to help the team improve? That’s what we are looking for, communication, teamwork. We have had two games, two clean sheets, but we know where there is improvement.”
Starting lineups
Northridge
GK: Matthew Kelly
D: Adam Neuvo
D: Carlos Deleon
D: Pablo Acosta
MF: John Kane
MF: Vick Gadula
MF: Johnny Presburg
MF: Nathan Kuhlman
F: Kevin Thursby
F: Dane Kane
F: Ignacio Fuentes
Loyola
GK: Frank Baio
D: Jonas Madison
D: John Wilson
D: Luke Phillips
MF: Tommy Zipprich
MF: Nick Roscoe
MF: Nick Lew
MF: Brady Reichert
MF: Christian Jimenez
F: Collin Leider
F: Ford Peterson
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Luke Phillips, Loyola, sr., D
Defender’s goal and assist lead 3-0 win over Northridge
By Patrick Z. McGavin
GLENVIEW -- The way soccer is played today, positions have less hard meaning. The game is fluid and changes on a dime, and the best teams find ways to put their best players on the field, working out roles and placement in the process.
A player like Loyola senior Luke Phillips has inherent value.
“Before last season I was a midfielder,” Phillips said. “I have been a midfielder my whole life. I’d say my strength is that I can get up and down the field. It’s a treat to be able to play up a little bit. One of our players, Daniel Montaquila, a midfielder, was coming back from an injury, and it helped me recycle through the midfield a little.”
As adefender, Phillips embodies the versatility of the hybrid model, the backliner who moves up and takes a more active role in the attack. It proved even more valuable as the Ramblers found themselves needing extra offense with catalyst David Gripman, a top junior, out with a slight hamstring injury.
Phillips stepped into the void by assisting the Ramblers’ first goal and adding his own score in the second half as the Ramblers awoke from a lethargic start to handle Northridge 3-0 in a nonconference match Friday at Munz Field.
“We were sloppy in the first half,” Loyola coach Baer Fisher said. “I thought defensively we held strong, but we were sloppy. As the first half progressed and we moved into the second half, we got our act together and guys played better and cleaner.
“The one break helped at the end of the first half.”
Throughout the first half, pushing up into the middle, Phillips was able to use his speed and quickness to repeatedly get to the right flank and create scoring opportunities. The Ramblers were just a little off rhythm throughout the first half. Shots were high or wide, and the team struggled to find a precise shape.
The Knights (2-1-0) were responsible for some of that havoc. Keeper Matthew Kelly made a couple of accomplished saves. The Loyola players recognized the need for smoother execution. Phillips came up huge at the end of the half to change the momentum.
In the 39th minute, Phillips worked the right wing and pushed the ball to the end in administering a blistering cross that junior midfielder Collin Leider timed beautifully and finished inside the box for the crucial first score.
Just as he did in the Ramblers’ season-opening 4-0 victory over Lake View on Tuesday, Leider showed an elusiveness in space and presence for the ball to make the dangerous last touch.
“We had a nice sequence there,” Phillips said. “We had a lot of good passes before and just like a textbook play I had there on the assist. You just take it down the endline and cross it there at about the 6-yard line, and Collin made a great play to finish.”
The sequence changed the scope of the game. A Knights’ team eager to get to halftime clean and regroup was suddenly behind. Last year, in the teams’ early-season meeting, Loyola jumped on the Knights right off the starting gun, and the team never got untracked.
This was different.
“I thought in the first half we had a lot of energy,” Northridge coach Paolo Rossi said. “I thought we were organized in the back. I thought we played really good team defense. At the end of the first half, on the goal, a couple of weak side runs, guys did not realize the ball would be pushed so fast.”
With their feet underneath them and developing confidence, Loyola was more aggressive and fluid in the second half. Phillips delivered another game-altering moment in the 49th minute for Loyola, which played with the advantage of the wind in the second half.
From the left edge Phillips smashed a ball with speed that the wind appeared to put additional top-spin on before it hit the netting for a goal. Phillips earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction for his achievements in the game.
His assist to Leider effectively set up his own goal, he said.
“In that first half, we kept thinking we were bound to get one. Finally getting one through at the end of the first half really set the tone for the second half,” Phillips said. “I think we were dominant.” He said his offensively-tinged performance was less a function of the absence of Gripman than fulfilling his role of team leader.
“I think we have enough raw talent on our roster offensively,” Phillips. “That being said, being a captain, you have to let the other guys know that just because one of our best players [Gripman] is out that we don’t have to play at a lower level. They really stepped up to the occasion.”
Leider agreed with Phillips. His late first half goal, his second of the year, set up a more consistent second half performance.
“We started to play a little bit the last 10 minutes of the first half,” Leider said. “When we put that second goal away it killed their morale. We got into a groove, and we started to play really well. I would not say it was a great performance, but a shutout, a win, I will take it.”
Junior midfielder Christian Jimenez converted a penalty kick in the 61st minute to close out the victory.
Northridge showed some mettle and determination. Sophomore forward Dan Kane and senior midfielder Johnny Presburg each generated strong shots at the start of the second half with the game still in the balance. Loyola keeper Frank Baio denied each attempt.
The Knights showed clear improvement from a year ago. Loyola maintained the upper hand.
“Some of forwards had some great runs and it generated some chances,” Rossi said. “I thought overall we could have possessed a little more. Going into the second half I thought we played a little too much long ball, and I thought we could have controlled the ball a little more. They were able to read that and keep everything in front of them. At that point we really needed to possess the ball.”
Fisher likes Loyola's 2-0-0, though he admits the team has repeated work necessary to improve. Leider said the early narrative of starting slow and finishing strong has to be addressed as the level of competition increases.
“Obviously we are looking for getting numbers forward and defending, but our biggest thing is the team chemistry,” Fisher said. “What is each player, whether they are on the field or bench, what are they doing to help the team improve? That’s what we are looking for, communication, teamwork. We have had two games, two clean sheets, but we know where there is improvement.”
Starting lineups
Northridge
GK: Matthew Kelly
D: Adam Neuvo
D: Carlos Deleon
D: Pablo Acosta
MF: John Kane
MF: Vick Gadula
MF: Johnny Presburg
MF: Nathan Kuhlman
F: Kevin Thursby
F: Dane Kane
F: Ignacio Fuentes
Loyola
GK: Frank Baio
D: Jonas Madison
D: John Wilson
D: Luke Phillips
MF: Tommy Zipprich
MF: Nick Roscoe
MF: Nick Lew
MF: Brady Reichert
MF: Christian Jimenez
F: Collin Leider
F: Ford Peterson
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Luke Phillips, Loyola, sr., D