New Trier answers the bell vs. Deerfield
Trevians rebound from tourney title loss with 7-0 win over Warriors
By Gary Larsen
DEERFIELD -- New Trier didn’t react well on Saturday to a fast start by Libertyville, and an eventual 5-2 loss in this year’s title game of the Trevians’ Northside College Showcase.
Another fast start by Deerfield on Tuesday gave New Trier a second bite at the apple and this time, they devoured it.
After Trevians keeper Sam Warden had to make a quality save at the post in the game’s first minute, New Trier heard its wake-up call. From that point forward, the Trevians (6-1-0) attacked just about as well as a high school team can and cruised to a 7-0 win over the Warriors (2-5-0) in a Central Suburban League crossover game.
“Deerfield got on us early and kind of spurred us into action with that early pressure,” New Trier coach Matt Ravenscraft said. “After that we were sharp, special on set pieces — it was one of those nights where everything kind of goes your way. It was one of those days.”
Ranked fifth in this week’s Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, New Trier carved up Deerfield most of the night with a quick, precise one- and two-touch attack that kept the pressure on and resulted in consistent restarts in its final third.
Three minutes into the game, Trevians' senior Ryan Krueger blistered a free kick from 30 yards that tore a path under the crossbar. Ten minutes later, senior Will Felitto got crafty in the box and scored from 12 yards. Felitto scored again at 26 minutes when senior defender Ben Axelrod chipped a ball towards the goalmouth and Felitto headed it home, on a play set up by another Krueger free kick.
Another corner kick set up New Trier’s fourth goal before halftime. It was initially cleared before being sent back in with a beautiful long-range strike off the foot of Alex Donnelly-Maine, from 35 yards.
“We had Krueger putting the free kick in and that was a great finish by Alex,” Axelrod said. “All-around, I think it was a good rebound from a tough game on Saturday.”
Deerfield keeper Ryan Grady made a pair of top-shelf saves in the first half, or things might have been worse for the Warriors.
“There isn’t a college keeper that stops three or four of the goals New Trier scored tonight,” Deerfield coach Eliot Hurtig said. “(Grady) keeps us in a lot of games. He’s tenacious and has an unbelievable shot-stopping ability.”
Krueger made it 5-0 at 57 minutes, getting behind by darting his way around two defenders with the ball at his feet and forcing Grady off his line before scoring from eight yards. Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match completed his hat-trick at 74 minutes, when he again deked his way around defenders in the box and scored from point-blank range.
Senior center mid Matteo Blair saw his senior teammate elevate his game Tuesday.
“When he’s hot, he’s hot, and you look to find him. And when he found himself isolated one-on-one tonight he was like ‘Give me the ball’,” Blair said. “Ryan Krueger is a special player.”
Senior Eric Plante finished the day’s scoring on a feed from Donnelly-Maine at 75 minutes.
After Deerfield’s fast start, a backline led by senior center backs Riles Walsh and Axelrod helped keep Warden well-protected all night for the team’s fifth shutout in seven games.
And Tuesday’s shutout after Saturday’s 5-2 loss provided a welcome return to form.
“Giving up five (goals), it was easy to put your head down and get frustrated, but I think continuing forward we have a lot of depth on our defense, and guys that come in and put in great shifts,” Axelrod said.
“We have a lot of experience back there and then you have a standout center back like Riles Walsh controlling the backline, so you know there are a lot of guys you can rely on back there.”
Ravenscraft was particularly pleased with the day’s work put in by Axelrod.
“(Axelrod) in the back played three different positions tonight,” Ravenscraft said. “He has worked really, really hard over the last few years to improve as a player and he did a good job of communicating and winning balls. So credit to him for being versatile.”
Deerfield showed grit to the final buzzer despite New Trier’s dominance. Grady and center back Dylan Capp fought hard under constant pressure, to lead a core of six juniors that saw considerable varsity time as sophomores last season.
“New Trier is one of the best high school teams I’ve seen play and I’ve been coaching for 20 years,” Hurting said. “They moved the ball extremely well, played the ball with great pace and confidence, and they scored some beautiful goals. But we never quit on the game.”
“The best quality about this team is that they care deeply about the game, about each other, and about getting better. As we head into conference play, that’s really promising.”
Senior mids Louis Solovy and Cory Johnson, and senior defender Barak Farhi are all providing the Warriors with good leadership.
“(Johnson) has been giving us a lot of energy, and he’s playing at the top of his game in his second year on varsity,” Hurtig said. “In our last three games, he has really been able to excel and lift his game to the next level. And it’s not just that his touches have been good. Mostly it’s been his complete dedication to winning tackles and playing hard. He’s been showing what great leadership can do.”
The Warriors are 2-2-0 in their last four games, with wins over Highland Park and Ridgewood and a loss to Lake Forest. Central Suburban League North Division play begins for Deerfield next week, but first the Warriors are spending this week doing battle against teams from the CSL South.
“New Trier, Evanston, and Maine South are three of the best teams in the South Division, and we play two of them this week,” Hurtig said. “We’re calling this ‘Underdog Week.’ Hopefully we’ll bounce back Thursday (at home) against Maine South.”
Starting lineups
New Trier
GK Sam Warden
D Riles Walsh
D Ben Axelrod
D Daniel Gunther
D Alex Boudos
M Logan Weaver
M Matteo Blair
M Alex Donnelly-Maine
M Ryan Krueger
M JoJo Farina
F Will Felitto
Deerfield
GK Ryan Grady
D Dylan Capp
D Jack Hammontree
D Jeff Lehrman
D Barak Farhi
M Jacob Braunstein
M Louis Solovy
M Adam Odzer
M Cory Johnson
M Jude Tatham
F Nikita Bankevich
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ryan Krueger, sr., M, New Trier
Scoring summary
First half
New Trier - Krueger; Felitto; Felitto (Axelrod); Donnelly-Maine
Second half
New Trier - Krueger; Krueger; Plante (Donnelly-Maine)
Trevians rebound from tourney title loss with 7-0 win over Warriors
By Gary Larsen
DEERFIELD -- New Trier didn’t react well on Saturday to a fast start by Libertyville, and an eventual 5-2 loss in this year’s title game of the Trevians’ Northside College Showcase.
Another fast start by Deerfield on Tuesday gave New Trier a second bite at the apple and this time, they devoured it.
After Trevians keeper Sam Warden had to make a quality save at the post in the game’s first minute, New Trier heard its wake-up call. From that point forward, the Trevians (6-1-0) attacked just about as well as a high school team can and cruised to a 7-0 win over the Warriors (2-5-0) in a Central Suburban League crossover game.
“Deerfield got on us early and kind of spurred us into action with that early pressure,” New Trier coach Matt Ravenscraft said. “After that we were sharp, special on set pieces — it was one of those nights where everything kind of goes your way. It was one of those days.”
Ranked fifth in this week’s Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, New Trier carved up Deerfield most of the night with a quick, precise one- and two-touch attack that kept the pressure on and resulted in consistent restarts in its final third.
Three minutes into the game, Trevians' senior Ryan Krueger blistered a free kick from 30 yards that tore a path under the crossbar. Ten minutes later, senior Will Felitto got crafty in the box and scored from 12 yards. Felitto scored again at 26 minutes when senior defender Ben Axelrod chipped a ball towards the goalmouth and Felitto headed it home, on a play set up by another Krueger free kick.
Another corner kick set up New Trier’s fourth goal before halftime. It was initially cleared before being sent back in with a beautiful long-range strike off the foot of Alex Donnelly-Maine, from 35 yards.
“We had Krueger putting the free kick in and that was a great finish by Alex,” Axelrod said. “All-around, I think it was a good rebound from a tough game on Saturday.”
Deerfield keeper Ryan Grady made a pair of top-shelf saves in the first half, or things might have been worse for the Warriors.
“There isn’t a college keeper that stops three or four of the goals New Trier scored tonight,” Deerfield coach Eliot Hurtig said. “(Grady) keeps us in a lot of games. He’s tenacious and has an unbelievable shot-stopping ability.”
Krueger made it 5-0 at 57 minutes, getting behind by darting his way around two defenders with the ball at his feet and forcing Grady off his line before scoring from eight yards. Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match completed his hat-trick at 74 minutes, when he again deked his way around defenders in the box and scored from point-blank range.
Senior center mid Matteo Blair saw his senior teammate elevate his game Tuesday.
“When he’s hot, he’s hot, and you look to find him. And when he found himself isolated one-on-one tonight he was like ‘Give me the ball’,” Blair said. “Ryan Krueger is a special player.”
Senior Eric Plante finished the day’s scoring on a feed from Donnelly-Maine at 75 minutes.
After Deerfield’s fast start, a backline led by senior center backs Riles Walsh and Axelrod helped keep Warden well-protected all night for the team’s fifth shutout in seven games.
And Tuesday’s shutout after Saturday’s 5-2 loss provided a welcome return to form.
“Giving up five (goals), it was easy to put your head down and get frustrated, but I think continuing forward we have a lot of depth on our defense, and guys that come in and put in great shifts,” Axelrod said.
“We have a lot of experience back there and then you have a standout center back like Riles Walsh controlling the backline, so you know there are a lot of guys you can rely on back there.”
Ravenscraft was particularly pleased with the day’s work put in by Axelrod.
“(Axelrod) in the back played three different positions tonight,” Ravenscraft said. “He has worked really, really hard over the last few years to improve as a player and he did a good job of communicating and winning balls. So credit to him for being versatile.”
Deerfield showed grit to the final buzzer despite New Trier’s dominance. Grady and center back Dylan Capp fought hard under constant pressure, to lead a core of six juniors that saw considerable varsity time as sophomores last season.
“New Trier is one of the best high school teams I’ve seen play and I’ve been coaching for 20 years,” Hurting said. “They moved the ball extremely well, played the ball with great pace and confidence, and they scored some beautiful goals. But we never quit on the game.”
“The best quality about this team is that they care deeply about the game, about each other, and about getting better. As we head into conference play, that’s really promising.”
Senior mids Louis Solovy and Cory Johnson, and senior defender Barak Farhi are all providing the Warriors with good leadership.
“(Johnson) has been giving us a lot of energy, and he’s playing at the top of his game in his second year on varsity,” Hurtig said. “In our last three games, he has really been able to excel and lift his game to the next level. And it’s not just that his touches have been good. Mostly it’s been his complete dedication to winning tackles and playing hard. He’s been showing what great leadership can do.”
The Warriors are 2-2-0 in their last four games, with wins over Highland Park and Ridgewood and a loss to Lake Forest. Central Suburban League North Division play begins for Deerfield next week, but first the Warriors are spending this week doing battle against teams from the CSL South.
“New Trier, Evanston, and Maine South are three of the best teams in the South Division, and we play two of them this week,” Hurtig said. “We’re calling this ‘Underdog Week.’ Hopefully we’ll bounce back Thursday (at home) against Maine South.”
Starting lineups
New Trier
GK Sam Warden
D Riles Walsh
D Ben Axelrod
D Daniel Gunther
D Alex Boudos
M Logan Weaver
M Matteo Blair
M Alex Donnelly-Maine
M Ryan Krueger
M JoJo Farina
F Will Felitto
Deerfield
GK Ryan Grady
D Dylan Capp
D Jack Hammontree
D Jeff Lehrman
D Barak Farhi
M Jacob Braunstein
M Louis Solovy
M Adam Odzer
M Cory Johnson
M Jude Tatham
F Nikita Bankevich
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ryan Krueger, sr., M, New Trier
Scoring summary
First half
New Trier - Krueger; Felitto; Felitto (Axelrod); Donnelly-Maine
Second half
New Trier - Krueger; Krueger; Plante (Donnelly-Maine)