New Trier bounces back with
win over Glenbrook South
Perchik's first half goal all Trevians need for road victory
By Michael Wojtychiw
GLENVIEW -- A lot can be learned following a team's first loss of the season.
The response to adversity can mold the rest of the season. It can either stay in the team members’ minds and bring the team down or it can ignite a fire within the team that helps it become stronger.
That's the situation New Trier faced going into its Tuesday night game at Glenbrook South after dropping its first match of the year this Saturday at Evanston.
Though the game against the Titans was one match, it seems as if the 2-0 setback to the Wildkits, which dropped the Trevians from second to eighth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, intiated the latter response. New Trier left Glenview with a 1-0 win.
"Our objective and focus this year is peaking in October," New Trier manager Matt Ravenscraft said. "Soccer in this area, in Illinois, is a challenge. We play 19 games in the regular season and all are tough tests.
“The response today was really important: how does the group respond? That was more important than anything. We had a good training session yesterday; there was really good energy today, and we saw that on the field.
"We were more organized today; we have to be disciplined. Reggie (Lara)'s teams are always very disciplined and they can punish you if you're not doing work on both sides of the ball."
"We were confident coming into today," New Trier keeper Aidan Crawford said. "We knew our performance Saturday didn't reflect us as a team. We came out here looking to prove what we could be, and I think we got pretty darn close to that tonight.
"I'm really excited to see how the team takes that loss and learns from it and finishes out the season."
The match with the host Titans (4-2-5, 0-1-2 Central Suburban League South Division) wouldn't be easy though. The squad had only given up four goals on the season.
Glenbrook South knew it would have to contain a New Trier (8-1-1, 2-1-0) offense that had scored 20 goals in nine games and a defense that allowed only four itself.
"I was encouraged by the fact we had multiple chances to score, because not a lot of teams can do that against a team like that, against a goalkeeper of that caliber," Glenbrook South manager Reggie Lara said. "But the fact that we were able to get into their half, create chances, that was encouraging.
"I also was encouraged by the fact we held that really dangerous offense to one goal and also limited their chances for the most part. They got into our half a lot, possessed a lot, but I think the fact we were able to limit their quality chances was really encouraging to see."
New Trier was able to put a couple shots on goal in the game's first 10 minutes before junior forward Matthew Perchik scored his team-leading fifth goal on the year in the 11th minute.
"We were coming down the wing, but they stole the ball so we were thinking the ball was dead," he said. "Will Pasia got a wonderful steal. I kept myself in the box, kept space; Pasia found me, and I just put it into the net.
"Getting on the board first was huge. All we talked about since Saturday was how do we respond. We didn't want it to define the rest of our season, and we did that today by getting the lead early and setting the tone real quick."
The Trevians really controlled the pace of the game and much of the possession in the first half. Glenbrook South couldn’t get much going offensively until the latter stages of the first half and into the second.
"They (Glenbrook South) sat back a bit. They sat back on our backline to take away space behind, so we had to be more creative with our runs," Ravenscraft said. "Our front four, our front five had to be strong with their timing and strong in space."
However, even with the downfield pressure, the hosts weren't able to get a shot on goal registered until nearly 15 minutes had gone by in the second half. Free-kick opportunities would arise, but nothing would force Crawford to make any saves early on.
"That's a really skilled team that we played against," Lara said. "Their first touch was practically perfect, and if they lost it they were quick to close and suffocate us. That was the first time we've played a team that really demonstrated that. We weren't able to frustrate them like every other offense we've played so far, and I think that was a rude awakening for our boys.
“It did take a while to match that, but the fact they were able to gain some confidence was really good to see."
"They run a system where their first touch is perfect every time," Glenbrook South captain Josh Nelson said. "They always have an idea in their mind and are ready to make their next pass, before we're ready to get on them."
Scoring has been sort of a sore spot for the Titans this year. Even though the team has been stout defensively, putting goals into the back of the net has been difficult and that eventually can wear on the players.
"We need to work harder, and things will come," Nelson said. "As we work better as a team, the better things will come together. Right now, we have to figure out ourselves as a team first and we'll be able to break things down.
"We're getting frustrated, but staying together as a team so we don't get frustrated with each other. That's really important. If we do that, the results will come."
The second half between the Trevians and Titans was not action packed. The two teams played the ball through more of the midfield and didn't allow the other to make deep runs into the attacking third.
The strategy kept the home side from the threat of a larger deficit, but gave Crawford and his squad an easier time thwarting any attacks. That led to their seventh clean-sheet on the season.
"I've always heard goalkeepers have to have the mind of a goldfish," Crawford said. "Forget after 30 seconds. I think Saturday wasn't our team's best performance, my best performance, and I think I have something to prove now.
"For the rest of the season, I can rebound from that. That's what makes a great goalkeeper, the ability to face adversity and bounce back."
Even though the regular season still has more than three weeks left, for the two squads the conference season is coming down the home stretch. Each team has two conference games remaining: the Trevians are home against Glenbrook North and Maine South; and the Titans play at Maine South and home against Niles West.
The rest of conference play, as well as the final nonconference games at the end of the season will allow both squads to prepare themselves for the postseason, where both teams will be a part of the New Trier Sectional.
"Coming down the stretch is all about getting our mojo back," Perchik said. "You take a blow, you respond well and you come out better. We're going to be able to finish the conference and regular-season strong because of it."
Glenbrook South knows what it needs to do.
"We were hoping to make a big splash in conference," Lara said. "I think we've learned we're nowhere near where we need to be to make a long run in the playoffs. What these games have also taught us is that we're not that far away. If we can lock teams down, continue to play strong defense and step up on the offensive side of the ball, we can surprise a lot of people."
New Trier is attuned to the fine tuning it needs.
"We need to be able to face adversity more when it strikes," Crawford said. "Down the road, we'll be playing some great teams and the fact of the matter is we will concede (a goal) again, and I think we learned how to respond and next time we do face adversity, we'll know how to deal with it."
Starting lineups
New Trier
GK: Aidan Crawford
D: Colin Gottshall
D: T.J. Carmody
D: Eli Wilson
D: James Paden
MF: Evan Kanellos
MF: Peter Kanellos
MF: Eli Drake
F: Aidan Nicholson
F: Will Pasia
F: Matthew Perchik
Glenbrook South
GK: Declan Cloutier
D: Zarko Pavlovic
D: Franco Fernandez-Enjo
D: Jimmy Aglikin
D: Dominik Danko
MF: Owen Beumer
MF: Arturo Moyo
MF: Bennett Steenbergen
MF: Conor Beach
MF: Max Ostrowski
F: Josh Nelson
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Matthew Perchik, jr. F, New Trier
Scoring summary
First half
New Trier: Matthew Perchik (Will Pasia), 11th minute
Second half
No scoring
win over Glenbrook South
Perchik's first half goal all Trevians need for road victory
By Michael Wojtychiw
GLENVIEW -- A lot can be learned following a team's first loss of the season.
The response to adversity can mold the rest of the season. It can either stay in the team members’ minds and bring the team down or it can ignite a fire within the team that helps it become stronger.
That's the situation New Trier faced going into its Tuesday night game at Glenbrook South after dropping its first match of the year this Saturday at Evanston.
Though the game against the Titans was one match, it seems as if the 2-0 setback to the Wildkits, which dropped the Trevians from second to eighth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, intiated the latter response. New Trier left Glenview with a 1-0 win.
"Our objective and focus this year is peaking in October," New Trier manager Matt Ravenscraft said. "Soccer in this area, in Illinois, is a challenge. We play 19 games in the regular season and all are tough tests.
“The response today was really important: how does the group respond? That was more important than anything. We had a good training session yesterday; there was really good energy today, and we saw that on the field.
"We were more organized today; we have to be disciplined. Reggie (Lara)'s teams are always very disciplined and they can punish you if you're not doing work on both sides of the ball."
"We were confident coming into today," New Trier keeper Aidan Crawford said. "We knew our performance Saturday didn't reflect us as a team. We came out here looking to prove what we could be, and I think we got pretty darn close to that tonight.
"I'm really excited to see how the team takes that loss and learns from it and finishes out the season."
The match with the host Titans (4-2-5, 0-1-2 Central Suburban League South Division) wouldn't be easy though. The squad had only given up four goals on the season.
Glenbrook South knew it would have to contain a New Trier (8-1-1, 2-1-0) offense that had scored 20 goals in nine games and a defense that allowed only four itself.
"I was encouraged by the fact we had multiple chances to score, because not a lot of teams can do that against a team like that, against a goalkeeper of that caliber," Glenbrook South manager Reggie Lara said. "But the fact that we were able to get into their half, create chances, that was encouraging.
"I also was encouraged by the fact we held that really dangerous offense to one goal and also limited their chances for the most part. They got into our half a lot, possessed a lot, but I think the fact we were able to limit their quality chances was really encouraging to see."
New Trier was able to put a couple shots on goal in the game's first 10 minutes before junior forward Matthew Perchik scored his team-leading fifth goal on the year in the 11th minute.
"We were coming down the wing, but they stole the ball so we were thinking the ball was dead," he said. "Will Pasia got a wonderful steal. I kept myself in the box, kept space; Pasia found me, and I just put it into the net.
"Getting on the board first was huge. All we talked about since Saturday was how do we respond. We didn't want it to define the rest of our season, and we did that today by getting the lead early and setting the tone real quick."
The Trevians really controlled the pace of the game and much of the possession in the first half. Glenbrook South couldn’t get much going offensively until the latter stages of the first half and into the second.
"They (Glenbrook South) sat back a bit. They sat back on our backline to take away space behind, so we had to be more creative with our runs," Ravenscraft said. "Our front four, our front five had to be strong with their timing and strong in space."
However, even with the downfield pressure, the hosts weren't able to get a shot on goal registered until nearly 15 minutes had gone by in the second half. Free-kick opportunities would arise, but nothing would force Crawford to make any saves early on.
"That's a really skilled team that we played against," Lara said. "Their first touch was practically perfect, and if they lost it they were quick to close and suffocate us. That was the first time we've played a team that really demonstrated that. We weren't able to frustrate them like every other offense we've played so far, and I think that was a rude awakening for our boys.
“It did take a while to match that, but the fact they were able to gain some confidence was really good to see."
"They run a system where their first touch is perfect every time," Glenbrook South captain Josh Nelson said. "They always have an idea in their mind and are ready to make their next pass, before we're ready to get on them."
Scoring has been sort of a sore spot for the Titans this year. Even though the team has been stout defensively, putting goals into the back of the net has been difficult and that eventually can wear on the players.
"We need to work harder, and things will come," Nelson said. "As we work better as a team, the better things will come together. Right now, we have to figure out ourselves as a team first and we'll be able to break things down.
"We're getting frustrated, but staying together as a team so we don't get frustrated with each other. That's really important. If we do that, the results will come."
The second half between the Trevians and Titans was not action packed. The two teams played the ball through more of the midfield and didn't allow the other to make deep runs into the attacking third.
The strategy kept the home side from the threat of a larger deficit, but gave Crawford and his squad an easier time thwarting any attacks. That led to their seventh clean-sheet on the season.
"I've always heard goalkeepers have to have the mind of a goldfish," Crawford said. "Forget after 30 seconds. I think Saturday wasn't our team's best performance, my best performance, and I think I have something to prove now.
"For the rest of the season, I can rebound from that. That's what makes a great goalkeeper, the ability to face adversity and bounce back."
Even though the regular season still has more than three weeks left, for the two squads the conference season is coming down the home stretch. Each team has two conference games remaining: the Trevians are home against Glenbrook North and Maine South; and the Titans play at Maine South and home against Niles West.
The rest of conference play, as well as the final nonconference games at the end of the season will allow both squads to prepare themselves for the postseason, where both teams will be a part of the New Trier Sectional.
"Coming down the stretch is all about getting our mojo back," Perchik said. "You take a blow, you respond well and you come out better. We're going to be able to finish the conference and regular-season strong because of it."
Glenbrook South knows what it needs to do.
"We were hoping to make a big splash in conference," Lara said. "I think we've learned we're nowhere near where we need to be to make a long run in the playoffs. What these games have also taught us is that we're not that far away. If we can lock teams down, continue to play strong defense and step up on the offensive side of the ball, we can surprise a lot of people."
New Trier is attuned to the fine tuning it needs.
"We need to be able to face adversity more when it strikes," Crawford said. "Down the road, we'll be playing some great teams and the fact of the matter is we will concede (a goal) again, and I think we learned how to respond and next time we do face adversity, we'll know how to deal with it."
Starting lineups
New Trier
GK: Aidan Crawford
D: Colin Gottshall
D: T.J. Carmody
D: Eli Wilson
D: James Paden
MF: Evan Kanellos
MF: Peter Kanellos
MF: Eli Drake
F: Aidan Nicholson
F: Will Pasia
F: Matthew Perchik
Glenbrook South
GK: Declan Cloutier
D: Zarko Pavlovic
D: Franco Fernandez-Enjo
D: Jimmy Aglikin
D: Dominik Danko
MF: Owen Beumer
MF: Arturo Moyo
MF: Bennett Steenbergen
MF: Conor Beach
MF: Max Ostrowski
F: Josh Nelson
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Matthew Perchik, jr. F, New Trier
Scoring summary
First half
New Trier: Matthew Perchik (Will Pasia), 11th minute
Second half
No scoring