Great goalkeeping, mindset lead to NT title
Trevians take CSL championship behind GK McGranahan
By Millie Winter
New Trier High School
Class of 2019
HIGHLAND PARK -- New Trier goalie Jack McGranahan made himself a difference-maker in the Central Suburban League championship game. After 80 minutes of equal possession from both teams, the 1-1 tie went directly to penalty kicks.
The senior came up big during regulation, but more so during the shootout to deliver the title to the Trevians.
Going into the title game Thursday between the North and South division winners, New Trier brought a no. 1 sectional seed and a 5-0 conference record to Highland Park's Wolter Stadium. With such a strong season under their belt, a title game win would cap their regular season success.
In just the third minute of the game, Alexis Perez gave Highland Park the lead after dribbling through New Trier's backline for a tap-in. In the 23rd minute, Perez hit the ground hard and went to the sideline.
New Trier's offense, consisting of David Kruger, Aidan Crowder and Colin Gorney, presented themselves with many opportunities at the Highland Park goal. Gorney owned the right sideline as he used his speed to take the ball to the endline and make solid crosses to Crowder, who came close to finishing. But the Trevians couldn’t match Highland Park's goal in the first half.
After several failed attempts to score, head coach Matt Ravenscraft knew that halftime had to be a motivating moment for his players. He knew what his boys needed to hear and made sure their mindsets were locked into place.
With New Trier coming out in the second half more aggressively, it was clear there was some motivation given to them during halftime.
Ravenscraft said his speech consisted of: “asking the team to just enjoy the game more. I thought we were on our heels, maybe just a little too negative. We weren’t anticipating the play, and everyone was relying on individual work too much.
“So, they came out and enjoyed it more.”
In the second half, the Trevians held possession and dominated the field. With the offensive push came an expected outcome -- a Ryan Ball goal to tie the game.
In the 53rd minute, Dom DeBoer delivered a successful through-ball at the top of the box that hit the junior's feet perfectly. Ball laid in the goal and was greeted with a massive dog pile on top of him.
It was Ball's first varsity goal.
“I was so fortunate to be in the right place, at the right time,” he said. “I got a great ball from Dom, and from there it was an easy finish.
“Coach said we needed to calm down and have more fun,” said the midfielder, who definitely took his coach's words to heart.
And while the goal kept the Trevians in the game, Ball was quick to share the credit. “I owe everything to McGranahan,” he said.
McGranahan was spot on in the game. He used his height to aid in a beautiful save of a well-executed corner kick in the 72md-minute.
With the keen eyes a keeper needs, McGranahan tracked the ball as it came in and connected with it after the ball was headed by Giants defender Matt Holleman. Fully extended, he stopped the shot before it crossed the goal line. Then Trevian senior Charlie Hoholik came to the rescue and cleared the ball out of the area.
“I wanted to keep it from going in, keep us close in this game,” McGranahan said.
“When he makes those kinds of saves,” Ball explained. “It takes a lot of pressure off. All I had to do then was step up and bury it.”
McGranahan made some of his best saves of the season in the title game. While his aforementioned save was instrumental to maintain the tie, his performance when the match went directly to penalty kicks was even more impressive.
Going into the PKs, any goalie must have a focused mindset and a handle on their nerves. McGranahan went further and demonstrated control over his opponents with three saves from four Highland Park shots.
The goalkeeper is not usually the player with the advantage in PKs, but McGranahan showed he could hold his ground and carry his team to the win.
“I try to guess where they are going,” he said. “I made some good guesses and read the shooters well.”
He took into consideration where they positioned themselves in their approach to the kick and their body stance.
DeBoer, Kugler, and Ball made their shots for New Trier.
After the shootout win, Ravenscraft said, “It shows that this team can compete, even when we aren’t really playing our best.
“This is something you want to see from a team even later in their season, as they are less than two weeks away from playoffs. These guys would admit that they weren’t at their best in the first half, but it was a great goal by Ryan Ball. Collectively it was a team performance.
“I am really proud of how the guys responded.”
At this stage of the season, it is all about results for New Trier. When McGranahan stepped up in PKs it showed the kind of great leadership a team needs heading into the postseason.
“As a senior he showed a lot of maturity,” Ravenscraft said. “He rode the wave after his save in the 32nd minute and progressed from then on.”
The Trevians are 12-3-2 after the win and hungry for more.
Highland Park prepared well for the game but ran into a hot goalkeeper.
“We watched a few games of New Trier and picked out a few playing tactics we should try against them,” Giants coach Blake Novotny said. “It almost paid off but ended with some really nice saves from their goalkeeper.”
Starting lineups
New Trier
GK: Jack McGranahan
D: Daniel Gunther
D: Andrew Kuhn
D: Charlie Hoholick
D: Sean Gooze
D: Alex Powell
M: Jeffery Urban
M: Jake Krueger
M: Aidan Crowder
F: David Kugler
F: Dom DeBoer
Highland Park
GK: Ethan Fineman
D: Aaron Bach
D: Matt Holleman
M: Rownan Moore
M: Joey Schwartz
F: Alexis Perez
D: Danny Barragan
M: Ivan Roldan
F: Manuel Guzman Vega
D: Chris Mateos
M: Jerato Flores
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jack McGranahan, sr., GK, New Trier
Officials: Alex Mavrothalasitis (center); Todd Abraham; Miroslav Gilsovic
Scoring summary
First half
HP: Perez (unassisted), 3rd minute
Second half
NT: Ball (DeBoer), 53rd minute
PK shootout
Highland Park: Joey Schwartz (blocked); Joe Dart (make); Ivan Roldan (blocked); Perez (blocked)
New Trier: deBoer (make); Kugler (make); Ball (make)
Trevians take CSL championship behind GK McGranahan
By Millie Winter
New Trier High School
Class of 2019
HIGHLAND PARK -- New Trier goalie Jack McGranahan made himself a difference-maker in the Central Suburban League championship game. After 80 minutes of equal possession from both teams, the 1-1 tie went directly to penalty kicks.
The senior came up big during regulation, but more so during the shootout to deliver the title to the Trevians.
Going into the title game Thursday between the North and South division winners, New Trier brought a no. 1 sectional seed and a 5-0 conference record to Highland Park's Wolter Stadium. With such a strong season under their belt, a title game win would cap their regular season success.
In just the third minute of the game, Alexis Perez gave Highland Park the lead after dribbling through New Trier's backline for a tap-in. In the 23rd minute, Perez hit the ground hard and went to the sideline.
New Trier's offense, consisting of David Kruger, Aidan Crowder and Colin Gorney, presented themselves with many opportunities at the Highland Park goal. Gorney owned the right sideline as he used his speed to take the ball to the endline and make solid crosses to Crowder, who came close to finishing. But the Trevians couldn’t match Highland Park's goal in the first half.
After several failed attempts to score, head coach Matt Ravenscraft knew that halftime had to be a motivating moment for his players. He knew what his boys needed to hear and made sure their mindsets were locked into place.
With New Trier coming out in the second half more aggressively, it was clear there was some motivation given to them during halftime.
Ravenscraft said his speech consisted of: “asking the team to just enjoy the game more. I thought we were on our heels, maybe just a little too negative. We weren’t anticipating the play, and everyone was relying on individual work too much.
“So, they came out and enjoyed it more.”
In the second half, the Trevians held possession and dominated the field. With the offensive push came an expected outcome -- a Ryan Ball goal to tie the game.
In the 53rd minute, Dom DeBoer delivered a successful through-ball at the top of the box that hit the junior's feet perfectly. Ball laid in the goal and was greeted with a massive dog pile on top of him.
It was Ball's first varsity goal.
“I was so fortunate to be in the right place, at the right time,” he said. “I got a great ball from Dom, and from there it was an easy finish.
“Coach said we needed to calm down and have more fun,” said the midfielder, who definitely took his coach's words to heart.
And while the goal kept the Trevians in the game, Ball was quick to share the credit. “I owe everything to McGranahan,” he said.
McGranahan was spot on in the game. He used his height to aid in a beautiful save of a well-executed corner kick in the 72md-minute.
With the keen eyes a keeper needs, McGranahan tracked the ball as it came in and connected with it after the ball was headed by Giants defender Matt Holleman. Fully extended, he stopped the shot before it crossed the goal line. Then Trevian senior Charlie Hoholik came to the rescue and cleared the ball out of the area.
“I wanted to keep it from going in, keep us close in this game,” McGranahan said.
“When he makes those kinds of saves,” Ball explained. “It takes a lot of pressure off. All I had to do then was step up and bury it.”
McGranahan made some of his best saves of the season in the title game. While his aforementioned save was instrumental to maintain the tie, his performance when the match went directly to penalty kicks was even more impressive.
Going into the PKs, any goalie must have a focused mindset and a handle on their nerves. McGranahan went further and demonstrated control over his opponents with three saves from four Highland Park shots.
The goalkeeper is not usually the player with the advantage in PKs, but McGranahan showed he could hold his ground and carry his team to the win.
“I try to guess where they are going,” he said. “I made some good guesses and read the shooters well.”
He took into consideration where they positioned themselves in their approach to the kick and their body stance.
DeBoer, Kugler, and Ball made their shots for New Trier.
After the shootout win, Ravenscraft said, “It shows that this team can compete, even when we aren’t really playing our best.
“This is something you want to see from a team even later in their season, as they are less than two weeks away from playoffs. These guys would admit that they weren’t at their best in the first half, but it was a great goal by Ryan Ball. Collectively it was a team performance.
“I am really proud of how the guys responded.”
At this stage of the season, it is all about results for New Trier. When McGranahan stepped up in PKs it showed the kind of great leadership a team needs heading into the postseason.
“As a senior he showed a lot of maturity,” Ravenscraft said. “He rode the wave after his save in the 32nd minute and progressed from then on.”
The Trevians are 12-3-2 after the win and hungry for more.
Highland Park prepared well for the game but ran into a hot goalkeeper.
“We watched a few games of New Trier and picked out a few playing tactics we should try against them,” Giants coach Blake Novotny said. “It almost paid off but ended with some really nice saves from their goalkeeper.”
Starting lineups
New Trier
GK: Jack McGranahan
D: Daniel Gunther
D: Andrew Kuhn
D: Charlie Hoholick
D: Sean Gooze
D: Alex Powell
M: Jeffery Urban
M: Jake Krueger
M: Aidan Crowder
F: David Kugler
F: Dom DeBoer
Highland Park
GK: Ethan Fineman
D: Aaron Bach
D: Matt Holleman
M: Rownan Moore
M: Joey Schwartz
F: Alexis Perez
D: Danny Barragan
M: Ivan Roldan
F: Manuel Guzman Vega
D: Chris Mateos
M: Jerato Flores
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jack McGranahan, sr., GK, New Trier
Officials: Alex Mavrothalasitis (center); Todd Abraham; Miroslav Gilsovic
Scoring summary
First half
HP: Perez (unassisted), 3rd minute
Second half
NT: Ball (DeBoer), 53rd minute
PK shootout
Highland Park: Joey Schwartz (blocked); Joe Dart (make); Ivan Roldan (blocked); Perez (blocked)
New Trier: deBoer (make); Kugler (make); Ball (make)