New wrinkle helps Naperville North
slip past Oswego East
Crafty new corner kick delivers 1-0 Senior Day victory
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Naperville North coach Jim Konrad says he never shows all his cards.
He showed one Saturday, and junior Alex Barger and senior Jacob Ryu used it to trump Oswego East.
For the second time in three days, Ryu scored the game-winning goal by knocking in a corner kick from Barger, only this time it came with a twist.
On Thursday, Ryu headed home a high serve from Barger for the goal that was the difference in the no. 13 Huskies’ 3-2 victory over no. 6 St. Charles East.
But this time, Barger sent a ground ball through the middle of the penalty area to Ryu, who used his foot to roll a one-timer past Oswego East goalkeeper Javier Ruiz with 29:44 left in the second half.
That was all host Naperville North needed for a 1-0 win over the Wolves, ranked 18th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, in a battle of the top two seeds at the Plainfield North Sectional.
“The boys ran the play perfectly, and we were fortunate to get on the end of it and found a way to score,” Konrad said. “Sometimes when you’re trying to find a win you’ve got to show a wrinkle, and we always have a couple in our back pocket.
“Luckily it worked, because if it hits somebody it bounces out, So we were lucky to make it work.”
That’s the thing about Konrad and his staff. Unless you have a drone that you can fly over one of the Huskies’ practices, you never know what they could be cooking up.
But it usually ends up leaving a bitter taste for their opponents.
The result left the Wolves (14-4-1) with a sinking feeling in their stomachs.
“We weren’t in the correct spot, and they beat us to the ball,” Oswego East coach Steve Szymanski said. “We were trailing the play.
“When you’re looking at the back of the guy’s jersey, you can’t defend staring at his back. We’ve beat ourselves a lot this year, not in games but in goals we’ve given up. We’re giving up goals, because we’re not doing what we need to do.
“I keep telling the guys there is a difference between good and great. We’re good right now, but great teams don’t give up goals like that.”
No, but they do score them, and this one was a novel idea utilizing what should have been a low-percentage play. Some teams initiate short corners with a pass on the ground, but they usually don’t go very far.
This wasn’t a short corner – it was a hard kick that somehow went untouched through the heart of the defense to an unmarked Ryu, who met the ball about 10 yards in front of the goal.
“We saw a little gap in the defenders, and it’s been something we’ve been working on in practice,” Barger said. “I’m sure Jacob recognized the hole as well, but we’ve got a few signals that we use to communicate between each other.”
North defenders Adam Zielke and Ryan Konrad broke toward the near post as Barger struck the ball. Two defenders went with them, but the Wolves lost track of Ryu, who made a run just inside the far post.
“Adam and Ryan, first of all, did a great job getting in that spot and pulling the defenders away,” Barger said. “Jacob was in the perfect spot to be able to put it away, and it was a great finish.”
Ryu has become Barger’s favorite target on corner kicks. They have hooked up for several goals this season.
“We practiced that play a couple times during practice; that’s one thing we work on,” Ryu said. “I just went to my spot. Alex hit a great ball once again, and I just found my way.”
Once again, the Huskies (15-5-2) found a way to win a close game against a talented opponent. The brilliance of the play was impossible to ignore.
“It was a nice play,” Oswego East senior Kellen Klosterman said. “They had someone coming in front and just let it through their legs and someone behind them finished it. It was a well-thought-out play.”
While it turned out to be the game-winning goal, the play didn’t end the Wolves’ hopes of beating the Huskies for the first time. They held their own over the remaining half-hour, matching Naperville North shot-for-shot and save-for-save.
Both Ruiz and North goalkeeper Patrick Horn finished with seven saves, with all but two of them coming after intermission.
Horn got help from his teammates. Midfielder Tyson Amoo-Mensah cleared Drew Karg’s header off a Carter Boberg corner kick off the line midway through the first half, and defender Ryan Konrad blocked a shot on the goal line in the second half.
“(Ryu’s goal) set us back a little, but our heads should be held high because that’s a great team we played, and we played with them the whole 80 minutes,” said Klosterman, who barely missed scoring a on 22-yard shot that went over the crossbar with 18:15 to go in the first half. “We had our chances. They had their chances, and we just couldn’t finish.
“I think there’s a lot of positives that we can take out of this game.”
If both teams win their first three playoff games, they would meet again in the sectional final. Szymanski, whose club has never won a regional, would love to see that, but said the Wolves need to be better to do so.
“I thought we had a great run of play in the first half,” Szymanski said. “We had good opportunities, but again, the great teams finish, and we didn’t find a way to finish.
“If you want to move on in the playoffs, close doesn’t get you anything. We can’t let little mistakes be letdowns.
“We gave up three-straight corner kicks. I think that’s a big thing. You can’t give corner kicks to a team like Naperville North that finishes opportunities.
“In an 80-minute game, it’s going to be the little things that are the difference between a win and a loss.”
Klosterman concurred.
“I thought we played really well,” Klosterman said. “We defended really well as a whole, and one mistake cost us.”
The Huskies became just the second team to shut out Oswego East, which is averaging more than three goals per game, this season. They did it despite the distractions of Senior Day, which saw 25 players, including many JV players, receive playing time.
“I’m proud of the boys, and I thought we were way better in the second half than we were the first half in our play,” Jim Konrad said. “Obviously, it was great to get all the seniors in.
“Oswego East is a great team. They could have scored a couple, and it easily could have been 3-3 or 4-4. We’re glad to escape with the win.”
Ryu was glad to play such a tough opponent only 10 days before the top-seeded Huskies open the playoffs.
“Oswego East definitely made us battle today,” Ryu said. “They are a great program.
“Like most teams we play, they always battle against us, and it was just a fun day to play.”
The Huskies were able to have their cake and eat it, too, enjoying the festivities of Senior Day and getting everyone playing time while still being able to win despite not showing all of their secrets.
“It was a huge day for our seniors, and we wanted to come away with the win,” Barger said. “Oswego East is a great team and hopefully we see them down the road.
“Even though we beat them, we know they’re going to be a good match if we see them down the road. We’ve got a few things to sharpen up before the tournament, and I think it will be a good run.”
Starting lineups
Oswego East
GK Javier Ruiz
D Cael Cummings
D Drew Karg
D John Danison
D Gilberto Mijarez
M Carter Boberg
M Josh Frank
M Grant Glorioso
M Kellen Klosterman
F Ben Burns
F Ythan Houston
Naperville North
GK Patrick Horn
D Cole Ritzmann
D Adam Zielke
D Ryan Konrad
D Alex Arredondo
M Tyson Amoo-Mensah
M Jacob Ryu
M Bryan Higgs
F Cam Radeke
F Keegan Flaherty
F Alex Barger
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Barger, jr., F, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Naperville North – Jacob Ryu (Alex Barger) 29:49 remaining
slip past Oswego East
Crafty new corner kick delivers 1-0 Senior Day victory
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – Naperville North coach Jim Konrad says he never shows all his cards.
He showed one Saturday, and junior Alex Barger and senior Jacob Ryu used it to trump Oswego East.
For the second time in three days, Ryu scored the game-winning goal by knocking in a corner kick from Barger, only this time it came with a twist.
On Thursday, Ryu headed home a high serve from Barger for the goal that was the difference in the no. 13 Huskies’ 3-2 victory over no. 6 St. Charles East.
But this time, Barger sent a ground ball through the middle of the penalty area to Ryu, who used his foot to roll a one-timer past Oswego East goalkeeper Javier Ruiz with 29:44 left in the second half.
That was all host Naperville North needed for a 1-0 win over the Wolves, ranked 18th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, in a battle of the top two seeds at the Plainfield North Sectional.
“The boys ran the play perfectly, and we were fortunate to get on the end of it and found a way to score,” Konrad said. “Sometimes when you’re trying to find a win you’ve got to show a wrinkle, and we always have a couple in our back pocket.
“Luckily it worked, because if it hits somebody it bounces out, So we were lucky to make it work.”
That’s the thing about Konrad and his staff. Unless you have a drone that you can fly over one of the Huskies’ practices, you never know what they could be cooking up.
But it usually ends up leaving a bitter taste for their opponents.
The result left the Wolves (14-4-1) with a sinking feeling in their stomachs.
“We weren’t in the correct spot, and they beat us to the ball,” Oswego East coach Steve Szymanski said. “We were trailing the play.
“When you’re looking at the back of the guy’s jersey, you can’t defend staring at his back. We’ve beat ourselves a lot this year, not in games but in goals we’ve given up. We’re giving up goals, because we’re not doing what we need to do.
“I keep telling the guys there is a difference between good and great. We’re good right now, but great teams don’t give up goals like that.”
No, but they do score them, and this one was a novel idea utilizing what should have been a low-percentage play. Some teams initiate short corners with a pass on the ground, but they usually don’t go very far.
This wasn’t a short corner – it was a hard kick that somehow went untouched through the heart of the defense to an unmarked Ryu, who met the ball about 10 yards in front of the goal.
“We saw a little gap in the defenders, and it’s been something we’ve been working on in practice,” Barger said. “I’m sure Jacob recognized the hole as well, but we’ve got a few signals that we use to communicate between each other.”
North defenders Adam Zielke and Ryan Konrad broke toward the near post as Barger struck the ball. Two defenders went with them, but the Wolves lost track of Ryu, who made a run just inside the far post.
“Adam and Ryan, first of all, did a great job getting in that spot and pulling the defenders away,” Barger said. “Jacob was in the perfect spot to be able to put it away, and it was a great finish.”
Ryu has become Barger’s favorite target on corner kicks. They have hooked up for several goals this season.
“We practiced that play a couple times during practice; that’s one thing we work on,” Ryu said. “I just went to my spot. Alex hit a great ball once again, and I just found my way.”
Once again, the Huskies (15-5-2) found a way to win a close game against a talented opponent. The brilliance of the play was impossible to ignore.
“It was a nice play,” Oswego East senior Kellen Klosterman said. “They had someone coming in front and just let it through their legs and someone behind them finished it. It was a well-thought-out play.”
While it turned out to be the game-winning goal, the play didn’t end the Wolves’ hopes of beating the Huskies for the first time. They held their own over the remaining half-hour, matching Naperville North shot-for-shot and save-for-save.
Both Ruiz and North goalkeeper Patrick Horn finished with seven saves, with all but two of them coming after intermission.
Horn got help from his teammates. Midfielder Tyson Amoo-Mensah cleared Drew Karg’s header off a Carter Boberg corner kick off the line midway through the first half, and defender Ryan Konrad blocked a shot on the goal line in the second half.
“(Ryu’s goal) set us back a little, but our heads should be held high because that’s a great team we played, and we played with them the whole 80 minutes,” said Klosterman, who barely missed scoring a on 22-yard shot that went over the crossbar with 18:15 to go in the first half. “We had our chances. They had their chances, and we just couldn’t finish.
“I think there’s a lot of positives that we can take out of this game.”
If both teams win their first three playoff games, they would meet again in the sectional final. Szymanski, whose club has never won a regional, would love to see that, but said the Wolves need to be better to do so.
“I thought we had a great run of play in the first half,” Szymanski said. “We had good opportunities, but again, the great teams finish, and we didn’t find a way to finish.
“If you want to move on in the playoffs, close doesn’t get you anything. We can’t let little mistakes be letdowns.
“We gave up three-straight corner kicks. I think that’s a big thing. You can’t give corner kicks to a team like Naperville North that finishes opportunities.
“In an 80-minute game, it’s going to be the little things that are the difference between a win and a loss.”
Klosterman concurred.
“I thought we played really well,” Klosterman said. “We defended really well as a whole, and one mistake cost us.”
The Huskies became just the second team to shut out Oswego East, which is averaging more than three goals per game, this season. They did it despite the distractions of Senior Day, which saw 25 players, including many JV players, receive playing time.
“I’m proud of the boys, and I thought we were way better in the second half than we were the first half in our play,” Jim Konrad said. “Obviously, it was great to get all the seniors in.
“Oswego East is a great team. They could have scored a couple, and it easily could have been 3-3 or 4-4. We’re glad to escape with the win.”
Ryu was glad to play such a tough opponent only 10 days before the top-seeded Huskies open the playoffs.
“Oswego East definitely made us battle today,” Ryu said. “They are a great program.
“Like most teams we play, they always battle against us, and it was just a fun day to play.”
The Huskies were able to have their cake and eat it, too, enjoying the festivities of Senior Day and getting everyone playing time while still being able to win despite not showing all of their secrets.
“It was a huge day for our seniors, and we wanted to come away with the win,” Barger said. “Oswego East is a great team and hopefully we see them down the road.
“Even though we beat them, we know they’re going to be a good match if we see them down the road. We’ve got a few things to sharpen up before the tournament, and I think it will be a good run.”
Starting lineups
Oswego East
GK Javier Ruiz
D Cael Cummings
D Drew Karg
D John Danison
D Gilberto Mijarez
M Carter Boberg
M Josh Frank
M Grant Glorioso
M Kellen Klosterman
F Ben Burns
F Ythan Houston
Naperville North
GK Patrick Horn
D Cole Ritzmann
D Adam Zielke
D Ryan Konrad
D Alex Arredondo
M Tyson Amoo-Mensah
M Jacob Ryu
M Bryan Higgs
F Cam Radeke
F Keegan Flaherty
F Alex Barger
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Barger, jr., F, Naperville North
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Naperville North – Jacob Ryu (Alex Barger) 29:49 remaining