Late York rally scares up win vs. OPRF
Gawne goals deliver 2-1 win, stall Huskies title celebration
By Dave Owen
ELMHURST -- Haunted by heartbreaking losses this season, York picked a great time to chase away those ghosts.
Trailing West Suburban Conference Silver Division leader Oak Park and River Forest 1-0 with 16 minutes left in Thursday’s match, the host Dukes (11-6-0, 3-2-0) turned the tide with two Parker Gawne goals off set piece chances in the next 10 minutes to produce a 2-1 win over the 10th-ranked Huskies (13-3-1, 4-1-0).
“We’ve learned from our mistakes,” York senior goalkeeper Sam Kritikos said. “We’ve had a couple heartbreaking losses -- we lost to New Trier in the last seconds early in the year, and Tuesday we lost to DGN (Downers North by a 1-0 score) in double overtime. And I think we all wanted to feel that joy at the end, that celebration.
“We all pulled together and worked for each other.”
The Dukes pulled off the win despite dealing with several injuries, the latest being midfielder Joe Reinhofer’s pulled hamstring against Downers Grove North.
“Reinhofer’s been our best player all season,” Kritikos said. “And another one of our forwards Matt Atristain (is out), and Edgar (Roman) hurt his ankle about a month ago.
“We all just pulled together. Coach (Lukas Majewski) told us in the huddle ‘Work for each other.’ And we know how special a team we can be.”
York sophomore forward Gawne earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors with his two goals, giving him seven this season.
The tying goal came with 15:20 left, after Michael Achepohl was fouled right of the box. Edwardo DelCarmen’s ensuing 15-yard free kick spun free from a crowd in the crease at the near post, reaching Gawne for a back post putaway and a 1-1 tie.
Then after Kritikos came up big with a left post save on a 10-yard drive by Oak Park’s Andrew Barkidjija (whose first half goal had put the Huskies up 1-0), York took full advantage of an officials’ call and a good bounce to net the game-winner.
After Oak Park’s Eric Gusloff initially cleared Joe Meade’s corner kick, continued pressure from York’s Joe Chornij and R.J. Meade led to a handball call against the Huskies.
Joe Meade’s ensuing 18-yard free kick was deflected by the Huskies defense to R.J. Meade with space at the top of the box. The senior lined a 15-yard shot that deflected off Gawne in front and inside the right post to put York up 2-1 with 6:49 left.
“That was lucky,” Gawne said. “But honestly we deserved it because we kept pressing and pressing, cutting through the middle, making give-and-gos, pressing their goalie. And we ended up burying them.”
Asked what the win meant, Gawne showed humor that matched his knack for scoring clutch goals.
“It means we’re really lucky,” he joked.
The Huskies can still get at least a share of their first conference title in 10 years by beating Hinsdale Central on Tuesday. And coach Jason Fried wasn’t about to dwell on the loss, nor the close foul calls by officials that set up the York goals.
“They’re a good team; we’re a good team,” Fried said. “We had a chance to put ourselves in a great spot in conference, but I have to give York credit. We went up 1-0, and they fought back.
“The refs have a hard job, something I never want to do. We always talk about this -- we still allowed a call to make a change.
“We had four or so great opportunities,” Fried added. “If we put one or two of those away, it doesn’t matter. You just have to put games away. That way calls and anything else won’t make a difference. And in the end you still can stop it (the chance that came from the free kick). It’s just a call.”
While the late-game reversal of fortunes shocked the visiting Huskies, York had come out with a similar early blitz before Oak Park and River Forest responded.
Three minutes into the match, Jakub Knorek’s deflection of a Joe Meade 25-yard free kick went just wide.
Then with 29:15 left in the half, Oak Park and River Forest goalkeeper Kel Felton made a great diving save to deflect Joe Meade’s 25-yard shot wide of the left post.
But the Huskies found their footing, and had the majority of chances in the ensuing 50 minutes of play.
After James Maguire was fouled in the 16th minute, Barkidjija’s ensuing 43-yard free kick was headed inches wide of the post by Brody Bliss.
Then with 17:51 left in the half, a nifty two-man rush by Huskies senior Sam Menzies and Barkidjija put the visitor up 1-0.
Menzies dribbled into the box, then nicely dished to Barkidjija for a low 12-yard drive into the net.
“I just cut into the box,” Menzies said. “I knew Andrew would be overlapping so I didn’t hint at the (York) players. I didn’t want to give them the clue that I was going to pass it.
“I kind of gave him a no-look pass for the overlap, and he kept the ball and put it away.”
The Huskies threatened again in the 31st minute. Off a Barkidjija throw-in, Maguire sent a high kick attempt off a bouncing ball just wide of the left post.
The half then ended with dueling threats. With 5:10 left, nice passes from Menzies and Bobby Iwashima set up Cameron Duncan’s 12-yard shot just over the net.
Then with 1:35 left, a 30-yard free kick by York’s Josh Borzello set up a solidly hit 15-yard header by Achepohl which was caught by Oak Park and River Forest goalkeeper Kel Felton.
“We started off with a little different formation because we were missing Reinhofer,” Majewski said. “We figured to go a little more defensively with three in the middle and the wings dropping back. Then we created some chances and tried to absorb the pressure and see what was coming at us.
“We had heard a lot of good things about these guys (OPRF) from other coaches throughout the conference, so we tried to weather the storm a little bit just because we had some players not available today.”
The biggest storm York faced came four minutes into the second half.
A Blake Soto defensive end steal set up a massive Oak Park and River Forest counterattack. Off a Nick Humbert pass, Bliss sped in left side and drove a low 10-yard shot that Kritikos repelled with a foot save. The ensuing scramble produced two Huskies shots, including a Menzies drive off the right post.
Then one minute later (35:15 left to play), another Huskies multi-man rush ended with Bliss’ 6-yard shot blocked away in the crease by a sliding York defender.
“We had a lot of momentum in the beginning of the half,” Menzies said. “We needed to get to the goal, and our plan is to take it down the line, put it to the box and have someone tap it in. It was unlucky and unfortunate we couldn’t put it away.”
The near misses would loom large later.
“We had some high-end opportunities there in the second half,” Fried said. “We hit a post, three other ones that were maybe four yards out we couldn’t put in. You have to give credit to their goalie and defense for getting in the way. And that’s really the difference in the game.”
Surviving that storm, York soon found its footing.
“The second half we just went back to our regular (formation),” Majewski said. “R.J. Meade stepped in for Reinhofer up-top, and we got the pressure and worked with those set pieces, the corners and free kicks.
“I thought we were dangerous the entire time, getting there but not being able to put it away. Then two fell in.”
York’s first chance came with 31:50 left, a Joe Meade corner kick that was batted out of the crowd by Felton – with R.J. Meade’s rebound sailing wide.
After Kritikos made a right post catch on Barkidjija’s 23-yard free kick with 19 minutes left, York upped the attack.
Chornij’s header over the net with 16:25 to go was followed one minute later by the free kick, Gawne’s tying goal, and a turn of momentum.
“We brought a lot more energy in the second half,” Joe Meade said. “We just took it to them.”
“We were missing guys, but we made do with what we had and came together to get a big win.”
Then came Gawne’s deflection goal off another free kick chance with 6:49 to go, and York had rallied into the lead.
“We had little mistakes,” Menzies said. “We broke down a little in the back and had fouls just outside the box. They were 50-50 calls and the ref decided to call them, not in our favor which is unlucky. But they had two good set plays and they put both of them away.
“The second goal was a ricochet off his (Gawne’s) back, just unlucky. But all it comes down to is, we need to put away our chances. We’re going to keep our heads up.”
The Huskies made a furious late charge. An Iwashima 45-yard free kick with 4:25 left set up a 5-yard James Maguire header that went over the net.
Then with 1:20 to go, Felton’s catch of a 60-yard DelCarmen free kick set up a quick Oak Park and River Forest counter. On Maguire’s long send to the box, York goalkeeper Kritikos made a sliding cover of the loose ball in a race with Barkidjija.
“Our whole mentality (defensively) was ‘Kick the ball away, get it away,’” Kritikos said. “And play direct out of the back.
“One of our biggest struggles on defense has been trying to play around too much. It happened against Lyons, allowing a goal like that. Get the ball away – that was the only adjustment we made, and thankfully it worked.”
In the final minute, an Iwashima 60-yard free kick went wide right, and Chornij cleared a ball from 40 yards out with 40 seconds to go, and a combined clear just inside midfield by DelCarmen and R.J. Meade in the final 10 second sealed the win.
“Kids stepped up,” Majewski said. “Parker Gawne with two goals – he’s been pressing so much because he feels he has to live up to the Reinhofers and Achepohls.
“And Mike Achepohl set the tone for us on the side, being a physical presence. But at the same time there were so many kids that contributed.
“That (Oak Park and River Forest) is a great team out there,” Majewski added. “They were undefeated in conference, but that’s our conference. We took a really tough loss against Downers North in a game I felt we should have won. Any given day in this conference.”
For Oak Park, the theme going forward is of main importance.
“We’re still in shape to win the conference, which is what we’re focused on now,” Menzies said. “This was obviously a huge loss from us, but we can learn from it.
“We just have to bounce back and go for the conference title, because we haven’t won it in 10 years. We just have to keep our heads up.”
Fried had a similar message.
“They (York) fought it out and earned that win,” Fried said. “Now we have to take this and go on to Hinsdale Central on Tuesday.”
“You bounce right back. We win against Hinsdale Central, worst case scenario we’re tied for first in conference. Great job. That’s what it comes down to.”
Fried also stressed the pre-regional positives of Thursday’s battle with York.
“This was a great game before the playoffs, because this is the way it’s going to be,” he said. “There was a lot of good soccer on both sides, and we definitely created enough opportunities to win the game.
“I’m proud of them – they fought hard and stayed composed in a pretty intense game. That’s a great thing to see. And it’s just something you have to shrug off. We’ll bounce back – I’m not too worried. This is a great group of guys.”
York has shown great resilience through every test this fall – capped by beating Oak Park in the wake of Reinhofer’s injury.
“Overall the boys rose to the occasion,” Majewski said. “I think maybe they were maybe more timid or intimidated early, but once they saw ‘Hey, we can hang; we can do things.’ I’ve been telling these guys all year long, ‘You can do this against anybody.’ And this is the result.”
The timing of the emotional victory couldn’t be much better.
“It gives us a good boost heading into playoffs,” Joe Meade said. “Hopefully we can get all our players back by that time.
“But it’s a lot of confidence. This is probably our biggest win of the season. And it comes so late, close to playoffs. It just gives us a huge boost.”
After winning the latest fierce, physical battle in the talent-deep WSC Silver, Gawne had the ultimate take on the victory.
“Although we didn’t win conference, it kind of feels like we did beating them (Oak Park),” he said.
Starting lineups
Oak Park
GK Kel Felton
D Nick Humbert
D Eric Gusloff
D Blake Soto
D Jai Hsieh-Bailey
M James Maguire
M Andrew Barkidjija
M Sam Menzies
M Bobby Iwashima
F Brody Bliss
F Matt Hawthorne
York
GK Sam Kritikos
D Jon Milani
D Josh Borzello
D Nathan Brown
D Edwardo DelCarmen
M Paolo Favuzzi
M R.J. Meade
M Joe Meade
M Michael Achepohl
F John Gratzianna
F Jakub Knurek
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Parker Gawne, so. F, York
Scoring summary
1st HALF: OPRF – Barkidjija (Menzies).
2nd HALF: York – Gawne (DelCarmen); York – Gawne (R.J. Meade).
Gawne goals deliver 2-1 win, stall Huskies title celebration
By Dave Owen
ELMHURST -- Haunted by heartbreaking losses this season, York picked a great time to chase away those ghosts.
Trailing West Suburban Conference Silver Division leader Oak Park and River Forest 1-0 with 16 minutes left in Thursday’s match, the host Dukes (11-6-0, 3-2-0) turned the tide with two Parker Gawne goals off set piece chances in the next 10 minutes to produce a 2-1 win over the 10th-ranked Huskies (13-3-1, 4-1-0).
“We’ve learned from our mistakes,” York senior goalkeeper Sam Kritikos said. “We’ve had a couple heartbreaking losses -- we lost to New Trier in the last seconds early in the year, and Tuesday we lost to DGN (Downers North by a 1-0 score) in double overtime. And I think we all wanted to feel that joy at the end, that celebration.
“We all pulled together and worked for each other.”
The Dukes pulled off the win despite dealing with several injuries, the latest being midfielder Joe Reinhofer’s pulled hamstring against Downers Grove North.
“Reinhofer’s been our best player all season,” Kritikos said. “And another one of our forwards Matt Atristain (is out), and Edgar (Roman) hurt his ankle about a month ago.
“We all just pulled together. Coach (Lukas Majewski) told us in the huddle ‘Work for each other.’ And we know how special a team we can be.”
York sophomore forward Gawne earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors with his two goals, giving him seven this season.
The tying goal came with 15:20 left, after Michael Achepohl was fouled right of the box. Edwardo DelCarmen’s ensuing 15-yard free kick spun free from a crowd in the crease at the near post, reaching Gawne for a back post putaway and a 1-1 tie.
Then after Kritikos came up big with a left post save on a 10-yard drive by Oak Park’s Andrew Barkidjija (whose first half goal had put the Huskies up 1-0), York took full advantage of an officials’ call and a good bounce to net the game-winner.
After Oak Park’s Eric Gusloff initially cleared Joe Meade’s corner kick, continued pressure from York’s Joe Chornij and R.J. Meade led to a handball call against the Huskies.
Joe Meade’s ensuing 18-yard free kick was deflected by the Huskies defense to R.J. Meade with space at the top of the box. The senior lined a 15-yard shot that deflected off Gawne in front and inside the right post to put York up 2-1 with 6:49 left.
“That was lucky,” Gawne said. “But honestly we deserved it because we kept pressing and pressing, cutting through the middle, making give-and-gos, pressing their goalie. And we ended up burying them.”
Asked what the win meant, Gawne showed humor that matched his knack for scoring clutch goals.
“It means we’re really lucky,” he joked.
The Huskies can still get at least a share of their first conference title in 10 years by beating Hinsdale Central on Tuesday. And coach Jason Fried wasn’t about to dwell on the loss, nor the close foul calls by officials that set up the York goals.
“They’re a good team; we’re a good team,” Fried said. “We had a chance to put ourselves in a great spot in conference, but I have to give York credit. We went up 1-0, and they fought back.
“The refs have a hard job, something I never want to do. We always talk about this -- we still allowed a call to make a change.
“We had four or so great opportunities,” Fried added. “If we put one or two of those away, it doesn’t matter. You just have to put games away. That way calls and anything else won’t make a difference. And in the end you still can stop it (the chance that came from the free kick). It’s just a call.”
While the late-game reversal of fortunes shocked the visiting Huskies, York had come out with a similar early blitz before Oak Park and River Forest responded.
Three minutes into the match, Jakub Knorek’s deflection of a Joe Meade 25-yard free kick went just wide.
Then with 29:15 left in the half, Oak Park and River Forest goalkeeper Kel Felton made a great diving save to deflect Joe Meade’s 25-yard shot wide of the left post.
But the Huskies found their footing, and had the majority of chances in the ensuing 50 minutes of play.
After James Maguire was fouled in the 16th minute, Barkidjija’s ensuing 43-yard free kick was headed inches wide of the post by Brody Bliss.
Then with 17:51 left in the half, a nifty two-man rush by Huskies senior Sam Menzies and Barkidjija put the visitor up 1-0.
Menzies dribbled into the box, then nicely dished to Barkidjija for a low 12-yard drive into the net.
“I just cut into the box,” Menzies said. “I knew Andrew would be overlapping so I didn’t hint at the (York) players. I didn’t want to give them the clue that I was going to pass it.
“I kind of gave him a no-look pass for the overlap, and he kept the ball and put it away.”
The Huskies threatened again in the 31st minute. Off a Barkidjija throw-in, Maguire sent a high kick attempt off a bouncing ball just wide of the left post.
The half then ended with dueling threats. With 5:10 left, nice passes from Menzies and Bobby Iwashima set up Cameron Duncan’s 12-yard shot just over the net.
Then with 1:35 left, a 30-yard free kick by York’s Josh Borzello set up a solidly hit 15-yard header by Achepohl which was caught by Oak Park and River Forest goalkeeper Kel Felton.
“We started off with a little different formation because we were missing Reinhofer,” Majewski said. “We figured to go a little more defensively with three in the middle and the wings dropping back. Then we created some chances and tried to absorb the pressure and see what was coming at us.
“We had heard a lot of good things about these guys (OPRF) from other coaches throughout the conference, so we tried to weather the storm a little bit just because we had some players not available today.”
The biggest storm York faced came four minutes into the second half.
A Blake Soto defensive end steal set up a massive Oak Park and River Forest counterattack. Off a Nick Humbert pass, Bliss sped in left side and drove a low 10-yard shot that Kritikos repelled with a foot save. The ensuing scramble produced two Huskies shots, including a Menzies drive off the right post.
Then one minute later (35:15 left to play), another Huskies multi-man rush ended with Bliss’ 6-yard shot blocked away in the crease by a sliding York defender.
“We had a lot of momentum in the beginning of the half,” Menzies said. “We needed to get to the goal, and our plan is to take it down the line, put it to the box and have someone tap it in. It was unlucky and unfortunate we couldn’t put it away.”
The near misses would loom large later.
“We had some high-end opportunities there in the second half,” Fried said. “We hit a post, three other ones that were maybe four yards out we couldn’t put in. You have to give credit to their goalie and defense for getting in the way. And that’s really the difference in the game.”
Surviving that storm, York soon found its footing.
“The second half we just went back to our regular (formation),” Majewski said. “R.J. Meade stepped in for Reinhofer up-top, and we got the pressure and worked with those set pieces, the corners and free kicks.
“I thought we were dangerous the entire time, getting there but not being able to put it away. Then two fell in.”
York’s first chance came with 31:50 left, a Joe Meade corner kick that was batted out of the crowd by Felton – with R.J. Meade’s rebound sailing wide.
After Kritikos made a right post catch on Barkidjija’s 23-yard free kick with 19 minutes left, York upped the attack.
Chornij’s header over the net with 16:25 to go was followed one minute later by the free kick, Gawne’s tying goal, and a turn of momentum.
“We brought a lot more energy in the second half,” Joe Meade said. “We just took it to them.”
“We were missing guys, but we made do with what we had and came together to get a big win.”
Then came Gawne’s deflection goal off another free kick chance with 6:49 to go, and York had rallied into the lead.
“We had little mistakes,” Menzies said. “We broke down a little in the back and had fouls just outside the box. They were 50-50 calls and the ref decided to call them, not in our favor which is unlucky. But they had two good set plays and they put both of them away.
“The second goal was a ricochet off his (Gawne’s) back, just unlucky. But all it comes down to is, we need to put away our chances. We’re going to keep our heads up.”
The Huskies made a furious late charge. An Iwashima 45-yard free kick with 4:25 left set up a 5-yard James Maguire header that went over the net.
Then with 1:20 to go, Felton’s catch of a 60-yard DelCarmen free kick set up a quick Oak Park and River Forest counter. On Maguire’s long send to the box, York goalkeeper Kritikos made a sliding cover of the loose ball in a race with Barkidjija.
“Our whole mentality (defensively) was ‘Kick the ball away, get it away,’” Kritikos said. “And play direct out of the back.
“One of our biggest struggles on defense has been trying to play around too much. It happened against Lyons, allowing a goal like that. Get the ball away – that was the only adjustment we made, and thankfully it worked.”
In the final minute, an Iwashima 60-yard free kick went wide right, and Chornij cleared a ball from 40 yards out with 40 seconds to go, and a combined clear just inside midfield by DelCarmen and R.J. Meade in the final 10 second sealed the win.
“Kids stepped up,” Majewski said. “Parker Gawne with two goals – he’s been pressing so much because he feels he has to live up to the Reinhofers and Achepohls.
“And Mike Achepohl set the tone for us on the side, being a physical presence. But at the same time there were so many kids that contributed.
“That (Oak Park and River Forest) is a great team out there,” Majewski added. “They were undefeated in conference, but that’s our conference. We took a really tough loss against Downers North in a game I felt we should have won. Any given day in this conference.”
For Oak Park, the theme going forward is of main importance.
“We’re still in shape to win the conference, which is what we’re focused on now,” Menzies said. “This was obviously a huge loss from us, but we can learn from it.
“We just have to bounce back and go for the conference title, because we haven’t won it in 10 years. We just have to keep our heads up.”
Fried had a similar message.
“They (York) fought it out and earned that win,” Fried said. “Now we have to take this and go on to Hinsdale Central on Tuesday.”
“You bounce right back. We win against Hinsdale Central, worst case scenario we’re tied for first in conference. Great job. That’s what it comes down to.”
Fried also stressed the pre-regional positives of Thursday’s battle with York.
“This was a great game before the playoffs, because this is the way it’s going to be,” he said. “There was a lot of good soccer on both sides, and we definitely created enough opportunities to win the game.
“I’m proud of them – they fought hard and stayed composed in a pretty intense game. That’s a great thing to see. And it’s just something you have to shrug off. We’ll bounce back – I’m not too worried. This is a great group of guys.”
York has shown great resilience through every test this fall – capped by beating Oak Park in the wake of Reinhofer’s injury.
“Overall the boys rose to the occasion,” Majewski said. “I think maybe they were maybe more timid or intimidated early, but once they saw ‘Hey, we can hang; we can do things.’ I’ve been telling these guys all year long, ‘You can do this against anybody.’ And this is the result.”
The timing of the emotional victory couldn’t be much better.
“It gives us a good boost heading into playoffs,” Joe Meade said. “Hopefully we can get all our players back by that time.
“But it’s a lot of confidence. This is probably our biggest win of the season. And it comes so late, close to playoffs. It just gives us a huge boost.”
After winning the latest fierce, physical battle in the talent-deep WSC Silver, Gawne had the ultimate take on the victory.
“Although we didn’t win conference, it kind of feels like we did beating them (Oak Park),” he said.
Starting lineups
Oak Park
GK Kel Felton
D Nick Humbert
D Eric Gusloff
D Blake Soto
D Jai Hsieh-Bailey
M James Maguire
M Andrew Barkidjija
M Sam Menzies
M Bobby Iwashima
F Brody Bliss
F Matt Hawthorne
York
GK Sam Kritikos
D Jon Milani
D Josh Borzello
D Nathan Brown
D Edwardo DelCarmen
M Paolo Favuzzi
M R.J. Meade
M Joe Meade
M Michael Achepohl
F John Gratzianna
F Jakub Knurek
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Parker Gawne, so. F, York
Scoring summary
1st HALF: OPRF – Barkidjija (Menzies).
2nd HALF: York – Gawne (DelCarmen); York – Gawne (R.J. Meade).