Hersey's plug-in players
lead win vs. Palatine
Lens, Ganekov excel in new spots, deliver 5th-straight victory
By Bobby Narang
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS -- Hersey senior goalie Joe Lens anticipated becoming a key figure on the pitch in his varsity career.
Just not at goalie.
Lens played most of his youth days in the midfield before an unexpected switch occurred in his high school career.
“I didn’t play goalie in my freshman year,” Lens said. “I started playing my sophomore year for the first time ever. The team didn’t have anybody else.
“It was a fun year. I got a concussion halfway through the season, but I came back for the last few games. Overall, it was a fun experience.”
In his final season, Lens is also making an unexpected impact in the Huskies’ strong campaign. Lens recorded his fifth shutout of the season in Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Palatine in Mid-Suburban League crossover action at Roland R. Goins Stadium.
Hersey junior midfielder Alex Ganekov notched the lone goal, sending a shot inside the far post from 23 yards in the 44th minute.
That was all the offense the Huskies (5-1-1, 4-0-0) needed. With the 6-foot Lens patrolling the box, Hersey has posted four-straight shutouts against Saint Viator, Elk Grove, Hoffman Estates and Palatine during a five-game winning streak.
So what was the Huskies’ reward for the run of wins and clean-sheets? As his team sat on the turf in the far corner of the north end zone, coach Michael Rusniak awarded his players the day off from practice on Thursday. The impromptu gift led to smattering of applause and smiles from the Huskies.
At the forefront of the victory was Lens’ play. He racked up five saves, including sealing the win with a save while slightly bothered but the sun with 57.4 seconds left in regulation.
“The success was due to my backline,” Lens said. “Most of the time they don't allow anything through, except the rare occurrence when I have to save a shot. I just try and do my best when it happens.
“Our team got the job done. Our team bonds so well, and we have so much chemistry. I didn't expect to have this kind of year. I didn’t expect to play goalie, so it’s just fun to come in and do well and help the team.”
A natural athlete with quick hands and agile feet, Lens looks like a natural in the net. He moves effortlessly in the box with an ability to react to sudden changes and contort his body for outstanding saves.
Most of Lens' saves were of the generic variety, but his diving save in the 54th minute helped keep the lead. Lens admitted he endured an adjustment period in the first few weeks of the season after starring on the jv1 level in the spring.
“It was kind of scary to come in as a starter (on varsity),” he said. “It was a lot of pressure, but it's fun now. I like playing. I feel way more comfortable in goal, and feel it’s easier to talk to my teammates when something is going on.”
Lens said he’s discovered a few hidden positives playing goalie, including one that causes him to smile from time to time.
“One thing I really like about being a goalie is the limited conditioning that I have to do,” he said.
Rusniak said Lens has helped stabilize the team and helped raise expectations for the rest of the season.
“Joe has worked extremely hard, not just to be the person who will be the next goalie because he's the one with most experience, but an effective goalie,” Rusniak said. “In the summer, he made some great saves and showed a lot of the confidence we really wanted him to have. He’s done really well. He’s not a natural goalie; he just ran with it. Every year he gets better and better.
“Now, he’s asserting himself. When you have confidence in yourself, the team has confidence in you. He’s been great with working with the younger goalies and showing leadership with that.
“Kids look up to him, even though he's mild-mannered. We saw his size -- he’d shown in practice he had incredible reaction time -- but had just now grown into his body. He went to a lot of camps and has been great for us.
“He has an interesting way how he plays goalie. He’s not extremely fluid or picture perfect or technically sound, but he gets after it in practice. He’s been awesome.”
Another Hersey player making a difference at a new position is Ganekov. Since moving from defender to forward early in the season, the junior has sparked the offense. He scored the goal in the 1-0 win over Elk Grove and notched his fourth goal of the season with the game-winner Wednesday.
Ganekov drilled his shot inside the far post from 27 yards with 36:42 left in the second half.
“It was a perfect ball from Danny (Duray), and I just put it in the bottom corner,” Ganekov said. “We took advantage of their backline, because they were playing a sweeper and left the wide parts of the field open. It felt good.
“I wasn't playing the best I could at (defender), so they switched and it's been going well.”
Hersey senior midfielder Adrian Szumski came up short on the goal-scoring list despite a few breakaway attempts, including a shot in the 60th minute.
“It was another team win,” Szumski said. “We were grinding away, and I had some chances. We finally got a goal to go in. This run feels amazing. I want to keep grinding out games and winning. A win is a win.
“We know we had our chances, and our defense is strong. We know we have to keep our composure and keeping fighting.”
Palatine senior forward Osvaldo Navarrette, a second-year varsity player, noted the team’s solid play in the backline.
“I didn't really see the goal, but their guy got behind our defenders and made a nice goal," he said. “We've just had some unlucky goals. We were working hard, but just couldn't get a goal. We did pretty good, but just were little unlucky.”
Palatine (1-1-5, 1-3-0) rotating players to stay fresh after a frustrating 2-1 loss to Rolling Meadows on Tuesday.
“As the season progresses, you have kids out with injuries or issues. We haven’t had the same lineup as any of our games,” Palatine coach Willie Filian said. “We had one of those games where we both played last night and looked lackluster, but credit to them.
“They won most 50/50 balls and were quicker to the second balls and really won balls in the air, which we need to get better at. We just have trouble scoring. We’re kind in one of those funks. We’re hoping to get out of it next week after practice time.”
Palatine junior forward Isaac Lara said his team suffered from fatigue.
“It was pretty frustrating after having a game on Tuesday, so we were pretty tired,” Lara said. “We have to keep trying.”
Starting lineups
Palatine
GK Augustine Medina
D Kristian Hernandez
D Ray Navarrette
D Osvaldo Navarrette
D Chris Mejia
M Zachary Sondergaard
M Aaron Garcia
M Jesus Leyva
M Dennis Valle Rauda
F Isaac Lara
F Tony Milenkov
Hersey
GK Joe Lens
D Charlie Seig
D Matt Carlson
D Alex Masztek
D Charlie Shiffman
M Adrian Szumski
M Simon Hemenway
M Elliott Suto
M Alex Ganekov
F Andrew Hamilton
F Danny Duray
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Ganekov, jr., MF, Hersey
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Hersey: Alex Ganekov (Danny Duray), 44th minute
lead win vs. Palatine
Lens, Ganekov excel in new spots, deliver 5th-straight victory
By Bobby Narang
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS -- Hersey senior goalie Joe Lens anticipated becoming a key figure on the pitch in his varsity career.
Just not at goalie.
Lens played most of his youth days in the midfield before an unexpected switch occurred in his high school career.
“I didn’t play goalie in my freshman year,” Lens said. “I started playing my sophomore year for the first time ever. The team didn’t have anybody else.
“It was a fun year. I got a concussion halfway through the season, but I came back for the last few games. Overall, it was a fun experience.”
In his final season, Lens is also making an unexpected impact in the Huskies’ strong campaign. Lens recorded his fifth shutout of the season in Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Palatine in Mid-Suburban League crossover action at Roland R. Goins Stadium.
Hersey junior midfielder Alex Ganekov notched the lone goal, sending a shot inside the far post from 23 yards in the 44th minute.
That was all the offense the Huskies (5-1-1, 4-0-0) needed. With the 6-foot Lens patrolling the box, Hersey has posted four-straight shutouts against Saint Viator, Elk Grove, Hoffman Estates and Palatine during a five-game winning streak.
So what was the Huskies’ reward for the run of wins and clean-sheets? As his team sat on the turf in the far corner of the north end zone, coach Michael Rusniak awarded his players the day off from practice on Thursday. The impromptu gift led to smattering of applause and smiles from the Huskies.
At the forefront of the victory was Lens’ play. He racked up five saves, including sealing the win with a save while slightly bothered but the sun with 57.4 seconds left in regulation.
“The success was due to my backline,” Lens said. “Most of the time they don't allow anything through, except the rare occurrence when I have to save a shot. I just try and do my best when it happens.
“Our team got the job done. Our team bonds so well, and we have so much chemistry. I didn't expect to have this kind of year. I didn’t expect to play goalie, so it’s just fun to come in and do well and help the team.”
A natural athlete with quick hands and agile feet, Lens looks like a natural in the net. He moves effortlessly in the box with an ability to react to sudden changes and contort his body for outstanding saves.
Most of Lens' saves were of the generic variety, but his diving save in the 54th minute helped keep the lead. Lens admitted he endured an adjustment period in the first few weeks of the season after starring on the jv1 level in the spring.
“It was kind of scary to come in as a starter (on varsity),” he said. “It was a lot of pressure, but it's fun now. I like playing. I feel way more comfortable in goal, and feel it’s easier to talk to my teammates when something is going on.”
Lens said he’s discovered a few hidden positives playing goalie, including one that causes him to smile from time to time.
“One thing I really like about being a goalie is the limited conditioning that I have to do,” he said.
Rusniak said Lens has helped stabilize the team and helped raise expectations for the rest of the season.
“Joe has worked extremely hard, not just to be the person who will be the next goalie because he's the one with most experience, but an effective goalie,” Rusniak said. “In the summer, he made some great saves and showed a lot of the confidence we really wanted him to have. He’s done really well. He’s not a natural goalie; he just ran with it. Every year he gets better and better.
“Now, he’s asserting himself. When you have confidence in yourself, the team has confidence in you. He’s been great with working with the younger goalies and showing leadership with that.
“Kids look up to him, even though he's mild-mannered. We saw his size -- he’d shown in practice he had incredible reaction time -- but had just now grown into his body. He went to a lot of camps and has been great for us.
“He has an interesting way how he plays goalie. He’s not extremely fluid or picture perfect or technically sound, but he gets after it in practice. He’s been awesome.”
Another Hersey player making a difference at a new position is Ganekov. Since moving from defender to forward early in the season, the junior has sparked the offense. He scored the goal in the 1-0 win over Elk Grove and notched his fourth goal of the season with the game-winner Wednesday.
Ganekov drilled his shot inside the far post from 27 yards with 36:42 left in the second half.
“It was a perfect ball from Danny (Duray), and I just put it in the bottom corner,” Ganekov said. “We took advantage of their backline, because they were playing a sweeper and left the wide parts of the field open. It felt good.
“I wasn't playing the best I could at (defender), so they switched and it's been going well.”
Hersey senior midfielder Adrian Szumski came up short on the goal-scoring list despite a few breakaway attempts, including a shot in the 60th minute.
“It was another team win,” Szumski said. “We were grinding away, and I had some chances. We finally got a goal to go in. This run feels amazing. I want to keep grinding out games and winning. A win is a win.
“We know we had our chances, and our defense is strong. We know we have to keep our composure and keeping fighting.”
Palatine senior forward Osvaldo Navarrette, a second-year varsity player, noted the team’s solid play in the backline.
“I didn't really see the goal, but their guy got behind our defenders and made a nice goal," he said. “We've just had some unlucky goals. We were working hard, but just couldn't get a goal. We did pretty good, but just were little unlucky.”
Palatine (1-1-5, 1-3-0) rotating players to stay fresh after a frustrating 2-1 loss to Rolling Meadows on Tuesday.
“As the season progresses, you have kids out with injuries or issues. We haven’t had the same lineup as any of our games,” Palatine coach Willie Filian said. “We had one of those games where we both played last night and looked lackluster, but credit to them.
“They won most 50/50 balls and were quicker to the second balls and really won balls in the air, which we need to get better at. We just have trouble scoring. We’re kind in one of those funks. We’re hoping to get out of it next week after practice time.”
Palatine junior forward Isaac Lara said his team suffered from fatigue.
“It was pretty frustrating after having a game on Tuesday, so we were pretty tired,” Lara said. “We have to keep trying.”
Starting lineups
Palatine
GK Augustine Medina
D Kristian Hernandez
D Ray Navarrette
D Osvaldo Navarrette
D Chris Mejia
M Zachary Sondergaard
M Aaron Garcia
M Jesus Leyva
M Dennis Valle Rauda
F Isaac Lara
F Tony Milenkov
Hersey
GK Joe Lens
D Charlie Seig
D Matt Carlson
D Alex Masztek
D Charlie Shiffman
M Adrian Szumski
M Simon Hemenway
M Elliott Suto
M Alex Ganekov
F Andrew Hamilton
F Danny Duray
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Ganekov, jr., MF, Hersey
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Hersey: Alex Ganekov (Danny Duray), 44th minute