Reserved North Shore Country Day gets
job done against Parker
Raiders continue undefeated march with 3-0 ISL win
By Bobby Narang
WINNETKA — North Shore Country Day preferred to take a subdued approach to Monday’s victory.
Undefeated teams often mark each win, especially later in the season, with grand displays of some sort of eye-catching or loud celebration.
It’s a tangible feeling. More wins equals more fans and community interest that lead to incredible energy for bigger games and bigger moments.
The Raiders would have none of that Monday. The needle on the hoopla meter barely moved.
After North Shore Country Day posted a workmanlike 3-0 victory over Parker at the Skokie Playfields, the postgame scene was oddly quiet. The Raiders slowly walked around the field, then stood around waiting for two players to return from a shed adjacent to the field to begin their postgame talk.
The Raiders (18-0-1, 9-0-1 Independent School League) stretched their winning streak to eight in a row since a double-overtime scoreless tie against Lake Forest Academy on Sept. 14.
Sitting on the turf, right between two fields filled with young girls playing lacrosse on both sides of them, the Raiders gathered together for a quiet discussion on the upcoming week.
The Class A program has big goals on their to-do list.
Monday’s win didn’t require a celebration or anything brash to draw attention. The conference win, the second over the Colonels in less than a week, was memorable and noteworthy.
This edition of the team overcame the graduation of talented players to go with a season-ending injury to a star player, senior forward Walter Luglio, to make their name known. North Shore Country Day is the top-ranked team in the Chicagoland Soccer Super 7 Class A poll.
The small-school playoffs begin with regional quarterfinal matches Friday. The Raiders, the top seed in the Cristo Rey St. Martin Sectional, play the winner of the Chicago Math and Science Charter and Ida Crown regional quarterfinal in the regional they host at 4 p.m. Oct. 11.
North Shore Country Day was pleased with the win Monday.
“It’s hard to play a team twice,” North Shore Country Day coach Kyle Jones. “We know Parker is a tough team. They’re much improved. They gave us a little scare last week. That was a bit of a wake-up call for us.
“Our boys knew we needed to switched on from minute one, and we were. We got the two goals in the first half. We really controlled the game and had some chances to go up 3-0 at halftime, but we didn’t.
“We don’t talk about (being undefeated). We want to keep this rolling. The guys have been playing great. Record-wise, this is our best (team). It’s hard to be as good as we are now. We’ve had some quality teams. We have an interesting bunch. We keep grinding these wins out, which is great to see. We want to continue it.”
One by one, the Raiders admitted the undefeated streak is special, yet not the defining aspect of the season. Senior midfielder Benji Leonetti, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, powered the victory with a goal in each half. He stunned the crowd with his second goal. He scored off a 27-yard curving kick into the far post from near the corner, off a pass from Evan Fortier, to pad the lead to 3-0.
Danny Becker scored the second goal in the 20th minute for a comfortable edge.
“It’s been an amazing season,” North Shore Country Day junior forward Leif Steele said. “We’ve had some strong teams, but I feel this year is special. I don’t know. I did have some doubts this year. We lost six key players from last year. The seniors and juniors on this team have stepped up and some sophomores have shown improvement as well.
“I saw on the first day of practice our chemistry was amazing and knew something special could happen. We have to ride this out and stay humble. No matter how many wins we have or if we’re undefeated, we talk about staying focusing on each opponent and playing to our best. We were very disappointed on we performed last week against Francis Parker. We have a lot of passion when we play them.”
Junior defender Smith Flickinger said the Raiders were laser-focused from the opening whistle.
Becker scored a late goal to help the Raiders pull out a 3-2 conference win at Parker on Sept. 29. The Raiders then defeated Lisle 2-0 on Oct. 1.
“We bounced back from the last game (against Parker)," Flickinger said. “The first half was alright. Our team chemistry really picked up throughout the game. I thought we played really well as a team. It’s great to be undefeated. Every day in practice is great to know we have all these wins under our belt. All we have to do is keep working hard. We’re focusing on getting that next win and taking it game by game."
Sophomore midfielder Henry Gallun, who is a starter after coming off the bench last season, said the Raiders earned a quality win Monday.
“I thought we played a gritty game overall,” Gallun said. “We finished well early on. Nobody played particularly great, but we did what we had to do. It feels great to be in my first year starting, and we’re already doing super well.
“It was great. We struggled to finish in our last game. Our first two shots today were basically goals.”
Junior goalie Aram Dombaglian, who has missed a few games this season, has been instrumental in the undefeated season. He helped ease the graduation loss of stellar goalie Nick Potter. Dombaglian recorded four of his five saves in the second half. In the final five minutes, the Colonels (7-8-1, 2-5-1) played with intensity and physicality in an attempt to avoid the shutout.
A first-year starter, Dombaglian tallied two saves in a 20-second span with 12 minutes left in the first half. He was slightly shaken up after a nice stop in the 47th minute and closed out the clean-sheet with three saves in the final 10 minutes.
“I have a lot of experience from my club and learning from Nick Potter, plus had a lot of people in front of me who have taught me a lot,” Dombaglian said. “I just go out there and do my job. I haven’t had that many clean-sheets, especially back-to-back. Communication was the key. My backline is great. They help me a lot. I’m confident going out there doing my job."
Senior defender Buckley Oelerich said the Raiders possess the talent and chemistry to surpass last season’s Class A run to the sectional semifinals, where they suffered a 3-1 defeat to conference foe Latin.
“I think recently we’re playing really well, not giving up more than one or two goals a game,” Oelerich said. “Some of that comes from us playing together a long time. We’re all seniors, me Tae Won (Lillig) and Teddy (Gallun). We’ve played together almost our whole lives. That really helps us with our communication and being able to work together and being able to control these tough attackers.
“It’s been a great season. We draw plays for us in the back to score. We’re threats as well. We like to have fun. It’s been a fun year. Plus, Aram is playing great. It’s great to have the ability to rely on our keeper. Every year I’ve been here, we’ve had it. We have full trust in (Aram). That’s probably part of the reason we’re playing so well. We have confidence and know he’s going to be there for us.”
Parker coach Neil Curran understands firsthand the ingredients required to make an extended journey in the playoffs. The Colonials placed fourth in Class A in 2007 and third in 2013. The Colonels have been stung by the injury bug with their three starters sidelined — goalie Paul Callaghan, striker Marian Cozma and midfielder Emre Emanet.
The Colonials nearly scored a goal in the 58th minute, but Dombaglian had a full extension diving save to his left. Eight minutes later, the Colonels had several chances dright in front of the goal line, but couldn’t punch a shot int the net.
“I think hats off to North Shore,” he said. “There’s a reason they came out and jumped all over us. They’re a team used to winning. They were totally dialed in. We came off the bus slow. We were mentally not all here. I think it mentally took us 40 minutes to get into it. At that point of time, it was too late.
“When you look at this game as opposed to the game we played on our field when we gave that game away on our field, I would like to play them again with our full cadre of guys. We came off sleepy and never once did we actually dial in and get serious about this (game).”
Starting lineups
Parker
GK: Wyatt Chatalas
D: Benjamin Kagan
D: Max Keller
D: Lucas Daskal
D: Akeem Griffin
MF: Malik Griffin
MF: Joshua Ijiwola
MF: Massimo Franco
MF: Jackson Day
F: Chase Scherer
F: Gray Joseph
North Shore Country Day
GK: Aram Dombalagian
D: Teddy Gallun
D: Tae Won Lillig
D: Buckley Oelerich
D: Smith Flickinger
MF: Kai Zavala
MF: Henry Gallun
MF: Evan Fortier
MF: Benji Leonetti
F: Leif Steele
F: Daniel Becker
Chicagoland Man of the Match:
Benji Leonetti, sr., MF, North Shore Country Day
Scoring summary
First half
North Shore Country Day: Becker (Fortier), 15’
North Shore Country Day: Leonetti (Fortier), 20’
Second half
North Shore Country Day: Leonetti (Fortier), 54’
job done against Parker
Raiders continue undefeated march with 3-0 ISL win
By Bobby Narang
WINNETKA — North Shore Country Day preferred to take a subdued approach to Monday’s victory.
Undefeated teams often mark each win, especially later in the season, with grand displays of some sort of eye-catching or loud celebration.
It’s a tangible feeling. More wins equals more fans and community interest that lead to incredible energy for bigger games and bigger moments.
The Raiders would have none of that Monday. The needle on the hoopla meter barely moved.
After North Shore Country Day posted a workmanlike 3-0 victory over Parker at the Skokie Playfields, the postgame scene was oddly quiet. The Raiders slowly walked around the field, then stood around waiting for two players to return from a shed adjacent to the field to begin their postgame talk.
The Raiders (18-0-1, 9-0-1 Independent School League) stretched their winning streak to eight in a row since a double-overtime scoreless tie against Lake Forest Academy on Sept. 14.
Sitting on the turf, right between two fields filled with young girls playing lacrosse on both sides of them, the Raiders gathered together for a quiet discussion on the upcoming week.
The Class A program has big goals on their to-do list.
Monday’s win didn’t require a celebration or anything brash to draw attention. The conference win, the second over the Colonels in less than a week, was memorable and noteworthy.
This edition of the team overcame the graduation of talented players to go with a season-ending injury to a star player, senior forward Walter Luglio, to make their name known. North Shore Country Day is the top-ranked team in the Chicagoland Soccer Super 7 Class A poll.
The small-school playoffs begin with regional quarterfinal matches Friday. The Raiders, the top seed in the Cristo Rey St. Martin Sectional, play the winner of the Chicago Math and Science Charter and Ida Crown regional quarterfinal in the regional they host at 4 p.m. Oct. 11.
North Shore Country Day was pleased with the win Monday.
“It’s hard to play a team twice,” North Shore Country Day coach Kyle Jones. “We know Parker is a tough team. They’re much improved. They gave us a little scare last week. That was a bit of a wake-up call for us.
“Our boys knew we needed to switched on from minute one, and we were. We got the two goals in the first half. We really controlled the game and had some chances to go up 3-0 at halftime, but we didn’t.
“We don’t talk about (being undefeated). We want to keep this rolling. The guys have been playing great. Record-wise, this is our best (team). It’s hard to be as good as we are now. We’ve had some quality teams. We have an interesting bunch. We keep grinding these wins out, which is great to see. We want to continue it.”
One by one, the Raiders admitted the undefeated streak is special, yet not the defining aspect of the season. Senior midfielder Benji Leonetti, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, powered the victory with a goal in each half. He stunned the crowd with his second goal. He scored off a 27-yard curving kick into the far post from near the corner, off a pass from Evan Fortier, to pad the lead to 3-0.
Danny Becker scored the second goal in the 20th minute for a comfortable edge.
“It’s been an amazing season,” North Shore Country Day junior forward Leif Steele said. “We’ve had some strong teams, but I feel this year is special. I don’t know. I did have some doubts this year. We lost six key players from last year. The seniors and juniors on this team have stepped up and some sophomores have shown improvement as well.
“I saw on the first day of practice our chemistry was amazing and knew something special could happen. We have to ride this out and stay humble. No matter how many wins we have or if we’re undefeated, we talk about staying focusing on each opponent and playing to our best. We were very disappointed on we performed last week against Francis Parker. We have a lot of passion when we play them.”
Junior defender Smith Flickinger said the Raiders were laser-focused from the opening whistle.
Becker scored a late goal to help the Raiders pull out a 3-2 conference win at Parker on Sept. 29. The Raiders then defeated Lisle 2-0 on Oct. 1.
“We bounced back from the last game (against Parker)," Flickinger said. “The first half was alright. Our team chemistry really picked up throughout the game. I thought we played really well as a team. It’s great to be undefeated. Every day in practice is great to know we have all these wins under our belt. All we have to do is keep working hard. We’re focusing on getting that next win and taking it game by game."
Sophomore midfielder Henry Gallun, who is a starter after coming off the bench last season, said the Raiders earned a quality win Monday.
“I thought we played a gritty game overall,” Gallun said. “We finished well early on. Nobody played particularly great, but we did what we had to do. It feels great to be in my first year starting, and we’re already doing super well.
“It was great. We struggled to finish in our last game. Our first two shots today were basically goals.”
Junior goalie Aram Dombaglian, who has missed a few games this season, has been instrumental in the undefeated season. He helped ease the graduation loss of stellar goalie Nick Potter. Dombaglian recorded four of his five saves in the second half. In the final five minutes, the Colonels (7-8-1, 2-5-1) played with intensity and physicality in an attempt to avoid the shutout.
A first-year starter, Dombaglian tallied two saves in a 20-second span with 12 minutes left in the first half. He was slightly shaken up after a nice stop in the 47th minute and closed out the clean-sheet with three saves in the final 10 minutes.
“I have a lot of experience from my club and learning from Nick Potter, plus had a lot of people in front of me who have taught me a lot,” Dombaglian said. “I just go out there and do my job. I haven’t had that many clean-sheets, especially back-to-back. Communication was the key. My backline is great. They help me a lot. I’m confident going out there doing my job."
Senior defender Buckley Oelerich said the Raiders possess the talent and chemistry to surpass last season’s Class A run to the sectional semifinals, where they suffered a 3-1 defeat to conference foe Latin.
“I think recently we’re playing really well, not giving up more than one or two goals a game,” Oelerich said. “Some of that comes from us playing together a long time. We’re all seniors, me Tae Won (Lillig) and Teddy (Gallun). We’ve played together almost our whole lives. That really helps us with our communication and being able to work together and being able to control these tough attackers.
“It’s been a great season. We draw plays for us in the back to score. We’re threats as well. We like to have fun. It’s been a fun year. Plus, Aram is playing great. It’s great to have the ability to rely on our keeper. Every year I’ve been here, we’ve had it. We have full trust in (Aram). That’s probably part of the reason we’re playing so well. We have confidence and know he’s going to be there for us.”
Parker coach Neil Curran understands firsthand the ingredients required to make an extended journey in the playoffs. The Colonials placed fourth in Class A in 2007 and third in 2013. The Colonels have been stung by the injury bug with their three starters sidelined — goalie Paul Callaghan, striker Marian Cozma and midfielder Emre Emanet.
The Colonials nearly scored a goal in the 58th minute, but Dombaglian had a full extension diving save to his left. Eight minutes later, the Colonels had several chances dright in front of the goal line, but couldn’t punch a shot int the net.
“I think hats off to North Shore,” he said. “There’s a reason they came out and jumped all over us. They’re a team used to winning. They were totally dialed in. We came off the bus slow. We were mentally not all here. I think it mentally took us 40 minutes to get into it. At that point of time, it was too late.
“When you look at this game as opposed to the game we played on our field when we gave that game away on our field, I would like to play them again with our full cadre of guys. We came off sleepy and never once did we actually dial in and get serious about this (game).”
Starting lineups
Parker
GK: Wyatt Chatalas
D: Benjamin Kagan
D: Max Keller
D: Lucas Daskal
D: Akeem Griffin
MF: Malik Griffin
MF: Joshua Ijiwola
MF: Massimo Franco
MF: Jackson Day
F: Chase Scherer
F: Gray Joseph
North Shore Country Day
GK: Aram Dombalagian
D: Teddy Gallun
D: Tae Won Lillig
D: Buckley Oelerich
D: Smith Flickinger
MF: Kai Zavala
MF: Henry Gallun
MF: Evan Fortier
MF: Benji Leonetti
F: Leif Steele
F: Daniel Becker
Chicagoland Man of the Match:
Benji Leonetti, sr., MF, North Shore Country Day
Scoring summary
First half
North Shore Country Day: Becker (Fortier), 15’
North Shore Country Day: Leonetti (Fortier), 20’
Second half
North Shore Country Day: Leonetti (Fortier), 54’