St. Patrick flexes offense in season opener
Shamrocks power to 12-0 win over Phoenix
By Bill Stone
CHICAGO – With 21 assists in the 2017 boys soccer season, St. Patrick sophomore Joshua Torres had the most documented assists of any freshman in the state.
His sophomore statistics probably will change drastically.
“Last year I was a midfielder, and I really liked passing the ball. This year, I’m a forward so I want to score more goals,” Torres said.
Torres wasted little time in Thursday’s season opener.
Just 37 seconds into action, Torres ran down a beautiful through-ball from junior defender Adam Przytula and scored. It was the start of a huge offensive day for the Shamrocks in a 12-0 victory over Phoenix Military Academy at Resurrection High School.
“That was the fastest goal I’ve scored,” said Torres, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match, who finished with three goals Thursday after eight goals in all of 2017.
“I just screamed to my teammate to just pass me the ball. I’m really happy that I’m improving. I want more goals this year.”
Junior Aaron Moreno-Lopez also had three goals, and juniors Luis Saucedo and Jonathan Rodriguez had two each. Senior Erik Garcia and freshman Ivan Guerrero tallied in the second half.
Saucedo had four assists, followed by two from junior Angel Adame and one each for senior Herbert Carrera, junior Collin Krueger, Moreno-Lopez and Guerrero.
Most are among the seven returning starters for the Shamrocks, who are coming off the greatest season in school history – a fourth-place Class AA state finish and 23-6-2 record. They were ranked no. 16 in the Chicagoland Soccer Preseason Top 25.
Last season’s opener was an 8-0 victory over Elmwood Park, which St. Patrick later defeated in 4-1 in its regional opener.
“I kind of expected (a strong opener) because the same thing happened last year,” St. Patrick coach Kyle McClure said. “We seem to start the season well, so I thought we were prepared well.”
The Shamrocks were supposed to open this season Tuesday against Illinois-Chicago Prep at Triton College, but that game was canceled when a rescheduled college game needed the field. Those teams still will meet next week as part of the Glenbrook South tournament.
The Shamrocks also were geared toward building momentum towards Saturday’s early test against Taft.
“We were very anxious (to finally play),” said Carrera, a co-captain this season with senior Diego Rivera. “Coach used the opportunity of the game being canceled to get a little bit more conditioning in. We were excited to get in the game and test our new formation that we’re trying now. As you can see, it worked out very well.”
That new formation involves Torres. The Shamrocks are hoping now to employ three forwards as part of a 4-3-3 package with Torres up front with Saucedo (25 goals, 6 assists in 2017) and Rodriguez (4 goals, 12 assists).
One big reason is the graduation of senior Christopher Modrzejewski, whose 34 goals in 2017 set a single-season school record.
“Chris gave us so much physical presence up-top and in the box that we’re worried without him there, we wouldn’t have the same presence,” McClure said.
“Joshua last year was content with setting other guys up and we knew that Chris could do the scoring. I think he’s still going to have a lot of assists, but we’re expecting his goals to go way up, be more aggressive going to goal. He’s a special player obviously.”
After Torres’ quick strike, the Shamrocks wasted little time finding the back of the net several more times.
Rodriguez scored in the fifth minute and Torres again in the 13th. The Shamrocks led 7-0 at halftime behind 31 shots, 18 of them on goal.
Early goals especially are at a premium because even during last year’s strong postseason run, the Shamrocks often found themselves playing from behind.
“Coach wants us to try and score early because when we score early, that really sets the tone for the game. We just kept finishing chance after chance,” Carrera said.
Besides the early goals playing into the Shamrocks’ favor, so to may have been their opponents stamina. It was the third game in four days for Phoenix (1-2-0), which opened by beating Hope 7-0 and then lost to Hubbard 3-1 Wednesday. McClure noted that because of the new formation and with the Taft game looming Saturday, some starters were given additional minutes, more so than the situation otherwise would have dictated.
About half of the Class A Firebirds’ starters return from last season’s 12-6-2 regional championship team, including center midfielder Jorge Ochoa, who had 29 goals last year and three already this season.
This is the school’s fifth year of existence, and the meeting marked the first between the programs. The scheduling conversation began last offseason when several players among the teams were in the same indoor soccer league.
“They’re a team that’s very disciplined and you could just tell every time they were touching the ball they were looking for each other. It was really nice just to see them just play the game,” Phoenix coach Otto Rodriguez said.
“It’s tough, but we look at it as it’s just a learning experience. We’ve never played a team this good and organized. Let’s see how we compete against top-level teams and see what we can do. I think it was a great learning experience for our kids. Just to learn that there’s competition out there that’s going to be tougher, faster; and how can we get to that level?”
The Shamrocks actually could have scored more, but Phoenix goalie Angel Andrade held tough and made several point-blank saves. Torres maneuvered around Andrade in the third minute, but defender Jorge Reyna dove just in front of the goal line to clear the ball. St. Patrick junior midfielder Sebastian Modrzejewski rattled the crossbar with a blast beyond the box in the 24th minute.
“Our strength this year is going to be our offense,” McClure said. “We’re planning on putting three up-top and really putting the pressure on. We think that our three guys up-top are as good as any three up-top in the state. We should be able to score every game, even against really good teams and hopefully keep the pressure on them so if we do make mistakes, give up a goal or two, still pull out a win.”
“I think we’re very talented, and we can possess the ball pretty well as a team,” Rivera added. “I think we need to work on transition and the little things, but I think we’re looking very well as a passing-type possession team.”
Defensively, the relatively inexperienced defensive line and new sophomore starting goalie Jorge Cebrero received little action.
The Firebirds’ only shot was a 35-yard blast in the 17th minute by Andres Vargas that was well wide to the left.
With senior Alexander Jamroz taking over in goal for the shortened second half, St. Patrick had some momentary tension in the 57th minute on a loose ball near the top of the box, but Krueger eventually cleared before any shot.
The progression of the defense will be important to the Shamrocks’ success -- especially now that they now are playing in Class 3A.
“We want to really pressure the other team’s defense, make them drop guys back to take the pressure off our defense,” McClure said. “We’re expecting to score a lot of goals. The question is how many are we going to give up in return.”
St. Patrick should get that and other issues resolved soon. Besides Taft, the Shamrocks play numerous games at Glenbrook South.
“Obviously, this win is good for us, but we’ve got to be down to earth because we have a big game on Saturday, just knowing we can’t let success get to our heads,” Carrera said.
“We are motivated after coming off a season like (2017), and it’s hard to think that we could do better than that. We know the success of the 3A class, and we want to show other schools that we can compete with the big boys and be one of the better teams in the state.”
Starting lineups
St. Patrick
GK Jorge Cebrero
D Diego Rivera
D Collin Krueger
D Adam Przytula
D Herbert Carrera
M Sebastian Modrzejewski
M Angel Adame
M Aaron Moreno-Lopez
F Jonathan Rodriguez
F Luis Saucedo
F Joshua Torres
Phoenix
GK Angel Andrade
D Jorge Reyna
D Juan Guerra
D Francisco Paz
D Oscar Ferruscia
M Jorge Ochoa
M Ricardo Villegas
M Nicolas Guzman
M Emmanuel Hernandez
M Andres Vargas
F Juan Cuevas
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Joshua Torres, so., F, St. Patrick
Scoring summary
Phoenix 0 0 – 0
St. Patrick 7 5 – 12
First half
St. Patrick: Joshua Torres (Adam Przytula) 1”
St. Patrick: Jonathan Rodriguez (Aaron Moreno-Lopez) 4”
St. Patrick: Torres (Luis Saucedo) 12”
St. Patrick: Moreno-Lopez (Saucedo) 16”
St. Patrick: Rodriguez (Saucedo) 26”
St. Patrick: Saucedo (Torres) 28”
St. Patrick: Torres (Saucedo) 30”
Second half
St. Patrick: Moreno-Lopez (Angel Adame) 44”
St. Patrick: Moreno-Lopez (Adame) 45”
St. Patrick: Ivan Guerrero (Herbert Carrera) 56”
St. Patrick: Erik Garcia (Collin Krueger) 56”
St. Patrick: Saucedo (Guerrero) 59”
Goalies (saves)
Phoenix: Angel Andrade (11)
St. Patrick: Jorge Cebrero (0), Alexander Jarroz (0)
Shots (on goal)
Phoenix 1 (0)
St. Patrick 39 (25)
Corner kicks
Phoenix 0
St. Patrick 6
Shamrocks power to 12-0 win over Phoenix
By Bill Stone
CHICAGO – With 21 assists in the 2017 boys soccer season, St. Patrick sophomore Joshua Torres had the most documented assists of any freshman in the state.
His sophomore statistics probably will change drastically.
“Last year I was a midfielder, and I really liked passing the ball. This year, I’m a forward so I want to score more goals,” Torres said.
Torres wasted little time in Thursday’s season opener.
Just 37 seconds into action, Torres ran down a beautiful through-ball from junior defender Adam Przytula and scored. It was the start of a huge offensive day for the Shamrocks in a 12-0 victory over Phoenix Military Academy at Resurrection High School.
“That was the fastest goal I’ve scored,” said Torres, the Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match, who finished with three goals Thursday after eight goals in all of 2017.
“I just screamed to my teammate to just pass me the ball. I’m really happy that I’m improving. I want more goals this year.”
Junior Aaron Moreno-Lopez also had three goals, and juniors Luis Saucedo and Jonathan Rodriguez had two each. Senior Erik Garcia and freshman Ivan Guerrero tallied in the second half.
Saucedo had four assists, followed by two from junior Angel Adame and one each for senior Herbert Carrera, junior Collin Krueger, Moreno-Lopez and Guerrero.
Most are among the seven returning starters for the Shamrocks, who are coming off the greatest season in school history – a fourth-place Class AA state finish and 23-6-2 record. They were ranked no. 16 in the Chicagoland Soccer Preseason Top 25.
Last season’s opener was an 8-0 victory over Elmwood Park, which St. Patrick later defeated in 4-1 in its regional opener.
“I kind of expected (a strong opener) because the same thing happened last year,” St. Patrick coach Kyle McClure said. “We seem to start the season well, so I thought we were prepared well.”
The Shamrocks were supposed to open this season Tuesday against Illinois-Chicago Prep at Triton College, but that game was canceled when a rescheduled college game needed the field. Those teams still will meet next week as part of the Glenbrook South tournament.
The Shamrocks also were geared toward building momentum towards Saturday’s early test against Taft.
“We were very anxious (to finally play),” said Carrera, a co-captain this season with senior Diego Rivera. “Coach used the opportunity of the game being canceled to get a little bit more conditioning in. We were excited to get in the game and test our new formation that we’re trying now. As you can see, it worked out very well.”
That new formation involves Torres. The Shamrocks are hoping now to employ three forwards as part of a 4-3-3 package with Torres up front with Saucedo (25 goals, 6 assists in 2017) and Rodriguez (4 goals, 12 assists).
One big reason is the graduation of senior Christopher Modrzejewski, whose 34 goals in 2017 set a single-season school record.
“Chris gave us so much physical presence up-top and in the box that we’re worried without him there, we wouldn’t have the same presence,” McClure said.
“Joshua last year was content with setting other guys up and we knew that Chris could do the scoring. I think he’s still going to have a lot of assists, but we’re expecting his goals to go way up, be more aggressive going to goal. He’s a special player obviously.”
After Torres’ quick strike, the Shamrocks wasted little time finding the back of the net several more times.
Rodriguez scored in the fifth minute and Torres again in the 13th. The Shamrocks led 7-0 at halftime behind 31 shots, 18 of them on goal.
Early goals especially are at a premium because even during last year’s strong postseason run, the Shamrocks often found themselves playing from behind.
“Coach wants us to try and score early because when we score early, that really sets the tone for the game. We just kept finishing chance after chance,” Carrera said.
Besides the early goals playing into the Shamrocks’ favor, so to may have been their opponents stamina. It was the third game in four days for Phoenix (1-2-0), which opened by beating Hope 7-0 and then lost to Hubbard 3-1 Wednesday. McClure noted that because of the new formation and with the Taft game looming Saturday, some starters were given additional minutes, more so than the situation otherwise would have dictated.
About half of the Class A Firebirds’ starters return from last season’s 12-6-2 regional championship team, including center midfielder Jorge Ochoa, who had 29 goals last year and three already this season.
This is the school’s fifth year of existence, and the meeting marked the first between the programs. The scheduling conversation began last offseason when several players among the teams were in the same indoor soccer league.
“They’re a team that’s very disciplined and you could just tell every time they were touching the ball they were looking for each other. It was really nice just to see them just play the game,” Phoenix coach Otto Rodriguez said.
“It’s tough, but we look at it as it’s just a learning experience. We’ve never played a team this good and organized. Let’s see how we compete against top-level teams and see what we can do. I think it was a great learning experience for our kids. Just to learn that there’s competition out there that’s going to be tougher, faster; and how can we get to that level?”
The Shamrocks actually could have scored more, but Phoenix goalie Angel Andrade held tough and made several point-blank saves. Torres maneuvered around Andrade in the third minute, but defender Jorge Reyna dove just in front of the goal line to clear the ball. St. Patrick junior midfielder Sebastian Modrzejewski rattled the crossbar with a blast beyond the box in the 24th minute.
“Our strength this year is going to be our offense,” McClure said. “We’re planning on putting three up-top and really putting the pressure on. We think that our three guys up-top are as good as any three up-top in the state. We should be able to score every game, even against really good teams and hopefully keep the pressure on them so if we do make mistakes, give up a goal or two, still pull out a win.”
“I think we’re very talented, and we can possess the ball pretty well as a team,” Rivera added. “I think we need to work on transition and the little things, but I think we’re looking very well as a passing-type possession team.”
Defensively, the relatively inexperienced defensive line and new sophomore starting goalie Jorge Cebrero received little action.
The Firebirds’ only shot was a 35-yard blast in the 17th minute by Andres Vargas that was well wide to the left.
With senior Alexander Jamroz taking over in goal for the shortened second half, St. Patrick had some momentary tension in the 57th minute on a loose ball near the top of the box, but Krueger eventually cleared before any shot.
The progression of the defense will be important to the Shamrocks’ success -- especially now that they now are playing in Class 3A.
“We want to really pressure the other team’s defense, make them drop guys back to take the pressure off our defense,” McClure said. “We’re expecting to score a lot of goals. The question is how many are we going to give up in return.”
St. Patrick should get that and other issues resolved soon. Besides Taft, the Shamrocks play numerous games at Glenbrook South.
“Obviously, this win is good for us, but we’ve got to be down to earth because we have a big game on Saturday, just knowing we can’t let success get to our heads,” Carrera said.
“We are motivated after coming off a season like (2017), and it’s hard to think that we could do better than that. We know the success of the 3A class, and we want to show other schools that we can compete with the big boys and be one of the better teams in the state.”
Starting lineups
St. Patrick
GK Jorge Cebrero
D Diego Rivera
D Collin Krueger
D Adam Przytula
D Herbert Carrera
M Sebastian Modrzejewski
M Angel Adame
M Aaron Moreno-Lopez
F Jonathan Rodriguez
F Luis Saucedo
F Joshua Torres
Phoenix
GK Angel Andrade
D Jorge Reyna
D Juan Guerra
D Francisco Paz
D Oscar Ferruscia
M Jorge Ochoa
M Ricardo Villegas
M Nicolas Guzman
M Emmanuel Hernandez
M Andres Vargas
F Juan Cuevas
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Joshua Torres, so., F, St. Patrick
Scoring summary
Phoenix 0 0 – 0
St. Patrick 7 5 – 12
First half
St. Patrick: Joshua Torres (Adam Przytula) 1”
St. Patrick: Jonathan Rodriguez (Aaron Moreno-Lopez) 4”
St. Patrick: Torres (Luis Saucedo) 12”
St. Patrick: Moreno-Lopez (Saucedo) 16”
St. Patrick: Rodriguez (Saucedo) 26”
St. Patrick: Saucedo (Torres) 28”
St. Patrick: Torres (Saucedo) 30”
Second half
St. Patrick: Moreno-Lopez (Angel Adame) 44”
St. Patrick: Moreno-Lopez (Adame) 45”
St. Patrick: Ivan Guerrero (Herbert Carrera) 56”
St. Patrick: Erik Garcia (Collin Krueger) 56”
St. Patrick: Saucedo (Guerrero) 59”
Goalies (saves)
Phoenix: Angel Andrade (11)
St. Patrick: Jorge Cebrero (0), Alexander Jarroz (0)
Shots (on goal)
Phoenix 1 (0)
St. Patrick 39 (25)
Corner kicks
Phoenix 0
St. Patrick 6