St. Charles East nips
Lake Park in possible playoff preview
DuKane Conference champion Saints post 3-2 win
By Ken Keenan
ROSELLE -- A thrilling DuKane Conference match between host Lake Park and St. Charles East on Tuesday ended in a 3-2 decision for the Fighting Saints -- and it also set the table for a possible rematch in the Lancers' own IHSA Class 3A regional final, set for Oct. 26.
St. Charles East, ranked no. 16 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, improved to a hefty 16-1-3 overall with the win. The victory also cemented the Saints' spot atop the DuKane standings (5-0-1) with one league match remaining: a visit from Wheaton-Warrenville South at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
Lake Park (9-10-2 overall), the co-league champion in the first season of the DuKane in 2018, concluded its league slate at 3-3-1 with the loss. The Lancers will now prepare to face York in the semifinals of the Lake Park Regional at 7 p.m. Oct. 23, preceded by St. Charles East's semifinal tilt (5 p.m.) against Willowbrook or Wheaton-Warrenville South.
"I feel we're in good shape for the playoffs," said dangerous Saints junior forward Jake Maslowski. "This was a confidence booster to play on the Lake Park (East) grass field in preparation for the same in the playoffs."
Lake Park head coach Sean Crosby, whose squad battled back from an early 2-0 deficit to deadlock the match before the Saints rallied in the second half to win, said, "This could be a foreshadowing of the playoffs. Both teams were competing hard -- high emotion and high intensity. Absolutely, it was a good tune-up ... great for us to get a good look at what we'll see next week."
The roller-coaster affair began with St. Charles East pressing the attack from the get-go, starting in the first minute with a rising, 30-yard strike by Maslowski that was nabbed by Lancers junior goalkeeper Kyle Czeremuga.
Czeremuga, a stellar performer throughout the game, also had the answer for a head attempt by Saints sophomore forward Sebastian Carranza with 35:30 left in the opening session. Two minutes later, the busy Lake Park keeper alertly punched away a blazing free kick from the left side by junior midfielder Alex Mancera.
"Kyle (Czeremuga) kept us in the game the whole time," said Lake Park senior forward Olek Melnyk, who assisted on his team's first goal.
"He gave us a chance," added Crosby. "You have to rely on your keeper against St. Charles East, and he wasn't afraid to challenge things and be confident back there."
Carranza was the first to solve Czeremuga, giving St. Charles East a 1-0 lead when he tapped in a perfect cross, sent from the left side by sophomore mid Sam Wade (Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match) in the 15th minute.
The Fighting Saints upped the advantage to 2-0 with 16:21 to go before the break. After a Lake Park foul deep in Lancers' territory, Mancera lined up a free kick from a wide angle on the left side and unleashed a head-high, curling shot that eluded Czeremuga and nipped the far post before bouncing into the net.
But the Lancers quickly responded, cutting the deficit in half on a goal by senior midfielder Riccardo Ciaccio in the 26th minute. The play started on a free kick, with Lake Park sophomore mid Edgar Villagran passing the ball to Melnyk for a quick try in front that was punched out by Saints senior keeper Jack Settle. Ciaccio then pounced on the rebound and banged it home.
Seven minutes later, Settle made a sharp, one-handed save to spoil a 25-yard blast by Lancers senior mid Abel Campuzano. Campuzano got his revenge in the 36th minute to help Lake Park earn a 2-2 split after 40 minutes.
Sophomore mid Francesco Caira tallied the game-tying marker, nicely heading the ball in after tracking a well-placed corner delivered by Campuzano.
"We focused more (down 2-0), realized our mistakes and came back strong," Caira said.
Added Melnyk: "We picked up the game and started creating more chances to change the game."
Crosby said the Lancers' comeback was due to, "settling the game down a bit. (The Saints) had the momentum and were dictating their game: playing simple and moving the ball well. But we were able to relax and give ourselves chances.
"We get the first goal, and then a great finish by Frankie (Caira) on the corner. That really changed the momentum."
It also prompted St. Charles East skipper Vince DiNuzzo to issue a wake-up call during his halftime speech.
"The game had a playoff atmosphere to it, and I like the way we came out the first 20 minutes," DiNuzzo said. "But then we made some uncharacteristic mistakes ... lack of command of the box. Credit Lake Park, they put the ball in dangerous areas."
The Saints did the same to start the second half, beginning with a short shot from the right side by Maslowski that missed high in the 41st minute, followed by a similar Maslowski try a minute later. In the 47th minute, Wade grabbed a loose ball and launched a 20-yard rocket that Czeremuga stopped.
Czeremuga also snuffed Maslowski's strong head attempt with a leaping save in the 56th minute, and then nabbed a 40-yard free kick by Mancera, in a crowd, with 20:40 remaining.
Four minutes later, the Saints reclaimed the lead for good when Wade scored on a rebound after Czeremuga made the initial save to deny a header by Saints senior defender Zach Gamster.
"I'm proud of our boys," DiNuzzo said. "We played the majority in their end in the second half."
Added Wade: "We bounced back in the second half after allowing two goals. I'm very much pleased with our finish. It was discipline in the back and sticking to our identity as a team."
Maslowski said, "Once it was 2-0, we got a little too comfortable and were losing our style. Then it's an an even game, and we had to come back. In the second half, we wanted to settle down and play our game."
The Lancers created a couple of late chances in search of the equalizer. Junior mid Anthony Bartlett barely missed wide-left from 20 yards with 9:25 to go, and Bartlett's 30-yard free kick was cleared by a St. Charles East defender with 7:05 showing.
"In the second half, (the Saints) kept the ball more, and our front line didn't maintain possession as well," Crosby said. "It wasn't materializing for us."
If things fall into place during regional play, Crosby's crew could get another crack at the hard-to-beat Saints.
The battle-tested Czeremuga said the Lancers will be ready.
"It's good for us to have this game tonight," he said. "If we beat York in the first round, we'll have a chance to face St. Charles East again."
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
G: Jack Settle
D: Ryan Champine
D: Geoff Unterberg
D: Zach Gamster
M: Luca Avendano
M: Alex Mancera
M: Brendan Adams
M: Tyler Filbert
M: Sam Wade
F: Sebastian Carranza
F: Jake Maslowski
Lake Park
G: Kyle Czeremuga
D: Max Panek
D: Konrad Sagan
D: Logan Pobloske
D: Anthony Magner
M: Francesco Caira
M: Max Armas
M: Edgar Villagran
M: Riccardo Ciaccio
F: Grayden McCllellan
F: Olek Melnyk
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Sam Wade, so., M, St. Charles East
Scoring summary
First half
St. Charles East: Sebastian Carranza (assisted by Sam Wade) in 15th minute
St. Charles East: Alex Mancera (unassisted) in 24th minute
Lake Park: Riccardo Ciaccio (assisted by Olek Melnyk) in 26th minute
Lake Park: Francesco Caira (assisted by Abel Campuzano) in 36th minute
Second half
St. Charles East: Wade (assisted by Zach Gamster) in 64th minute
Lake Park in possible playoff preview
DuKane Conference champion Saints post 3-2 win
By Ken Keenan
ROSELLE -- A thrilling DuKane Conference match between host Lake Park and St. Charles East on Tuesday ended in a 3-2 decision for the Fighting Saints -- and it also set the table for a possible rematch in the Lancers' own IHSA Class 3A regional final, set for Oct. 26.
St. Charles East, ranked no. 16 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, improved to a hefty 16-1-3 overall with the win. The victory also cemented the Saints' spot atop the DuKane standings (5-0-1) with one league match remaining: a visit from Wheaton-Warrenville South at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
Lake Park (9-10-2 overall), the co-league champion in the first season of the DuKane in 2018, concluded its league slate at 3-3-1 with the loss. The Lancers will now prepare to face York in the semifinals of the Lake Park Regional at 7 p.m. Oct. 23, preceded by St. Charles East's semifinal tilt (5 p.m.) against Willowbrook or Wheaton-Warrenville South.
"I feel we're in good shape for the playoffs," said dangerous Saints junior forward Jake Maslowski. "This was a confidence booster to play on the Lake Park (East) grass field in preparation for the same in the playoffs."
Lake Park head coach Sean Crosby, whose squad battled back from an early 2-0 deficit to deadlock the match before the Saints rallied in the second half to win, said, "This could be a foreshadowing of the playoffs. Both teams were competing hard -- high emotion and high intensity. Absolutely, it was a good tune-up ... great for us to get a good look at what we'll see next week."
The roller-coaster affair began with St. Charles East pressing the attack from the get-go, starting in the first minute with a rising, 30-yard strike by Maslowski that was nabbed by Lancers junior goalkeeper Kyle Czeremuga.
Czeremuga, a stellar performer throughout the game, also had the answer for a head attempt by Saints sophomore forward Sebastian Carranza with 35:30 left in the opening session. Two minutes later, the busy Lake Park keeper alertly punched away a blazing free kick from the left side by junior midfielder Alex Mancera.
"Kyle (Czeremuga) kept us in the game the whole time," said Lake Park senior forward Olek Melnyk, who assisted on his team's first goal.
"He gave us a chance," added Crosby. "You have to rely on your keeper against St. Charles East, and he wasn't afraid to challenge things and be confident back there."
Carranza was the first to solve Czeremuga, giving St. Charles East a 1-0 lead when he tapped in a perfect cross, sent from the left side by sophomore mid Sam Wade (Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match) in the 15th minute.
The Fighting Saints upped the advantage to 2-0 with 16:21 to go before the break. After a Lake Park foul deep in Lancers' territory, Mancera lined up a free kick from a wide angle on the left side and unleashed a head-high, curling shot that eluded Czeremuga and nipped the far post before bouncing into the net.
But the Lancers quickly responded, cutting the deficit in half on a goal by senior midfielder Riccardo Ciaccio in the 26th minute. The play started on a free kick, with Lake Park sophomore mid Edgar Villagran passing the ball to Melnyk for a quick try in front that was punched out by Saints senior keeper Jack Settle. Ciaccio then pounced on the rebound and banged it home.
Seven minutes later, Settle made a sharp, one-handed save to spoil a 25-yard blast by Lancers senior mid Abel Campuzano. Campuzano got his revenge in the 36th minute to help Lake Park earn a 2-2 split after 40 minutes.
Sophomore mid Francesco Caira tallied the game-tying marker, nicely heading the ball in after tracking a well-placed corner delivered by Campuzano.
"We focused more (down 2-0), realized our mistakes and came back strong," Caira said.
Added Melnyk: "We picked up the game and started creating more chances to change the game."
Crosby said the Lancers' comeback was due to, "settling the game down a bit. (The Saints) had the momentum and were dictating their game: playing simple and moving the ball well. But we were able to relax and give ourselves chances.
"We get the first goal, and then a great finish by Frankie (Caira) on the corner. That really changed the momentum."
It also prompted St. Charles East skipper Vince DiNuzzo to issue a wake-up call during his halftime speech.
"The game had a playoff atmosphere to it, and I like the way we came out the first 20 minutes," DiNuzzo said. "But then we made some uncharacteristic mistakes ... lack of command of the box. Credit Lake Park, they put the ball in dangerous areas."
The Saints did the same to start the second half, beginning with a short shot from the right side by Maslowski that missed high in the 41st minute, followed by a similar Maslowski try a minute later. In the 47th minute, Wade grabbed a loose ball and launched a 20-yard rocket that Czeremuga stopped.
Czeremuga also snuffed Maslowski's strong head attempt with a leaping save in the 56th minute, and then nabbed a 40-yard free kick by Mancera, in a crowd, with 20:40 remaining.
Four minutes later, the Saints reclaimed the lead for good when Wade scored on a rebound after Czeremuga made the initial save to deny a header by Saints senior defender Zach Gamster.
"I'm proud of our boys," DiNuzzo said. "We played the majority in their end in the second half."
Added Wade: "We bounced back in the second half after allowing two goals. I'm very much pleased with our finish. It was discipline in the back and sticking to our identity as a team."
Maslowski said, "Once it was 2-0, we got a little too comfortable and were losing our style. Then it's an an even game, and we had to come back. In the second half, we wanted to settle down and play our game."
The Lancers created a couple of late chances in search of the equalizer. Junior mid Anthony Bartlett barely missed wide-left from 20 yards with 9:25 to go, and Bartlett's 30-yard free kick was cleared by a St. Charles East defender with 7:05 showing.
"In the second half, (the Saints) kept the ball more, and our front line didn't maintain possession as well," Crosby said. "It wasn't materializing for us."
If things fall into place during regional play, Crosby's crew could get another crack at the hard-to-beat Saints.
The battle-tested Czeremuga said the Lancers will be ready.
"It's good for us to have this game tonight," he said. "If we beat York in the first round, we'll have a chance to face St. Charles East again."
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
G: Jack Settle
D: Ryan Champine
D: Geoff Unterberg
D: Zach Gamster
M: Luca Avendano
M: Alex Mancera
M: Brendan Adams
M: Tyler Filbert
M: Sam Wade
F: Sebastian Carranza
F: Jake Maslowski
Lake Park
G: Kyle Czeremuga
D: Max Panek
D: Konrad Sagan
D: Logan Pobloske
D: Anthony Magner
M: Francesco Caira
M: Max Armas
M: Edgar Villagran
M: Riccardo Ciaccio
F: Grayden McCllellan
F: Olek Melnyk
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Sam Wade, so., M, St. Charles East
Scoring summary
First half
St. Charles East: Sebastian Carranza (assisted by Sam Wade) in 15th minute
St. Charles East: Alex Mancera (unassisted) in 24th minute
Lake Park: Riccardo Ciaccio (assisted by Olek Melnyk) in 26th minute
Lake Park: Francesco Caira (assisted by Abel Campuzano) in 36th minute
Second half
St. Charles East: Wade (assisted by Zach Gamster) in 64th minute