SCE offense explodes against Lake Park
Mancera and Carranza power Saints’ 6-1 victory
By Patrick Z. McGavin
ROSELLE — The radiant afternoon light and the breezy and gusty winds created quite the electric backdrop in a spring break matinee special involving St. Charles East and Lake Park.
It proved an optimistic beginning for the Saints.
“We always play well in the afternoon,” Saints’ forward Sam Wade said.
The Saints began with the wind at their backs, and it carried them aloft. Lake Park countered early, suggesting a bracing back and forth like the earlier game between the two teams to start the season.
The two teams began like an indoor shootout as they combined for three goals in the first eight minutes. Strap in and prepare for the ride.
The Saints’ energy and power took hold and the Lancers could not quite sustain the early flow and dramatic thrust. Their terrific start had a more ominous follow-up.
“I think we just have to keep our heads up the whole game and fight for 80 minutes,” Lake Park midfielder Anthony Bartlett said.
Wade started the game out quickly and decisively with an assist and goal in the first eight minutes as the Saints, rankced 13th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, knocked out the Lancers 6-1 in DuKane Conference play Tuesday.
Few teams have the offensive firepower to match St. Charles East (8-2-1, 5-2-1). They have scored 38 goals on the season.
The Saints have scored 14 in their last three games, all decisive victories.
The visitors quickness to the ball and the ability to dictate the tempo and rhythm of the game underscored their dominance after the initial back-and-forth volleys.
“We always want to win every 50/50, which was the game changer once we got those early goals,” Wade said.
In the fourth minute, Wade played a beautiful ball that forward Sebastian Carranza finished with authority for the quick start. Knowing the wind was at their back was all the incentive they needed.
“They had the wind against them, and we had to take shots,” Saints’ defensive midfielder Alex Mancera said.
For their accomplishments, Wade and Mancera shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match prize.
The ball literally flew apart, moving authoritatively and quickly and enabling the Saints to generate a near-constant pressure.
“I think our focus was to really push the tempo early,” St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “We saw that by scoring in the first four minutes.
“Overall the enthusiasm and the energy of the boys was really good.”
Lake Park had its own energy and spark at the start. The Lancers (2-4-2 overall and in the league) have been up and down. They are a young team, with some very intriguing players. They have needed extra time to jell.
Moments after the Carranza goal, Lake Park went to work at its end with a beautiful collaboration of midfielders Edgar Villagran and Biagio Lerario.
Villagran smashed home a header off a terrific ball served by Lerario in the sixth minute. What should have been the start of something bright and emotionally lifting proved instead the only solid moment of the day.
“We had our head in the game, but where the game was lost was in the first half,” Villagran said. “Everything just went downhill after our goal. They got the second goal, and we put our heads down and stopped playing.”
The tie was momentary.
In the eighth minute, Wade and Carranza reversed roles, this time the quick and fluid Carranza created in space and drew defenders to him before leaving a beautiful ball that Wade hammered home.
“I think our midfield is just really good and plays well together, with feeding balls in the right movement, whether it is giving the ball to the forwards or running off of them,” Wade said.
“The midfield is the engine of the attack, and it is where everything happens.”
Mancera dominated both ends of the field through the balance of the first half, turning the close game into a rout. His heady play and sharpness at controlling the middle deprived Lake Park of significant scoring opportunities.
His offensive creativity took hold during a dominant stretch. In the 16th minute, Mancera caught a ball on the left edge from midfielder Josh Ruiz.
Weaving against the grain, he unleashed a rocket ball that caught inside the far post from about 24 yards out for the 3-1 lead. He punctuated the first half scoring by converting a penalty kick in the 25th minute.
“As a defensive midfielder, I try to control the middle of the field,” Mancera said. “I like to tell the other midfielders how to move, check-in and play together.”
The scoring onslaught created separation between the teams. It was palpable, the growing confidence of the Saints and the deflation of the Lancers.
“We have been talking about that desire to keep going forward,” DiNuzzo said. “We’ve seen a couple of leads slip away this year. Scoring that third and fourth goal was good for our kids’ confidence.”
Lake Park seemed rattled.
“We just had a lot of heavy legs today, and we were tired,” Villagran said. “We just gave up today toward the end, once it got to be like 4-1. We have to learn again how to play the full 80 minutes.”
Having the wind in the second half created some intriguing possibilities for the Lancers. What they lacked was luck, the ability to catch a break. Bartlett and Villagran displayed some terrific energy and creativity.
Bartlett had a ball deflected off the near post in the 55th minute.
The most telling moment came late in the second half after Bartlett was fouled inside the box. Stepping up to take his penalty kick, he seemed uncertain.
His attempt was easily smothered by Saints’ freshman Tyler Benhart, who played the second half.
“Mentally, I just wasn’t there,” Bartlett said. “The wind played a factor as well. It was not our day today.”
St. Charles East closed out the scoring with two fantastic plays by Carranza. In the 55th minute, he blasted a free kick over the top that defender Connor King finished inside the box for his first goal of the year.
“Everyone played well,” King said. “You could see the goals were spread around, so collectively as a team we just had a really good day out there.
“We had great assists.”
Carranza finished out his goal and three-assist performance by blasting a shot that Lancers’ keeper Andrew Swacha deflected. Mason Brockmeyer smashed home the rebound in the 75th minute.
“I was very pleased with our back, but scoring six goals really means that we were doing something well up-top,” DiNuzzo said.
“We’ve been scoring three or four goals the last couple of games, and hopefully we can continue that momentum.”
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
GK: Jake Boecher
D: Ryan Champine
D: Elia Desario
D: Carson Petrick
D: Connor King
D/MF: Alex Mancera
MF: Luca Avendano
MF: Josh Ruiz
F: Sam Wade
F: Sebastian Carranza
F: Jake Maslowski
Lake Park
GK: Andrew Swacha
D: Francesco Caira
D: Max Panek
D: Anthony Magner
D: Aidan Killmer
MF: Logan Pobloske
MF: Jakub Zych
MF: Anthony Bartlett
MF: Biagio Lerario
MF: Edgar Villagran
F: Patrick Fleming
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Sam Wade, sr., F, St. Charles East;
Alex Mancera, sr., DMF, St. Charles East
Scoring summary
First half
St. Charles East—Sebastian Carranza (Sam Wade), fourth minute
Lake Park—Edgar Villagran (Biagio Lerario), sixth minute
St. Charles East—Wade (Carranza), ninth minute
St. Charles East—Alex Mancera (Josh Ruiz), 16th minute
St. Charles East—Mancera (penalty kick), 25th minute
Second half
St. Charles East—Conner King (Carranza), 56th minute
St. Charles East—Mason Brockmeyer (Carranza), 75th minute
Mancera and Carranza power Saints’ 6-1 victory
By Patrick Z. McGavin
ROSELLE — The radiant afternoon light and the breezy and gusty winds created quite the electric backdrop in a spring break matinee special involving St. Charles East and Lake Park.
It proved an optimistic beginning for the Saints.
“We always play well in the afternoon,” Saints’ forward Sam Wade said.
The Saints began with the wind at their backs, and it carried them aloft. Lake Park countered early, suggesting a bracing back and forth like the earlier game between the two teams to start the season.
The two teams began like an indoor shootout as they combined for three goals in the first eight minutes. Strap in and prepare for the ride.
The Saints’ energy and power took hold and the Lancers could not quite sustain the early flow and dramatic thrust. Their terrific start had a more ominous follow-up.
“I think we just have to keep our heads up the whole game and fight for 80 minutes,” Lake Park midfielder Anthony Bartlett said.
Wade started the game out quickly and decisively with an assist and goal in the first eight minutes as the Saints, rankced 13th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, knocked out the Lancers 6-1 in DuKane Conference play Tuesday.
Few teams have the offensive firepower to match St. Charles East (8-2-1, 5-2-1). They have scored 38 goals on the season.
The Saints have scored 14 in their last three games, all decisive victories.
The visitors quickness to the ball and the ability to dictate the tempo and rhythm of the game underscored their dominance after the initial back-and-forth volleys.
“We always want to win every 50/50, which was the game changer once we got those early goals,” Wade said.
In the fourth minute, Wade played a beautiful ball that forward Sebastian Carranza finished with authority for the quick start. Knowing the wind was at their back was all the incentive they needed.
“They had the wind against them, and we had to take shots,” Saints’ defensive midfielder Alex Mancera said.
For their accomplishments, Wade and Mancera shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match prize.
The ball literally flew apart, moving authoritatively and quickly and enabling the Saints to generate a near-constant pressure.
“I think our focus was to really push the tempo early,” St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “We saw that by scoring in the first four minutes.
“Overall the enthusiasm and the energy of the boys was really good.”
Lake Park had its own energy and spark at the start. The Lancers (2-4-2 overall and in the league) have been up and down. They are a young team, with some very intriguing players. They have needed extra time to jell.
Moments after the Carranza goal, Lake Park went to work at its end with a beautiful collaboration of midfielders Edgar Villagran and Biagio Lerario.
Villagran smashed home a header off a terrific ball served by Lerario in the sixth minute. What should have been the start of something bright and emotionally lifting proved instead the only solid moment of the day.
“We had our head in the game, but where the game was lost was in the first half,” Villagran said. “Everything just went downhill after our goal. They got the second goal, and we put our heads down and stopped playing.”
The tie was momentary.
In the eighth minute, Wade and Carranza reversed roles, this time the quick and fluid Carranza created in space and drew defenders to him before leaving a beautiful ball that Wade hammered home.
“I think our midfield is just really good and plays well together, with feeding balls in the right movement, whether it is giving the ball to the forwards or running off of them,” Wade said.
“The midfield is the engine of the attack, and it is where everything happens.”
Mancera dominated both ends of the field through the balance of the first half, turning the close game into a rout. His heady play and sharpness at controlling the middle deprived Lake Park of significant scoring opportunities.
His offensive creativity took hold during a dominant stretch. In the 16th minute, Mancera caught a ball on the left edge from midfielder Josh Ruiz.
Weaving against the grain, he unleashed a rocket ball that caught inside the far post from about 24 yards out for the 3-1 lead. He punctuated the first half scoring by converting a penalty kick in the 25th minute.
“As a defensive midfielder, I try to control the middle of the field,” Mancera said. “I like to tell the other midfielders how to move, check-in and play together.”
The scoring onslaught created separation between the teams. It was palpable, the growing confidence of the Saints and the deflation of the Lancers.
“We have been talking about that desire to keep going forward,” DiNuzzo said. “We’ve seen a couple of leads slip away this year. Scoring that third and fourth goal was good for our kids’ confidence.”
Lake Park seemed rattled.
“We just had a lot of heavy legs today, and we were tired,” Villagran said. “We just gave up today toward the end, once it got to be like 4-1. We have to learn again how to play the full 80 minutes.”
Having the wind in the second half created some intriguing possibilities for the Lancers. What they lacked was luck, the ability to catch a break. Bartlett and Villagran displayed some terrific energy and creativity.
Bartlett had a ball deflected off the near post in the 55th minute.
The most telling moment came late in the second half after Bartlett was fouled inside the box. Stepping up to take his penalty kick, he seemed uncertain.
His attempt was easily smothered by Saints’ freshman Tyler Benhart, who played the second half.
“Mentally, I just wasn’t there,” Bartlett said. “The wind played a factor as well. It was not our day today.”
St. Charles East closed out the scoring with two fantastic plays by Carranza. In the 55th minute, he blasted a free kick over the top that defender Connor King finished inside the box for his first goal of the year.
“Everyone played well,” King said. “You could see the goals were spread around, so collectively as a team we just had a really good day out there.
“We had great assists.”
Carranza finished out his goal and three-assist performance by blasting a shot that Lancers’ keeper Andrew Swacha deflected. Mason Brockmeyer smashed home the rebound in the 75th minute.
“I was very pleased with our back, but scoring six goals really means that we were doing something well up-top,” DiNuzzo said.
“We’ve been scoring three or four goals the last couple of games, and hopefully we can continue that momentum.”
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
GK: Jake Boecher
D: Ryan Champine
D: Elia Desario
D: Carson Petrick
D: Connor King
D/MF: Alex Mancera
MF: Luca Avendano
MF: Josh Ruiz
F: Sam Wade
F: Sebastian Carranza
F: Jake Maslowski
Lake Park
GK: Andrew Swacha
D: Francesco Caira
D: Max Panek
D: Anthony Magner
D: Aidan Killmer
MF: Logan Pobloske
MF: Jakub Zych
MF: Anthony Bartlett
MF: Biagio Lerario
MF: Edgar Villagran
F: Patrick Fleming
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Sam Wade, sr., F, St. Charles East;
Alex Mancera, sr., DMF, St. Charles East
Scoring summary
First half
St. Charles East—Sebastian Carranza (Sam Wade), fourth minute
Lake Park—Edgar Villagran (Biagio Lerario), sixth minute
St. Charles East—Wade (Carranza), ninth minute
St. Charles East—Alex Mancera (Josh Ruiz), 16th minute
St. Charles East—Mancera (penalty kick), 25th minute
Second half
St. Charles East—Conner King (Carranza), 56th minute
St. Charles East—Mason Brockmeyer (Carranza), 75th minute