St. Charles East starts fast,
runs past St. Charles North
Saints blank North Stars 4-0 in Tri-Cities Night opener
By Curt Herron
BATAVIA -- Sebastian Carranza was hopeful that he and his St. Charles East teammates would get off to a fast start when they took on rival St. Charles North in the opening match of Tri-Cities Night on Tuesday at Batavia High School.
Thanks to two early goals from the senior standout and then another tally from classmate Will Orloff a bit later, the Saints grabbed a 3-0 advantage over the North Stars before the opening half reached its midpoint.
Senior Luca Avendano added another score in the final half, and sophomore keepers Jordan Rolon and Tyler Benhart combined for the team's seventh shutout as St. Charles East claimed a 4-0 DuKane Conference victory to capture its seventh win in a row.
Carranza, who earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors, also assisted on the final tally to give him 24 goals and 11 helpers for the season. Senior Connor King assisted on the first and third goals for the Fighting Saints (13-1-0, 3-1-0), who are ranked third in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
St. Charles East has averaged 4.57 goals per match and scored three or more goals on 10 occasions.
Carranza put the Saints up for good in the eighth minute. He scored on a header following a pass from King in a pairing of two of the team's captains.
"I got the first one from Connor's ball, after I already had missed two almost wide-open chances at that point. So, I probably should have scored before then," Carranza said.
In the 11th minute, Carranza created and connected on a PK.
"Then they sent me in with a through-ball, and I saw the goalie come out,” he said. “I tried to take a touch around him. He clipped my ankle. I went down, and I got a penalty.”
St. Charles East took a 3-0 lead in the 18th minute when King handed out his sixth assist after he found Orloff, who rung up his fourth goal of the year.
"We're connecting well and playing well," King said. "We missed a few chances out there, but that wasn't a problem. We still got out with a 4-0 win, which is pretty convincing.
“Our team is focused on starting right from the jump and keeping that throughout the game. We executed well in the first 20 minutes, but over time we stopped going at them. I felt that's where we lacked. But I feel like we played well and got a shutout for the backline.
"I like the chemistry between us. We're really starting to connect well, and the forwards are really starting to move together well. Also our subs have been playing real well lately.
“This game was a different passion, because it's a rivalry game with St. Charles North, so we always want to show up for the fans and everyone who came out. It was a great night and overall a great performance."
The Saints have outscored their opponents by a 27-4 margin during their current seven-match winning streak. Coach Vince DiNuzzo is pleased with the way that his squad has been progressing.
"They're playing well and hopefully we can continue to stay healthy and build off the most recent success," DiNuzzo said. "I think (the start) relaxed the nerves a little bit.
"If there was one area that we struggled, it was in that final third and our finishing. We created a ton of opportunities, and their goalie made some excellent saves. Their center back blocked some crucial shots, but we have to be more effective in that part of the field.
"Our backline has been meshing better. We have a kid back from injury, and that helps. Everybody is starting to understand their roles and responsibilities, and they're only improving.”
Carranza agrees with his coach.
"Our defense has really stepped up from the first part of the season,” he said. “At the beginning, it still felt like they were getting used to how to defend and communicate with each other. The communication is going up and with our goalies and center backs. We're dominating and winning the balls out of the air. That's helped a lot.
"I feel like we're all really close together and there's no cliques on the team. I feel like everyone's really connected, and we all can communicate with each other without feeling like the criticism is too harsh."
Overall, St. Charles North (4-3-5, 0-1-4) has played well defensively. The North Stars have allowed just 12 goals in their first 11 matches. Four were shutouts, and in four more they gave up a single goal.
But scoring has been a problem. The offense has only delivered 11 goals and scored twice in a match on only two occasions.
The team has a week off before returning to conference play with a home match against Glenbard North.
"Without question, that's a really well put-together team that attacks with numbers and does so relentlessly," North Stars coach Eric Willson said. "You have to be organized and be on top of your game and focused in at all times. I'm just not sure that we were.
“My hat goes off to Vince and his program. They were the better team for sure. We've been pretty strong defensively, but we've struggled to create opportunities. When you do that against a real quality opponent like St. Charles East, you find yourself down 4-0.
"For the most part, we defend well together with the togetherness and hard work that the boys show. I don't question the effort that they put out on the field at any point in time.
“I thought that we were a little hesitant tonight and maybe gave them a little too much respect. I would have liked to see us play a little bit more fearless. But that's something that we can go over. We have a week between now and our next game, and I think that comes at a perfect time. We'll get out to training and do our best to get better.”
This Tri-Cities Night has a special significance for Willson and his program. The mother of senior co-captain Michael DePasquale was honored.
Tricia DePasquale passed away on July 17 following a long struggle with cancer. The money that was raised throughout the evening will go to fund cancer research.
"I've been here since we've started this Tri-Cities Night, and you just couldn't ask for four better programs to be able to come together and play and do something for a good cause," Willson said. "And we've found good causes that are incredibly deserving throughout the years. It's just a pretty cool thing to be a part of something special like this."
St. Charles East concluded the scoring in the 47th minute when Carranza sent a pass in front of the net. Avendano was there to connect for his sixth goal of the season.
After struggling to come up with good scoring chances to challenge Rolon in the opening half, St. Charles North had much more success building up its offense after the break. But second keeper Benhart was up to the challenge and the defense of seniors Aaron Frost, King and senior tri-captain Phil Anton, and sophomore Jake Walker were able to keep them from scoring.
The North Stars got good attempts from Walter DelaPaz, Logan Turney and Zach Curtis during the first 20 minute of the second half. The Saints countered with threatening tries from Josh Ruiz, King, Orloff and Carranza.
Colin Leatherbury, Mason Brockmeyer, Connor Brown, Carranza and Avendano all had shots for the Saints that were stopped. St. Charles North came up empty on attempts from Charlie Mazurek, DePasquale and Curtis.
St. Charles East is on another roll after its upset 3-2 loss Sept. 7 at Lake Park.
"It was good that we started off strong," said Anton. "In a few of these games, we kind of started off slow, and that's never a good feeling. You want to start off feeling like you're dominating and in control. So that's what we tried doing, and it helped us a lot going into the second half.
"I think our defense has been really solid and our communication has been really good. We've been playing hard as a team and as a composed back four. It's been really nice that we've been able to shut down a decent amount of teams. Connor King and Aaron, Jake and Connor Brown, almost everyone who has stepped in on the backline has come in and done their jobs.
“The quality that I like most about this team is the grit. We go in and work hard in every single game, and our record doesn't matter. We go in and play every game like it's your last game and just going hard. That's the best thing about this team, and I think that's why we've been successful."
The Saints, who now own sole possession of first place in the DuKane Conference, host Fremd, which is ranked second in the Top 25, on Thursday. They return to Batavia on Tuesday to resume league play.
In the end Tri-Cities Night was a great night for local soccer that supported cancer research.
“All of the kids know each other, and we had all of the local clubs out here supporting,” DiNuzzo said. “It's cool to get those kids excited for high school soccer.
“The kids love these moments so I'm glad that we're able to provide something like this."
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
G Jordan Rolon
D Phil Anton
D Connor King
D Aaron Frost
D Jake Walker
M Luca Avendano
M Mason Blenner
M Josh Ruiz
M Jack Harrington
F Sebastian Carranza
F Will Orloff
St. Charles North
G Alex Curtis
D Zach Curtis
D Michael DePasquale
D Logan Turney
D Casey Kriz
M Charlie Mazurek
M Casey Graham
M Walter DelaPaz
F Trevor Mirra
F Isaac VanDeSampel
F Dawid Szlegia
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Sebastian Carranza, sr., F, St. Charles East
Scoring summary
First half
SCE: Carranza (King), 8th minute
SCE: Carranza PK, 11th minute
SCE: Orloff (King), 18th minute
Second half
SCE: Avendano (Carranza), 47 minute
runs past St. Charles North
Saints blank North Stars 4-0 in Tri-Cities Night opener
By Curt Herron
BATAVIA -- Sebastian Carranza was hopeful that he and his St. Charles East teammates would get off to a fast start when they took on rival St. Charles North in the opening match of Tri-Cities Night on Tuesday at Batavia High School.
Thanks to two early goals from the senior standout and then another tally from classmate Will Orloff a bit later, the Saints grabbed a 3-0 advantage over the North Stars before the opening half reached its midpoint.
Senior Luca Avendano added another score in the final half, and sophomore keepers Jordan Rolon and Tyler Benhart combined for the team's seventh shutout as St. Charles East claimed a 4-0 DuKane Conference victory to capture its seventh win in a row.
Carranza, who earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors, also assisted on the final tally to give him 24 goals and 11 helpers for the season. Senior Connor King assisted on the first and third goals for the Fighting Saints (13-1-0, 3-1-0), who are ranked third in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25.
St. Charles East has averaged 4.57 goals per match and scored three or more goals on 10 occasions.
Carranza put the Saints up for good in the eighth minute. He scored on a header following a pass from King in a pairing of two of the team's captains.
"I got the first one from Connor's ball, after I already had missed two almost wide-open chances at that point. So, I probably should have scored before then," Carranza said.
In the 11th minute, Carranza created and connected on a PK.
"Then they sent me in with a through-ball, and I saw the goalie come out,” he said. “I tried to take a touch around him. He clipped my ankle. I went down, and I got a penalty.”
St. Charles East took a 3-0 lead in the 18th minute when King handed out his sixth assist after he found Orloff, who rung up his fourth goal of the year.
"We're connecting well and playing well," King said. "We missed a few chances out there, but that wasn't a problem. We still got out with a 4-0 win, which is pretty convincing.
“Our team is focused on starting right from the jump and keeping that throughout the game. We executed well in the first 20 minutes, but over time we stopped going at them. I felt that's where we lacked. But I feel like we played well and got a shutout for the backline.
"I like the chemistry between us. We're really starting to connect well, and the forwards are really starting to move together well. Also our subs have been playing real well lately.
“This game was a different passion, because it's a rivalry game with St. Charles North, so we always want to show up for the fans and everyone who came out. It was a great night and overall a great performance."
The Saints have outscored their opponents by a 27-4 margin during their current seven-match winning streak. Coach Vince DiNuzzo is pleased with the way that his squad has been progressing.
"They're playing well and hopefully we can continue to stay healthy and build off the most recent success," DiNuzzo said. "I think (the start) relaxed the nerves a little bit.
"If there was one area that we struggled, it was in that final third and our finishing. We created a ton of opportunities, and their goalie made some excellent saves. Their center back blocked some crucial shots, but we have to be more effective in that part of the field.
"Our backline has been meshing better. We have a kid back from injury, and that helps. Everybody is starting to understand their roles and responsibilities, and they're only improving.”
Carranza agrees with his coach.
"Our defense has really stepped up from the first part of the season,” he said. “At the beginning, it still felt like they were getting used to how to defend and communicate with each other. The communication is going up and with our goalies and center backs. We're dominating and winning the balls out of the air. That's helped a lot.
"I feel like we're all really close together and there's no cliques on the team. I feel like everyone's really connected, and we all can communicate with each other without feeling like the criticism is too harsh."
Overall, St. Charles North (4-3-5, 0-1-4) has played well defensively. The North Stars have allowed just 12 goals in their first 11 matches. Four were shutouts, and in four more they gave up a single goal.
But scoring has been a problem. The offense has only delivered 11 goals and scored twice in a match on only two occasions.
The team has a week off before returning to conference play with a home match against Glenbard North.
"Without question, that's a really well put-together team that attacks with numbers and does so relentlessly," North Stars coach Eric Willson said. "You have to be organized and be on top of your game and focused in at all times. I'm just not sure that we were.
“My hat goes off to Vince and his program. They were the better team for sure. We've been pretty strong defensively, but we've struggled to create opportunities. When you do that against a real quality opponent like St. Charles East, you find yourself down 4-0.
"For the most part, we defend well together with the togetherness and hard work that the boys show. I don't question the effort that they put out on the field at any point in time.
“I thought that we were a little hesitant tonight and maybe gave them a little too much respect. I would have liked to see us play a little bit more fearless. But that's something that we can go over. We have a week between now and our next game, and I think that comes at a perfect time. We'll get out to training and do our best to get better.”
This Tri-Cities Night has a special significance for Willson and his program. The mother of senior co-captain Michael DePasquale was honored.
Tricia DePasquale passed away on July 17 following a long struggle with cancer. The money that was raised throughout the evening will go to fund cancer research.
"I've been here since we've started this Tri-Cities Night, and you just couldn't ask for four better programs to be able to come together and play and do something for a good cause," Willson said. "And we've found good causes that are incredibly deserving throughout the years. It's just a pretty cool thing to be a part of something special like this."
St. Charles East concluded the scoring in the 47th minute when Carranza sent a pass in front of the net. Avendano was there to connect for his sixth goal of the season.
After struggling to come up with good scoring chances to challenge Rolon in the opening half, St. Charles North had much more success building up its offense after the break. But second keeper Benhart was up to the challenge and the defense of seniors Aaron Frost, King and senior tri-captain Phil Anton, and sophomore Jake Walker were able to keep them from scoring.
The North Stars got good attempts from Walter DelaPaz, Logan Turney and Zach Curtis during the first 20 minute of the second half. The Saints countered with threatening tries from Josh Ruiz, King, Orloff and Carranza.
Colin Leatherbury, Mason Brockmeyer, Connor Brown, Carranza and Avendano all had shots for the Saints that were stopped. St. Charles North came up empty on attempts from Charlie Mazurek, DePasquale and Curtis.
St. Charles East is on another roll after its upset 3-2 loss Sept. 7 at Lake Park.
"It was good that we started off strong," said Anton. "In a few of these games, we kind of started off slow, and that's never a good feeling. You want to start off feeling like you're dominating and in control. So that's what we tried doing, and it helped us a lot going into the second half.
"I think our defense has been really solid and our communication has been really good. We've been playing hard as a team and as a composed back four. It's been really nice that we've been able to shut down a decent amount of teams. Connor King and Aaron, Jake and Connor Brown, almost everyone who has stepped in on the backline has come in and done their jobs.
“The quality that I like most about this team is the grit. We go in and work hard in every single game, and our record doesn't matter. We go in and play every game like it's your last game and just going hard. That's the best thing about this team, and I think that's why we've been successful."
The Saints, who now own sole possession of first place in the DuKane Conference, host Fremd, which is ranked second in the Top 25, on Thursday. They return to Batavia on Tuesday to resume league play.
In the end Tri-Cities Night was a great night for local soccer that supported cancer research.
“All of the kids know each other, and we had all of the local clubs out here supporting,” DiNuzzo said. “It's cool to get those kids excited for high school soccer.
“The kids love these moments so I'm glad that we're able to provide something like this."
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
G Jordan Rolon
D Phil Anton
D Connor King
D Aaron Frost
D Jake Walker
M Luca Avendano
M Mason Blenner
M Josh Ruiz
M Jack Harrington
F Sebastian Carranza
F Will Orloff
St. Charles North
G Alex Curtis
D Zach Curtis
D Michael DePasquale
D Logan Turney
D Casey Kriz
M Charlie Mazurek
M Casey Graham
M Walter DelaPaz
F Trevor Mirra
F Isaac VanDeSampel
F Dawid Szlegia
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Sebastian Carranza, sr., F, St. Charles East
Scoring summary
First half
SCE: Carranza (King), 8th minute
SCE: Carranza PK, 11th minute
SCE: Orloff (King), 18th minute
Second half
SCE: Avendano (Carranza), 47 minute