St. Charles East rises
over St. Charles North, barely
Lewarchick goal, Rolon keeping is the difference in 1-0 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
GENEVA — Talent is a great form of separation. Playing it cool and thriving in the moment is pretty much unteachable.
It’s binary; you either have it or you don’t.
In the heat of the moment and performing amid the chaos and unpredictable, stepping up is the ultimate act of stepping out.
Two juniors at St. Charles East thrived in the chaos. St. Charles North was right there, delivering its own haymakers and thriving under pressure.
One play ended up making the difference.
Midfielder Logan Lewarchick finished when called upon and keeper Jordan Rolon was dynamite in the clutch in the no. 15 Saints’ 1-0 victory over the 24th-ranked North Stars at the Tri-Cities Night showstopper.
St. Charles East (12-2-1, 4-0-0) maintained its top position in the DuKane Conference standings. St. Charles North (7-4-3, 1-2-1) suffered its second-consecutive 1-0 heartbreaker.
After receiving a ball from forward Colin Leatherbury on the right wing, Lewarchick smashed home an 18-yard bullet in the 46th minute for his fifth goal of the year.
“I love the no. 10 position,” Lewarchick said.
“I feel like I can free roam. Coach Vince DiNuzzo has done a great job of putting a lot of trust in me. I’m getting my stride and finding my form.”
DiNuzzo returned the compliment.
“Logan’s a player,” he said. “I think everybody is starting to see that. We’ve known that since his sophomore year. This year he has been able to be more effective with his confidence, taking players on, making runs off the forward.
“The ball seems to stick to his foot. He has a great, low center of gravity. He’s shifty. He is something you want in the midfield. He’s a special player.”
Rolon was equally spectacular patrolling the Saints’ box. He had seven saves.
He made jaw-dropping stops off free kicks by North Stars’ standout Walter DeLaPaz in the 69th, 75th and 77th minutes.
The keeper’s 69th-minute deflection of the junior’s shot was a thing of beauty. It nullified the North Stars’ best scoring threat of the night. Rolon got just enough of a touch on the ball to direct it to the near post, and it caromed away.
“I’ve learned how to handle the pressure of those plays," Rolon said. "I have developed the confidence to stay calm in those situations and make something happen by making sure I’m there first, and making sure they’re not getting that first touch. There was one from the corner where I punched it out. I’m trying to be a lot more aggressive this year.”
St. Charles North had plenty of privileged moments of their its worth celebrating — even if the outcome was ultimately turned against them.
DeLaPaz was sensational throughout the game, making deep runs, creating pressure off movement and cutting that created a series of tantalizing actions.
“I think it was a hard-fought game,” St. Charles North coach Eric Wilson said. “It was a North and East game that went back and forth.
“Both teams had some looks. Their keeper made a great save on Walter’s free kick, and our keeper came out and made a nice save against Mason Brockmeyer.”
The continuous action of the game created some sensational plays — deep runs by the North Stars’ midfielder Charlie Mazurek and forward Arnel Dizdarevic, combined with the stunning accuracy of the DeLaPaz free kicks.
Defender Ashton Goettel also created some solid opportunities off his deep free kicks for the North Stars.
If the goal by Lewarchick was not necessarily foreshadowed or preordained, his activity and shot-taking was on full display throughout the first half.
He had the best first half threat, a ball from about 18 yards that narrowly skipped over the top of the bar.
“They’re a good team,” Lewarchick said. “I knew I needed to take the most out of every opportunity I had.
“That was a great ball from Colin, and put me on 1-v-1 with the keeper, and I’m confident in my ability.”
By scoring the game-winner, Logan Lewarchick earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction.
He also uncharacteristically caught the North Stars’ flat footed.
“I want to look back at the film of the goal we conceded, and see exactly what broke down and led to that kind of space for them to be able to score a goal,” Wilson said.
“It was a nice finish in the end, but I’d like to see what broke down for us.”
St. Charles East seized the momentum.
The North Stars fought valiantly to alter the narrative.
“It doesn’t really matter if you go down, we just keep going and going,” DeLaPaz said. “We still had more than 30 minutes left; we had a lot of time.
“We didn’t stop, which was good. We just got a bit unlucky. We’ve been getting a bit unlucky these past games. We just need to make progress from there.”
DeLaPaz was like a master with his touch and placement. Rolon was up to the challenge as the Saints recorded their sixth shutout.
Just like Lewarchick, Rolon showed his mettle during a superb state tournament series last year.
The confidence developed from that experience has paid off.
“I think it’s how we play out of the air,” Rolon said. “Our first touch out of the air on these set pieces, our backline is really strong and then you have me guiding it, and the midfield dropping numbers back.”
DiNuzzo sees a player coming into his own with each game.
“Jordan has a swagger about him that he hasn’t had before,” DiNuzzo said. “He has grasped where he’s at, and he has embraced it. He looked at the top guys in the state, and asked how he can he get there.
“He has the ability to shrug off mistakes and moves on to the next play.”
Rolon vanquished the final significant North Stars’ change by leaping into the air and snaring a DeLaPaz free kick in the 77th minute.
In the annual St. Charles Invitational, the rivals always figure to have a strong chance of meeting for the championship, It did not play out that way this year and
magnified the stakes of the Tri-Cities Night game.
“It’s that rivalry game, a hard-fought and well-played performance on both sides,” Willson said.
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
GK: Jordan Rolon
D: Jake Walker
D: Connor Brown
D: Griffin Counts
D: Elia Desario
MF: Marcus Walker
MF: Logan Lewarchick
MF: Jack Harrington
MF: Ryan Vandeveer
F: Colin Leatherbury
F: Mason Brockmeyer
St. Charles North
GK: Alex Curtis
D: Ashton Goettel
D: Stefano Nava
D: Casey Kriz
D: Bryce Thomas
MF: Devan Girish
MF: Chase Bettini
MF: Charlie Mazurek
MF: Walter DeLaPaz
F: Arnel Dizdarevic
F: Jacob Glanzman
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Logan Lewarchick, jr., MF, St. Charles East
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
SCE: Lewarchick (Leatherbury), 46th minute
over St. Charles North, barely
Lewarchick goal, Rolon keeping is the difference in 1-0 win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
GENEVA — Talent is a great form of separation. Playing it cool and thriving in the moment is pretty much unteachable.
It’s binary; you either have it or you don’t.
In the heat of the moment and performing amid the chaos and unpredictable, stepping up is the ultimate act of stepping out.
Two juniors at St. Charles East thrived in the chaos. St. Charles North was right there, delivering its own haymakers and thriving under pressure.
One play ended up making the difference.
Midfielder Logan Lewarchick finished when called upon and keeper Jordan Rolon was dynamite in the clutch in the no. 15 Saints’ 1-0 victory over the 24th-ranked North Stars at the Tri-Cities Night showstopper.
St. Charles East (12-2-1, 4-0-0) maintained its top position in the DuKane Conference standings. St. Charles North (7-4-3, 1-2-1) suffered its second-consecutive 1-0 heartbreaker.
After receiving a ball from forward Colin Leatherbury on the right wing, Lewarchick smashed home an 18-yard bullet in the 46th minute for his fifth goal of the year.
“I love the no. 10 position,” Lewarchick said.
“I feel like I can free roam. Coach Vince DiNuzzo has done a great job of putting a lot of trust in me. I’m getting my stride and finding my form.”
DiNuzzo returned the compliment.
“Logan’s a player,” he said. “I think everybody is starting to see that. We’ve known that since his sophomore year. This year he has been able to be more effective with his confidence, taking players on, making runs off the forward.
“The ball seems to stick to his foot. He has a great, low center of gravity. He’s shifty. He is something you want in the midfield. He’s a special player.”
Rolon was equally spectacular patrolling the Saints’ box. He had seven saves.
He made jaw-dropping stops off free kicks by North Stars’ standout Walter DeLaPaz in the 69th, 75th and 77th minutes.
The keeper’s 69th-minute deflection of the junior’s shot was a thing of beauty. It nullified the North Stars’ best scoring threat of the night. Rolon got just enough of a touch on the ball to direct it to the near post, and it caromed away.
“I’ve learned how to handle the pressure of those plays," Rolon said. "I have developed the confidence to stay calm in those situations and make something happen by making sure I’m there first, and making sure they’re not getting that first touch. There was one from the corner where I punched it out. I’m trying to be a lot more aggressive this year.”
St. Charles North had plenty of privileged moments of their its worth celebrating — even if the outcome was ultimately turned against them.
DeLaPaz was sensational throughout the game, making deep runs, creating pressure off movement and cutting that created a series of tantalizing actions.
“I think it was a hard-fought game,” St. Charles North coach Eric Wilson said. “It was a North and East game that went back and forth.
“Both teams had some looks. Their keeper made a great save on Walter’s free kick, and our keeper came out and made a nice save against Mason Brockmeyer.”
The continuous action of the game created some sensational plays — deep runs by the North Stars’ midfielder Charlie Mazurek and forward Arnel Dizdarevic, combined with the stunning accuracy of the DeLaPaz free kicks.
Defender Ashton Goettel also created some solid opportunities off his deep free kicks for the North Stars.
If the goal by Lewarchick was not necessarily foreshadowed or preordained, his activity and shot-taking was on full display throughout the first half.
He had the best first half threat, a ball from about 18 yards that narrowly skipped over the top of the bar.
“They’re a good team,” Lewarchick said. “I knew I needed to take the most out of every opportunity I had.
“That was a great ball from Colin, and put me on 1-v-1 with the keeper, and I’m confident in my ability.”
By scoring the game-winner, Logan Lewarchick earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction.
He also uncharacteristically caught the North Stars’ flat footed.
“I want to look back at the film of the goal we conceded, and see exactly what broke down and led to that kind of space for them to be able to score a goal,” Wilson said.
“It was a nice finish in the end, but I’d like to see what broke down for us.”
St. Charles East seized the momentum.
The North Stars fought valiantly to alter the narrative.
“It doesn’t really matter if you go down, we just keep going and going,” DeLaPaz said. “We still had more than 30 minutes left; we had a lot of time.
“We didn’t stop, which was good. We just got a bit unlucky. We’ve been getting a bit unlucky these past games. We just need to make progress from there.”
DeLaPaz was like a master with his touch and placement. Rolon was up to the challenge as the Saints recorded their sixth shutout.
Just like Lewarchick, Rolon showed his mettle during a superb state tournament series last year.
The confidence developed from that experience has paid off.
“I think it’s how we play out of the air,” Rolon said. “Our first touch out of the air on these set pieces, our backline is really strong and then you have me guiding it, and the midfield dropping numbers back.”
DiNuzzo sees a player coming into his own with each game.
“Jordan has a swagger about him that he hasn’t had before,” DiNuzzo said. “He has grasped where he’s at, and he has embraced it. He looked at the top guys in the state, and asked how he can he get there.
“He has the ability to shrug off mistakes and moves on to the next play.”
Rolon vanquished the final significant North Stars’ change by leaping into the air and snaring a DeLaPaz free kick in the 77th minute.
In the annual St. Charles Invitational, the rivals always figure to have a strong chance of meeting for the championship, It did not play out that way this year and
magnified the stakes of the Tri-Cities Night game.
“It’s that rivalry game, a hard-fought and well-played performance on both sides,” Willson said.
Starting lineups
St. Charles East
GK: Jordan Rolon
D: Jake Walker
D: Connor Brown
D: Griffin Counts
D: Elia Desario
MF: Marcus Walker
MF: Logan Lewarchick
MF: Jack Harrington
MF: Ryan Vandeveer
F: Colin Leatherbury
F: Mason Brockmeyer
St. Charles North
GK: Alex Curtis
D: Ashton Goettel
D: Stefano Nava
D: Casey Kriz
D: Bryce Thomas
MF: Devan Girish
MF: Chase Bettini
MF: Charlie Mazurek
MF: Walter DeLaPaz
F: Arnel Dizdarevic
F: Jacob Glanzman
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Logan Lewarchick, jr., MF, St. Charles East
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
SCE: Lewarchick (Leatherbury), 46th minute