Powers switch powers Fenwick past Schurz
Senior moves to forward, delivers hat-trick, 2 assists in 7-0 win
By Eli Ong
RIVER FOREST -- Blue skies and sunshine greeted Fenwick as it took to its home pitch against Schurz in their playoff opener. The Friars, the regional host, entered the game as the no. 3 seed in the Speer Sectional and faced 14-seed Schurz.
The guests faced an uphill battle against a Fenwick squad that had been battle tested all season long in the Chicago Catholic League Blue Division. The Friars asserted themselves from the start and delivered, for them, a much-needed offensive blitz.
The Friars coaching staff made a lineup change that powered the scoring onslaught. They moved Jack Powers from midfield to forward, and it didn't take long for him to light up the field.
The senior scored a hat-trick in a six-minute span off assists from classmate Ryan Bero, who joined his teammates to send a bevy of crosses that came from the far reaches of both sidelines that put constant pressure on the Schurz backline.
“I think it was a little bit of our training session, and our half-field game where we had possession,” said Fenwick coach Craig Blazer. “We did well to get 2-v-1s on the outside and put pressure on their outside backs, so we could get to the goal line and cut it back.”
That push was the table setter for a season-best offensive output for the Friars.
Coming out of halftime with a 3-0 lead, Fenwick put its foot back on the gas. Senior defender Will Jancewicz tapped home yet another right-side cross from forward and team tri-captain Bero in the 41st minute.
One minute later, Bero made it 5-0 with a bit of luck. His cross from the near left side in front of the Bulldogs goal deflected off a Schurz defender’s back for an own-goal.
Two minutes later, Bero launched another ball in front of the Bulldogs’ goal. Senior midfielder Nico Karris and Jancewicz went up for a go. The latter connected on his header attempt and pushed the Fenwick lead to 6-0.
The final goal of the game came courtesy of midfielder Lucas Garcia. The sophomore took a Powers pass and launched a straight shot from about 14 yards that deflected off a Schurz defender and floated up and over the outstretched arms of Bulldogs goaltender Roman Padilla in the 63rd minute.
Fenwick was able to gain valuable experience for its bench in the game. The offensive output was a season high. The Friars standard for goals came in a 6-0 win Sept. 9 against St. Rita.
Blazer’s message going into Fenwick’s regional final matchup Friday? It’s time to take control.
“For us coaches we try to do a lot of our coaching during training, and then we want them to take over the process,” Blazer said. “They demonstrated today that if they play the way they train and manage the craziness that happens every game … they’re going to give themselves a chance to win.”
Schurz’s opportunities to score were limited.
The Bulldogs best chance came near the 64th minute. Schurz forward Kevin Flores gathered a pass 10 yards from the near post before sending a sizzling line drive that at the last second curved wide right and out of bounds.
Schurz (4-16-2) advanced the ball up the left side of the field with moderate success and reached just outside Fenwick’s penalty box several times. But when the visitors got there, the Friars’ backline descended and prevented a shot.
Schurz coach Francisco Lopez said he was proud of his team and hoped the young core can build toward building the program into a strong presence in the Chicago Public League.
“I think we made a lot of progress throughout the year. I am very proud of the way my team continued to play hard in every game whether we were winning 1-0 or losing 6-0,” said Lopez. “I am looking forward to the continued growth of this team. We have two seniors and two juniors this year, and everyone else is either a freshman or a sophomore.”
Lopez said the players' comradery will help the team grow.
“I think the nicest memory from this year is how well this group of young people got along, both on and off the field,” Lopez said.
For his hat-trick and pair of assists, Powers earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.
“Yeah, we actually changed it up today, I usually play right mid,” said Powers. “No. 10 Ryan Bero played there today and played great, so we worked together and got a bunch of goals today."
Senior Goalkeeper Greg Price, who traded in his first baseman’s mitt for a pair of keeper's gloves, is looking forward to one last good run with his friends in the playoffs.
“We have an amazing group of seniors, but we also have a really good young core as well,” Price said. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs this year, but if we can keep this going -- how we played today -- then I think we could go far. We just got to see what we can do.”
Fenwick moved to 8-11-3 on the year with the win. The Friars will face sixth-seed Pritzker, a 2-1 Wednesday winner over no. 10-seed North Grand, at 4 p.m. Friday.
Starting lineups
Fenwick
GK Greg Price
D James Zimmer
D Lucas Garcia
D Frank Felice
D Will Jancewicz
MF Ryan Bero
MF Ian Martinello
MF Luigi Mollo
MF Ian MacKinnon
F Zach Hernandez
F Jack Powers
Schurz
GK Roman Padilla
D Javier Marchan
D Daniel Soto
D Brian Bailon
D Benjamin Avila
DM Chris Merlos
MF Brandon Perez
MF Fabian Rios
MF Marcelino Cruz
MF Anthony Flores
F Kevin Flores
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jack Powers, sr., F, Fenwick
Scoring summary
First half
Fenwick -- Jack Powers (Ryan Bero), 14th minute
Fenwick -- Powers (Luigi Mollo), 15th minute
Fenwick -- Powers (Bero), 19th minute
Second half
Fenwick -- Will Jancewicz (Bero, Powers), 41st minute
Fenwick -- Schurz own-goal (Bero), 42nd minute
Fenwick -- Jancewicz (Bero), 44th minute
Fenwick -- Lucas Garcia (Powers), 63rd minute
Senior moves to forward, delivers hat-trick, 2 assists in 7-0 win
By Eli Ong
RIVER FOREST -- Blue skies and sunshine greeted Fenwick as it took to its home pitch against Schurz in their playoff opener. The Friars, the regional host, entered the game as the no. 3 seed in the Speer Sectional and faced 14-seed Schurz.
The guests faced an uphill battle against a Fenwick squad that had been battle tested all season long in the Chicago Catholic League Blue Division. The Friars asserted themselves from the start and delivered, for them, a much-needed offensive blitz.
The Friars coaching staff made a lineup change that powered the scoring onslaught. They moved Jack Powers from midfield to forward, and it didn't take long for him to light up the field.
The senior scored a hat-trick in a six-minute span off assists from classmate Ryan Bero, who joined his teammates to send a bevy of crosses that came from the far reaches of both sidelines that put constant pressure on the Schurz backline.
“I think it was a little bit of our training session, and our half-field game where we had possession,” said Fenwick coach Craig Blazer. “We did well to get 2-v-1s on the outside and put pressure on their outside backs, so we could get to the goal line and cut it back.”
That push was the table setter for a season-best offensive output for the Friars.
Coming out of halftime with a 3-0 lead, Fenwick put its foot back on the gas. Senior defender Will Jancewicz tapped home yet another right-side cross from forward and team tri-captain Bero in the 41st minute.
One minute later, Bero made it 5-0 with a bit of luck. His cross from the near left side in front of the Bulldogs goal deflected off a Schurz defender’s back for an own-goal.
Two minutes later, Bero launched another ball in front of the Bulldogs’ goal. Senior midfielder Nico Karris and Jancewicz went up for a go. The latter connected on his header attempt and pushed the Fenwick lead to 6-0.
The final goal of the game came courtesy of midfielder Lucas Garcia. The sophomore took a Powers pass and launched a straight shot from about 14 yards that deflected off a Schurz defender and floated up and over the outstretched arms of Bulldogs goaltender Roman Padilla in the 63rd minute.
Fenwick was able to gain valuable experience for its bench in the game. The offensive output was a season high. The Friars standard for goals came in a 6-0 win Sept. 9 against St. Rita.
Blazer’s message going into Fenwick’s regional final matchup Friday? It’s time to take control.
“For us coaches we try to do a lot of our coaching during training, and then we want them to take over the process,” Blazer said. “They demonstrated today that if they play the way they train and manage the craziness that happens every game … they’re going to give themselves a chance to win.”
Schurz’s opportunities to score were limited.
The Bulldogs best chance came near the 64th minute. Schurz forward Kevin Flores gathered a pass 10 yards from the near post before sending a sizzling line drive that at the last second curved wide right and out of bounds.
Schurz (4-16-2) advanced the ball up the left side of the field with moderate success and reached just outside Fenwick’s penalty box several times. But when the visitors got there, the Friars’ backline descended and prevented a shot.
Schurz coach Francisco Lopez said he was proud of his team and hoped the young core can build toward building the program into a strong presence in the Chicago Public League.
“I think we made a lot of progress throughout the year. I am very proud of the way my team continued to play hard in every game whether we were winning 1-0 or losing 6-0,” said Lopez. “I am looking forward to the continued growth of this team. We have two seniors and two juniors this year, and everyone else is either a freshman or a sophomore.”
Lopez said the players' comradery will help the team grow.
“I think the nicest memory from this year is how well this group of young people got along, both on and off the field,” Lopez said.
For his hat-trick and pair of assists, Powers earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.
“Yeah, we actually changed it up today, I usually play right mid,” said Powers. “No. 10 Ryan Bero played there today and played great, so we worked together and got a bunch of goals today."
Senior Goalkeeper Greg Price, who traded in his first baseman’s mitt for a pair of keeper's gloves, is looking forward to one last good run with his friends in the playoffs.
“We have an amazing group of seniors, but we also have a really good young core as well,” Price said. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs this year, but if we can keep this going -- how we played today -- then I think we could go far. We just got to see what we can do.”
Fenwick moved to 8-11-3 on the year with the win. The Friars will face sixth-seed Pritzker, a 2-1 Wednesday winner over no. 10-seed North Grand, at 4 p.m. Friday.
Starting lineups
Fenwick
GK Greg Price
D James Zimmer
D Lucas Garcia
D Frank Felice
D Will Jancewicz
MF Ryan Bero
MF Ian Martinello
MF Luigi Mollo
MF Ian MacKinnon
F Zach Hernandez
F Jack Powers
Schurz
GK Roman Padilla
D Javier Marchan
D Daniel Soto
D Brian Bailon
D Benjamin Avila
DM Chris Merlos
MF Brandon Perez
MF Fabian Rios
MF Marcelino Cruz
MF Anthony Flores
F Kevin Flores
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jack Powers, sr., F, Fenwick
Scoring summary
First half
Fenwick -- Jack Powers (Ryan Bero), 14th minute
Fenwick -- Powers (Luigi Mollo), 15th minute
Fenwick -- Powers (Bero), 19th minute
Second half
Fenwick -- Will Jancewicz (Bero, Powers), 41st minute
Fenwick -- Schurz own-goal (Bero), 42nd minute
Fenwick -- Jancewicz (Bero), 44th minute
Fenwick -- Lucas Garcia (Powers), 63rd minute