SCE spirits SCN out of playoffs
Fighting Saints score 2-0 win over rivals to win own regional
By Paul LaTour
ST. CHARLES – It's the month for hauntings.
Halloween has ghosts.
Playoff soccer has missed scoring chances.
For St. Charles North, those chances from Saturday may haunt them for a long time.
Unable to capitalize on early scoring opportunities, the North Stars fell to rival St. Charles East, 2-0 on Saturday in the Class 3A regional final at East. The Saints (13-7-0) advance to a sectional semifinal in Addison Trail. St. Charles North (12-6-1) is left with a host of “what ifs.”
“We needed to get something early,” North Stars coach Eric Willson said. “And I thought we came out with a really good game plan and thought we had them on their heels. Then we just didn’t execute in the final third when we had some good opportunities to score. You don’t do that. It comes back to bite you. And it bit us today.”
Set pieces played a critical role in the North Stars 3-0 victory over Glenbard North in the regional semifinals. But the Saints were prepared and stymied all of the North Stars set pieces, including all four corner kicks.
“We were certainly aware that they defend corner kicks differently,” Willson said. “They defend them with a zone, so we made some adjustments with some of what we were going to do. But at the end of the day, that first 10 minutes, we needed to get a goal on one of those chances and just weren’t able to do it.”
After the North Stars came up empty, they surrendered a goal to Truitt Battin in the 12th minute. An insurance goal from Luke Schnitker in the 69th minute finalized the end to their season, one year after a Class 3A fourth place finish.
“Those are some big shoes to fill,” Willson said. “But that being said, I’m really happy with the guys that we had and what they did. It’s not easy, but, end of the day, I’m proud of how they fought today, for sure.”
Despite the 1-0 halftime deficit, the North Stars still felt good about their chances of rallying for a victory.
They nearly did tie it in the 58th minute off a corner kick drawn by Matt Polovin after a hard charge down the right side. The ensuing serve carried into the penalty area, but a header by Matt Beaulieu sailed just over the cross bar.
“We knew we were playing well, so we just needed to put it into the back of the net,” Beaulieu said. “We were still unable to do that. We thought throughout the game we were playing better than them. But it happens. Stuff happens. It’s a crazy game. I love it.”
St. Charles East's opening score came after Battin followed up on a scramble in front of the North Stars' net. St. Charles North keeper Bobby Curran made the initial save but was left helpless to stop Battin, who scored twice in the Saints’ regional semifinal victory over Glenbard East.
Battin assisted on final goal after sending a through-ball to Schnitker, who made no mistake about where he wanted it to go.
“I just trust Truitt a lot,” Schnitker said. “He’s a great player. He played me a ball over the top, and it just slotted perfectly. I was so focused on the shot that I just put it away,”
For his efforts Saturday, Battin earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors. Actually the honor could be renamed Man of the Regional in the senior's case. He received MOTM recognition for his first half brace in the Saints 4-0 regional semifinal win over Glenbard East on Wednesday. Overall, as St. Charles East boys soccer and Chicagoland Soccer afficianados already know, it goes one step further for the forward, who is a three-time earner of the honor this season. He was the Man of the Match in a 2-1 upset win over Metea Valley on Aug. 31.
St. Charles East's victory gave the Saints vindication for what they felt was a snub by the sectional committee, which seeded the Saints at no. 5 and North at no. 4 despite East’s 5-3 head-to-head victory just days prior to the seeding meeting.
The Saints were also disgruntled about not being included in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, where their rivals were ranked 25th, and they were listed as the top team in the honorable mention category. So they didn’t lack for motivation in their rematch with St. Charles North.
“Being the five seed, I don’t really understand how we were seeded fifth,” Schnitker said. “We don’t get a lot of respect. We beat them once already 5-3 and then to come out here and beat them 2-0, we’re tough to beat.”
It was a bittersweet ending for the North Stars, who underwent a roster upheaval late in the season. A lot of teams would have folded under such circumstances, but it seemed to bring the North Stars even closer together.
“We responded well to that,” senior defender Joey Sommer said. “We were there for each other. We all helped out. We did a good job with that. It was a great season. I think they’re going to do really well next season. I look forward to seeing it.”
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK Bobby Curran
D Joey Sommer
D Nathan Hanselman
D Xander Jao
D Nicky Sommer
MF Vito Lagoia
MF Matt Beaulieu
MF Nolan Sinnaeve
MF Jared Sinnaeve
F Adam Baer
F Logan Michels
St. Charles East
GK Jack Settle
D Ryan Champine
D Ulises Caballero
D Grayson Biddle
D Geoff Unterberg
MF Renato Avendano
MF Alex Mancera
MF Brendan Adams
MF Luke Schnitker
F Sebastian Carranza
F Truitt Battin
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match — Truitt Battin, sr., F, St. Charles East
Scoring summary
First half
St. Charles East – Truitt Battin (UA), 12th minute
Second half
St. Charles East – Luke Schnitker (Battin), 69th minute
Fighting Saints score 2-0 win over rivals to win own regional
By Paul LaTour
ST. CHARLES – It's the month for hauntings.
Halloween has ghosts.
Playoff soccer has missed scoring chances.
For St. Charles North, those chances from Saturday may haunt them for a long time.
Unable to capitalize on early scoring opportunities, the North Stars fell to rival St. Charles East, 2-0 on Saturday in the Class 3A regional final at East. The Saints (13-7-0) advance to a sectional semifinal in Addison Trail. St. Charles North (12-6-1) is left with a host of “what ifs.”
“We needed to get something early,” North Stars coach Eric Willson said. “And I thought we came out with a really good game plan and thought we had them on their heels. Then we just didn’t execute in the final third when we had some good opportunities to score. You don’t do that. It comes back to bite you. And it bit us today.”
Set pieces played a critical role in the North Stars 3-0 victory over Glenbard North in the regional semifinals. But the Saints were prepared and stymied all of the North Stars set pieces, including all four corner kicks.
“We were certainly aware that they defend corner kicks differently,” Willson said. “They defend them with a zone, so we made some adjustments with some of what we were going to do. But at the end of the day, that first 10 minutes, we needed to get a goal on one of those chances and just weren’t able to do it.”
After the North Stars came up empty, they surrendered a goal to Truitt Battin in the 12th minute. An insurance goal from Luke Schnitker in the 69th minute finalized the end to their season, one year after a Class 3A fourth place finish.
“Those are some big shoes to fill,” Willson said. “But that being said, I’m really happy with the guys that we had and what they did. It’s not easy, but, end of the day, I’m proud of how they fought today, for sure.”
Despite the 1-0 halftime deficit, the North Stars still felt good about their chances of rallying for a victory.
They nearly did tie it in the 58th minute off a corner kick drawn by Matt Polovin after a hard charge down the right side. The ensuing serve carried into the penalty area, but a header by Matt Beaulieu sailed just over the cross bar.
“We knew we were playing well, so we just needed to put it into the back of the net,” Beaulieu said. “We were still unable to do that. We thought throughout the game we were playing better than them. But it happens. Stuff happens. It’s a crazy game. I love it.”
St. Charles East's opening score came after Battin followed up on a scramble in front of the North Stars' net. St. Charles North keeper Bobby Curran made the initial save but was left helpless to stop Battin, who scored twice in the Saints’ regional semifinal victory over Glenbard East.
Battin assisted on final goal after sending a through-ball to Schnitker, who made no mistake about where he wanted it to go.
“I just trust Truitt a lot,” Schnitker said. “He’s a great player. He played me a ball over the top, and it just slotted perfectly. I was so focused on the shot that I just put it away,”
For his efforts Saturday, Battin earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors. Actually the honor could be renamed Man of the Regional in the senior's case. He received MOTM recognition for his first half brace in the Saints 4-0 regional semifinal win over Glenbard East on Wednesday. Overall, as St. Charles East boys soccer and Chicagoland Soccer afficianados already know, it goes one step further for the forward, who is a three-time earner of the honor this season. He was the Man of the Match in a 2-1 upset win over Metea Valley on Aug. 31.
St. Charles East's victory gave the Saints vindication for what they felt was a snub by the sectional committee, which seeded the Saints at no. 5 and North at no. 4 despite East’s 5-3 head-to-head victory just days prior to the seeding meeting.
The Saints were also disgruntled about not being included in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, where their rivals were ranked 25th, and they were listed as the top team in the honorable mention category. So they didn’t lack for motivation in their rematch with St. Charles North.
“Being the five seed, I don’t really understand how we were seeded fifth,” Schnitker said. “We don’t get a lot of respect. We beat them once already 5-3 and then to come out here and beat them 2-0, we’re tough to beat.”
It was a bittersweet ending for the North Stars, who underwent a roster upheaval late in the season. A lot of teams would have folded under such circumstances, but it seemed to bring the North Stars even closer together.
“We responded well to that,” senior defender Joey Sommer said. “We were there for each other. We all helped out. We did a good job with that. It was a great season. I think they’re going to do really well next season. I look forward to seeing it.”
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK Bobby Curran
D Joey Sommer
D Nathan Hanselman
D Xander Jao
D Nicky Sommer
MF Vito Lagoia
MF Matt Beaulieu
MF Nolan Sinnaeve
MF Jared Sinnaeve
F Adam Baer
F Logan Michels
St. Charles East
GK Jack Settle
D Ryan Champine
D Ulises Caballero
D Grayson Biddle
D Geoff Unterberg
MF Renato Avendano
MF Alex Mancera
MF Brendan Adams
MF Luke Schnitker
F Sebastian Carranza
F Truitt Battin
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match — Truitt Battin, sr., F, St. Charles East
Scoring summary
First half
St. Charles East – Truitt Battin (UA), 12th minute
Second half
St. Charles East – Luke Schnitker (Battin), 69th minute