East gains revenge over North in St. Charles throw-down
Saints' 4-1 win splits unique 2-game pandemic season series
By Jared Birchfield
ST. CHARLES – A span of less than four minutes early in the first half of the grudge match between St. Charles East and St. Charles North at Norris Stadium on Thursday night showed why a one-goal lead can be a fragile one.
The sequence started in the 11th minute with a Sebastian Carranza goal putting St. Charles East up 1-0. Three minutes later, North Star Luke Persenico found the back of the net to tie the game. Not to be outdone, Carranza responded 17 seconds later to complete his brace and return the lead to East, 2-1.
It was not until the second half that Saints fans stopped holding their breathes. East scored two unanswered goals to win the DuKane Conference contest 4-1.
With the win, second place St. Charles East, ranked seventh in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, moved within two points of league leading and fifth-ranked North. Both teams have two games left in conference play.
Neither team earned exclusive St. Charles bragging rights; the teams split their two games this season. North (10-3-1, 9-2-1) won the first contest, 4-2.
“When you play a team like Saint Charles North, getting a one-goal lead or even a two-goal lead, I don't think anybody felt like it was over,” East Coach Vince DiNuzzo said.
“So, I think us continuing to have that hunger to go and get more was important for the result.”
North coach Eric Willson felt East (11-2-2, 8-2-2) benefited from a home field advantage and momentum.
“We played at our place, and that's a really tough place to play; and they found that out earlier. We found it out here, that it's a tough place play, and this is the team that's on fire right now. I think we just ran into a tough opponent tonight.”
Carranza’s first strike came on a shot from the left side of the penalty box. His second score came after North keeper Josh Springer knocked away a shot. The senior corralled the rebound and put into the net for his 18th goal of the season.
Sandwiched in between the East goals was Persenico’s 21st strike of the season off a North Stars free kick.
East’s offensive heated up during the last 40 minutes of the game.
A goal from junior middle back Josh Ruiz’ at the 31:40 mark of the second half, his fourth of the season, put the Saints up by two. He put into practice what he heard from his coach at the break.
“During halftime, DiNuzzo said to make sure all the midfielders get in the box, so we have more chances to score. I think our midfielders did a good job doing that, and that's what exactly what happened on the goal,” Ruiz said. “We got in there and (North defender John) Kirby missed a header, and I just finished it.”
Forward Jacob Maslowski gave the Saints a three-goal cushion with a score during the 70th minute.
DiNuzzo credited Carranza with doing a good of managing the team’s offense.
“I think the ability to finish our chances was critical to getting some breathing room as the game progressed. (The offense) was effective dribbling at players,” he said. “We were very dangerous when we got the ball to the midfield, and we were able to put it on Sebastian’s foot.
“He's a playmaker. He was able to play-make today. It's funny we talked about Luke (Persenico) being one of the best players around and Sebastian has to be in that conversation. I thought every time today he touched the ball something good happened. Those players on top worked very hard today.”
Willson agreed that Carranza was dangerous with the ball.
“You can't leave Carranza isolated and when you do, he makes you pay. He did that to us on a couple of different occasions throughout the first half,” he said. “I think that made a difference in the beginning of the game. I think we got out of position in certain spots early in that first half.”
DiNuzzo gave kudos to his backline for shutting down North’s attack.
“Our backline was disciplined; our outside backs played outstanding. They didn't allow much space for them to move and then other than one set piece, we really had some good defensive shape and discipline and that was important for us,” the East coach said.
DiNuzzo credited Carson Petrick and Connor King, his outside backs for neutralizing Persenico, a Clarke University commit.
“(Petrick) had to manage Luke for a big portion of the game. Luke is one of the best players in the area, and everybody knows it,” DiNuzzo said. “He took on that task and played well, so did Connor.”
“We always had an eye on Luke and knew where he was,” Petrick said. “He kept switching sides between me and Connor, and I think we did a wonderful job of shutting him down and making sure he didn't get a lot of touches on the ball today.”
Willson gave credit to the St. Charles East defense.
“I think they were able to take us out of our rhythm, and we couldn't really get into the flow offensively that we are used to doing,” he said. “That's a credit to their energy and their defensive effort. I thought they came to play today. Not that we didn't, I just think that that they outplayed us and that happens.”
After the loss, Willson’s eyes didn’t stray from the conference title.
“We've got to have short-term memory. We've got one week left together, and we still have the lead in this conference and still an opportunity to win this conference,” he said. “We have two more conference games, and I'm going to do my best to prepare them. They're going to do their best to get prepared to go finish the job.”
While the league title would be a nice to have, St. Charles East has additional team goals.
“You've got to set small goals in a season without playoffs. Yeah, we want to win the conference for sure, but a lot of what we're doing is trying to improve and get to the point where we wanted to be,” DiNuzzo said. “And we're getting to the closer to that point. Our goal is to be the best version of ourselves by the end of the season. Prepare our younger guys for next year and give our seniors the last part of the season that they deserve.”
On Saturday, the cities of St. Charles and Naperville will square off on the pitch. The North Stars host Naperville Central, while the Saints visit sixth-ranked Naperville North.
East finishes out the conference circuit with matches at Batavia on Tuesday and Wheaton North on Thursday. North hosts league rivals Glenbard North on Tuesday and Batavia Thursday.
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK: Josh Springer
D: Drew Balster
D: Michael DePasquale
D: Zach Curtis
D: John Kirby
M: Collin Michels
M: Jared Sinnaeve
M: Walter Delapaz
M: Branden Collins
F: Luke Persenico
F: Sam Strader
St. Charles East
GK: Jacob Boecher
D: Ryan Champine
D: Elia Desario
D: Carson Petrick
D: Connor King
M: Luca Avendano
M: Alex Mancera
M: Josh Ruiz
F: Sebastian Carranza
F: Sam Wade
F: Jacob Maslowski
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Carson Petrick, sr, d, St. Charles East
Scoring summary
First half
SCE – Carranza (UA) 11th minute
SCN – Persenico (UA) 14th minute
SCE – Carranza (UA) 14th minute
Second half
SCE - Ruiz (Maslowski) 49th minute
SCE – Maslowski (UA) 70th minute
Saints' 4-1 win splits unique 2-game pandemic season series
By Jared Birchfield
ST. CHARLES – A span of less than four minutes early in the first half of the grudge match between St. Charles East and St. Charles North at Norris Stadium on Thursday night showed why a one-goal lead can be a fragile one.
The sequence started in the 11th minute with a Sebastian Carranza goal putting St. Charles East up 1-0. Three minutes later, North Star Luke Persenico found the back of the net to tie the game. Not to be outdone, Carranza responded 17 seconds later to complete his brace and return the lead to East, 2-1.
It was not until the second half that Saints fans stopped holding their breathes. East scored two unanswered goals to win the DuKane Conference contest 4-1.
With the win, second place St. Charles East, ranked seventh in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, moved within two points of league leading and fifth-ranked North. Both teams have two games left in conference play.
Neither team earned exclusive St. Charles bragging rights; the teams split their two games this season. North (10-3-1, 9-2-1) won the first contest, 4-2.
“When you play a team like Saint Charles North, getting a one-goal lead or even a two-goal lead, I don't think anybody felt like it was over,” East Coach Vince DiNuzzo said.
“So, I think us continuing to have that hunger to go and get more was important for the result.”
North coach Eric Willson felt East (11-2-2, 8-2-2) benefited from a home field advantage and momentum.
“We played at our place, and that's a really tough place to play; and they found that out earlier. We found it out here, that it's a tough place play, and this is the team that's on fire right now. I think we just ran into a tough opponent tonight.”
Carranza’s first strike came on a shot from the left side of the penalty box. His second score came after North keeper Josh Springer knocked away a shot. The senior corralled the rebound and put into the net for his 18th goal of the season.
Sandwiched in between the East goals was Persenico’s 21st strike of the season off a North Stars free kick.
East’s offensive heated up during the last 40 minutes of the game.
A goal from junior middle back Josh Ruiz’ at the 31:40 mark of the second half, his fourth of the season, put the Saints up by two. He put into practice what he heard from his coach at the break.
“During halftime, DiNuzzo said to make sure all the midfielders get in the box, so we have more chances to score. I think our midfielders did a good job doing that, and that's what exactly what happened on the goal,” Ruiz said. “We got in there and (North defender John) Kirby missed a header, and I just finished it.”
Forward Jacob Maslowski gave the Saints a three-goal cushion with a score during the 70th minute.
DiNuzzo credited Carranza with doing a good of managing the team’s offense.
“I think the ability to finish our chances was critical to getting some breathing room as the game progressed. (The offense) was effective dribbling at players,” he said. “We were very dangerous when we got the ball to the midfield, and we were able to put it on Sebastian’s foot.
“He's a playmaker. He was able to play-make today. It's funny we talked about Luke (Persenico) being one of the best players around and Sebastian has to be in that conversation. I thought every time today he touched the ball something good happened. Those players on top worked very hard today.”
Willson agreed that Carranza was dangerous with the ball.
“You can't leave Carranza isolated and when you do, he makes you pay. He did that to us on a couple of different occasions throughout the first half,” he said. “I think that made a difference in the beginning of the game. I think we got out of position in certain spots early in that first half.”
DiNuzzo gave kudos to his backline for shutting down North’s attack.
“Our backline was disciplined; our outside backs played outstanding. They didn't allow much space for them to move and then other than one set piece, we really had some good defensive shape and discipline and that was important for us,” the East coach said.
DiNuzzo credited Carson Petrick and Connor King, his outside backs for neutralizing Persenico, a Clarke University commit.
“(Petrick) had to manage Luke for a big portion of the game. Luke is one of the best players in the area, and everybody knows it,” DiNuzzo said. “He took on that task and played well, so did Connor.”
“We always had an eye on Luke and knew where he was,” Petrick said. “He kept switching sides between me and Connor, and I think we did a wonderful job of shutting him down and making sure he didn't get a lot of touches on the ball today.”
Willson gave credit to the St. Charles East defense.
“I think they were able to take us out of our rhythm, and we couldn't really get into the flow offensively that we are used to doing,” he said. “That's a credit to their energy and their defensive effort. I thought they came to play today. Not that we didn't, I just think that that they outplayed us and that happens.”
After the loss, Willson’s eyes didn’t stray from the conference title.
“We've got to have short-term memory. We've got one week left together, and we still have the lead in this conference and still an opportunity to win this conference,” he said. “We have two more conference games, and I'm going to do my best to prepare them. They're going to do their best to get prepared to go finish the job.”
While the league title would be a nice to have, St. Charles East has additional team goals.
“You've got to set small goals in a season without playoffs. Yeah, we want to win the conference for sure, but a lot of what we're doing is trying to improve and get to the point where we wanted to be,” DiNuzzo said. “And we're getting to the closer to that point. Our goal is to be the best version of ourselves by the end of the season. Prepare our younger guys for next year and give our seniors the last part of the season that they deserve.”
On Saturday, the cities of St. Charles and Naperville will square off on the pitch. The North Stars host Naperville Central, while the Saints visit sixth-ranked Naperville North.
East finishes out the conference circuit with matches at Batavia on Tuesday and Wheaton North on Thursday. North hosts league rivals Glenbard North on Tuesday and Batavia Thursday.
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK: Josh Springer
D: Drew Balster
D: Michael DePasquale
D: Zach Curtis
D: John Kirby
M: Collin Michels
M: Jared Sinnaeve
M: Walter Delapaz
M: Branden Collins
F: Luke Persenico
F: Sam Strader
St. Charles East
GK: Jacob Boecher
D: Ryan Champine
D: Elia Desario
D: Carson Petrick
D: Connor King
M: Luca Avendano
M: Alex Mancera
M: Josh Ruiz
F: Sebastian Carranza
F: Sam Wade
F: Jacob Maslowski
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Carson Petrick, sr, d, St. Charles East
Scoring summary
First half
SCE – Carranza (UA) 11th minute
SCN – Persenico (UA) 14th minute
SCE – Carranza (UA) 14th minute
Second half
SCE - Ruiz (Maslowski) 49th minute
SCE – Maslowski (UA) 70th minute