North Stars 'connect the dots' vs. WWS
St. Charles North's quick passing gets job done in 2-0 DKC win
By Matt Le Cren
WHEATON – As far as depth goes, the Class 3A St. Charles East Sectional may have more quality teams than any other group.
Where else can a team seeded 13th say it has a winning record and a four-game winning streak to close the regular season?
St. Charles North can. After Tuesday’s 2-0 DuKane Conference victory over host Wheaton Warrenville South at Red Grange Field, North Stars coach Eric Willson likes his team’s chances, even though no. 4 seed Addison Trail awaits in next Tuesday’s regional semifinals.
“We feel that the sectional that we’re in, there are so many good teams that anyone can beat each other,” Willson said. “I don’t know that there is a clear-cut top team.
“West Chicago has earned that no. 1 seed but there are a lot of teams that can beat each other. A lot of quality in our sectional.
“The talk for us was continue to get the momentum moving in our direction so we can come into Tuesday really confident about how we’re playing and doing well. Four-straight wins, I think that’s a good thing for us.”
The fact that the North Stars beat the Tigers was not surprising, but the way they did it was impressive. Backup goalie Vince Motif made six saves to record the shutout and Faizan Mohiuddin and Luke Persenico tallied goals to lead an offense that at times had a solid defense flustered by quick passes and decisive runs.
“We talk about it so often with them, when we do things we’re capable of doing, which is quick combination plays, we’re really, really effective,” Willson said. “And when we go away from it, that can change, but as long as they can be disciplined and play the type of soccer that I know we’re capable of playing, I think we’re an awfully good team.”
The North Stars (9-4-3, 2-2-3) looked it in the early going, establishing some good give-and-gos that put the Tigers on their toes. The approach generated several good scoring chances, the first two of which failed due to shots that went wide.
But the visitors broke through with 25:31 to go in the first half thanks to some nifty teamwork from Persenico and Mohiuddin, who diced the left side of the defense with some quick flair.
Persenico got the ball and chipped it over a defender as Mohiuddin made a run into the box. Mohiuddin took a touch and scored on a shot against a stiff wind from an acute angle.
“I was surprised that went in,” Persenico said. “That was a great finish.”
It was the fourth goal of the season for Mohiuddin.
“We talk a lot about the movement amongst the top three all the time,” Mohiuddin said. “I saw the space.
“We had a throw-in on that side so I moved over. (Persenico) flicked it on, I got there before my defender and got in behind and finished it.”
That’s what Willson likes to see.
“When you move the ball really quickly there’s not a whole lot you can do about it defensively,” Willson said. “That’s good.”
The quick passing game plays to the North Stars’ strengths and was especially important in the first half as they attacked into the wind. It’s something the North Stars feel they need to do more of, especially if they are to have success against elite opponents.
“I think you see a lot of teams trying to play long ball, and it’s not our style,” Mohiuddin said. “So we don’t want to try that.”
The emphasis on imposing their preferred method of playing is paying off for the North Stars, who opened the season with five-straight wins before struggling through a seven-game winless streak. They ended the regular season by outscoring their final four opponents by a combined 13-0.
“I think it just came down to we know our style of soccer,” Mohiuddin said of the renaissance. “We’ve had a lot of close games that depended on little mistakes that ended up costing us, but we know we’re a good team.
“We know if we play the way we want to, we will be fine.”
Persenico added a big insurance goal with 12:44 left in the second half when he got on the end of a long pass from Nolan Sinnaeve and slotted a shot home from the left side of the box for his team-leading eighth goal of the campaign. It was a quick strike that began with a goal kick after the Tigers (7-8-2, 1-5) nearly tied it when Miteff’s clearing attempt deflected off Wheaton Warrenville South’s Cristian Munoz and bounced just wide of the left post.
While the Tigers had their fair share of scoring opportunities, the North Stars were more dangerous in the attack and controlled the majority of the play through the midfield. Sinnaeve, Thomas Weber and Gabriel D’Amico also played well.
“I think another thing that helps is most of the front six can play in any of those positions,” Mohiuddin said. “We can have a forward play wing. We could have a forward drop into the attacking mid and I think that movement off the ball with quick passes, that’s definitely a strength.”
He got no argument from WW South coach Guy Callipari.
“They had moments where they could move off the ball and connect the dots, then try to break people down,” Callipari said. “It’s a good lesson to kind of abide by, is you can pass around people as opposed to always trying to dribble around people.
“You’re an easier target when you make things that predictable, so we’re working on that.”
The Tigers are still working on improving their offense, which was shut out for the second time in three games and sixth time overall.
“We had moments; we had some good looks. We just need to take care of those chances in the final third,” Callipari said. “It would have been a different situation if we had.
“We knew we were going to be stretched a little bit with playing three in the back, and there was going to be a big gap that they could fill if we didn’t make the tackles in the midfield, but at some point you’ve got to take the risk.”
Persenico’s goal came with the Tigers pressing forward in a futile attempt at an equalizer, but the outcome was in doubt up until that point. WW South nearly tied it with 4:25 to go in the first half when Sam Schlegel put a 30-yard free kick on frame, but Motif leaped to tip the ball into and over the crossbar. Motif then cut off the resulting corner kick.
“I’m proud of us,” Schlegel said. “I think we fought hard.
“We had our chances, but we didn’t really finish our chances. We made a couple slip-ups. If we hadn’t made those mistakes this game could have been completely different.”
The Tigers, who are seeded 14th, finish the regular season at home Thursday against DuKane Conference champion St. Charles East, then host 18th-seeded Willowbrook on Saturday in a regional quarterfinal. The winner advances to play at St. Charles East on Wednesday.
“I think we’re pretty excited,” Schlegel said. “Before the last couple games, we’ve had a pretty good record at home.
“We get good support from our student body so I think we have good momentum going forward.”
Callipari also is optimistic.
“We’re playing pretty well,” Callipari said. “We feel pretty good. It’s just a matter of getting the right bounce at the right time and staying spirited.”
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK Vince Motif
D Andrew Kraft
D Mike DePasquale
D John Kirby
M Thomas Weber
M Faizan Mohiuddin
M Jared Sinnaeve
F Gabriel D’Amico
F Luke Persenico
F Nick Sommer
F Nolan Sinnaeve
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK Marco Chavez
D Jackson Moran
D Rolin Thang
D Sean Tully
M Sam Schlegel
M Eladio Reyes-Yanez
M Ryan Dufty
M Paul Thalmann
M Cristian Munoz
M Kevin Stumbris
F Nick McGrath
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Luke Persenico, sr., F, St. Charles North
Scoring summary
First half
St. Charles North – Faizan Mohiuddin (Luke Persenico) 25:31
Second half
St. Charles North – Persenico (Nolan Sinnaeve) 12:44
St. Charles North's quick passing gets job done in 2-0 DKC win
By Matt Le Cren
WHEATON – As far as depth goes, the Class 3A St. Charles East Sectional may have more quality teams than any other group.
Where else can a team seeded 13th say it has a winning record and a four-game winning streak to close the regular season?
St. Charles North can. After Tuesday’s 2-0 DuKane Conference victory over host Wheaton Warrenville South at Red Grange Field, North Stars coach Eric Willson likes his team’s chances, even though no. 4 seed Addison Trail awaits in next Tuesday’s regional semifinals.
“We feel that the sectional that we’re in, there are so many good teams that anyone can beat each other,” Willson said. “I don’t know that there is a clear-cut top team.
“West Chicago has earned that no. 1 seed but there are a lot of teams that can beat each other. A lot of quality in our sectional.
“The talk for us was continue to get the momentum moving in our direction so we can come into Tuesday really confident about how we’re playing and doing well. Four-straight wins, I think that’s a good thing for us.”
The fact that the North Stars beat the Tigers was not surprising, but the way they did it was impressive. Backup goalie Vince Motif made six saves to record the shutout and Faizan Mohiuddin and Luke Persenico tallied goals to lead an offense that at times had a solid defense flustered by quick passes and decisive runs.
“We talk about it so often with them, when we do things we’re capable of doing, which is quick combination plays, we’re really, really effective,” Willson said. “And when we go away from it, that can change, but as long as they can be disciplined and play the type of soccer that I know we’re capable of playing, I think we’re an awfully good team.”
The North Stars (9-4-3, 2-2-3) looked it in the early going, establishing some good give-and-gos that put the Tigers on their toes. The approach generated several good scoring chances, the first two of which failed due to shots that went wide.
But the visitors broke through with 25:31 to go in the first half thanks to some nifty teamwork from Persenico and Mohiuddin, who diced the left side of the defense with some quick flair.
Persenico got the ball and chipped it over a defender as Mohiuddin made a run into the box. Mohiuddin took a touch and scored on a shot against a stiff wind from an acute angle.
“I was surprised that went in,” Persenico said. “That was a great finish.”
It was the fourth goal of the season for Mohiuddin.
“We talk a lot about the movement amongst the top three all the time,” Mohiuddin said. “I saw the space.
“We had a throw-in on that side so I moved over. (Persenico) flicked it on, I got there before my defender and got in behind and finished it.”
That’s what Willson likes to see.
“When you move the ball really quickly there’s not a whole lot you can do about it defensively,” Willson said. “That’s good.”
The quick passing game plays to the North Stars’ strengths and was especially important in the first half as they attacked into the wind. It’s something the North Stars feel they need to do more of, especially if they are to have success against elite opponents.
“I think you see a lot of teams trying to play long ball, and it’s not our style,” Mohiuddin said. “So we don’t want to try that.”
The emphasis on imposing their preferred method of playing is paying off for the North Stars, who opened the season with five-straight wins before struggling through a seven-game winless streak. They ended the regular season by outscoring their final four opponents by a combined 13-0.
“I think it just came down to we know our style of soccer,” Mohiuddin said of the renaissance. “We’ve had a lot of close games that depended on little mistakes that ended up costing us, but we know we’re a good team.
“We know if we play the way we want to, we will be fine.”
Persenico added a big insurance goal with 12:44 left in the second half when he got on the end of a long pass from Nolan Sinnaeve and slotted a shot home from the left side of the box for his team-leading eighth goal of the campaign. It was a quick strike that began with a goal kick after the Tigers (7-8-2, 1-5) nearly tied it when Miteff’s clearing attempt deflected off Wheaton Warrenville South’s Cristian Munoz and bounced just wide of the left post.
While the Tigers had their fair share of scoring opportunities, the North Stars were more dangerous in the attack and controlled the majority of the play through the midfield. Sinnaeve, Thomas Weber and Gabriel D’Amico also played well.
“I think another thing that helps is most of the front six can play in any of those positions,” Mohiuddin said. “We can have a forward play wing. We could have a forward drop into the attacking mid and I think that movement off the ball with quick passes, that’s definitely a strength.”
He got no argument from WW South coach Guy Callipari.
“They had moments where they could move off the ball and connect the dots, then try to break people down,” Callipari said. “It’s a good lesson to kind of abide by, is you can pass around people as opposed to always trying to dribble around people.
“You’re an easier target when you make things that predictable, so we’re working on that.”
The Tigers are still working on improving their offense, which was shut out for the second time in three games and sixth time overall.
“We had moments; we had some good looks. We just need to take care of those chances in the final third,” Callipari said. “It would have been a different situation if we had.
“We knew we were going to be stretched a little bit with playing three in the back, and there was going to be a big gap that they could fill if we didn’t make the tackles in the midfield, but at some point you’ve got to take the risk.”
Persenico’s goal came with the Tigers pressing forward in a futile attempt at an equalizer, but the outcome was in doubt up until that point. WW South nearly tied it with 4:25 to go in the first half when Sam Schlegel put a 30-yard free kick on frame, but Motif leaped to tip the ball into and over the crossbar. Motif then cut off the resulting corner kick.
“I’m proud of us,” Schlegel said. “I think we fought hard.
“We had our chances, but we didn’t really finish our chances. We made a couple slip-ups. If we hadn’t made those mistakes this game could have been completely different.”
The Tigers, who are seeded 14th, finish the regular season at home Thursday against DuKane Conference champion St. Charles East, then host 18th-seeded Willowbrook on Saturday in a regional quarterfinal. The winner advances to play at St. Charles East on Wednesday.
“I think we’re pretty excited,” Schlegel said. “Before the last couple games, we’ve had a pretty good record at home.
“We get good support from our student body so I think we have good momentum going forward.”
Callipari also is optimistic.
“We’re playing pretty well,” Callipari said. “We feel pretty good. It’s just a matter of getting the right bounce at the right time and staying spirited.”
Starting lineups
St. Charles North
GK Vince Motif
D Andrew Kraft
D Mike DePasquale
D John Kirby
M Thomas Weber
M Faizan Mohiuddin
M Jared Sinnaeve
F Gabriel D’Amico
F Luke Persenico
F Nick Sommer
F Nolan Sinnaeve
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK Marco Chavez
D Jackson Moran
D Rolin Thang
D Sean Tully
M Sam Schlegel
M Eladio Reyes-Yanez
M Ryan Dufty
M Paul Thalmann
M Cristian Munoz
M Kevin Stumbris
F Nick McGrath
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Luke Persenico, sr., F, St. Charles North
Scoring summary
First half
St. Charles North – Faizan Mohiuddin (Luke Persenico) 25:31
Second half
St. Charles North – Persenico (Nolan Sinnaeve) 12:44