Frosh leads South Elgin past York
Flores paces Storm to 4-1 Hillner Classic win with goal, 2 helpers
By Ken Keenan
ROSELLE -- Powered by a pair of quick strikes in each half -- at 32 seconds into the match and 1:50 into the second half -- South Elgin cruised past York 4-1 Tuesday night in Hillner Classic play at Lake Park.
Flashy freshman midfielder Nick Flores was the catalyst, notching the Storm's first goal and adding two assists in the second half en route to claiming Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.
Flores got the party started, banging in a left-footed one-timer from in-close on a perfectly placed cross from senior mid A.J. Kirkby in the opening minute. Holding a 1-0 halftime lead, the Storm struck again in the 42nd minute. Taking a pass from sophomore defender Julian Defensor, Flores cut in from the left side and sent a cross toward senior forward Chris Stanczyk, but the ball found a Dukes' defender near the right post and bounced in.
"It's always good to get the first goal ... start the game off on a front foot," said Stanczyk, who made it 3-0 in the 57th minute with a short blast past York senior goalkeeper Sam Krtitikos after settling a razor-sharp pass from Flores.
"Getting the first goal so early gives everyone confidence to get the game moving and in the right direction," added Flores.
South Elgin head coach Simon Brinklow, whose team (1-1-2) tasted victory for the first time this season, said, "To come out and score two very quick goals gives you confidence and demoralizes the opponent a bit."
The Dukes, who fell to 1-3-0 with the loss, cut the lead to 3-1 on a penalty kick by junior defender Jackson Lamb with 12:01 remaining in the second half. Lamb initially was stopped by a spectacular diving save by Storm senior keeper Brian Dykstra, and again on the rebound try before tapping the ball in on a second rebound.
South Elgin concluded the scoring on a goal by senior middie Matthew McKee in the 71st minute. McKee tipped a 30-yard free kick from senior mid Eduardo Carrillo off the crossbar and scored on the second rebound past York sophomore keeper Tim Hardel, who replaced Kritikos in the 58th minute.
In between, Flores, Stanczyk and Co. kept the Dukes on their heels with an aggressive attack in the offensive third. In the 14th minute, Flores and Stanczyk fashioned a nice give-and-go that was snuffed by a charging Kritikos, and Flores fired wide-right from 10 yards on the left side with 11 minutes to go in the first half.
"Nick (Flores) and I share chemistry out there on the attack," Stanczyk said.
Added Flores: "It's always great to have two players being dangerous up-top. I feel we both bring that aspect and feed off each other."
Brinklow said, "(Flores is) only a freshman, but he fit in the with the group right away. He's a good player, and he's on the same wavelength with Chris (Stanczyk). They've been connecting together."
With 2:30 left before the break, Stanczyk fed junior mid Rolando Martinez for a 15-yard try from a wide angle that was blocked by the Dukes' defense. Martinez also sent a corner kick to Stanczyk for a shot that Kritikos nabbed in the 56th minute.
Seemingly stunned by South Elgin's quick start, York didn't muster much on the attack throughout the match. The Dukes finally got it going in the late stages, but Dykstra -- along with a strong defensive corps, led by senior Sergio Briones Jr. and freshman Elijah Patrick -- consistently shut the door.
Dykstra made a stellar, one-handed stop on a 20-yard line drive off the foot of York sophomore midfielder Joe Meade in the 73rd minute and then robbed Dukes' senior mid Matthew Atristain in-close with 1:25 to play.
"It felt pretty good to go out and pound 'em," Dykstra said. "It was good to get those first two goals, and then we shut (York) down."
Afterward, York skipper Lukasz Majewski didn't mince words describing his squad's performance.
"We're definitely trending in the wrong direction right now," he said. "To play like we did tonight is not acceptable at the varsity level. Defensively, we weren't picking up our markings, and we let people walk right down the middle. And you can't allow a goal 30 seconds in. We also seemed to forget we have midfielders.
"Even on the PK, it took a rebound and a follow-up to get a goal. Overall, our effort was lacking. We have to be better at all positions."
Martinez admitted that South Elgin's early goal, "caught us off guard. You give up a goal like that, and you start to panic. Then, after the second goal, we lost our focus."
Added York sophomore defender Lucas Reutimann: "I think we played terrible. We lost our composure as a team ... lost our cool and panicked. Toward the end, we worked our butts off. But we didn't create enough chances."
The victorious Storm began play in the 5-team Hillner Classic with a 3-2 loss to the host Lancers Aug. 24, followed by a 0-0 tie with Wheaton North two days later. South Elgin returns to face St. Francis on Saturday.
"It's very important to win our first game," Brinklow said. "It's no good just putting in a good performance. High school soccer is about winning."
Meanwhile, York -- topped by Lake Park 2-0 Aug. 26 -- will look to turn around its tournament fortunes in matches against St. Francis on Thursday and Wheaton North on Saturday.
Starting lineups
South Elgin
G: Brian Dykstra
D: Lucas Reutimann
D: Sergio Briones Jr.
D: Jacob Zupan
D: Elijah Patrick
M: Eduardo Carrillo
M: A.J. Kirkby
M: Liam Swangren
M: Anthony Sisler
F:Chris Stanczyk
F: Nick Flores
York
G: Sam Kritikos
D: Nathan Brown
D: Josh Borzello
D: John Milani
M: Jakub Knurek
M: Joe Meade
M: R.J. Meade
M: Michael Achepohl
M: Paolo Favuzzi
F: Gawne Parker
F: Joe Reinhofer
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Nick Flores, fr., MF, South Elgin
Officials: Paul Santucci, Pawel Kaska, Thomas Fryc
Flores paces Storm to 4-1 Hillner Classic win with goal, 2 helpers
By Ken Keenan
ROSELLE -- Powered by a pair of quick strikes in each half -- at 32 seconds into the match and 1:50 into the second half -- South Elgin cruised past York 4-1 Tuesday night in Hillner Classic play at Lake Park.
Flashy freshman midfielder Nick Flores was the catalyst, notching the Storm's first goal and adding two assists in the second half en route to claiming Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.
Flores got the party started, banging in a left-footed one-timer from in-close on a perfectly placed cross from senior mid A.J. Kirkby in the opening minute. Holding a 1-0 halftime lead, the Storm struck again in the 42nd minute. Taking a pass from sophomore defender Julian Defensor, Flores cut in from the left side and sent a cross toward senior forward Chris Stanczyk, but the ball found a Dukes' defender near the right post and bounced in.
"It's always good to get the first goal ... start the game off on a front foot," said Stanczyk, who made it 3-0 in the 57th minute with a short blast past York senior goalkeeper Sam Krtitikos after settling a razor-sharp pass from Flores.
"Getting the first goal so early gives everyone confidence to get the game moving and in the right direction," added Flores.
South Elgin head coach Simon Brinklow, whose team (1-1-2) tasted victory for the first time this season, said, "To come out and score two very quick goals gives you confidence and demoralizes the opponent a bit."
The Dukes, who fell to 1-3-0 with the loss, cut the lead to 3-1 on a penalty kick by junior defender Jackson Lamb with 12:01 remaining in the second half. Lamb initially was stopped by a spectacular diving save by Storm senior keeper Brian Dykstra, and again on the rebound try before tapping the ball in on a second rebound.
South Elgin concluded the scoring on a goal by senior middie Matthew McKee in the 71st minute. McKee tipped a 30-yard free kick from senior mid Eduardo Carrillo off the crossbar and scored on the second rebound past York sophomore keeper Tim Hardel, who replaced Kritikos in the 58th minute.
In between, Flores, Stanczyk and Co. kept the Dukes on their heels with an aggressive attack in the offensive third. In the 14th minute, Flores and Stanczyk fashioned a nice give-and-go that was snuffed by a charging Kritikos, and Flores fired wide-right from 10 yards on the left side with 11 minutes to go in the first half.
"Nick (Flores) and I share chemistry out there on the attack," Stanczyk said.
Added Flores: "It's always great to have two players being dangerous up-top. I feel we both bring that aspect and feed off each other."
Brinklow said, "(Flores is) only a freshman, but he fit in the with the group right away. He's a good player, and he's on the same wavelength with Chris (Stanczyk). They've been connecting together."
With 2:30 left before the break, Stanczyk fed junior mid Rolando Martinez for a 15-yard try from a wide angle that was blocked by the Dukes' defense. Martinez also sent a corner kick to Stanczyk for a shot that Kritikos nabbed in the 56th minute.
Seemingly stunned by South Elgin's quick start, York didn't muster much on the attack throughout the match. The Dukes finally got it going in the late stages, but Dykstra -- along with a strong defensive corps, led by senior Sergio Briones Jr. and freshman Elijah Patrick -- consistently shut the door.
Dykstra made a stellar, one-handed stop on a 20-yard line drive off the foot of York sophomore midfielder Joe Meade in the 73rd minute and then robbed Dukes' senior mid Matthew Atristain in-close with 1:25 to play.
"It felt pretty good to go out and pound 'em," Dykstra said. "It was good to get those first two goals, and then we shut (York) down."
Afterward, York skipper Lukasz Majewski didn't mince words describing his squad's performance.
"We're definitely trending in the wrong direction right now," he said. "To play like we did tonight is not acceptable at the varsity level. Defensively, we weren't picking up our markings, and we let people walk right down the middle. And you can't allow a goal 30 seconds in. We also seemed to forget we have midfielders.
"Even on the PK, it took a rebound and a follow-up to get a goal. Overall, our effort was lacking. We have to be better at all positions."
Martinez admitted that South Elgin's early goal, "caught us off guard. You give up a goal like that, and you start to panic. Then, after the second goal, we lost our focus."
Added York sophomore defender Lucas Reutimann: "I think we played terrible. We lost our composure as a team ... lost our cool and panicked. Toward the end, we worked our butts off. But we didn't create enough chances."
The victorious Storm began play in the 5-team Hillner Classic with a 3-2 loss to the host Lancers Aug. 24, followed by a 0-0 tie with Wheaton North two days later. South Elgin returns to face St. Francis on Saturday.
"It's very important to win our first game," Brinklow said. "It's no good just putting in a good performance. High school soccer is about winning."
Meanwhile, York -- topped by Lake Park 2-0 Aug. 26 -- will look to turn around its tournament fortunes in matches against St. Francis on Thursday and Wheaton North on Saturday.
Starting lineups
South Elgin
G: Brian Dykstra
D: Lucas Reutimann
D: Sergio Briones Jr.
D: Jacob Zupan
D: Elijah Patrick
M: Eduardo Carrillo
M: A.J. Kirkby
M: Liam Swangren
M: Anthony Sisler
F:Chris Stanczyk
F: Nick Flores
York
G: Sam Kritikos
D: Nathan Brown
D: Josh Borzello
D: John Milani
M: Jakub Knurek
M: Joe Meade
M: R.J. Meade
M: Michael Achepohl
M: Paolo Favuzzi
F: Gawne Parker
F: Joe Reinhofer
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Nick Flores, fr., MF, South Elgin
Officials: Paul Santucci, Pawel Kaska, Thomas Fryc