2nd half scoring surge pushes
Riverside-Brookfield past St. Francis
18-minute spree gains 3-0 win and unblemished conference mark
By Dave Owen
BROOKFIELD -- While Riverside-Brookfield continued to put the pieces together nicely in conference play, the absence of a key defensive piece for St. Francis eventually proved costly.
The host Bulldogs (5-6-0) maintained a perfect 3-0-0 record in Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division play Tuesday, striking for three goals in a 17-minute span late in the game to turn a scoreless duel into a 3-0 victory.
“This is our last year as seniors,” Riverside-Brookfield forward Hunter Ferguson said, “so we want to win conference. These teams like St. Francis are teams that beat us last year in conference, and we had to beat them this year.
“That's a big win, and 3-0 in conference games is huge. And shutting out an opponent like that sends a message to the rest of the league.”
The Bulldogs not only posted a shutout, but limited the Spartans (1-5-1, 1-2-0) to few quality chances and bounced back nicely from a freewheeling loss to Carmel on Saturday (4-4 tie in regulation, then Corsairs won the shootout).
“I think we kind of took an overall look back at everything,” Riverside-Brookfield senior goalkeeper and tri-captain Aidan Hernandez said. “You make adjustments, you switch it up and you talk to the team. Everything's about communication, especially as a captain and a senior. You make adjustments and keep playing.”
While the Bulldogs bounced back, St. Francis had to endure a key absence due to injury.
“We’re playing without a starting center back (Sam Wessel) tonight,” Spartans coach Jim Winslow said. “That killed us, because we thought we had solved some issues (after a win, tie and shootout loss in the previous three games).
“When we went through that first tournament (finishing 0-3-1), we changed things a little bit, kind of solved things and were like 'We're good.' Then all a sudden a key kid goes down, and we’re struggling again.”
While Riverside-Brookfield had the majority of scoring chances, the score remained 0-0 until almost midway in the second half.
St. Francis narrowly dodged one huge Bulldogs threat with 28:50 left. Off a Ferguson throw-in 10 yards off the end line, Manny Tovar’s header appeared destined for open space in the right side of the net.
But Spartans defender Justin Klein was in the right place at the right time and blocked the ball at the goal line near the back post.
The hosts’ David Carrillo followed with 24:15 to play with a 15-yard shot wide off a Diego Villegas pass. But Carrillo wouldn’t miss on his next chance.
On a play initiated by Tovar’s win of a ball inside midfield, Ferguson began an offensive zone rush and spotted Carrillo racing in right. He angled a perfect pass upfield, and Carrillo nicely finished with a 15-yard liner inside the left post to put Riverside-Brookfield up 1-0.
“It was off a counterattack,” Ferguson said. “I got the ball in the middle. I picked up my head, and I saw David was beating his guy. I knew I had to put some power on it but put it in place, and he did the rest.”
Carrillo’s goal began an eventful five-minute sequence in which St. Francis answered with its best chance of the night.
Off a Spartans corner kick cross to the front, Aaron Cook’s 10-yard rising shot was somehow deflected aside with a one-handed swat by Riverside-Brookfield keeper Hernandez. Then with the rebound loose, Hernandez recovered to make an ensuing catch to keep the score 1-0.
“That’s just quick reaction,” Hernandez said of the scintillating save. “I saw it (Cook’s shot) coming, dove, reached my hand out and made the save. I got up, there was a cross back in, I got the ball and I just kept playing.
“My defense was amazing tonight. We made a quick switch from the (BodyArmor) tournament (game vs. Carmel) to now, dropped that second defender and had one on top kind of as a sweeper/stopper.
“That made the biggest difference in the world,” the netminder added. “It makes my life so much easier. I think that (save) was honestly the only shot of the game.”
Inches away from seeing St. Francis draw even, the Bulldogs didn’t take long to expand their lead.
After a hand ball against the Spartans left of the box, Ferguson perfectly pinpointed a low 23-yard free kick to the right of the wall of defenders and barely inside the right post to up the score to 2-0 with 19:15 on the clock.
“I just saw the keeper shift over to the left and saw the bottom-right corner open,” said Ferguson. “I knew with placement and power, he’s not going to get it. And I slotted it right there.
“I thought someone on the wall was going to stick a foot out, so I put some spin on it to hook it around. It was a good goal.”
With 10 goals and eight assists, Ferguson has tied defenses in knots routinely this fall. And with 11:15 to play, his strong 6-yard throw-in nearly produced unlikely results when an attempt to clear on a Spartans header spun the wrong way and caromed off the crossbar.
That play was part of a span of eight minutes in which the ball was in Riverside-Brookfield’s end of the field. That run ended after the Spartans generated two-straight throw-ins at and inside 35 yards with 7:30 left.
But with 6:20 to go, a Cook header clear off a Ferguson throw-in was tracked down by teammate Xavier Salamanca. He settled the ball, dribbled to open space and powered a straight-on 25-yarder just under the crossbar to cap the scoring.
“We kind of just woke up and started playing with more aggression,” Ferguson said of the late three-goal outburst by his side. “We started moving the ball more, started possessing and let the game come to us.”
Riverside-Brookfield coach Ivek Halic was impressed with the trio of second half goals and much more.
“Good quality possession opened up gaps,” Halic said, “and just being aware of the space and putting it on frame.
“We made little adjustments in the second half. They dialed it in and you saw it.
“I'm very pleased with the intensity, the movement and the control of the ball,” Halic added. “Possession was key. We found the spots, found our gaps and more important defensively we kept our shape.
“We were beating it into their heads in practice (about defense) and just kind of reiterating the importance of it, and of communication. They're starting to communicate, understanding their responsibilities and kind of shifting as a unit rather than individually.”
The list of standouts in the victory was long.
“There's a lot, starting with Hunter at striker,” Halic said. “He's real key. Then Manny (Tovar) in the middle, kind of dictating and facilitating the game both offensively and defensively. Max (Swicionis) at holding midfielder, and defending Massimo (Francechina) and Omar (Vidales) in the middle (at center backs). But it's a collaborative effort, a whole team.
“I’m proud of everybody. It’s one of our better games, so I'm very happy with them.”
Before the late game three-goal outburst by Riverside-Brookfield, St. Francis had played 160-plus minutes of shutout soccer in its last two games.
“We started trying to play a man to man defense on their strikers, and that left some gaps,” Cook said. “We definitely needed to refrain from that.
“We played solid (the first two-thirds of the game), but at some point it gets to the point where you give up one and heads start dropping. That's something we need to work on, motivation.”
Getting Wessel back would also help things, although Winslow said he may not return until next week.
“We usually play the whole game together (at back spots),” Cook said. “We don't sub him out very much, so that (absence) was definitely a big thing.”
Winslow noted other issues that need to be fixed.
“It's just weird,” he said. “As (assistant coach) Mike (Taylor) talked about (after the game), we don't have that killer instinct. They're great kids. Almost too nice of kids. But we're just not making it easy for ourselves right now.
“We played Timothy and played great, go toe to toe with them for so many minutes and had our opportunities (and lose in PKs). Tonight, we just struggled.”
The scoreless first half even required some great individual defensive efforts for St. Francis.
A nice Nick Madden steal in the box three minutes in thwarted an early Riverside-Brookfield threat. Then six minutes later, Noah Berndt’s quick redirect of a Ferguson cross was denied when St. Francis goalkeeper Simon Hartle made a great one-handed block near the post.
The Spartans’ attempts at pressure were typically denied far from the net. One exception in the 19th minute came on a Nico Posada 50-yard free kick that Madden headed just wide of the left post from 8 yards..
In the 23rd minute, another St. Francis bid off a 40-yard free kick was denied on a nice steal outside the box by Mak Scheuermann.
Hartle was at it again in the 34th minute, when passes by Tovar and Sam Royer set up Eric Ruiz for a 20-yard liner that Hartle leaped to deflect over the crossbar. Then in the final 15 seconds of the half, Hartle made a grab at the left post to save Ferguson’s 12-yard shot off a 1-v-2 attack.
“Simon’s been fantastic,” Winslow said. “He made some great saves. He kept us in the game early.
“And I have a couple more (goalkeepers) coming up who are going to be great. The big thing now is solving some of the other stuff.”
Cook sees one solution in the mental side of the game.
“We have to just keep fighting,” Cook said, “In the first half it was 0-0, and we were just as in it as them. If we play the second half the same way, we have a better chance.”
With each successive game continuing an unbeaten league record, Riverside-Brookfield sees its Metro Suburban Conference title chances improve.
“The job's not done obviously,” Hernandez said. “We’re 3-0 midway through conference, and we have St. Edward's next (Thursday). We're looking forward to it. It's going to be a battle both ways.”
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK: Simon Hartle
D: Ben Fasana
D: Aaron Cook
D: Matthew Marsico
D: Justin Klein
M: Nick Madden
M: Mason Karch
M: Nico Posada
M: Nicolas Tsiljar
F: Cooper Winslow
F: Luke Swiatek
Riverside-Brookfield
GK: Aidan Hernandez
D: Omar Vidales
D: Sam Royer
D: Massimo Francenchina
D: Mak Scheuermann
M: Manny Tovar
M: Max Swicionis
M: Noah Berndt
M: Diego Villegas
F: Hunter Ferguson
F: David Carrillo
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Hunter Ferguson, sr., F, Riverside-Brookfield
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
RB- David Carrillo (Hunter Ferguson assist), 57’
RB- Ferguson (free kick), 61’
RB- Xavier Salamanca (unassisted), 74’
Riverside-Brookfield past St. Francis
18-minute spree gains 3-0 win and unblemished conference mark
By Dave Owen
BROOKFIELD -- While Riverside-Brookfield continued to put the pieces together nicely in conference play, the absence of a key defensive piece for St. Francis eventually proved costly.
The host Bulldogs (5-6-0) maintained a perfect 3-0-0 record in Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division play Tuesday, striking for three goals in a 17-minute span late in the game to turn a scoreless duel into a 3-0 victory.
“This is our last year as seniors,” Riverside-Brookfield forward Hunter Ferguson said, “so we want to win conference. These teams like St. Francis are teams that beat us last year in conference, and we had to beat them this year.
“That's a big win, and 3-0 in conference games is huge. And shutting out an opponent like that sends a message to the rest of the league.”
The Bulldogs not only posted a shutout, but limited the Spartans (1-5-1, 1-2-0) to few quality chances and bounced back nicely from a freewheeling loss to Carmel on Saturday (4-4 tie in regulation, then Corsairs won the shootout).
“I think we kind of took an overall look back at everything,” Riverside-Brookfield senior goalkeeper and tri-captain Aidan Hernandez said. “You make adjustments, you switch it up and you talk to the team. Everything's about communication, especially as a captain and a senior. You make adjustments and keep playing.”
While the Bulldogs bounced back, St. Francis had to endure a key absence due to injury.
“We’re playing without a starting center back (Sam Wessel) tonight,” Spartans coach Jim Winslow said. “That killed us, because we thought we had solved some issues (after a win, tie and shootout loss in the previous three games).
“When we went through that first tournament (finishing 0-3-1), we changed things a little bit, kind of solved things and were like 'We're good.' Then all a sudden a key kid goes down, and we’re struggling again.”
While Riverside-Brookfield had the majority of scoring chances, the score remained 0-0 until almost midway in the second half.
St. Francis narrowly dodged one huge Bulldogs threat with 28:50 left. Off a Ferguson throw-in 10 yards off the end line, Manny Tovar’s header appeared destined for open space in the right side of the net.
But Spartans defender Justin Klein was in the right place at the right time and blocked the ball at the goal line near the back post.
The hosts’ David Carrillo followed with 24:15 to play with a 15-yard shot wide off a Diego Villegas pass. But Carrillo wouldn’t miss on his next chance.
On a play initiated by Tovar’s win of a ball inside midfield, Ferguson began an offensive zone rush and spotted Carrillo racing in right. He angled a perfect pass upfield, and Carrillo nicely finished with a 15-yard liner inside the left post to put Riverside-Brookfield up 1-0.
“It was off a counterattack,” Ferguson said. “I got the ball in the middle. I picked up my head, and I saw David was beating his guy. I knew I had to put some power on it but put it in place, and he did the rest.”
Carrillo’s goal began an eventful five-minute sequence in which St. Francis answered with its best chance of the night.
Off a Spartans corner kick cross to the front, Aaron Cook’s 10-yard rising shot was somehow deflected aside with a one-handed swat by Riverside-Brookfield keeper Hernandez. Then with the rebound loose, Hernandez recovered to make an ensuing catch to keep the score 1-0.
“That’s just quick reaction,” Hernandez said of the scintillating save. “I saw it (Cook’s shot) coming, dove, reached my hand out and made the save. I got up, there was a cross back in, I got the ball and I just kept playing.
“My defense was amazing tonight. We made a quick switch from the (BodyArmor) tournament (game vs. Carmel) to now, dropped that second defender and had one on top kind of as a sweeper/stopper.
“That made the biggest difference in the world,” the netminder added. “It makes my life so much easier. I think that (save) was honestly the only shot of the game.”
Inches away from seeing St. Francis draw even, the Bulldogs didn’t take long to expand their lead.
After a hand ball against the Spartans left of the box, Ferguson perfectly pinpointed a low 23-yard free kick to the right of the wall of defenders and barely inside the right post to up the score to 2-0 with 19:15 on the clock.
“I just saw the keeper shift over to the left and saw the bottom-right corner open,” said Ferguson. “I knew with placement and power, he’s not going to get it. And I slotted it right there.
“I thought someone on the wall was going to stick a foot out, so I put some spin on it to hook it around. It was a good goal.”
With 10 goals and eight assists, Ferguson has tied defenses in knots routinely this fall. And with 11:15 to play, his strong 6-yard throw-in nearly produced unlikely results when an attempt to clear on a Spartans header spun the wrong way and caromed off the crossbar.
That play was part of a span of eight minutes in which the ball was in Riverside-Brookfield’s end of the field. That run ended after the Spartans generated two-straight throw-ins at and inside 35 yards with 7:30 left.
But with 6:20 to go, a Cook header clear off a Ferguson throw-in was tracked down by teammate Xavier Salamanca. He settled the ball, dribbled to open space and powered a straight-on 25-yarder just under the crossbar to cap the scoring.
“We kind of just woke up and started playing with more aggression,” Ferguson said of the late three-goal outburst by his side. “We started moving the ball more, started possessing and let the game come to us.”
Riverside-Brookfield coach Ivek Halic was impressed with the trio of second half goals and much more.
“Good quality possession opened up gaps,” Halic said, “and just being aware of the space and putting it on frame.
“We made little adjustments in the second half. They dialed it in and you saw it.
“I'm very pleased with the intensity, the movement and the control of the ball,” Halic added. “Possession was key. We found the spots, found our gaps and more important defensively we kept our shape.
“We were beating it into their heads in practice (about defense) and just kind of reiterating the importance of it, and of communication. They're starting to communicate, understanding their responsibilities and kind of shifting as a unit rather than individually.”
The list of standouts in the victory was long.
“There's a lot, starting with Hunter at striker,” Halic said. “He's real key. Then Manny (Tovar) in the middle, kind of dictating and facilitating the game both offensively and defensively. Max (Swicionis) at holding midfielder, and defending Massimo (Francechina) and Omar (Vidales) in the middle (at center backs). But it's a collaborative effort, a whole team.
“I’m proud of everybody. It’s one of our better games, so I'm very happy with them.”
Before the late game three-goal outburst by Riverside-Brookfield, St. Francis had played 160-plus minutes of shutout soccer in its last two games.
“We started trying to play a man to man defense on their strikers, and that left some gaps,” Cook said. “We definitely needed to refrain from that.
“We played solid (the first two-thirds of the game), but at some point it gets to the point where you give up one and heads start dropping. That's something we need to work on, motivation.”
Getting Wessel back would also help things, although Winslow said he may not return until next week.
“We usually play the whole game together (at back spots),” Cook said. “We don't sub him out very much, so that (absence) was definitely a big thing.”
Winslow noted other issues that need to be fixed.
“It's just weird,” he said. “As (assistant coach) Mike (Taylor) talked about (after the game), we don't have that killer instinct. They're great kids. Almost too nice of kids. But we're just not making it easy for ourselves right now.
“We played Timothy and played great, go toe to toe with them for so many minutes and had our opportunities (and lose in PKs). Tonight, we just struggled.”
The scoreless first half even required some great individual defensive efforts for St. Francis.
A nice Nick Madden steal in the box three minutes in thwarted an early Riverside-Brookfield threat. Then six minutes later, Noah Berndt’s quick redirect of a Ferguson cross was denied when St. Francis goalkeeper Simon Hartle made a great one-handed block near the post.
The Spartans’ attempts at pressure were typically denied far from the net. One exception in the 19th minute came on a Nico Posada 50-yard free kick that Madden headed just wide of the left post from 8 yards..
In the 23rd minute, another St. Francis bid off a 40-yard free kick was denied on a nice steal outside the box by Mak Scheuermann.
Hartle was at it again in the 34th minute, when passes by Tovar and Sam Royer set up Eric Ruiz for a 20-yard liner that Hartle leaped to deflect over the crossbar. Then in the final 15 seconds of the half, Hartle made a grab at the left post to save Ferguson’s 12-yard shot off a 1-v-2 attack.
“Simon’s been fantastic,” Winslow said. “He made some great saves. He kept us in the game early.
“And I have a couple more (goalkeepers) coming up who are going to be great. The big thing now is solving some of the other stuff.”
Cook sees one solution in the mental side of the game.
“We have to just keep fighting,” Cook said, “In the first half it was 0-0, and we were just as in it as them. If we play the second half the same way, we have a better chance.”
With each successive game continuing an unbeaten league record, Riverside-Brookfield sees its Metro Suburban Conference title chances improve.
“The job's not done obviously,” Hernandez said. “We’re 3-0 midway through conference, and we have St. Edward's next (Thursday). We're looking forward to it. It's going to be a battle both ways.”
Starting lineups
St. Francis
GK: Simon Hartle
D: Ben Fasana
D: Aaron Cook
D: Matthew Marsico
D: Justin Klein
M: Nick Madden
M: Mason Karch
M: Nico Posada
M: Nicolas Tsiljar
F: Cooper Winslow
F: Luke Swiatek
Riverside-Brookfield
GK: Aidan Hernandez
D: Omar Vidales
D: Sam Royer
D: Massimo Francenchina
D: Mak Scheuermann
M: Manny Tovar
M: Max Swicionis
M: Noah Berndt
M: Diego Villegas
F: Hunter Ferguson
F: David Carrillo
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Hunter Ferguson, sr., F, Riverside-Brookfield
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
RB- David Carrillo (Hunter Ferguson assist), 57’
RB- Ferguson (free kick), 61’
RB- Xavier Salamanca (unassisted), 74’