St. Francis shows true colors
in 4-1 win vs. Hoffman Estates
Spartans jr. F Marsico nets a pair of goals in Hillner Classic
By Bill McLean
ROSELLE — St. Francis showed up in white uniform tops Saturday afternoon. So did Hoffman Estates.
Uh-oh?
No.
St. Francis first-year head coach Jim Winslow — also the school’s highly successful girls soccer coach — had the foresight to have his Spartans pack their blue jerseys for the Hillner Classic contest at Lake Park’s Krupke Memorial Field, just in case.
St. Francis, ranked no. 23 in Chicagoland Soccer’s First 50, then wore out Hoffman Estates 4-1 in stifling conditions behind a pair of goals from junior forward Matthew Marsico and 10 saves from junior goalkeeper Simon Hartle.
How hot was it at Lake Park’s East campus? It felt like a sauna in the shade and the Gobi Desert on the pitch.
“You experienced the weather today,” Winslow said. “This is miserable, isn’t it?”
But the victory must have felt more refreshing than an ice-cold beverage to Winslow and his young booters, especially after the Spartans, who started four sophomores vs. Hoffman Estates, absorbed a 5-1 loss to Wheaton North in a season and Hillner Classic opener Aug. 26.
“When we play our game we’re fine,” said the coach’s son, sophomore midfielder Cooper Winslow. “Our game is moving the ball, not rushing matters, staying composed.”
Hoffman Estates (1-2-0), coming off a highly competitive 1-0 loss to visiting Barrington (ranked no. 20 in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 preseason poll) on Aug. 26, struck for the first goal of the game Saturday in the third minute. Junior forward Ethan Knapp sprint-dribbled 10 yards along the end line and dished a short pass to senior forward Logan Garcia, who tapped an easy shot past Hartle.
Recuperating Hawks senior defender Colin Grochal, who underwent surgery for a torn meniscus after the boys’ spring season, had named Knapp and Garcia, as well as junior midfielder Connor Kurzynski, tri-captains before the game.
“Those choices are looking pretty good so far, aren’t they?” Hawks coach Sean Armstrong, standing a few feet from his bench, said a few seconds after Garcia’s tally.
St. Francis (1-1-0) knotted the game following a frenzied sequence in the Hawks’ box in the 27th minute. Spartans senior tri-captain and midfielder Brendan Yarusso chipped a shot toward goal. Winslow then fielded the ensuing free ball and blasted a shot that might have ricocheted off a Hawk or two.
The ensuing free ball was Marsico’s for the taking, and he slotted it home for his first goal of the fall season.
The score stood at 1-1 at the break.
Marsico took care of custodial duties again for the game-winner in the 55th minute. He cleaned up matters after a shot by tri-captain and senior forward Guy Defeo smacked the crossbar.
However, the go-ahead goal would not have happened without the lengthy, majestic pass off the foot of senior back and tri-captain Cameron Crawford, whom Jim Winslow dubbed “a walking soccer encyclopedia.”
Senior reserve forward Tommy Goetzke gave St. Francis a 3-1 advantage with an unassisted goal in the 60th minute, and the persistent Defeo capped the scoring by finally solving Hawks junior keeper Gustavo Aguilar (four saves). Defeo needed three point-blank shots on goal — in a span of maybe 5 seconds — to up the lead to 4-1 with three-plus minutes left in the scorching ordeal.
“We were more composed in this game than we were in our opener,” said Marsico, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match.
Hoffman Estate’s top performer Saturday, savvy junior midfielder/defender Bryan Flores, suffered a head injury near the end of the first half. A ball hit from close range nailed the back of Flores’ head. Flores went down and stayed down with only 2 ticks left before the break.
Lake Park’s on-site trainer examined and tested Flores at halftime and then deemed him unfit to return to action in the second half.
“Bryan played well for us,” said Armstrong, who also lost standout junior midfielder Aron Barrios to injury (quad) on Saturday. “That was tough, playing without two studs like Bryan and Aron. But we self-destructed today. Too many of our guys played the blame game.
“St. Francis,” the coach added, “outplayed us and wanted to win more than we did.”
St. Francis faces host Lake Park (0-1-1) in another Hillner Classic game Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.; Hoffman Estates visits South Elgin (0-2-0) in a Hillner Classic game Monday at 4:30 p.m.
Footnotes
Jim Winslow’s wife, Amy, is one of his assistant coaches when he helms the St. Francis varsity girls squad in the spring seasons. They first coached together when Amy served as the head women’s soccer coach at the University of Utah. Amy also coached women’s soccer at Earlham (Ind.) College and at Loyola in Chicago. “I first noticed her when she was recruiting players in Illinois at the state tournament (held, that year, at Naperville Central),” said Jim, who was an assistant coach at Downers Grove South at the time. “I saw her walking down a set of bleachers.” They got married in 1995. Jim guided the St. Francis girls team to Class AA state titles in 2012 and 2018. … The Winslow couple’s son Cooper finds time to kick for the Spartans’ JV football team when he’s not busy helping the school’s varsity soccer crew. Cooper hit three of five field-goal attempts in the football team’s season opener against Lake Forest Aug. 27. … Yarusso scored St. Francis’ goal in the season-opening 5-1 loss to Wheaton North Aug. 26. … Coach Winslow, on his 2021 boys team: “I told my wife, ‘This is a good group, full of good guys. Anybody would want any of them for a son.’” … Armstrong, on his Hawks before Saturday’s Hillner Classic game: “We have fabulous chemistry. We received a complete buy-in by our players. I was particularly pleased with how we competed against Barrington (in a 1-0 loss, in which the Broncos scored on a corner kick in the first five minutes). Barrington coach Scott Steib told me afterward that the game reminded him a playoff game. I agreed. It was like a spot in the Final Four at state was at stake.” … Hoffman Estates edged Deerfield 1-0 in its season opener.
Starting lineups
Hoffman Estates
GK Gustavo Aguilar
D Heber Velasquez
D Matheus DeCarvalho
D Elvis Varga
D Jimmy Hernandez
M Connor Kurzynski
M Peter Guzman
M Bryan Flores
M Aron Barrios
F Logan Garcia
F Ethan Knapp
St. Francis
GK Simon Hartle
D Cameron Crawford
D Justin Klein
D Nick Madden
D Sam Wessel
M Brendan Yarusso
M Cooper Winslow
M Anthony Matz
F Luc Swiatek
F Guy Defeo
F Matthew Marsico
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Matthew Marsico, jr., F, St. Francis
Scoring summary
First half
Hoffman Estates — Garcia (Knapp), 3’
St. Francis — Marsico (Winslow), 27’
Second half
St. Francis — Marsico (Defeo, Crawford), 55’
St. Francis — Tommy Goetzke (UA), 60’
St. Francis — Defeo (UA), 77’
in 4-1 win vs. Hoffman Estates
Spartans jr. F Marsico nets a pair of goals in Hillner Classic
By Bill McLean
ROSELLE — St. Francis showed up in white uniform tops Saturday afternoon. So did Hoffman Estates.
Uh-oh?
No.
St. Francis first-year head coach Jim Winslow — also the school’s highly successful girls soccer coach — had the foresight to have his Spartans pack their blue jerseys for the Hillner Classic contest at Lake Park’s Krupke Memorial Field, just in case.
St. Francis, ranked no. 23 in Chicagoland Soccer’s First 50, then wore out Hoffman Estates 4-1 in stifling conditions behind a pair of goals from junior forward Matthew Marsico and 10 saves from junior goalkeeper Simon Hartle.
How hot was it at Lake Park’s East campus? It felt like a sauna in the shade and the Gobi Desert on the pitch.
“You experienced the weather today,” Winslow said. “This is miserable, isn’t it?”
But the victory must have felt more refreshing than an ice-cold beverage to Winslow and his young booters, especially after the Spartans, who started four sophomores vs. Hoffman Estates, absorbed a 5-1 loss to Wheaton North in a season and Hillner Classic opener Aug. 26.
“When we play our game we’re fine,” said the coach’s son, sophomore midfielder Cooper Winslow. “Our game is moving the ball, not rushing matters, staying composed.”
Hoffman Estates (1-2-0), coming off a highly competitive 1-0 loss to visiting Barrington (ranked no. 20 in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 preseason poll) on Aug. 26, struck for the first goal of the game Saturday in the third minute. Junior forward Ethan Knapp sprint-dribbled 10 yards along the end line and dished a short pass to senior forward Logan Garcia, who tapped an easy shot past Hartle.
Recuperating Hawks senior defender Colin Grochal, who underwent surgery for a torn meniscus after the boys’ spring season, had named Knapp and Garcia, as well as junior midfielder Connor Kurzynski, tri-captains before the game.
“Those choices are looking pretty good so far, aren’t they?” Hawks coach Sean Armstrong, standing a few feet from his bench, said a few seconds after Garcia’s tally.
St. Francis (1-1-0) knotted the game following a frenzied sequence in the Hawks’ box in the 27th minute. Spartans senior tri-captain and midfielder Brendan Yarusso chipped a shot toward goal. Winslow then fielded the ensuing free ball and blasted a shot that might have ricocheted off a Hawk or two.
The ensuing free ball was Marsico’s for the taking, and he slotted it home for his first goal of the fall season.
The score stood at 1-1 at the break.
Marsico took care of custodial duties again for the game-winner in the 55th minute. He cleaned up matters after a shot by tri-captain and senior forward Guy Defeo smacked the crossbar.
However, the go-ahead goal would not have happened without the lengthy, majestic pass off the foot of senior back and tri-captain Cameron Crawford, whom Jim Winslow dubbed “a walking soccer encyclopedia.”
Senior reserve forward Tommy Goetzke gave St. Francis a 3-1 advantage with an unassisted goal in the 60th minute, and the persistent Defeo capped the scoring by finally solving Hawks junior keeper Gustavo Aguilar (four saves). Defeo needed three point-blank shots on goal — in a span of maybe 5 seconds — to up the lead to 4-1 with three-plus minutes left in the scorching ordeal.
“We were more composed in this game than we were in our opener,” said Marsico, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match.
Hoffman Estate’s top performer Saturday, savvy junior midfielder/defender Bryan Flores, suffered a head injury near the end of the first half. A ball hit from close range nailed the back of Flores’ head. Flores went down and stayed down with only 2 ticks left before the break.
Lake Park’s on-site trainer examined and tested Flores at halftime and then deemed him unfit to return to action in the second half.
“Bryan played well for us,” said Armstrong, who also lost standout junior midfielder Aron Barrios to injury (quad) on Saturday. “That was tough, playing without two studs like Bryan and Aron. But we self-destructed today. Too many of our guys played the blame game.
“St. Francis,” the coach added, “outplayed us and wanted to win more than we did.”
St. Francis faces host Lake Park (0-1-1) in another Hillner Classic game Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.; Hoffman Estates visits South Elgin (0-2-0) in a Hillner Classic game Monday at 4:30 p.m.
Footnotes
Jim Winslow’s wife, Amy, is one of his assistant coaches when he helms the St. Francis varsity girls squad in the spring seasons. They first coached together when Amy served as the head women’s soccer coach at the University of Utah. Amy also coached women’s soccer at Earlham (Ind.) College and at Loyola in Chicago. “I first noticed her when she was recruiting players in Illinois at the state tournament (held, that year, at Naperville Central),” said Jim, who was an assistant coach at Downers Grove South at the time. “I saw her walking down a set of bleachers.” They got married in 1995. Jim guided the St. Francis girls team to Class AA state titles in 2012 and 2018. … The Winslow couple’s son Cooper finds time to kick for the Spartans’ JV football team when he’s not busy helping the school’s varsity soccer crew. Cooper hit three of five field-goal attempts in the football team’s season opener against Lake Forest Aug. 27. … Yarusso scored St. Francis’ goal in the season-opening 5-1 loss to Wheaton North Aug. 26. … Coach Winslow, on his 2021 boys team: “I told my wife, ‘This is a good group, full of good guys. Anybody would want any of them for a son.’” … Armstrong, on his Hawks before Saturday’s Hillner Classic game: “We have fabulous chemistry. We received a complete buy-in by our players. I was particularly pleased with how we competed against Barrington (in a 1-0 loss, in which the Broncos scored on a corner kick in the first five minutes). Barrington coach Scott Steib told me afterward that the game reminded him a playoff game. I agreed. It was like a spot in the Final Four at state was at stake.” … Hoffman Estates edged Deerfield 1-0 in its season opener.
Starting lineups
Hoffman Estates
GK Gustavo Aguilar
D Heber Velasquez
D Matheus DeCarvalho
D Elvis Varga
D Jimmy Hernandez
M Connor Kurzynski
M Peter Guzman
M Bryan Flores
M Aron Barrios
F Logan Garcia
F Ethan Knapp
St. Francis
GK Simon Hartle
D Cameron Crawford
D Justin Klein
D Nick Madden
D Sam Wessel
M Brendan Yarusso
M Cooper Winslow
M Anthony Matz
F Luc Swiatek
F Guy Defeo
F Matthew Marsico
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Matthew Marsico, jr., F, St. Francis
Scoring summary
First half
Hoffman Estates — Garcia (Knapp), 3’
St. Francis — Marsico (Winslow), 27’
Second half
St. Francis — Marsico (Defeo, Crawford), 55’
St. Francis — Tommy Goetzke (UA), 60’
St. Francis — Defeo (UA), 77’