St. Ignatius overpowers DePaul
Wolfpack offense roars to life in 5-1 victory
By A.J. Schmitz
CHICAGO -St. Ignatius has had an explosive start to the season with eight goals and only one conceded in its first two matches.
After a resounding 3-0 victory against Brother Rice, the Wolfpack headed to DePaul Prep riding the wave of confidence from its opening win. While brothers Jaden and Isaac Rice were the dominant pair to watch Thursday, the second win was a holistic team performance that saw multiple Wolves rack up statistics in a 5-1 win.
The effort solicited a statement from St. Ignatius junior midfielder Jack Lowe: St.Ignatius are the hardest workers out there. We are coming for the Catholic League title. This year. We are coming. Be ready.”
A bold message from a bold player on a bold team.
“Our approach right now is to be comfortable in ownership of the ball, [have] movement across the back line, [and] recycle the play,” said St. Ignatius coach Matt Miller.
In other words, prioritize possession, slow it down, and don’t force attacks.
In a patient play style popularized by the Spanish -one often criticized for its lack of urgency -St.Ignatius looked cool, calm, and collected with the ball at its feet, playing back to the defense for better looks as they waited for opportunities to strike with full force.
This made for anything but a laid-back game.
Lowe was all over the pitch, moving the ball around with admirable intelligence to create opportunities for his goal scorers. Though he did not end up on the score sheet himself, the amount of time Lowe spent controlling possession and finding teammates to ultimately create opportunities for his strikers made Lowe one of the visitor’s most valuable assets.
“I probably should be more of a goal-scorer,” Lowe said of his role on the team. “But this game, I just [focused on] connecting all the positions, linking the ball and switching the field.”
DePaul’s freshman goalkeeper Joey Galante battled with the resilience and confidence one might only expect from a varsity veteran and put on an impressive performance despite the score line. The Rams did not concede their first goal until the 20th minute when St. Ignatius’ junior striker Isaac Rice used his height to beat Galante to a ball in the air and headed his shot into the back of the net
It looked as if St. Ignatius’ momentum might be stopped five minutes later, when play was halted due to a face-covering violation, and both teams had to return to the sideline for inspection.
But the Wolfpack were undeterred. They came back to score again in the 32nd minute on a Jaden Rice tally after a clean cross from the outside by senior winger Alexander Tan.
Tan knocked in a goal himself five minutes later off a fast break after a through-ball served by Isaac Rice.
“When I’m in the right situation, I definitely consider myself a goal scorer,” Tan said after his first goal this season.
DePaul started the second half with more energy and determination. The Rams got their first good chance on goal in the 49th minute -- a hard shot from the top of the box after a throw-in that was stopped squarely by St. Ignatius senior keeper Andrew Krayer.
St. Ignatius opened the second half scoring in the 65th minute when senior defender and captain Luke Hogan played a simple, square ball to senior midfielder Aidan Hurst who put the ball away at close-range.
Perhaps the seeming ease of the Wolfpack’s fourth goal, relaxed attitudes on the pitch.
Still in the 65th minute, DePaul found itself on a fast break. Junior striker Ryan Reynaert dribbled his way around the keeper with quick, fluid footwork and tapped the ball into an empty net for the Rams lone goal.
Angered, the Wolfpack answered in the 72nd minute. This time Hogan, like Tan, followed a prior assist into a goal.
Themes for DePaul this season will be improvement and acclimation.
“It’s such a young team,” Reynaert said of his side. “It can only go up from here. We’ve seen a lot of growth between the last two games so it’s looking good right now.”
DePaul head coach Stanley Niemiec concurred.
“We’ve got a young team. A majority of the guys who are playing are freshmen and sophomores. I think one senior played today,” he said. “[There are] growing pains, a little bit, but we got a lot to learn as far as the system we want to run and just playing together.
“Defensively, we are doing better. Even though the scoreboard says five, we are still doing a little better, and now we’ve got to turn around and turn that into possession.” ”
DePaul’s starting 11 consisted of four freshmen, three sophomores, and four juniors.
Matt Miller seemed more pleased with the latest St. Ignatius.
“I think we are moving the ball very well,” he said. “Today was a good sign.
“We had some really good offensive plays into the front three. We had some really encouraging signs when we brought our substitutes on. The energy was high throughout the game which was positive.
“It was nice to get five goals,” Miller added.
If Jack Lowe’s words -- “We are coming. Be ready.” – become prophetic, there should be plenty more goals to follow.
St. Ignatius will head to Fenwick on Tuesday for their second Chicago Catholic League Blue Division game of the season. DePaul will face off against DeLaSalle on the same day in hopes of gaining their first win of the season.
Starting lineups
St. Ignatius
GK: Andrew Krayer
D: Luke Hogan
D: Billy Thompson
D: Gavin Troy
D: Charlie Kennedy
M: Jack Lowe
M: Aidan Hurst
M: Dillon Kraft
M: Alexander Tan
M: Jaden Rice
F: Isaac Rice
DePaul
GK: Joey Galante
D: Griffin Gustafson
D: Ford Pape
D: Jack Larson
D: Jack Kuban
M: Chris Valencia
M: Charlie Reynaert
M: Will France
M: Brody Edgar
F: Ryan Reynaert
F: Gabe Garza
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Isaac Rice, jr., F, St. Ignatius
Scoring summary
First half
St. Ignatius: I. Rice (UA) 20th minute
St. Ignatius: J. Rice (Tan) 32nd minute
St. Ignatius: Tan (I. Rice), 37th minute
Second half
St. Ignatius: Hurst (Hogan) 65th minute
DePaul: R. Reynaert (C. Reynaert) 65th minute
St. Ignatius: Hogan (Hanlon) 72nd minute
Wolfpack offense roars to life in 5-1 victory
By A.J. Schmitz
CHICAGO -St. Ignatius has had an explosive start to the season with eight goals and only one conceded in its first two matches.
After a resounding 3-0 victory against Brother Rice, the Wolfpack headed to DePaul Prep riding the wave of confidence from its opening win. While brothers Jaden and Isaac Rice were the dominant pair to watch Thursday, the second win was a holistic team performance that saw multiple Wolves rack up statistics in a 5-1 win.
The effort solicited a statement from St. Ignatius junior midfielder Jack Lowe: St.Ignatius are the hardest workers out there. We are coming for the Catholic League title. This year. We are coming. Be ready.”
A bold message from a bold player on a bold team.
“Our approach right now is to be comfortable in ownership of the ball, [have] movement across the back line, [and] recycle the play,” said St. Ignatius coach Matt Miller.
In other words, prioritize possession, slow it down, and don’t force attacks.
In a patient play style popularized by the Spanish -one often criticized for its lack of urgency -St.Ignatius looked cool, calm, and collected with the ball at its feet, playing back to the defense for better looks as they waited for opportunities to strike with full force.
This made for anything but a laid-back game.
Lowe was all over the pitch, moving the ball around with admirable intelligence to create opportunities for his goal scorers. Though he did not end up on the score sheet himself, the amount of time Lowe spent controlling possession and finding teammates to ultimately create opportunities for his strikers made Lowe one of the visitor’s most valuable assets.
“I probably should be more of a goal-scorer,” Lowe said of his role on the team. “But this game, I just [focused on] connecting all the positions, linking the ball and switching the field.”
DePaul’s freshman goalkeeper Joey Galante battled with the resilience and confidence one might only expect from a varsity veteran and put on an impressive performance despite the score line. The Rams did not concede their first goal until the 20th minute when St. Ignatius’ junior striker Isaac Rice used his height to beat Galante to a ball in the air and headed his shot into the back of the net
It looked as if St. Ignatius’ momentum might be stopped five minutes later, when play was halted due to a face-covering violation, and both teams had to return to the sideline for inspection.
But the Wolfpack were undeterred. They came back to score again in the 32nd minute on a Jaden Rice tally after a clean cross from the outside by senior winger Alexander Tan.
Tan knocked in a goal himself five minutes later off a fast break after a through-ball served by Isaac Rice.
“When I’m in the right situation, I definitely consider myself a goal scorer,” Tan said after his first goal this season.
DePaul started the second half with more energy and determination. The Rams got their first good chance on goal in the 49th minute -- a hard shot from the top of the box after a throw-in that was stopped squarely by St. Ignatius senior keeper Andrew Krayer.
St. Ignatius opened the second half scoring in the 65th minute when senior defender and captain Luke Hogan played a simple, square ball to senior midfielder Aidan Hurst who put the ball away at close-range.
Perhaps the seeming ease of the Wolfpack’s fourth goal, relaxed attitudes on the pitch.
Still in the 65th minute, DePaul found itself on a fast break. Junior striker Ryan Reynaert dribbled his way around the keeper with quick, fluid footwork and tapped the ball into an empty net for the Rams lone goal.
Angered, the Wolfpack answered in the 72nd minute. This time Hogan, like Tan, followed a prior assist into a goal.
Themes for DePaul this season will be improvement and acclimation.
“It’s such a young team,” Reynaert said of his side. “It can only go up from here. We’ve seen a lot of growth between the last two games so it’s looking good right now.”
DePaul head coach Stanley Niemiec concurred.
“We’ve got a young team. A majority of the guys who are playing are freshmen and sophomores. I think one senior played today,” he said. “[There are] growing pains, a little bit, but we got a lot to learn as far as the system we want to run and just playing together.
“Defensively, we are doing better. Even though the scoreboard says five, we are still doing a little better, and now we’ve got to turn around and turn that into possession.” ”
DePaul’s starting 11 consisted of four freshmen, three sophomores, and four juniors.
Matt Miller seemed more pleased with the latest St. Ignatius.
“I think we are moving the ball very well,” he said. “Today was a good sign.
“We had some really good offensive plays into the front three. We had some really encouraging signs when we brought our substitutes on. The energy was high throughout the game which was positive.
“It was nice to get five goals,” Miller added.
If Jack Lowe’s words -- “We are coming. Be ready.” – become prophetic, there should be plenty more goals to follow.
St. Ignatius will head to Fenwick on Tuesday for their second Chicago Catholic League Blue Division game of the season. DePaul will face off against DeLaSalle on the same day in hopes of gaining their first win of the season.
Starting lineups
St. Ignatius
GK: Andrew Krayer
D: Luke Hogan
D: Billy Thompson
D: Gavin Troy
D: Charlie Kennedy
M: Jack Lowe
M: Aidan Hurst
M: Dillon Kraft
M: Alexander Tan
M: Jaden Rice
F: Isaac Rice
DePaul
GK: Joey Galante
D: Griffin Gustafson
D: Ford Pape
D: Jack Larson
D: Jack Kuban
M: Chris Valencia
M: Charlie Reynaert
M: Will France
M: Brody Edgar
F: Ryan Reynaert
F: Gabe Garza
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Isaac Rice, jr., F, St. Ignatius
Scoring summary
First half
St. Ignatius: I. Rice (UA) 20th minute
St. Ignatius: J. Rice (Tan) 32nd minute
St. Ignatius: Tan (I. Rice), 37th minute
Second half
St. Ignatius: Hurst (Hogan) 65th minute
DePaul: R. Reynaert (C. Reynaert) 65th minute
St. Ignatius: Hogan (Hanlon) 72nd minute