Serrano hat-trick paces Marmion win
Cadets dominate possession, chances in 4-0 win over St. Joseph
By Steve Nemeth
AURORA --- What could be more appropriate than having a pair of seniors do the scoring on Marmion’s Senior Night?
James Serrano’s third hat-trick of the season combined with Mason Hartweger’s third goal of the year propelled Marmion to a 4-0 victory over St. Joseph on Thursday.
That’s the most positive way to look at a match that otherwise didn’t follow the usual scripts.
This was a Chicago Catholic League cross-over match but unlike previous years when such contests factored into a conference race, this was more like a nonconference meeting. Only the season records were affected with Marmion improving to 9-5-1 and the visiting Chargers dipping to 1-9-0.
Last season and the one before, the match-up meant something because both sides were in the same division among four total CCL groups. This year they’re in different sides of a 50-50 split in the league.
A more lop-sided result might have been expected based on Marmion’s statistical dominance.
The final tally helped hide the fact two late-season starters were under the weather and missing from the field.
Although St. Joseph had some competitive moments, the lack of offense and wins are in stark contrast to a program that boasts eight state trophies including a Class AA runner-up finish as recently as 2016.
“Taking nothing away from Marmion which is a very fine-tuned and disciplined team in great shape, I look at the final score as four mistakes by us,” St. Joseph coach Matthew Sinacore said. “Of course they’re good enough to capitalize on every mistake.
“There were some stretches in the first half when we went head-to-head with them. Perhaps we surprised them a little. We managed some shots but didn’t finish and our legs failed us in the end,” Sinacore admitted. “But there was one point late when if we could have scored it would have made it 2-1 and been a whole new game. Instead it turned to 3-0.”
Marmion scored just 1:30 into the match. James Lawinger played a through-ball forward to Serrano who drilled a 17-yarder from the left wing to fulfill one of Marmion coach Jimmy Romano’s objectives.
“Coach always wants us to score early,” Serrano said. “Of course he also wants us to keep scoring and although we had some good ball movement, we weren’t quite finishing our chances.”
While three goals out of nine shots on goal for the first half looks like a good percentage, that number could have been significantly higher since the Cadets owned an 18-2 advantage for overall shots and a 9-1 edge in shots on goal. The second half was more of the same: 16-4 for overall tries and 5-1 for shots on.
Add it all up and it is a 34-6 tally for attempts and a 14-2 margin in shots on goal. Not surprisingly one of Romano’s often-heard pleas from the bench was to get “shots on frame.”
Throw in a 6-1 edge for corner kicks and it seemed like Marmion could have been running away with the match.
But as Sinacore noted, St. Joseph trailed by a single goal until just 4:37 remained prior to halftime. As the Cadets tried to find their way past the Chargers defense, a ball finally ricocheted to Hartweger, who knocked it home from six yards.
“I was basically in the right place at the right time,” said the senior reserve forward. “We’re coached to always look for opportunities, and even though I don’t get that many, I went for it with all I had. It’s a great feeling to score, especially as part of a win.”
St. Joseph came back with its best scoring opportunity when the Chargers’ A.J. Serrano hit a 13-yard rocket from right of center, but Marmion goalie Jason Baker handled it with the kind of growing confidence that has paralleled his return to action. He had been sidelined by an ankle injury in a 2-1 loss to then no. 21 Streamwood on Aug. 28. Thursday the junior keeper made his fourth-straight appearance.
“I’m glad to be back, and I think with every practice and every game, I’m getting better each time in regaining my skills and staminia,” Baker said. “Tonight it especially feels good to get the shutout, which is another of coach’s objectives.”
After the Chargers’ shot with 1:31 to go in the half, Marmion created another counterattack. It led to Joey Lagman's third assist of the season after he set up Serrano for a virtual 1-v.-1 with the St. Joseph goalie. The eight-yarder was tucked past outrushing Carlos Gomez and inside the left post for the 3-0 lead with :49 left.
A classic example of Marmion not cashing in on a golden opportunity came 10 minutes into the second half when Serrano fed teammates Andre Cerda, but the left-side blast soared over the goal. St. Joe’s Adrian Madrid boomed a 40-yard direct kick on target but Baker made a sure-handed catch.
While Marmion continued peppering the Chargers’ net, the shots that weren’t sailing high or wide were kept out by Gomez. In addition to 10 saves, he often demonstrated the impressive ability to launch towering kicks essentially bouncing into the Marmion goal box. Both Gomez and Marmion’s Baker made a series of defensive catches or clears on balls that could have created trouble.
Serrano essentially put the match on ice with 17:14 still to play as he dribbled around or past defenders for an absolute right-side cracker that caromed off the far left post and in. By completing the hat-trick, he bumped his team superlatives to 21 goals (five game-winners), six assists and 48 points.
“We scored early, stayed disciplined and added more goals, added to it in the second half and kept a shutout, that is everything we strive for,” Romano said. “Having a couple starters missing, it was a good opportunity for our depth to prove itself, and I’d say some guys stepped up. If need be, it’s good to know
we can make those adjustments,” Romano explained.
For Baker and the defensive core -- Sebastian Gutierrez, David Lawinger, Michael Murray, Joey Lagman and Christian Cardenas -- Romano noted their consistent efforts that allow the rest of the lineup to play with confidence and success.
That will remain important as the Cadets begin an arduous finish to the regular season. Tuesday features the team's league finale at Fenwick followed by the Oct. 10 home make-up date with St. Laurence. Marmion ends the season with a playoff tuner against current no. 4 Wheaton Academy.
St. Joseph turns its attention toward remaining division home matches with DePaul and De La Salle and a make-up with St Francis de Sales.
The Chargers' Lucas Hansen, a versatile multi-position standout should be regaining his health. Against Marmion, Oziel Hernandez showed improvement ad furthered Sinacore's optimism.
“This was the first match he was able to go for more than five minutes in stretches,” Sinacore noted. “He has the ability to slow things down for us and with the offense flowing through him, he’s able to open up our article with better ball distribution.”
In addition to bonafide saves, Gomez continually scrambled in light of Marmion’s continuous offense. The Charger senior keeper had another 11 defensive catches or clears and displayed a powerful punting ability.
Starting lineups
St. Joseph
GK Carlos Gomez
D Maximo Barrios
D Hugo Lopez-Camacho
D Adrian Madrid
D Julio Garcia
M Geovany Lopez
M Oziel Hernandez
M Chris Perez
M Nick Dowdle
F Jacob Garza
F A.J. Serrano
Marmion
GK Jason Baker
D David Lawinger
D Michael Murray
D Sebastian Gutierrez
D Joey Lagman
M James Lawinger
M Ian Swindle
M C.J. Sowers
M Tyler “T.J.” Laurich
F James Serrano
F Andre Cerda
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: James Serrano, sr., F, Marmion
Referees: Tom Evins (center), Scott Lichtfuss, Curt Wegner
Game summary
Marmion 4, St. Joseph 0
St. Joseph 0 0 --- 0 (1-9-0)
Marmion 3 1 --- 4 (9-5-1)
Scoring
First half
M – Serrano left wing 17-yarder off through ball (J. Lawinger assist), 1:30 gone
M – Hartweger six-yard putback off a loose ball ricochet (unassisted), 35:23 gone
M – Serrano eight-yarder tucked past out-rushing keeper (Lagman assist), 39:11 gone
Second half
M – Serrano 16-yarder from right side off far left post (unassisted), 62:46 gone
Shots
SJ 2 – 4 --- 6
M 18 – 16 --- 34
Shots on goal
SJ 1 – 1 --- 2
M 9 – 5 --- 14
Saves (GK)
SJ (Gomez, 80 min.) 6 – 4 --- 10
M (Baker, 80 min.) 1 – 1 --- 2
Corner kicks
SJ 0 – 1 --- 1
M 3 - 3 --- 6
Offsides
SJ 0 – 0 --- 0
M 0 – 0 --- 0
Cadets dominate possession, chances in 4-0 win over St. Joseph
By Steve Nemeth
AURORA --- What could be more appropriate than having a pair of seniors do the scoring on Marmion’s Senior Night?
James Serrano’s third hat-trick of the season combined with Mason Hartweger’s third goal of the year propelled Marmion to a 4-0 victory over St. Joseph on Thursday.
That’s the most positive way to look at a match that otherwise didn’t follow the usual scripts.
This was a Chicago Catholic League cross-over match but unlike previous years when such contests factored into a conference race, this was more like a nonconference meeting. Only the season records were affected with Marmion improving to 9-5-1 and the visiting Chargers dipping to 1-9-0.
Last season and the one before, the match-up meant something because both sides were in the same division among four total CCL groups. This year they’re in different sides of a 50-50 split in the league.
A more lop-sided result might have been expected based on Marmion’s statistical dominance.
The final tally helped hide the fact two late-season starters were under the weather and missing from the field.
Although St. Joseph had some competitive moments, the lack of offense and wins are in stark contrast to a program that boasts eight state trophies including a Class AA runner-up finish as recently as 2016.
“Taking nothing away from Marmion which is a very fine-tuned and disciplined team in great shape, I look at the final score as four mistakes by us,” St. Joseph coach Matthew Sinacore said. “Of course they’re good enough to capitalize on every mistake.
“There were some stretches in the first half when we went head-to-head with them. Perhaps we surprised them a little. We managed some shots but didn’t finish and our legs failed us in the end,” Sinacore admitted. “But there was one point late when if we could have scored it would have made it 2-1 and been a whole new game. Instead it turned to 3-0.”
Marmion scored just 1:30 into the match. James Lawinger played a through-ball forward to Serrano who drilled a 17-yarder from the left wing to fulfill one of Marmion coach Jimmy Romano’s objectives.
“Coach always wants us to score early,” Serrano said. “Of course he also wants us to keep scoring and although we had some good ball movement, we weren’t quite finishing our chances.”
While three goals out of nine shots on goal for the first half looks like a good percentage, that number could have been significantly higher since the Cadets owned an 18-2 advantage for overall shots and a 9-1 edge in shots on goal. The second half was more of the same: 16-4 for overall tries and 5-1 for shots on.
Add it all up and it is a 34-6 tally for attempts and a 14-2 margin in shots on goal. Not surprisingly one of Romano’s often-heard pleas from the bench was to get “shots on frame.”
Throw in a 6-1 edge for corner kicks and it seemed like Marmion could have been running away with the match.
But as Sinacore noted, St. Joseph trailed by a single goal until just 4:37 remained prior to halftime. As the Cadets tried to find their way past the Chargers defense, a ball finally ricocheted to Hartweger, who knocked it home from six yards.
“I was basically in the right place at the right time,” said the senior reserve forward. “We’re coached to always look for opportunities, and even though I don’t get that many, I went for it with all I had. It’s a great feeling to score, especially as part of a win.”
St. Joseph came back with its best scoring opportunity when the Chargers’ A.J. Serrano hit a 13-yard rocket from right of center, but Marmion goalie Jason Baker handled it with the kind of growing confidence that has paralleled his return to action. He had been sidelined by an ankle injury in a 2-1 loss to then no. 21 Streamwood on Aug. 28. Thursday the junior keeper made his fourth-straight appearance.
“I’m glad to be back, and I think with every practice and every game, I’m getting better each time in regaining my skills and staminia,” Baker said. “Tonight it especially feels good to get the shutout, which is another of coach’s objectives.”
After the Chargers’ shot with 1:31 to go in the half, Marmion created another counterattack. It led to Joey Lagman's third assist of the season after he set up Serrano for a virtual 1-v.-1 with the St. Joseph goalie. The eight-yarder was tucked past outrushing Carlos Gomez and inside the left post for the 3-0 lead with :49 left.
A classic example of Marmion not cashing in on a golden opportunity came 10 minutes into the second half when Serrano fed teammates Andre Cerda, but the left-side blast soared over the goal. St. Joe’s Adrian Madrid boomed a 40-yard direct kick on target but Baker made a sure-handed catch.
While Marmion continued peppering the Chargers’ net, the shots that weren’t sailing high or wide were kept out by Gomez. In addition to 10 saves, he often demonstrated the impressive ability to launch towering kicks essentially bouncing into the Marmion goal box. Both Gomez and Marmion’s Baker made a series of defensive catches or clears on balls that could have created trouble.
Serrano essentially put the match on ice with 17:14 still to play as he dribbled around or past defenders for an absolute right-side cracker that caromed off the far left post and in. By completing the hat-trick, he bumped his team superlatives to 21 goals (five game-winners), six assists and 48 points.
“We scored early, stayed disciplined and added more goals, added to it in the second half and kept a shutout, that is everything we strive for,” Romano said. “Having a couple starters missing, it was a good opportunity for our depth to prove itself, and I’d say some guys stepped up. If need be, it’s good to know
we can make those adjustments,” Romano explained.
For Baker and the defensive core -- Sebastian Gutierrez, David Lawinger, Michael Murray, Joey Lagman and Christian Cardenas -- Romano noted their consistent efforts that allow the rest of the lineup to play with confidence and success.
That will remain important as the Cadets begin an arduous finish to the regular season. Tuesday features the team's league finale at Fenwick followed by the Oct. 10 home make-up date with St. Laurence. Marmion ends the season with a playoff tuner against current no. 4 Wheaton Academy.
St. Joseph turns its attention toward remaining division home matches with DePaul and De La Salle and a make-up with St Francis de Sales.
The Chargers' Lucas Hansen, a versatile multi-position standout should be regaining his health. Against Marmion, Oziel Hernandez showed improvement ad furthered Sinacore's optimism.
“This was the first match he was able to go for more than five minutes in stretches,” Sinacore noted. “He has the ability to slow things down for us and with the offense flowing through him, he’s able to open up our article with better ball distribution.”
In addition to bonafide saves, Gomez continually scrambled in light of Marmion’s continuous offense. The Charger senior keeper had another 11 defensive catches or clears and displayed a powerful punting ability.
Starting lineups
St. Joseph
GK Carlos Gomez
D Maximo Barrios
D Hugo Lopez-Camacho
D Adrian Madrid
D Julio Garcia
M Geovany Lopez
M Oziel Hernandez
M Chris Perez
M Nick Dowdle
F Jacob Garza
F A.J. Serrano
Marmion
GK Jason Baker
D David Lawinger
D Michael Murray
D Sebastian Gutierrez
D Joey Lagman
M James Lawinger
M Ian Swindle
M C.J. Sowers
M Tyler “T.J.” Laurich
F James Serrano
F Andre Cerda
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: James Serrano, sr., F, Marmion
Referees: Tom Evins (center), Scott Lichtfuss, Curt Wegner
Game summary
Marmion 4, St. Joseph 0
St. Joseph 0 0 --- 0 (1-9-0)
Marmion 3 1 --- 4 (9-5-1)
Scoring
First half
M – Serrano left wing 17-yarder off through ball (J. Lawinger assist), 1:30 gone
M – Hartweger six-yard putback off a loose ball ricochet (unassisted), 35:23 gone
M – Serrano eight-yarder tucked past out-rushing keeper (Lagman assist), 39:11 gone
Second half
M – Serrano 16-yarder from right side off far left post (unassisted), 62:46 gone
Shots
SJ 2 – 4 --- 6
M 18 – 16 --- 34
Shots on goal
SJ 1 – 1 --- 2
M 9 – 5 --- 14
Saves (GK)
SJ (Gomez, 80 min.) 6 – 4 --- 10
M (Baker, 80 min.) 1 – 1 --- 2
Corner kicks
SJ 0 – 1 --- 1
M 3 - 3 --- 6
Offsides
SJ 0 – 0 --- 0
M 0 – 0 --- 0