Solorio wins semi via Villa
Sr.'s assist, goal power Sun Warriors past Hancock, to city final
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Carlos Villa has a shy and self-effacing manner. He projects a calm and steadiness. His nickname is “Biggie,” a moniker coined by Solorio coach Adrian Calleros.
He is a unique and striking talent, a player unlike any other in the city. Junior forward Alex Sanchez is the emerging superstar with a stunning 37 goals on the year. Villa makes the attack hum. He has the size of a tight end but a feathery and beautiful game.
His footwork is extraordinary and his ability to facilitate the Sun Warriors’ attack is the crucial reason they have one of the most explosive offenses around.
Hamstrung of late by a nagging knee injury, Villa plays through pain. Solorio (16-1-1) has proven pretty much unstoppable with him at the command.
Villa powered the Sun Warriors’ attack with a beautiful first half assist and added his own goal at the start of the second half to lead no. 5 Solorio past upstart Hancock 3-1 in the semifinals of the Chicago Public League tournament Tuesday afternoon at Winnemac Stadium.
The defending Class AA state champions notched another first and became the first Solorio team to qualify for a city title game.
Solorio meets rival and defending city champion Washington for the big prize Thursday night at Toyota Park.
For his achievements Carlos Villa earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction. He pushed his season totals to 10 goals and a team-best 16 assists.
“This is a big deal,” Villa said. “In my two years on the varsity we have never done this. Last year we did not do that well against Lane [in a semifinal loss]. Then we won state, and now we want [the city title] more than any other team.”
Still nursing his tender right knee, Villa did not start and was inserted about 10 minutes after the start. It gave him the right perspective.
“I kind of used that to my advantage to see what I was working with,” Villa said. “When I came in I knew that they were giving us a lot of space, I knew if I got the ball, I am a bigger player and they are going to be able to come around me and take it away.”
Solorio defeated Hancock by the same score, 3-1, in Premier Division South play on Sept. 17. The Eagles (15-5-1) were intimately familiar with the Sun Warriors’ strengths and sought to shut down their runners and passing lanes.
At the start Hancock succeeded. In the 24th minute, Villa broke through. Catching a ball in space, he made a quick touch to midfielder Jonathan Vasquez.
Villa is not just a great passer, but he knows just how to get the ball to the right shooters. Vasquez made one quick and explosive move in hammering home a ball inside the near post from about 22 yards for the 1-0 lead.
“At first we were playing a little slow in the middle, but then we brought in our normal starter [Villa] and I went back to the middle and we started playing a lot quicker,” Vasquez said. “I was connecting with Carlos, and we were making really good one-two passes. I got the ball and shot.”
Calleros admits not having Villa in his the first 11 has probably contributed to the Sun Warriors’ uneven starts of late. There are advantages the team has been able to exploit.
“He has been banged up and not starting, and it kind of hurts us a little bit,” Calleros said. “But at the same time the other team gets worn down a bit.
“He comes in fresh, and he is able to do his thing. He can hold the ball, he can play with his back to the goal. When you have somebody like Alex, teams have to double-team him (Vila) or Alex, so you end up having to pick your poison.”
Villa started the second half. His presence was evident right as he inverted the normal dynamic with Sanchez and worked off of him instead of the usual path.
Off a free kick from the left edge, Sanchez served a terrific ball that met Villa's great finishing run. He got a first touch for a goal in the 43rd minute that stretched the lead.
“My coach told me to make a run, and I just listened,” Villa said. “Alex shot it, and I just ran into it.”
Defender Kevin Patino completed the Sun Warriors’ scoring in the 49th minute after he was fouled inside the box and converted a penalty kick.
Solorio clearly had the run of play and the comfortable margin, but the game was often tighter than it appeared. The contest served as a validation for Hancock, which was eager to prove they belong on this stage.
Hancock suffered from unfortunate luck in twice hitting the underside of the crossbar, once by star midfielder Bryan Trigueros off a half volley and then on a free kick from Diego Martinez.
The Eagles closed the margin after Trigueros controlled a deflection on the left wing and lobbed a tricky floater that eased past the reach of Sun Warriors’ keeper Joel Estrada for an impressive goal in the 54th minute.
The Cinderella run came to a close. The Eagles made a strong showing, in particular Trigueros, who now has five goals and 24 assists on the year.
“We did well,” Trigueros said. “We tried our best, we kept our heads up, and we kept moving forward and that is all you can ask. It felt great. It was hard to come up, but we did it, and we surprised people. I am very proud of being in Premier and especially making it to the semifinals.”
South Side programs ccounted for all four semifinalists.
“Once you start getting players to believe in themselves and knowing that they can play at that level, it’s just a matter of executing,” Hancock coach Froylan Jimenez said. “We know we can play at this level. We just had some bad luck today, hitting some posts.
“To go from the 2nd Division to the 1st Division and then get promoted to the Premier, we had the belief that we are not only going to get promoted and get to Premier, but start making some noise and beating some people.
“This is a team whose expectations are high. Knowing that we can compete with the state champs and the city champs, there’s nobody we are afraid to play, and we can compete against anybody.”
Starting lineups
Solorio
GK: Joel Estrada
D: Kevin Patino
D: Brian Marin
D: Edgar Torres
D: Omar Salgado
MF: Rafael Soto
MF: Donovan Dorantes
MF: David Gamez
MF: Angel Nevarez
F: Jonathan Vasquez
F: Alex Sanchez
Hancock
GK: Jair Ramirez
D: Guillermo Reynosa
D: Alexander Gonzalez
D: Luis Espinoza
D: Jonathan Quezada
MF: Angel Howard
MF: Omar Aparicio
MF: Bryan Trigueros
MF: Jose Gonzalez
F: Diego Gamino
F: Sebastian Padilla
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Carlos Villa, sr., F, Solorio
Scoring summary
First half
Solorio—Jonathan Vasquez (Carlos Villa), 24th minute
Second half
Solorio—Villa (Alex Sanchez), 43rd minute
Solorio—Kevin Patino (penalty kick), 49th minute
Hancock—Bryan Trigueros (unassisted), 54th minute
Sr.'s assist, goal power Sun Warriors past Hancock, to city final
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Carlos Villa has a shy and self-effacing manner. He projects a calm and steadiness. His nickname is “Biggie,” a moniker coined by Solorio coach Adrian Calleros.
He is a unique and striking talent, a player unlike any other in the city. Junior forward Alex Sanchez is the emerging superstar with a stunning 37 goals on the year. Villa makes the attack hum. He has the size of a tight end but a feathery and beautiful game.
His footwork is extraordinary and his ability to facilitate the Sun Warriors’ attack is the crucial reason they have one of the most explosive offenses around.
Hamstrung of late by a nagging knee injury, Villa plays through pain. Solorio (16-1-1) has proven pretty much unstoppable with him at the command.
Villa powered the Sun Warriors’ attack with a beautiful first half assist and added his own goal at the start of the second half to lead no. 5 Solorio past upstart Hancock 3-1 in the semifinals of the Chicago Public League tournament Tuesday afternoon at Winnemac Stadium.
The defending Class AA state champions notched another first and became the first Solorio team to qualify for a city title game.
Solorio meets rival and defending city champion Washington for the big prize Thursday night at Toyota Park.
For his achievements Carlos Villa earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction. He pushed his season totals to 10 goals and a team-best 16 assists.
“This is a big deal,” Villa said. “In my two years on the varsity we have never done this. Last year we did not do that well against Lane [in a semifinal loss]. Then we won state, and now we want [the city title] more than any other team.”
Still nursing his tender right knee, Villa did not start and was inserted about 10 minutes after the start. It gave him the right perspective.
“I kind of used that to my advantage to see what I was working with,” Villa said. “When I came in I knew that they were giving us a lot of space, I knew if I got the ball, I am a bigger player and they are going to be able to come around me and take it away.”
Solorio defeated Hancock by the same score, 3-1, in Premier Division South play on Sept. 17. The Eagles (15-5-1) were intimately familiar with the Sun Warriors’ strengths and sought to shut down their runners and passing lanes.
At the start Hancock succeeded. In the 24th minute, Villa broke through. Catching a ball in space, he made a quick touch to midfielder Jonathan Vasquez.
Villa is not just a great passer, but he knows just how to get the ball to the right shooters. Vasquez made one quick and explosive move in hammering home a ball inside the near post from about 22 yards for the 1-0 lead.
“At first we were playing a little slow in the middle, but then we brought in our normal starter [Villa] and I went back to the middle and we started playing a lot quicker,” Vasquez said. “I was connecting with Carlos, and we were making really good one-two passes. I got the ball and shot.”
Calleros admits not having Villa in his the first 11 has probably contributed to the Sun Warriors’ uneven starts of late. There are advantages the team has been able to exploit.
“He has been banged up and not starting, and it kind of hurts us a little bit,” Calleros said. “But at the same time the other team gets worn down a bit.
“He comes in fresh, and he is able to do his thing. He can hold the ball, he can play with his back to the goal. When you have somebody like Alex, teams have to double-team him (Vila) or Alex, so you end up having to pick your poison.”
Villa started the second half. His presence was evident right as he inverted the normal dynamic with Sanchez and worked off of him instead of the usual path.
Off a free kick from the left edge, Sanchez served a terrific ball that met Villa's great finishing run. He got a first touch for a goal in the 43rd minute that stretched the lead.
“My coach told me to make a run, and I just listened,” Villa said. “Alex shot it, and I just ran into it.”
Defender Kevin Patino completed the Sun Warriors’ scoring in the 49th minute after he was fouled inside the box and converted a penalty kick.
Solorio clearly had the run of play and the comfortable margin, but the game was often tighter than it appeared. The contest served as a validation for Hancock, which was eager to prove they belong on this stage.
Hancock suffered from unfortunate luck in twice hitting the underside of the crossbar, once by star midfielder Bryan Trigueros off a half volley and then on a free kick from Diego Martinez.
The Eagles closed the margin after Trigueros controlled a deflection on the left wing and lobbed a tricky floater that eased past the reach of Sun Warriors’ keeper Joel Estrada for an impressive goal in the 54th minute.
The Cinderella run came to a close. The Eagles made a strong showing, in particular Trigueros, who now has five goals and 24 assists on the year.
“We did well,” Trigueros said. “We tried our best, we kept our heads up, and we kept moving forward and that is all you can ask. It felt great. It was hard to come up, but we did it, and we surprised people. I am very proud of being in Premier and especially making it to the semifinals.”
South Side programs ccounted for all four semifinalists.
“Once you start getting players to believe in themselves and knowing that they can play at that level, it’s just a matter of executing,” Hancock coach Froylan Jimenez said. “We know we can play at this level. We just had some bad luck today, hitting some posts.
“To go from the 2nd Division to the 1st Division and then get promoted to the Premier, we had the belief that we are not only going to get promoted and get to Premier, but start making some noise and beating some people.
“This is a team whose expectations are high. Knowing that we can compete with the state champs and the city champs, there’s nobody we are afraid to play, and we can compete against anybody.”
Starting lineups
Solorio
GK: Joel Estrada
D: Kevin Patino
D: Brian Marin
D: Edgar Torres
D: Omar Salgado
MF: Rafael Soto
MF: Donovan Dorantes
MF: David Gamez
MF: Angel Nevarez
F: Jonathan Vasquez
F: Alex Sanchez
Hancock
GK: Jair Ramirez
D: Guillermo Reynosa
D: Alexander Gonzalez
D: Luis Espinoza
D: Jonathan Quezada
MF: Angel Howard
MF: Omar Aparicio
MF: Bryan Trigueros
MF: Jose Gonzalez
F: Diego Gamino
F: Sebastian Padilla
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Carlos Villa, sr., F, Solorio
Scoring summary
First half
Solorio—Jonathan Vasquez (Carlos Villa), 24th minute
Second half
Solorio—Villa (Alex Sanchez), 43rd minute
Solorio—Kevin Patino (penalty kick), 49th minute
Hancock—Bryan Trigueros (unassisted), 54th minute