Solorio runs on empty vs. Joliet West
Earlier game, heat take toll, Sun Warriors fall 3-0
By Patrick Z. McGavin
BURBANK — Solorio midfielder Raul Mariscal is one of the best players in the state.
At his best, his movements and actions are something to behold. He has a graceful and fluid style, a player in constant motion whose shot-creation and playmaking makes the Sun Warriors go.
On a scorching hot field, what was normally intuitive and natural seemed rather labored and almost uncomfortable. His normally sure-and-clean touch felt slightly off.
“Tired legs,” coach Adrian Calleros bemoaned.
Joliet West coach Michael O’Shea agreed.
“We talked about it, and clearly it was an advantage,” he said. “We’ve never beaten Solorio, and we know what a great program they are.”
The elegant and clean style of the Sun Warriors, predicated on possession and movement, was out of sync. The results were telling. The Sun Warriors had the performance indicators, in possession time and shots on goal.
The Tigers had the result.
Senior forward Tony Kochev had a goal and assist as the Tigers stunned Solorio 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the Windy City Ram Classic at Reavis on Saturday afternoon.
Joliet West qualified for the semifinals for the first time in program history.
“We dominated possession time in the first half, but they got us on two counters,” Calleros said.
Here’s the rub: Solorio was playing its second game of the day with barely an hour rest.
Due to the weather-related postponements and other logistical complications, the Sun Warriors had their first round game against city rival Young twice delayed.
Solorio beat the Dolphins 4-1 Thursday.
That reconfigured schedule meant Solorio had to play its second round opponent Argo at 8 a.m. Saturday. The Sun Warriors survived the Argonauts 1-0 on a Mariscal goal.
It meant a quick and difficult transition.
“For a championship bracket in a major tournament, it was very frustrating playing two games in 100-degree weather,” Calleros said. “I’m not blaming Reavis. They can’t control the weather.
“Joliet West was a good team, but what would the result have been had they played in the morning and come back, and we were the rested team?”
The Sun Warriors are a marquee program, the unquestioned power of the Chicago Public League. They won the Class AA state tournament in 2017, and have reached three of the last four city tournament championship games, winning twice
Solorio went 10-0-0 during the spring season, surrendering just two goals and defeating Lane in the adjusted and truncated Chicago Public League tournament championship.
The Windy City Classic's format of playing two 30-minute halves theoretically helped the Sun Warriors. That was predicated on Solorio establishing the early lead and riding out its physical exhaustion.
Solorio created three corner kicks and a free kick on the left edge of the box in the first 11 minutes. That final, necessary touch proved missing.
Joliet West struck in the 12th minute. Kochev directed a through-ball on the left edge that junior forward Victor Antomez received after he timed a perfect run that separated him from two Solorio defenders.
He appeared to make the cardinal sin of taking too many touches, but he was still able to launch a left-footed blast from a sharp angle that caught inside the far post for the Tigers’ vital early lead.
“Honestly, I almost felt that I dribbled too much, but in the end we connected passes and we played well together,” Antomez said.
“In the end, I was able to get the shot off and get the ball in.”
Solorio was stunned, and the Tigers were suddenly jacked up.
“Coming into the game, we were really energetic, and we wanted to play well with each other,” Kochev said.
“We played decent games the past week, and we knew what we had to do. Getting that first goal boosted our energy and gave us a lot of adrenaline.”
The Tigers (3-0-0) were energized. In a curious way, a lack of information had unintended consequences. The coaching staff was well aware of Solorio’s prestige and reputation, having played them in the tournament previously.
The players were not necessarily aware of that reputation. That only propelled them further.
“We are not a school that is always recognized compared to some of the other schools, so it feels good to beat a team with that kind of recognition,”Antomez said.
Solorio tried to regroup, pushing numbers wide and getting some strong play from midfielders Orlando Orjeto and Bryan Puga. Mariscal also had a couple of decent shots that pushed just left of frame.
“We had two players who had to leave after the Argo game and go to a cotillion class,” Calleros said. “That meant having two fewer bodies to play with, and being able to run players in.
“Not to keep repeating myself, but you saw the results of our dead legs. Shots that we normally make were just off.”
Kochev effectively delivered the dagger just three minutes after the first goal. Working the middle of the field, the ball got punched out to him with space to maneuver on the left flank.
Working from just inside the box, his first shot was deflected. It came back to him, and he got a second chance, this time drilling it inside the near post.
With his goal and assist, he earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction
“I think scoring two quick goals like that was huge for us because in our first two games, we only scored one goal each, and one of those games went to penalty kicks,” O’Shea said.
“We just needed that confidence at the start of the game.”
With 10 fewer minutes in each half, Solorio (2-1-0) had less time to operate or mount a comeback.
“We knew the game was not over,” Kochev said. “It still had 30 minutes to go, so we just had to stay focused and keep playing our style.
“We played like it was 0-0.”
Solorio had a couple of decent opportunities in the second half, but its rhythm stayed turned off.
Underscoring the separation, the Tigers generated a penalty kick in the second half when an advancing player was fouled by a trailing Solorio defender inside the box.
Forward Adrian Maldonado drilled the shot into the left corner.
“I don’t want to take anything away from what Solorio had to go through,” O’Shea said.
“I also think, either way, it was going to be a good game. Today, we played a couple of freshmen, and four or five sophomores. That is big for us to play against a team this good, and perform the way we did.”
Starting lineups
Joliet West
GK: Daniel Gudino
D: Richard Pacheco
D: Michael O’Shea
D: Ethan Podmolik
MF: Joseph Karnezis
MF: Erick Guzman
MF: Caden Halla
MF: Collin McIntyre
F: Adrian Maldonado
F: Victor Antomez
F: Tony Kochev
Solorio
GK: Yahir Hernandez
D: Ivan Soriano
D: Sebastian Gonzalez
D: Ivan Lopez
D: Jesus Flores
MF: Justin Saucedo
MF: Raul Mariscal
MF: Bryan Puga
MF: Alexander Marran
MF: Orlando Orjeto
F: Yamir Gallegos
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Tony Kochev, sr., F, Joliet West
Scoring summary
First half
Joliet West—Victor Antomez (Tony Kochev), 12th minute
Joliet West—Kochev (unassisted), 15th minute
Second half
Joliet West—Adrian Maldonado (PK), 47th minute
Earlier game, heat take toll, Sun Warriors fall 3-0
By Patrick Z. McGavin
BURBANK — Solorio midfielder Raul Mariscal is one of the best players in the state.
At his best, his movements and actions are something to behold. He has a graceful and fluid style, a player in constant motion whose shot-creation and playmaking makes the Sun Warriors go.
On a scorching hot field, what was normally intuitive and natural seemed rather labored and almost uncomfortable. His normally sure-and-clean touch felt slightly off.
“Tired legs,” coach Adrian Calleros bemoaned.
Joliet West coach Michael O’Shea agreed.
“We talked about it, and clearly it was an advantage,” he said. “We’ve never beaten Solorio, and we know what a great program they are.”
The elegant and clean style of the Sun Warriors, predicated on possession and movement, was out of sync. The results were telling. The Sun Warriors had the performance indicators, in possession time and shots on goal.
The Tigers had the result.
Senior forward Tony Kochev had a goal and assist as the Tigers stunned Solorio 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the Windy City Ram Classic at Reavis on Saturday afternoon.
Joliet West qualified for the semifinals for the first time in program history.
“We dominated possession time in the first half, but they got us on two counters,” Calleros said.
Here’s the rub: Solorio was playing its second game of the day with barely an hour rest.
Due to the weather-related postponements and other logistical complications, the Sun Warriors had their first round game against city rival Young twice delayed.
Solorio beat the Dolphins 4-1 Thursday.
That reconfigured schedule meant Solorio had to play its second round opponent Argo at 8 a.m. Saturday. The Sun Warriors survived the Argonauts 1-0 on a Mariscal goal.
It meant a quick and difficult transition.
“For a championship bracket in a major tournament, it was very frustrating playing two games in 100-degree weather,” Calleros said. “I’m not blaming Reavis. They can’t control the weather.
“Joliet West was a good team, but what would the result have been had they played in the morning and come back, and we were the rested team?”
The Sun Warriors are a marquee program, the unquestioned power of the Chicago Public League. They won the Class AA state tournament in 2017, and have reached three of the last four city tournament championship games, winning twice
Solorio went 10-0-0 during the spring season, surrendering just two goals and defeating Lane in the adjusted and truncated Chicago Public League tournament championship.
The Windy City Classic's format of playing two 30-minute halves theoretically helped the Sun Warriors. That was predicated on Solorio establishing the early lead and riding out its physical exhaustion.
Solorio created three corner kicks and a free kick on the left edge of the box in the first 11 minutes. That final, necessary touch proved missing.
Joliet West struck in the 12th minute. Kochev directed a through-ball on the left edge that junior forward Victor Antomez received after he timed a perfect run that separated him from two Solorio defenders.
He appeared to make the cardinal sin of taking too many touches, but he was still able to launch a left-footed blast from a sharp angle that caught inside the far post for the Tigers’ vital early lead.
“Honestly, I almost felt that I dribbled too much, but in the end we connected passes and we played well together,” Antomez said.
“In the end, I was able to get the shot off and get the ball in.”
Solorio was stunned, and the Tigers were suddenly jacked up.
“Coming into the game, we were really energetic, and we wanted to play well with each other,” Kochev said.
“We played decent games the past week, and we knew what we had to do. Getting that first goal boosted our energy and gave us a lot of adrenaline.”
The Tigers (3-0-0) were energized. In a curious way, a lack of information had unintended consequences. The coaching staff was well aware of Solorio’s prestige and reputation, having played them in the tournament previously.
The players were not necessarily aware of that reputation. That only propelled them further.
“We are not a school that is always recognized compared to some of the other schools, so it feels good to beat a team with that kind of recognition,”Antomez said.
Solorio tried to regroup, pushing numbers wide and getting some strong play from midfielders Orlando Orjeto and Bryan Puga. Mariscal also had a couple of decent shots that pushed just left of frame.
“We had two players who had to leave after the Argo game and go to a cotillion class,” Calleros said. “That meant having two fewer bodies to play with, and being able to run players in.
“Not to keep repeating myself, but you saw the results of our dead legs. Shots that we normally make were just off.”
Kochev effectively delivered the dagger just three minutes after the first goal. Working the middle of the field, the ball got punched out to him with space to maneuver on the left flank.
Working from just inside the box, his first shot was deflected. It came back to him, and he got a second chance, this time drilling it inside the near post.
With his goal and assist, he earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction
“I think scoring two quick goals like that was huge for us because in our first two games, we only scored one goal each, and one of those games went to penalty kicks,” O’Shea said.
“We just needed that confidence at the start of the game.”
With 10 fewer minutes in each half, Solorio (2-1-0) had less time to operate or mount a comeback.
“We knew the game was not over,” Kochev said. “It still had 30 minutes to go, so we just had to stay focused and keep playing our style.
“We played like it was 0-0.”
Solorio had a couple of decent opportunities in the second half, but its rhythm stayed turned off.
Underscoring the separation, the Tigers generated a penalty kick in the second half when an advancing player was fouled by a trailing Solorio defender inside the box.
Forward Adrian Maldonado drilled the shot into the left corner.
“I don’t want to take anything away from what Solorio had to go through,” O’Shea said.
“I also think, either way, it was going to be a good game. Today, we played a couple of freshmen, and four or five sophomores. That is big for us to play against a team this good, and perform the way we did.”
Starting lineups
Joliet West
GK: Daniel Gudino
D: Richard Pacheco
D: Michael O’Shea
D: Ethan Podmolik
MF: Joseph Karnezis
MF: Erick Guzman
MF: Caden Halla
MF: Collin McIntyre
F: Adrian Maldonado
F: Victor Antomez
F: Tony Kochev
Solorio
GK: Yahir Hernandez
D: Ivan Soriano
D: Sebastian Gonzalez
D: Ivan Lopez
D: Jesus Flores
MF: Justin Saucedo
MF: Raul Mariscal
MF: Bryan Puga
MF: Alexander Marran
MF: Orlando Orjeto
F: Yamir Gallegos
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Tony Kochev, sr., F, Joliet West
Scoring summary
First half
Joliet West—Victor Antomez (Tony Kochev), 12th minute
Joliet West—Kochev (unassisted), 15th minute
Second half
Joliet West—Adrian Maldonado (PK), 47th minute