Solorio's Garcia steps up, saves
win over Wheaton Warrenville South
Backup keeper makes 2 shootout stops for quarterfinal win
By Dave Owen
SCHAUMBURG – Opportunistic was the operative word on both sides Saturday morning as Solorio met Wheaton-Warrenville South in the BodyArmor bracket first round.
The Tigers were first to make use of the word.
With just one quality chance on goal in the first half, they turned the scoring bid into a 1-0 halftime lead on a goal by freshman Semin Razman.
But in the end, it was Solorio goalkeeper Angel Garcia who took advantage of his own big opportunity and decided the match.
With regular keeper David Salgado out with an injury, Garcia started Saturday’s match and finished it in style. His two shootout saves were the difference after the teams had played to a 1-1 tie in regulation.
Solorio (5-2-0) won the PK battle 4-2 and advanced to the winners’ semifinals. In the process, the Sun Warriors knocked frequent tournament finalist Wheaton Warrenville South (3-3-2) into the consolation draw that will distribute funds for charitable causes.
“We've been in this (tournament) since its 2003 onset,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said, “and been to the spray (finals) on six occasions on the boys side.
“It would have been nice to achieve equal to those other (teams), and that won't happen now, but we have a great opportunity to play for pediatric cancer research Sunday. So, we're going to put our best foot forward for a great cause.”
For Solorio, Garcia certainly put his best foot forward in the make-or-break PK session.
While his teammates Christian Bueno, Ricardo Mejia, Yamir Gallegos and Orlando Ojeda all converted their kicks, Garcia made diving saves at the left post (second shot) and right post (fourth) to give his team the win.
“I really look at the eyes (of the shooters) and kind of where they're lined up,” Garcia said of his strategy. “Their body says it all. Also on lefties, it's really obvious they're going to shoot one direction. So on the last one I knew where he was shooting.”
Garcia was right, but those watching who thought he was a seasoned veteran in the net would be wrong.
“He’s our backup keeper,” Solorio coach Adrian Calleros said. “Our starter got hurt yesterday in practice, so it was nice how he stepped up.
“He (Garcia) really hasn't had a lot of minutes this year . But we do a lot of work, and he sees a lot of action in practice. I think that really helps out.”
Early on in Saturday’s battle, Solorio’s control of play and majority of chances in the first half produced no benefits on the scoreboard.
Instead, it was Wheaton Warrenville South freshman Razman who had the lone first half goal 21 minutes in.
“We played a 1-2 to the middle to Timmy (Foley),” senior midfielder Gael Alfaro said, “and then to our other forward Issa (Husseini) and then to Semin (Razman). And Semin finished it off.”
Said Callipari: “Semin, the freshman, cleanly slotted it. That's well-balanced, good observation. He did all the right things.”
Two minutes after the goal, Solorio was threatening with two-straight corner kicks (the second headed away by Brooks Becker). Then in the 30th minute, a nice give-and-go between Gallegos and Mejia was broken up brilliantly by sliding Tigers defender Nikhil Bawa.
“I think we kind of started out on defense most of the first half,” Bawa said. “I felt we were playing a lot in our own half. But then we still got the break and scored.
“We had like one shot in the first half and still scored. So I think we played alright, but we definitely could have moved the ball better and attacked better.”
As Callipari saw it, Bawa couldn’t have played much better Saturday.
“The important thing here (at the tournament) is that he's in position to be highlighted to collegiate coaches,” Callipari said. “He has the size and the stature and the soccer intellect, and is good at maintaining composure yet not negating the intensity. That's a fine line. You go in with too much zest, and you can forget the intellect part of it.
“He did a good job of controlling that, and consequently we get organized. And when he plays organized, everybody else feeds off that because he's an anchor.”
The Tigers needed goalkeeper Jared Ferreyra’s skills in the 35th minute, when Solorio’s Justino Saucedo rocketed a high 35-yard shot that required Ferreyra's leaping ability to tip it over the crossbar.
Eric Criostomo’s header upfield denied the ensuing Solorio corner kick, but Solorio wasn’t done with late first half scoring bids.
In the 38th minute, a foul set up a Gallegos 40-yard free kick. His fine long-distance strike required another great effort, this time a Ferreyra lunge and block near the left post that kept the score 1-0.
Outside of its score, Wheaton Warrenville South's only other threat of any note was a 33rd minute Edgar Guzman 50-yard free kick that Alfaro headed just wide of the left post from 10 yards.
As for Solorio, the halftime message was clear.
“We needed to get an early goal to get back in the game,” Gallegos said. “I think our intensity really helped.”
It didn’t take long for a near miss, then the tying goal.
Two minutes into the half, Santiago Leyva headed in a Gallegos 35-yard free kick send but was ruled offside.
Then just after Leyva’s eight-yard shot off a Gallegos cross went over the net, the same combination clicked six minutes into the second half to tie the game 1-1.
Leyva’s touch-pass sprung Gallegos on a rush into the box, where the senior rolled his fifth goal of 2022 inside the lower right corner of the net.
“We just kept going at it,” Gallegos said. “We knew that we could score. We kept creating chances, and we knew it would come. And we scored, and we got back in the game.”
The game then became a defensive struggle the rest of regulation.
A sequence with 30 minutes left epitomized that: Solorio’s Saucedo made a nice midfield steal and run, then found Mejia on the left side near the box. But Wheaton Warrenville South’s Aaron Escareno made a nice 1-v-1 steal and Alfaro sent the ball downfield to deny the chance.
With 24 minutes to go, Ferreyra again went airborne to swat away an Adrian Munoz 18-yard shot. A minute later, Bawa matched his first half effort with another sliding clear of the top of the box on a Mejia threat.
“I think we played a lot better today than we had the last two games,” Bawa said. “We started off 3-0-2 and then lost the next two.
“We played better as a unit today. We moved the ball, we defended better.”
One scare for the Tigers came with 21 minutes left, when Ferreyra collided with Saucedo on a Solorio send to the box and had to exit the game.
Carrol Dunn stepped in nicely at goalkeeper for an 11-minute spell until Ferreyra returned. Dunn’s long punt with 15 minutes to go set up an Alfaro and Jet Oehrlein rush that ended with an Oehrlein shot being deflected just wide left.
The Tigers had another chance with six minutes left, a Escareno shot deflected just wide left off a Husseini pass.
Then Solorio closed regulation with the better of chances. Ferreyra marked his return with a catch of a Christian Bueno 30-yard free kick, then a pair of Solorio rushes into the box (the last in the final seconds) were denied on good 1-v-1 defensive plays by Jerry Cuatzo.
Then came the always fickle penalty kick session, and Solorio’s perfect shooting and two Garcia saves tilted the battle in its favor.
“It wasn't easy,” Garcia said, “but we stuck with it as a whole team. We played well under pressure. Everyone was relaxed. Nobody was nervous.
“I told my teammates just to be calm, whatever happens, happens. And at the end we won.
“I think the team is at a very good point,” Garcia added. “We had a rough start, but we've picked it up a little bit.”
Wheaton Warrenville South had plenty to be happy with Saturday as well.
“I think we played them really well,” Alfaro said. “There are some things we need to fix in the backline and in finishing, but I think at the end of the day we played really well.
“I think we're not doing too bad, but I think we could do better. We have to finish the chances that we get. If we're missing all these shots and only score one (goal), that's going to affect all of us.”
The general lack of offense in both regulation and the PKs was the one downside in the Tigers’ solid effort.
“I know we were a little bit hesitant and were on our heels the majority of the game,” Callipari said, “just questioning our ability to go forward because of their (Solorio’s) ability to possess and get numbers up. We didn't want to be in the position of giving up the game.
“They (Solorio) step in. They do a great job of using their bodies, and then they go. They're well balanced and well coached. It was a great day for us because, we needed to play to that level, and i thought we did a pretty good job right up until the end.”
While it took extra time to happen, Solorio showed plenty of progress in the win.
“We're a young team,” Calleros said. “There are' three seniors out on the field, so it's going to be part of growing, getting better and going forward.
“We're slowly climbing. We have a lot of kids with talent. It's a matter of them starting to believe and understanding that while the program has done well in recent years, the only issue is a lot of kids put the jersey on and think they're the ones who put the trophies and plaques on the walls. And it was other kids.
“But it's all part of the building process. When we won state a few years back we lost six or seven games. Sometimes those losses help you.
“This is a good win,” Calleros added. “Something you learn from, and you keep going and keep growing.”
That is certainly the players’ plan.
“We're doing pretty good right now,” Gallegos said. “We just have to keep learning and keep working hard.
“We just have to focus on tomorrow and get a win tomorrow.”
Starting lineups
Solorio
GK: Angel Garcia
D: Ivan Lopez
D: Sebastian Gonzalez
D: Omar Ocampo
M: Christian Bueno
M: Justino Saucedo
M: Adrian Munoz
M: Orlando Ojeda
M: Santiago Leyva
F: Yamir Gallegos
F: Ricardo Mejia
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Jared Ferreyra
D: Jerry Cuatzo
D: Aaron Escareno
D: Nikhil Bawa
D: Quentin Oker
M: Semin Razman
M: Gael Alfaro
M: Edgar Guzman
M: Diego Bautista
F: Jet Oehrlein
F: Issa Husseini
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Angel Garcia, jr. GK, Solorio
Scoring summary
First half
WWS- Semin Razman (Issa Husseini), 21’
Second half
Sol- Yamir Gallegos (Santiago Leyva), 46’
Shootout
Solorio (4) – Christian Bueno (goal); Ricardo Mejia (goal); Gallegos (goal); Orlando Ojeda (goal)
WWS (2) – Gael Alfaro (goal); Edgar Guzman (saved); Diego Bautista (goal); Jet Oehrlein (saved)
win over Wheaton Warrenville South
Backup keeper makes 2 shootout stops for quarterfinal win
By Dave Owen
SCHAUMBURG – Opportunistic was the operative word on both sides Saturday morning as Solorio met Wheaton-Warrenville South in the BodyArmor bracket first round.
The Tigers were first to make use of the word.
With just one quality chance on goal in the first half, they turned the scoring bid into a 1-0 halftime lead on a goal by freshman Semin Razman.
But in the end, it was Solorio goalkeeper Angel Garcia who took advantage of his own big opportunity and decided the match.
With regular keeper David Salgado out with an injury, Garcia started Saturday’s match and finished it in style. His two shootout saves were the difference after the teams had played to a 1-1 tie in regulation.
Solorio (5-2-0) won the PK battle 4-2 and advanced to the winners’ semifinals. In the process, the Sun Warriors knocked frequent tournament finalist Wheaton Warrenville South (3-3-2) into the consolation draw that will distribute funds for charitable causes.
“We've been in this (tournament) since its 2003 onset,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said, “and been to the spray (finals) on six occasions on the boys side.
“It would have been nice to achieve equal to those other (teams), and that won't happen now, but we have a great opportunity to play for pediatric cancer research Sunday. So, we're going to put our best foot forward for a great cause.”
For Solorio, Garcia certainly put his best foot forward in the make-or-break PK session.
While his teammates Christian Bueno, Ricardo Mejia, Yamir Gallegos and Orlando Ojeda all converted their kicks, Garcia made diving saves at the left post (second shot) and right post (fourth) to give his team the win.
“I really look at the eyes (of the shooters) and kind of where they're lined up,” Garcia said of his strategy. “Their body says it all. Also on lefties, it's really obvious they're going to shoot one direction. So on the last one I knew where he was shooting.”
Garcia was right, but those watching who thought he was a seasoned veteran in the net would be wrong.
“He’s our backup keeper,” Solorio coach Adrian Calleros said. “Our starter got hurt yesterday in practice, so it was nice how he stepped up.
“He (Garcia) really hasn't had a lot of minutes this year . But we do a lot of work, and he sees a lot of action in practice. I think that really helps out.”
Early on in Saturday’s battle, Solorio’s control of play and majority of chances in the first half produced no benefits on the scoreboard.
Instead, it was Wheaton Warrenville South freshman Razman who had the lone first half goal 21 minutes in.
“We played a 1-2 to the middle to Timmy (Foley),” senior midfielder Gael Alfaro said, “and then to our other forward Issa (Husseini) and then to Semin (Razman). And Semin finished it off.”
Said Callipari: “Semin, the freshman, cleanly slotted it. That's well-balanced, good observation. He did all the right things.”
Two minutes after the goal, Solorio was threatening with two-straight corner kicks (the second headed away by Brooks Becker). Then in the 30th minute, a nice give-and-go between Gallegos and Mejia was broken up brilliantly by sliding Tigers defender Nikhil Bawa.
“I think we kind of started out on defense most of the first half,” Bawa said. “I felt we were playing a lot in our own half. But then we still got the break and scored.
“We had like one shot in the first half and still scored. So I think we played alright, but we definitely could have moved the ball better and attacked better.”
As Callipari saw it, Bawa couldn’t have played much better Saturday.
“The important thing here (at the tournament) is that he's in position to be highlighted to collegiate coaches,” Callipari said. “He has the size and the stature and the soccer intellect, and is good at maintaining composure yet not negating the intensity. That's a fine line. You go in with too much zest, and you can forget the intellect part of it.
“He did a good job of controlling that, and consequently we get organized. And when he plays organized, everybody else feeds off that because he's an anchor.”
The Tigers needed goalkeeper Jared Ferreyra’s skills in the 35th minute, when Solorio’s Justino Saucedo rocketed a high 35-yard shot that required Ferreyra's leaping ability to tip it over the crossbar.
Eric Criostomo’s header upfield denied the ensuing Solorio corner kick, but Solorio wasn’t done with late first half scoring bids.
In the 38th minute, a foul set up a Gallegos 40-yard free kick. His fine long-distance strike required another great effort, this time a Ferreyra lunge and block near the left post that kept the score 1-0.
Outside of its score, Wheaton Warrenville South's only other threat of any note was a 33rd minute Edgar Guzman 50-yard free kick that Alfaro headed just wide of the left post from 10 yards.
As for Solorio, the halftime message was clear.
“We needed to get an early goal to get back in the game,” Gallegos said. “I think our intensity really helped.”
It didn’t take long for a near miss, then the tying goal.
Two minutes into the half, Santiago Leyva headed in a Gallegos 35-yard free kick send but was ruled offside.
Then just after Leyva’s eight-yard shot off a Gallegos cross went over the net, the same combination clicked six minutes into the second half to tie the game 1-1.
Leyva’s touch-pass sprung Gallegos on a rush into the box, where the senior rolled his fifth goal of 2022 inside the lower right corner of the net.
“We just kept going at it,” Gallegos said. “We knew that we could score. We kept creating chances, and we knew it would come. And we scored, and we got back in the game.”
The game then became a defensive struggle the rest of regulation.
A sequence with 30 minutes left epitomized that: Solorio’s Saucedo made a nice midfield steal and run, then found Mejia on the left side near the box. But Wheaton Warrenville South’s Aaron Escareno made a nice 1-v-1 steal and Alfaro sent the ball downfield to deny the chance.
With 24 minutes to go, Ferreyra again went airborne to swat away an Adrian Munoz 18-yard shot. A minute later, Bawa matched his first half effort with another sliding clear of the top of the box on a Mejia threat.
“I think we played a lot better today than we had the last two games,” Bawa said. “We started off 3-0-2 and then lost the next two.
“We played better as a unit today. We moved the ball, we defended better.”
One scare for the Tigers came with 21 minutes left, when Ferreyra collided with Saucedo on a Solorio send to the box and had to exit the game.
Carrol Dunn stepped in nicely at goalkeeper for an 11-minute spell until Ferreyra returned. Dunn’s long punt with 15 minutes to go set up an Alfaro and Jet Oehrlein rush that ended with an Oehrlein shot being deflected just wide left.
The Tigers had another chance with six minutes left, a Escareno shot deflected just wide left off a Husseini pass.
Then Solorio closed regulation with the better of chances. Ferreyra marked his return with a catch of a Christian Bueno 30-yard free kick, then a pair of Solorio rushes into the box (the last in the final seconds) were denied on good 1-v-1 defensive plays by Jerry Cuatzo.
Then came the always fickle penalty kick session, and Solorio’s perfect shooting and two Garcia saves tilted the battle in its favor.
“It wasn't easy,” Garcia said, “but we stuck with it as a whole team. We played well under pressure. Everyone was relaxed. Nobody was nervous.
“I told my teammates just to be calm, whatever happens, happens. And at the end we won.
“I think the team is at a very good point,” Garcia added. “We had a rough start, but we've picked it up a little bit.”
Wheaton Warrenville South had plenty to be happy with Saturday as well.
“I think we played them really well,” Alfaro said. “There are some things we need to fix in the backline and in finishing, but I think at the end of the day we played really well.
“I think we're not doing too bad, but I think we could do better. We have to finish the chances that we get. If we're missing all these shots and only score one (goal), that's going to affect all of us.”
The general lack of offense in both regulation and the PKs was the one downside in the Tigers’ solid effort.
“I know we were a little bit hesitant and were on our heels the majority of the game,” Callipari said, “just questioning our ability to go forward because of their (Solorio’s) ability to possess and get numbers up. We didn't want to be in the position of giving up the game.
“They (Solorio) step in. They do a great job of using their bodies, and then they go. They're well balanced and well coached. It was a great day for us because, we needed to play to that level, and i thought we did a pretty good job right up until the end.”
While it took extra time to happen, Solorio showed plenty of progress in the win.
“We're a young team,” Calleros said. “There are' three seniors out on the field, so it's going to be part of growing, getting better and going forward.
“We're slowly climbing. We have a lot of kids with talent. It's a matter of them starting to believe and understanding that while the program has done well in recent years, the only issue is a lot of kids put the jersey on and think they're the ones who put the trophies and plaques on the walls. And it was other kids.
“But it's all part of the building process. When we won state a few years back we lost six or seven games. Sometimes those losses help you.
“This is a good win,” Calleros added. “Something you learn from, and you keep going and keep growing.”
That is certainly the players’ plan.
“We're doing pretty good right now,” Gallegos said. “We just have to keep learning and keep working hard.
“We just have to focus on tomorrow and get a win tomorrow.”
Starting lineups
Solorio
GK: Angel Garcia
D: Ivan Lopez
D: Sebastian Gonzalez
D: Omar Ocampo
M: Christian Bueno
M: Justino Saucedo
M: Adrian Munoz
M: Orlando Ojeda
M: Santiago Leyva
F: Yamir Gallegos
F: Ricardo Mejia
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK: Jared Ferreyra
D: Jerry Cuatzo
D: Aaron Escareno
D: Nikhil Bawa
D: Quentin Oker
M: Semin Razman
M: Gael Alfaro
M: Edgar Guzman
M: Diego Bautista
F: Jet Oehrlein
F: Issa Husseini
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Angel Garcia, jr. GK, Solorio
Scoring summary
First half
WWS- Semin Razman (Issa Husseini), 21’
Second half
Sol- Yamir Gallegos (Santiago Leyva), 46’
Shootout
Solorio (4) – Christian Bueno (goal); Ricardo Mejia (goal); Gallegos (goal); Orlando Ojeda (goal)
WWS (2) – Gael Alfaro (goal); Edgar Guzman (saved); Diego Bautista (goal); Jet Oehrlein (saved)