St. Patrick tops Carmel
in battle of young teams
Shamrocks score late to take 2-1 decision in ESCC opener
By Rusty Silber
MUNDELEIN -- Through the first few weeks of the season, St. Patrick has been trying to get its younger players up to speed its veterans. It’s been a work in progress and the going has been a bit slow.
But the Shamrocks seemed to find something at the tail end of the Jim Wolter-Titan Invitational with a 6-0 shutout over Speer in the seventh place game.
They carried it over to the East Suburban Catholic Conference opener for both teams with a 2-1 victory over host Carmel (2-2-0, 0-1-0) on Thursday night.
"We've got a young team. Combine that with COVID, we haven't been able to the offseason stuff that we normally do," St. Patrick coach Kyle McClure said. "We knew that it was going to take time to get comfortable.
“At the Glenbrook South tournament, the three teams we lost to (Mount Carmel, Prospect and Mundelein) were top 30 teams in the state or will be at some point. We knew those were going to be tough games. We just wanted to use those to get better. Then, we would be fine for the rest of the season."
Things fell into place for the Shamrocks (2-4-0, 1-0-0) against Speer.
"We played a really good defensive game," McClure said. "We believe that we can be competitive with anybody. Our strongest class is our sophomores. Week by week, we'll get better and better,"
St. Patrick also welcomed back its starting keeper Bryant Alvarez, who was out with a wrist injury for the opening weeks of the season. Alvarez was a impact player; he stopped eight Corsairs shots as the Shamrocks won consecutive games for the first time this season.
"People don't realize that this was the first time he was playing," McClure said. "He will make a big difference moving forward. (Carmel) was a very good team, strong, always well-coached, physical and played well. We just finished on one more than they did. It was one of those games that can go either way. Our guys fought in this one."
St. Patrick’s Conor Day earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors. The senior scored the game-winner in the 75th minute for the Shamrocks.
Day’s first goal of the season came on a one-timer. The opportunity came after the Corsairs (2-2-0, 0-1-0) tried to clear the ball out of their own area but saw it settle right at the feet of Day.
"I just ran in, saw the ball and no one went for it," Day said. "I just went in harder than everybody else. I just attacked it straight out. It felt good, good to get it."
The midfielder detects a new course for his club.
"I believe our mentality is changing," Day said. "We're working harder every practice and every play (in games). Our win against Speer really sparked us to continue winning. Now, we want to keep our winning streak going."
Sophomore forward Sergio Barron has been a part of what the Shamrocks are trying to achieve and growing into his role. It's a learning curve for him and his classmates on the team.
"We want to open the space to get chances as a team," Barron said. "We've been working on finishing a lot more. We're working on our communication. We do have a high-level of expectations.
“Being a sophomore like me, it's trying to get better. At first the speed of the game was a little hard. But, now, I've been getting used to it."
St. Patrick found a way to get the lead in the 29th minute. Nicolas Leon converted a free kick from 25 yards into the low corner for the 1-0 lead.
However, Carmel made some changes in its attack and forged a tie deep into the second half. Ben LaMora kicked a long free kick toward the goal, and Erik Miller redirected a header into the back of the net in the 71st minute.
The Corsairs were limited on their chances on frame, which was an issue against St. Patrick.
"The last attempt to the net just wasn't there in this one," Carmel coach Ray Krawzak said. "The last pass to get the shot on target. That's what we lack.
“We had a lot of attack, but just not a lot of shots. We did play a lot of the game in their defensive third, but we weren't finding the back of the net. We let silly balls drop on corners, silly balls drop on throw-ins. We had some good moments. It really was a good game."
On the defensive side, Carmel's keeper Nick Magnone made 8 of his 10 saves in the second half.
The Corsairs have their own young core of players who are looking for a foot hold at the varsity level.
"We're at a good place mentally," Krawzak said. "We're still working out everybody's role and what they're doing with the team. Playing our system to the best of our ability. We're still figuring that out."
Sandro Pineda thinks the Corsairs have what it takes as a team if they keep working to get a result.
"I see that we have a lot of passion and a lot of heart," Pineda said. "We bring the intensity. Even if we're losing, we never give up. We just keep fighting and fighting. We may not come out with the win, but it doesn't the matter to us. That's one of our positives."
Starting lineups
St. Patrick
GK-Bryant Alvarez
D-Gael Quinonez
D-Xavier Gomez
D-Nicolas Leon
D-Rafael Ramirez
MF-Conor Day
MF-Ivan Guerrero
MF-Jorge Parra
MF-Rafael Rios
F-Nathan Davila
F-Ben Elvira
Carmel
GK-Nick Magnone
D-Kyle Snyder
D-Erik Miller
D-Roman Lynch
D-Ben LaMora
MF-Sammy Arroyo
MF-Nathan Cordova
MF-Roan Del Carmen
MF-Aidan Fendel
F-Augie Lombardo
F-Sandro Pineda
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Conor Day, sr., MF, St. Patrick
Referee: Jay Weiss; AR-Peter Kempf; AR-Vijay Komar
Scoring summary
First half
St. Patrick - Nicolas Leon (unassisted) 29'
Second half
Carmel - Erik Miller (Ben LaMora) 71'
St. Patrick - Conor Day (unassisted) 75'
in battle of young teams
Shamrocks score late to take 2-1 decision in ESCC opener
By Rusty Silber
MUNDELEIN -- Through the first few weeks of the season, St. Patrick has been trying to get its younger players up to speed its veterans. It’s been a work in progress and the going has been a bit slow.
But the Shamrocks seemed to find something at the tail end of the Jim Wolter-Titan Invitational with a 6-0 shutout over Speer in the seventh place game.
They carried it over to the East Suburban Catholic Conference opener for both teams with a 2-1 victory over host Carmel (2-2-0, 0-1-0) on Thursday night.
"We've got a young team. Combine that with COVID, we haven't been able to the offseason stuff that we normally do," St. Patrick coach Kyle McClure said. "We knew that it was going to take time to get comfortable.
“At the Glenbrook South tournament, the three teams we lost to (Mount Carmel, Prospect and Mundelein) were top 30 teams in the state or will be at some point. We knew those were going to be tough games. We just wanted to use those to get better. Then, we would be fine for the rest of the season."
Things fell into place for the Shamrocks (2-4-0, 1-0-0) against Speer.
"We played a really good defensive game," McClure said. "We believe that we can be competitive with anybody. Our strongest class is our sophomores. Week by week, we'll get better and better,"
St. Patrick also welcomed back its starting keeper Bryant Alvarez, who was out with a wrist injury for the opening weeks of the season. Alvarez was a impact player; he stopped eight Corsairs shots as the Shamrocks won consecutive games for the first time this season.
"People don't realize that this was the first time he was playing," McClure said. "He will make a big difference moving forward. (Carmel) was a very good team, strong, always well-coached, physical and played well. We just finished on one more than they did. It was one of those games that can go either way. Our guys fought in this one."
St. Patrick’s Conor Day earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors. The senior scored the game-winner in the 75th minute for the Shamrocks.
Day’s first goal of the season came on a one-timer. The opportunity came after the Corsairs (2-2-0, 0-1-0) tried to clear the ball out of their own area but saw it settle right at the feet of Day.
"I just ran in, saw the ball and no one went for it," Day said. "I just went in harder than everybody else. I just attacked it straight out. It felt good, good to get it."
The midfielder detects a new course for his club.
"I believe our mentality is changing," Day said. "We're working harder every practice and every play (in games). Our win against Speer really sparked us to continue winning. Now, we want to keep our winning streak going."
Sophomore forward Sergio Barron has been a part of what the Shamrocks are trying to achieve and growing into his role. It's a learning curve for him and his classmates on the team.
"We want to open the space to get chances as a team," Barron said. "We've been working on finishing a lot more. We're working on our communication. We do have a high-level of expectations.
“Being a sophomore like me, it's trying to get better. At first the speed of the game was a little hard. But, now, I've been getting used to it."
St. Patrick found a way to get the lead in the 29th minute. Nicolas Leon converted a free kick from 25 yards into the low corner for the 1-0 lead.
However, Carmel made some changes in its attack and forged a tie deep into the second half. Ben LaMora kicked a long free kick toward the goal, and Erik Miller redirected a header into the back of the net in the 71st minute.
The Corsairs were limited on their chances on frame, which was an issue against St. Patrick.
"The last attempt to the net just wasn't there in this one," Carmel coach Ray Krawzak said. "The last pass to get the shot on target. That's what we lack.
“We had a lot of attack, but just not a lot of shots. We did play a lot of the game in their defensive third, but we weren't finding the back of the net. We let silly balls drop on corners, silly balls drop on throw-ins. We had some good moments. It really was a good game."
On the defensive side, Carmel's keeper Nick Magnone made 8 of his 10 saves in the second half.
The Corsairs have their own young core of players who are looking for a foot hold at the varsity level.
"We're at a good place mentally," Krawzak said. "We're still working out everybody's role and what they're doing with the team. Playing our system to the best of our ability. We're still figuring that out."
Sandro Pineda thinks the Corsairs have what it takes as a team if they keep working to get a result.
"I see that we have a lot of passion and a lot of heart," Pineda said. "We bring the intensity. Even if we're losing, we never give up. We just keep fighting and fighting. We may not come out with the win, but it doesn't the matter to us. That's one of our positives."
Starting lineups
St. Patrick
GK-Bryant Alvarez
D-Gael Quinonez
D-Xavier Gomez
D-Nicolas Leon
D-Rafael Ramirez
MF-Conor Day
MF-Ivan Guerrero
MF-Jorge Parra
MF-Rafael Rios
F-Nathan Davila
F-Ben Elvira
Carmel
GK-Nick Magnone
D-Kyle Snyder
D-Erik Miller
D-Roman Lynch
D-Ben LaMora
MF-Sammy Arroyo
MF-Nathan Cordova
MF-Roan Del Carmen
MF-Aidan Fendel
F-Augie Lombardo
F-Sandro Pineda
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Conor Day, sr., MF, St. Patrick
Referee: Jay Weiss; AR-Peter Kempf; AR-Vijay Komar
Scoring summary
First half
St. Patrick - Nicolas Leon (unassisted) 29'
Second half
Carmel - Erik Miller (Ben LaMora) 71'
St. Patrick - Conor Day (unassisted) 75'