St. Patrick overwhelms Elmwood Park
Shamrocks make a strong opening statement in 8-0 win
ELMWOOD PARK -- Skill, speed, and smarts matter little without that great intangible of soccer, the one that coaches harp on from the opening whistle to the final buzzer and that every great team possesses.
Intensity.
For nearly a full 80 minutes against host Elmwood Park on Tuesday, St. Patrick stood on the gas pedal and kept its foot there. The result was an 8-0 Shamrocks win, spearheaded by two goals apiece from senior captain Chris Modrzejewski, junior Herbert Carrera, and sophomore Dominic Michi, plus four assists from freshman Joshua Torres.
“(Intensity) has been a work-in-progress since the summer,” Modrzejewski said. “Last year we would come out strong and score a goal or two, but then maybe later in the game get lazy or tired with a lead.
“Tonight everyone stayed positive, kept working hard, and kept their heads up even if they didn’t score. We were very confident on the ball, and we were making good runs tonight and supporting the offense.”
It was a Modrzejewski goal 30 seconds into the game and a Michi goal at 30 minutes that bookended a 5-0 halftime lead for St. Patrick (1-0-0). Elmwood Park had little answer for the Shamrocks’ relentless attacking pressure.
It may be opening week of the high school season but Tuesday’s game carried down-the-road sectional-seeding ramifications. Additionally, the two teams tied 1-1 in a late-season meeting last year, leaving the Shamrocks with no shortage of motivation heading into Tuesday’s game.
“We’ve been looking forward to this game, really, all summer,” St. Patrick coach Kyle McClure said. “Last year we played them in a game we really thought we controlled, and we needed a late goal to force a tie. So this, to us, was a game to show how much we’ve improved since last season.
“This was also the only game we’ll play this season against a potential sectional team, so we knew this was an important game. We wanted to make a statement tonight.”
Elmwood Park (0-2-0) opened its season Monday against Willowbrook.
“Willowbrook’s a good team and we lost to them 3-2 yesterday, and had a 2-1 lead on them until there were twenty minutes left in the game,” Elmwood Park coach Marty Blake said. “But tonight, I don’t know what happened. We didn’t match (St. Patrick’s) intensity. I think we’re better than what we showed tonight, but we just weren’t ready.”
Modrzejewski opened the game’s scoring in the first minute, taking a feed from fellow senior and tri-captain Nate Anderson, dribbling to the endline on the right side, and firing a ball across the goalmouth the caromed in off a defender.
Thirty seconds later, junior Herbert Carrera scored in the goalmouth, pouncing on a rebound given up by the Tigers’ goalkeeper off an initial shot by Modrzejewski.
Torres fed Diego Rivera for a goal at 12 minutes, and Modrzejewski buried a penalty kick at 21 minutes after Torres was taken down in the box. Michi scored from 15 yards on a Torres feed at 31 minutes to give the Shamrocks their 5-0 halftime lead.
Modrzejewski was an IHSSCA all-sectional player last year, and his coach believes the sky’s the limit for him this season.
“I think he’s a potential all-state player this year,” McClure said. “He’s a guy we expect to score 30 goals for us. He talked to me a couple days ago about putting his profile on one of those recruiting sites, but I told him if he scores 30 goals, they’ll come and find him. He can dominate, and we’ll lean on him a lot.”
While teams on the Shamrocks’ schedule already knew about the danger that Modrzejewski poses in the attack, along with the finishing abilities of sophomore striker Luis Saucedo, what teams will quickly learn about this year is the damage that Torres can do.
In addition to his four assists, Torres had at least that many quality scoring chances on his foot that either flew just wide or forced quality saves from the two goalkeepers that shared time for the Tigers.
Listed at 5-feet tall and 120 pounds, Torres possesses a combination of skill and craftiness that figures to turn heads this season despite his lack of size.
“He’s an incredible player and a really nice kid,” McClure said. “He’s so quick and his ball skills are incredible. But he’s not the biggest kid, so the first time I saw him play I worried about injury. But he gets in there and bumps guys, and battles guys, and he’s a lot tougher than he looks. We know he’s going to take hits, but he knows how to get rid of the ball quickly.
“Saucedo and (Modrzejewski) are really good at going to goal, but we needed that holding guy up top and (Torres) does a really nice job of holding the ball behind them and setting those guys up. I think those three guys are going to score a lot of goals.”
In the second half, Herbert Carrera made it 6-0 on Torres’ third assist, Michi scored his second goal on Torres’ fourth helper, and Saucedo finished the night’s scoring in the game’s waning minutes on an assist from Jonathan Rodriguez.
Starting senior keeper Christopher Troyke and second-half freshman keeper Jorge Cabrero shared the shutout
The Shamrocks’ backline is new and seeking chemistry, but Anderson, Rodriguez, Sebastian Modrzejewski, and senior tri-captain Finn Elsmo handled everything the Tigers’ attack threw at them.
“We have a lot of skill on the offensive side and on the defensive side, we’re getting there,” Anderson said. “We passed with speed and our counterattack was really effective tonight. And we definitely played a complete game, which we didn’t always do last year.”
Expectations at St. Patrick have increased in each of McClure’s four years as head coach. Last year’s regional title was the first in nine years for the program, and the team that posted 11 wins.
The Shamrocks now have their eyes set on the next level of success.
“Our hope last year was to win a regional. Now our expectation is to go to state,” McClure said.
“I wasn’t expecting this result, but I’m not surprised. It’s a good start. But we have Stevenson and Wheeling back-to-back in the Glenbrook South tournament next week, so we know we have a lot of work to do in order to compete with those guys.”
Starting lineups
St. Patrick
GK Christopher Troyke
DJonathan Rodriguez
D Sebastian Modrzejewski
D Nate Anderson
D Finn Elsmo
M Herbert Carrera
M Aaron Moreno-Lopez
M Diego Rivera
M Josh Torres
F Christopher Modrzejewski
F Luis Saucedo
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match -- Chris Modrzejewski, F, St. Patrick
Scoring summary
First half
St. Patrick -- C. Modrzejewski (Anderson); Carrera (C. Modrzejewski); Rivera (Torres); C Modrzejewski (PK); Michi (Torres)
Second half
St. Patrick -- Carrera (Torres); Michi (Torres); Saucedo (Rodriguez)
Shamrocks make a strong opening statement in 8-0 win
ELMWOOD PARK -- Skill, speed, and smarts matter little without that great intangible of soccer, the one that coaches harp on from the opening whistle to the final buzzer and that every great team possesses.
Intensity.
For nearly a full 80 minutes against host Elmwood Park on Tuesday, St. Patrick stood on the gas pedal and kept its foot there. The result was an 8-0 Shamrocks win, spearheaded by two goals apiece from senior captain Chris Modrzejewski, junior Herbert Carrera, and sophomore Dominic Michi, plus four assists from freshman Joshua Torres.
“(Intensity) has been a work-in-progress since the summer,” Modrzejewski said. “Last year we would come out strong and score a goal or two, but then maybe later in the game get lazy or tired with a lead.
“Tonight everyone stayed positive, kept working hard, and kept their heads up even if they didn’t score. We were very confident on the ball, and we were making good runs tonight and supporting the offense.”
It was a Modrzejewski goal 30 seconds into the game and a Michi goal at 30 minutes that bookended a 5-0 halftime lead for St. Patrick (1-0-0). Elmwood Park had little answer for the Shamrocks’ relentless attacking pressure.
It may be opening week of the high school season but Tuesday’s game carried down-the-road sectional-seeding ramifications. Additionally, the two teams tied 1-1 in a late-season meeting last year, leaving the Shamrocks with no shortage of motivation heading into Tuesday’s game.
“We’ve been looking forward to this game, really, all summer,” St. Patrick coach Kyle McClure said. “Last year we played them in a game we really thought we controlled, and we needed a late goal to force a tie. So this, to us, was a game to show how much we’ve improved since last season.
“This was also the only game we’ll play this season against a potential sectional team, so we knew this was an important game. We wanted to make a statement tonight.”
Elmwood Park (0-2-0) opened its season Monday against Willowbrook.
“Willowbrook’s a good team and we lost to them 3-2 yesterday, and had a 2-1 lead on them until there were twenty minutes left in the game,” Elmwood Park coach Marty Blake said. “But tonight, I don’t know what happened. We didn’t match (St. Patrick’s) intensity. I think we’re better than what we showed tonight, but we just weren’t ready.”
Modrzejewski opened the game’s scoring in the first minute, taking a feed from fellow senior and tri-captain Nate Anderson, dribbling to the endline on the right side, and firing a ball across the goalmouth the caromed in off a defender.
Thirty seconds later, junior Herbert Carrera scored in the goalmouth, pouncing on a rebound given up by the Tigers’ goalkeeper off an initial shot by Modrzejewski.
Torres fed Diego Rivera for a goal at 12 minutes, and Modrzejewski buried a penalty kick at 21 minutes after Torres was taken down in the box. Michi scored from 15 yards on a Torres feed at 31 minutes to give the Shamrocks their 5-0 halftime lead.
Modrzejewski was an IHSSCA all-sectional player last year, and his coach believes the sky’s the limit for him this season.
“I think he’s a potential all-state player this year,” McClure said. “He’s a guy we expect to score 30 goals for us. He talked to me a couple days ago about putting his profile on one of those recruiting sites, but I told him if he scores 30 goals, they’ll come and find him. He can dominate, and we’ll lean on him a lot.”
While teams on the Shamrocks’ schedule already knew about the danger that Modrzejewski poses in the attack, along with the finishing abilities of sophomore striker Luis Saucedo, what teams will quickly learn about this year is the damage that Torres can do.
In addition to his four assists, Torres had at least that many quality scoring chances on his foot that either flew just wide or forced quality saves from the two goalkeepers that shared time for the Tigers.
Listed at 5-feet tall and 120 pounds, Torres possesses a combination of skill and craftiness that figures to turn heads this season despite his lack of size.
“He’s an incredible player and a really nice kid,” McClure said. “He’s so quick and his ball skills are incredible. But he’s not the biggest kid, so the first time I saw him play I worried about injury. But he gets in there and bumps guys, and battles guys, and he’s a lot tougher than he looks. We know he’s going to take hits, but he knows how to get rid of the ball quickly.
“Saucedo and (Modrzejewski) are really good at going to goal, but we needed that holding guy up top and (Torres) does a really nice job of holding the ball behind them and setting those guys up. I think those three guys are going to score a lot of goals.”
In the second half, Herbert Carrera made it 6-0 on Torres’ third assist, Michi scored his second goal on Torres’ fourth helper, and Saucedo finished the night’s scoring in the game’s waning minutes on an assist from Jonathan Rodriguez.
Starting senior keeper Christopher Troyke and second-half freshman keeper Jorge Cabrero shared the shutout
The Shamrocks’ backline is new and seeking chemistry, but Anderson, Rodriguez, Sebastian Modrzejewski, and senior tri-captain Finn Elsmo handled everything the Tigers’ attack threw at them.
“We have a lot of skill on the offensive side and on the defensive side, we’re getting there,” Anderson said. “We passed with speed and our counterattack was really effective tonight. And we definitely played a complete game, which we didn’t always do last year.”
Expectations at St. Patrick have increased in each of McClure’s four years as head coach. Last year’s regional title was the first in nine years for the program, and the team that posted 11 wins.
The Shamrocks now have their eyes set on the next level of success.
“Our hope last year was to win a regional. Now our expectation is to go to state,” McClure said.
“I wasn’t expecting this result, but I’m not surprised. It’s a good start. But we have Stevenson and Wheeling back-to-back in the Glenbrook South tournament next week, so we know we have a lot of work to do in order to compete with those guys.”
Starting lineups
St. Patrick
GK Christopher Troyke
DJonathan Rodriguez
D Sebastian Modrzejewski
D Nate Anderson
D Finn Elsmo
M Herbert Carrera
M Aaron Moreno-Lopez
M Diego Rivera
M Josh Torres
F Christopher Modrzejewski
F Luis Saucedo
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match -- Chris Modrzejewski, F, St. Patrick
Scoring summary
First half
St. Patrick -- C. Modrzejewski (Anderson); Carrera (C. Modrzejewski); Rivera (Torres); C Modrzejewski (PK); Michi (Torres)
Second half
St. Patrick -- Carrera (Torres); Michi (Torres); Saucedo (Rodriguez)