St. Patrick re-coils, squeezes out OT victory
Shamrocks win 2-1 at Saint Viator, move closer to 1st league title
By Mike Garofola
ARLiNGTON HEIGHTS -- Imagine some poor animal in the clutches of a giant python -- the soccer equivalent occurs when St. Patrick plays on a real live natural grass soccer park. But contrary to which participant in the analogy you might have thought St. Patrick was, it ain't the snake.
Though the Shamrocks, listed at no. 17 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, were the favorite going in against unranked Saint Viator, St. Patrick's high-powered attack literally seems to get the life squeezed out of it on a natural field.
Manager Kyle McClure cannot figure it out. Neither could the players when they were asked about the observed soccer-related allergic reaction to Bermuda, Kentucky Bluegrass or whatever genus is grown at a rival's stadium.
The Shamrocks may have finally conquered their fears of the leafy opponent when they they put together a solid half of soccer when it really counted.
The East Suburban Catholic Conference-leading club saw its high-powered attack slowed during the opening 40 minutes of its most important match of the regular season. It responded by mowing a path through the thick forest at Saint Viator to get back even and then win in overtime on Wednesday.
The Shamrocks (17-3-1) have a steady aim on their first ESCC title following its hard-fought 2-1 victory decision. A terrific finish from Joshua Torres in the first extra session closed out the host Lions (12-6-1, 6-1-0), who along with Benet have dominated the league.
"I don't know what it is about playing on grass, but we just don't look like the team we normally are when we play on turf," admitted McClure. His two star players on this day, Torres and Jonathan Rodriguez, who earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors for his full-game effort agreed.
"Maybe it (grass) messes with the style of our play," said Rodriguez, who is likely to earn a third-straight all-confernce certificate this season. "But today we put all of that behind after a really terrible first half of soccer.
"We've had a real busy last week of soccer, played five games in six days. It showed in that first half (for sure) and at times in the second half."
Added Torres: "We have a lot of confidence as a team when we go out and play, but we kind of let playing on grass get into our heads." He was point out that his game-winning strike was his first goal of the year on a grass field.
The schedule Rodriguez spoke of comes from the three games played in order to lift the championship trophy at the River Region Rumble in Paducah, Kentucky, last weekend followed by a victory at home against Marist to begin an important week of ESCC fixtures.
"We looked and played real slow in that first half, wasn't any life in our legs and in our attack," McClure said. "So we were kind of lucky to get out of that half chasing just one goal."
That one goal was a brilliant strike from the foot of the Lions' talented midfielder Zaul Perez. The early, unstoppable 30-yard missile gave hope to the home side and assistant coach T.J. King, who ran things for manager Mike Taylor, who was away on business.
"Our plan was to play through Zaul as much as we could, target, and counter to Will (Hartman) up-top, and to do our best to stay organized in our own end, especially along the back to keep Pat's attack from working up a head of steam," said King, a former all-state defender for Saint Viator during its glory years, in particular, the 2003 championship club in which King helped the Lions win Class A title trophy.
"The plan went well for us when Zaul hit that killer goal. For the most part we kept them under wraps, limiting their quality chances, while keeping the ball away from their top players.
"But we began to look a little tired as well. When they got back even, you could see the game turning in their favor more and more.
"In the end, we just didn't do well with our dead ball and set piece chances, and when you don't take advantage of those things, you allow a team with so many weapons to find one that eventually makes the big play."
When St. Patrick (17-2-1, 6-0-0) left Perez alone long enough to tee-up the opener, it illustrated just how tired the legs were on McClure's men too. The Shamrocks rarely allow such a gaffe, particularly against one of the top players in the ESCC.
"We left a lot of guys alone with time and space in that first half," admitted the Shamrocks manager.
"You never use anything as an excuse, but our busy schedule, hot weather and a great opponent all factored into a really ugly first half of soccer for us."
The lack of sharpness, plus poor decision-making led to far too many turnovers near the midline and its own end, until the visitors slowly came into the game when Torres tricked his way into the box only to see his effort taken off the line by senior defender Joe Marchiori at 20 minutes.
Rodriguez, who handles all of the deep throws for St. Patrick sent a searing toss into Aaron Moreno-Lopez, who quickly connected to a wide open Torres.
The sophomore rattled the post then sent his return attempt back into the hands of Lions keeper Matt Marchiori.
This small sequence inspired a few others before the break: most of which came through Rodriguez, whom McClure started along the back, but moved into the Shamrocks midfield on the outside to jump-start the sputtering attack.
Moreno-Lopez went wide after collecting a long Rodriguez long, before Rodriguez and Torres worked a nice one-two combination which ended with Luis Saucedo testing Marchiori in the 33rd minute.
Perhaps the biggest deterent to the Shamrocks in the first half, aside from its own troubles, was the ability of both Saint Viator's Patrick Hammarlund and Conrad Glodz, who were stationed just in front of the Lions backline, to win just about every 50-50 ball and literally stop any attack into the area.
"They (Saint Viator) did win a lot of balls in the middle, which we talked about at the half among other things," said McClure.
Added Rodriguez: "No doubt we were really off in that first half, but the coaches went over all of that at the break. We made a few adjustments, but when Herbert got that early goal, it seemed to really give us a spark."
Herbert Carrera was one of Pat's brightest stars in the second half and was at the heart of several of the Shamrocks trips into the Lions' den.
Carrera got the visitors off to a flying start with his side-footed one-timer that beat a helpess Marchiori to finally bring the Shamrocks back level in the 48th minute.
"That was a big goal for us," said Torres, who registered the helper on his mates goal. "We really needed to score early to put some pressure on them."
The Carrera strike put the visitors on their front foot for the next 20 minutes.
Marchiori was in fine form when he stopped Saucedo's attempt at the tail-end of a St.Patricks counter begun by Sebastian Modrzejewski and Torres. After the Lions' David Stahl went wide, it was Saucedo going endline and over the bar, before Carrera brought about another terrific save by Marchiori.
"Matthew had a great game for us, and we're lucky because he's just a sophomore," King said.
Nick DeMarco, who enjoyed a solid game in the back for Saint Viator, made the first of three key blocks of close-range shots by the Shamrocks: the first on Angel Adame near the hour, and his last two against Torres, whose solo efforts to get near the Lions keeper showed just how dangerous the sophomore can be when in form.
"It took us a long time today to start to play," admitted Torres, who like several of his mates awakened from a first half slumber.
"We had to kind of grind one out today," McClure said with a wry smile. "But that's what you expect when you're playing here and in these conditions of heat and humidity and the long grass."
The home side created a pair of long throws from Perez to open the first extra session.
The game-winner came when Modrzejewski and Saucedo kept a play alive in the box.
Diego Rivera found Torres on the left side, and it was his extraordinary angled shot that found the far inside netting.
"Diego saw me open on the side, and he just gave me a good ball that I could do something with," said Torres of his eye-popping finish.
Saint Viator played a role in its demise.
"We did a poor job of clearing our area, and a player like No. 21 (Torres) is too good to allow such a mistake," said King.
Jorge Cebrero, who was more of a spectator than keeper for the Shamrocks in the second half, was called into action at the start of the second overtime period - elevating high above a crowd in the six-yard box to bring down a dangerous ball sent in by David Lavender.
The sophomore goalie was forced out of match with an injury sustained during this encounter but returned shortly after he was checked out by the Lions medical staff.
Alexander Jamroz stepped in for his fallen mate, but was not tested thanks in part to his backline of Adam Przytula, Collin Krueger and Rodriguez, whom McClure dropped back to help protect the one-goal advantage.
"This has been a tough stretch for all of them," McClure said. "But they came through when they really needed to in order to beat one of the best programs of all time in the ESCC.
"We'll have to stay focused from here on out and not take anyone lightly, Our road should be a little easier in the league than both Saint Viator and Benet, who still have to play each other on the last day of the season."
St. Patrick easily defeated Joilet Catholic on Thursday, leaving just Marian and Nazareth on its league schedule.
Preparing to leave Arlington Heights after the game, Torres let everyone know how he felt as he and his mates neared the team bus for the ride home.
"It's good to be a Shamrock today," he shouted.
Starting lineups
St. Patrick (3-5-2)
G- Jorge Cebrero
D- Juan Leon
D- Adam Przytula
D- Collin Krueger
M- Jonathan Rodriguez
M- Angel Adame
M- Sebastian Modrzejewski
M- Joshua Torres
M- Aaron Moreno-Lopez
F- Luis Saucedo
F- Herbert Carrera
Saint Viator (4-5-1)
G- Matthew Marchiori
D- Nick DiMarco
D- Sebastian Horvath
D- Kentro Lim
D- David Lavendar
M- Patrick Hammarlund
M- Conrad Glotz
M- Michael Tangredi
M- Zaul Perez
M- David Stahl
F- Will Hartman
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jonathan Rodriguez, jr., MF/D, St. Patrick
Referee: Richard Karcz
Scoring Summary
First half
St. Viator: Perez (Stahl) 10'
Second half
St. Patrick: Carrera (Torres) 48'
First overtime
Torres (Rivera) 83'
Shamrocks win 2-1 at Saint Viator, move closer to 1st league title
By Mike Garofola
ARLiNGTON HEIGHTS -- Imagine some poor animal in the clutches of a giant python -- the soccer equivalent occurs when St. Patrick plays on a real live natural grass soccer park. But contrary to which participant in the analogy you might have thought St. Patrick was, it ain't the snake.
Though the Shamrocks, listed at no. 17 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, were the favorite going in against unranked Saint Viator, St. Patrick's high-powered attack literally seems to get the life squeezed out of it on a natural field.
Manager Kyle McClure cannot figure it out. Neither could the players when they were asked about the observed soccer-related allergic reaction to Bermuda, Kentucky Bluegrass or whatever genus is grown at a rival's stadium.
The Shamrocks may have finally conquered their fears of the leafy opponent when they they put together a solid half of soccer when it really counted.
The East Suburban Catholic Conference-leading club saw its high-powered attack slowed during the opening 40 minutes of its most important match of the regular season. It responded by mowing a path through the thick forest at Saint Viator to get back even and then win in overtime on Wednesday.
The Shamrocks (17-3-1) have a steady aim on their first ESCC title following its hard-fought 2-1 victory decision. A terrific finish from Joshua Torres in the first extra session closed out the host Lions (12-6-1, 6-1-0), who along with Benet have dominated the league.
"I don't know what it is about playing on grass, but we just don't look like the team we normally are when we play on turf," admitted McClure. His two star players on this day, Torres and Jonathan Rodriguez, who earned Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors for his full-game effort agreed.
"Maybe it (grass) messes with the style of our play," said Rodriguez, who is likely to earn a third-straight all-confernce certificate this season. "But today we put all of that behind after a really terrible first half of soccer.
"We've had a real busy last week of soccer, played five games in six days. It showed in that first half (for sure) and at times in the second half."
Added Torres: "We have a lot of confidence as a team when we go out and play, but we kind of let playing on grass get into our heads." He was point out that his game-winning strike was his first goal of the year on a grass field.
The schedule Rodriguez spoke of comes from the three games played in order to lift the championship trophy at the River Region Rumble in Paducah, Kentucky, last weekend followed by a victory at home against Marist to begin an important week of ESCC fixtures.
"We looked and played real slow in that first half, wasn't any life in our legs and in our attack," McClure said. "So we were kind of lucky to get out of that half chasing just one goal."
That one goal was a brilliant strike from the foot of the Lions' talented midfielder Zaul Perez. The early, unstoppable 30-yard missile gave hope to the home side and assistant coach T.J. King, who ran things for manager Mike Taylor, who was away on business.
"Our plan was to play through Zaul as much as we could, target, and counter to Will (Hartman) up-top, and to do our best to stay organized in our own end, especially along the back to keep Pat's attack from working up a head of steam," said King, a former all-state defender for Saint Viator during its glory years, in particular, the 2003 championship club in which King helped the Lions win Class A title trophy.
"The plan went well for us when Zaul hit that killer goal. For the most part we kept them under wraps, limiting their quality chances, while keeping the ball away from their top players.
"But we began to look a little tired as well. When they got back even, you could see the game turning in their favor more and more.
"In the end, we just didn't do well with our dead ball and set piece chances, and when you don't take advantage of those things, you allow a team with so many weapons to find one that eventually makes the big play."
When St. Patrick (17-2-1, 6-0-0) left Perez alone long enough to tee-up the opener, it illustrated just how tired the legs were on McClure's men too. The Shamrocks rarely allow such a gaffe, particularly against one of the top players in the ESCC.
"We left a lot of guys alone with time and space in that first half," admitted the Shamrocks manager.
"You never use anything as an excuse, but our busy schedule, hot weather and a great opponent all factored into a really ugly first half of soccer for us."
The lack of sharpness, plus poor decision-making led to far too many turnovers near the midline and its own end, until the visitors slowly came into the game when Torres tricked his way into the box only to see his effort taken off the line by senior defender Joe Marchiori at 20 minutes.
Rodriguez, who handles all of the deep throws for St. Patrick sent a searing toss into Aaron Moreno-Lopez, who quickly connected to a wide open Torres.
The sophomore rattled the post then sent his return attempt back into the hands of Lions keeper Matt Marchiori.
This small sequence inspired a few others before the break: most of which came through Rodriguez, whom McClure started along the back, but moved into the Shamrocks midfield on the outside to jump-start the sputtering attack.
Moreno-Lopez went wide after collecting a long Rodriguez long, before Rodriguez and Torres worked a nice one-two combination which ended with Luis Saucedo testing Marchiori in the 33rd minute.
Perhaps the biggest deterent to the Shamrocks in the first half, aside from its own troubles, was the ability of both Saint Viator's Patrick Hammarlund and Conrad Glodz, who were stationed just in front of the Lions backline, to win just about every 50-50 ball and literally stop any attack into the area.
"They (Saint Viator) did win a lot of balls in the middle, which we talked about at the half among other things," said McClure.
Added Rodriguez: "No doubt we were really off in that first half, but the coaches went over all of that at the break. We made a few adjustments, but when Herbert got that early goal, it seemed to really give us a spark."
Herbert Carrera was one of Pat's brightest stars in the second half and was at the heart of several of the Shamrocks trips into the Lions' den.
Carrera got the visitors off to a flying start with his side-footed one-timer that beat a helpess Marchiori to finally bring the Shamrocks back level in the 48th minute.
"That was a big goal for us," said Torres, who registered the helper on his mates goal. "We really needed to score early to put some pressure on them."
The Carrera strike put the visitors on their front foot for the next 20 minutes.
Marchiori was in fine form when he stopped Saucedo's attempt at the tail-end of a St.Patricks counter begun by Sebastian Modrzejewski and Torres. After the Lions' David Stahl went wide, it was Saucedo going endline and over the bar, before Carrera brought about another terrific save by Marchiori.
"Matthew had a great game for us, and we're lucky because he's just a sophomore," King said.
Nick DeMarco, who enjoyed a solid game in the back for Saint Viator, made the first of three key blocks of close-range shots by the Shamrocks: the first on Angel Adame near the hour, and his last two against Torres, whose solo efforts to get near the Lions keeper showed just how dangerous the sophomore can be when in form.
"It took us a long time today to start to play," admitted Torres, who like several of his mates awakened from a first half slumber.
"We had to kind of grind one out today," McClure said with a wry smile. "But that's what you expect when you're playing here and in these conditions of heat and humidity and the long grass."
The home side created a pair of long throws from Perez to open the first extra session.
The game-winner came when Modrzejewski and Saucedo kept a play alive in the box.
Diego Rivera found Torres on the left side, and it was his extraordinary angled shot that found the far inside netting.
"Diego saw me open on the side, and he just gave me a good ball that I could do something with," said Torres of his eye-popping finish.
Saint Viator played a role in its demise.
"We did a poor job of clearing our area, and a player like No. 21 (Torres) is too good to allow such a mistake," said King.
Jorge Cebrero, who was more of a spectator than keeper for the Shamrocks in the second half, was called into action at the start of the second overtime period - elevating high above a crowd in the six-yard box to bring down a dangerous ball sent in by David Lavender.
The sophomore goalie was forced out of match with an injury sustained during this encounter but returned shortly after he was checked out by the Lions medical staff.
Alexander Jamroz stepped in for his fallen mate, but was not tested thanks in part to his backline of Adam Przytula, Collin Krueger and Rodriguez, whom McClure dropped back to help protect the one-goal advantage.
"This has been a tough stretch for all of them," McClure said. "But they came through when they really needed to in order to beat one of the best programs of all time in the ESCC.
"We'll have to stay focused from here on out and not take anyone lightly, Our road should be a little easier in the league than both Saint Viator and Benet, who still have to play each other on the last day of the season."
St. Patrick easily defeated Joilet Catholic on Thursday, leaving just Marian and Nazareth on its league schedule.
Preparing to leave Arlington Heights after the game, Torres let everyone know how he felt as he and his mates neared the team bus for the ride home.
"It's good to be a Shamrock today," he shouted.
Starting lineups
St. Patrick (3-5-2)
G- Jorge Cebrero
D- Juan Leon
D- Adam Przytula
D- Collin Krueger
M- Jonathan Rodriguez
M- Angel Adame
M- Sebastian Modrzejewski
M- Joshua Torres
M- Aaron Moreno-Lopez
F- Luis Saucedo
F- Herbert Carrera
Saint Viator (4-5-1)
G- Matthew Marchiori
D- Nick DiMarco
D- Sebastian Horvath
D- Kentro Lim
D- David Lavendar
M- Patrick Hammarlund
M- Conrad Glotz
M- Michael Tangredi
M- Zaul Perez
M- David Stahl
F- Will Hartman
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jonathan Rodriguez, jr., MF/D, St. Patrick
Referee: Richard Karcz
Scoring Summary
First half
St. Viator: Perez (Stahl) 10'
Second half
St. Patrick: Carrera (Torres) 48'
First overtime
Torres (Rivera) 83'