Road-tested St. Patrick drives
past Saint Viator
Shamrocks ends intense streak of games with 4-2 league win
By Mike Garofola
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS -- St. Patrick ended an astounding run of 10 games in the last 15 days with an inspired team effort to defeat host Saint Viator on Wednesday afternoon.
The 4-2 result guaranteed a top three finish in the East Suburban Catholic Conference for co-manager Kyle McClure’s Shamrocks, who now stand at 8-7-4 overall and 5-1-0 in league play with Benet up next.
"Even with a young and inexperienced team this fall, our goal was always to finish top three in the conference. With this hard-fought win today, we have reached that goal. On Saturday, we have the chance to finish even better when we play Benet," said McClure.
Benet and Notre Dame lead the league with 5-0-0 records heading into the final two weeks of the regular-season. The teams will meet Oct. 8.
"We survived a grueling two weeks of soccer, some might say too demanding, but we feel our schedule against such a diverse group of teams (will) prepare our guys when it really counts when playoffs begin," said McClure.
The Shamrocks opened this stretch with a 3-2 loss at Notre Dame on Sept. 14, then played to a tie and win in Friday and Saturday games in southern Indiana before returning home to fall in a shootout to Larkin in a BodyArmor bracket final Sept. 18.
They beat Joliet Catholic the next day, then Marist Sept. 21 in league matches before they got back on the bus for a pair of games in Kentucky on Sept. 23-24.
After a day off, the Shamrocks defeated Nazareth 3-0 before their triumph over Saint Viator (7-6-0, 3-3-0).
"It was a great opportunity for us to go to Indiana, and when we got a late invitation to play in Paducah, Ky., we jumped on it. Even though we lost one and drew another, it was quite an experience for the guys," offered McClure.
"It (was) a lot of soccer over two weeks for us, but I am glad we were able to play that many games, and to experience playing against different styles of play," said Nico Leon, who shared Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors with teammate Daniel Carrera.
"Those two trips out of town really helped us build chemistry among ourselves, plus it was a great way for all of us to learn how to play and improve together," added Carrera. He wears the captain’s armband proudly along Leon and Jorge Parra, who scored the backbreaker against Saint Viator with his 13th goal of the season. It doubled the Shamrocks advantage just after the hour.
The host Lions were forced to chase the match.
"We had a tough start to this game today," said Saint Viator manager Byron DeLeon, whose club then fell to Class A state power Althoff before topping Mendota on Friday at the Great River Classic in Burlington, Iowa.
“(We) gave away two early goals, came back to get even, then didn't match their level of play in the second half, which the final score reflected.
"St. Patrick came ready to play. They have very good depth, and really don't lose a lot when they bring on their reserves, and we just came up short today."
Neither side looked ready for the opening whistle as each club struggled to connect and possess. The teams rarely used their respective midfield players, who were bypassed in favor of a more direct approach.
Nonetheless, the visitors opened first when a wicked 30-yard, left-footed cracker from Leon went through the gloves of keeper Jimmy Doherty in the 11th minute.
The home side quickly countered in search of the equalizer. Taylor Petrillo exploded up the right side and played an early ball across that Conor Giroux sent just wide in the Lions first and best early opportunity of the contest.
With the lead, the Shamrocks began to play more of their style of quick touches and possession soccer. In doing so, they create a handful of deep corners and throws, in addition to free kicks. That fell right into Leon’s wheelhouse. He has the ability to deliver deadly balls from nearly anywhere on the pitch.
Saint Viator junior Reilly Salatino enjoyed a well-delivered free kick or two on this sunny, but chilly fall afternoon. His first forced Shamrocks keeper Jaedan Calderon to bravely come off his line to punch the effort from the midline out of danger.
"Jaedan is an athletic and fearless keeper. To have him back there for us gives us a much better chance for success," said McClure.
Salatino, and his mates along the back blocked a trio of shots sent on frame as the visitors began to build towards their second goal. It came in the 23rd minute when Jason Torres drove his long attempt past Doherty.
"Jimmy has been outstanding all year long for us," said DeLeon. “He had a little trouble with those first two goals, but he's not the reason we lost. We have complete confidence in him," said DeLeon.
"We were not playing very well early on, and we gave them too much space and time, which led to their goals," said Salatino.
"We needed to pick ourselves up as quickly as we could, and we did, which says a lot about this team," added the junior, who formed a solid central defensive partnership alongside Cristbol Carranza.
Saint Viator responded quickly. Benson Tsa punished the visitors for a poorly played clearing attempt. Giroux made the interception and quickly played to Tsa whose 20-yard smash beat a defenseless Calderon in the 25th-minute goal.
The Lions weathered a short, but volatile, response from their guests before putting a quartet of attempts on frame.
The best of the bunch came from Nathan Davila. On the turn, he unloaded a sharp, left-footed snap-shot that Doherty responded well to for the save.
Salatino equalized with a superb touch off a Gabriel Glotz corner. The junior make a strong run to the near post and redirected his effort past a stunned Calderon and his defenders two minutes before the intermission.
“I just ran to the top of the box, and (Glotz) gave me a great ball. I was able to get a foot on it to put it past their keeper," said Salatino, who made it all sound much easier than it appeared.
St. Patrick was was left to cure the error of its ways.
"We let up a little too much after we got the lead, we've done that a lot all year," admitted Leon.
"We didn't finish the first half strong, but we came out and played so much better in the second half -- the way we know we can."
McClure, who moved his players around throughout the first half to fit the pieces into place, found the right combination when he when deployed Sergio Barron along the back on the outside and pushed Gael Quinonez up-top from his first half position along the back.
"The speed of Sergio really helped us on his side because Saint Viator was trying all day to play balls through on the outside. He did a great job for us in the second half," said McClure
The Lions nearly surprised their guests just after the second half opened when Jack Glasstetter set Petrillo free and in on Calderon. The keeper’s hockey goalie-styled kick save kept the home side from taking the lead in the 42nd minute.
St. Patrick regained its poise after this near miss and added its third goal of the afternoon. Christian Medina finished Leon’s super-quick counter with a divine one-timer.
The eventual game-winner inspired 15 minutes of dominating play from the Shamrocks, who put four on frame. The best came from Leon and Parra, who forced Doherty into action.
A lovely bit of combination play that began deep from within the Shamrocks end with Rafael Rios, cycled through Parra, Leon and Medina. It ended with the visitors breaking the defensive resolve of the Lions and Parra adding a final goal to the score line in the 64th minute.
"We just didn't pick our play up in the second half to match their energy and urgency. It cost us in the end," said Salatino.
"We obviously have to do things better than we have the last couple of games," said DeLeon.
"It's important that we learn our lessons from these games and apply them as we move forward. Hopefully we’ll be ready for this weekend in Iowa, and as we get closer to the playoffs."
St. Patrick also found some things to work on.
"I was a little disappointed that we gave up those two goals after we did so well to go up 2-0,” said McClure. “We struggled with the physical play, and that took us out of the way we played.
"Once we got ourselves back (playing) the way we do with our possession style, you saw things open up for us in the second half, and we were able to control most of the play at that point."
Starting lineups
St. Patrick (3-5-2)
G- Jaedan Calderon
D- Gael Quinonez
D- Daniel Carrera
D- Rafael Ramirez
MF- Sergio Barron
MF- Nathan Davila
MF- Nico Leon
MF- Rafael Rios
MF- Christian Medina
F- Chris Perez
F- Jorge Parra
Saint Viator (4-3-3)
G- Jimmy Doherty
D- Christian Giacalone
D- Reilly Salatino
D- Cristobal Carranza
D- Colin Kuchera
M- Gabriel Glodz
M- Kevin Eich
M- Michael O'Connor
F- Jack Glasstetter
F- Taylor Petrillo
F- Conor Giroux
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Daniel Carrera, jr., D, St. Patrick;
Nico Leon, sr., MF, St. Patrick
Referee: Justin O'Brien
Scoring summary
First Half
St. Patrick: Leon (Parra, Rios) 11'
St. Patrick: Torres (Leon, Rios), 23'
Saint Viator: Tsa (Giroux) 25'
Saint Viator: Salatino (Glotz) 38'
SECOND HALF
St. Patrick: Davila (Leon) 44'
St. Patrick: Parra (Rios) 64'
Game statistics
Shots on goal
St. Patrick: 11
Saint Viator: 6
Shots off
St. Patrick: 9
Saint Viator: 3
Corner kicks
St. Patrick: 5
Saint Viator: 6
Offsides
St. Patrick: 2
Saint Viator: 2
Fouls
St. Patrick: 5
Saint Viator: 7
past Saint Viator
Shamrocks ends intense streak of games with 4-2 league win
By Mike Garofola
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS -- St. Patrick ended an astounding run of 10 games in the last 15 days with an inspired team effort to defeat host Saint Viator on Wednesday afternoon.
The 4-2 result guaranteed a top three finish in the East Suburban Catholic Conference for co-manager Kyle McClure’s Shamrocks, who now stand at 8-7-4 overall and 5-1-0 in league play with Benet up next.
"Even with a young and inexperienced team this fall, our goal was always to finish top three in the conference. With this hard-fought win today, we have reached that goal. On Saturday, we have the chance to finish even better when we play Benet," said McClure.
Benet and Notre Dame lead the league with 5-0-0 records heading into the final two weeks of the regular-season. The teams will meet Oct. 8.
"We survived a grueling two weeks of soccer, some might say too demanding, but we feel our schedule against such a diverse group of teams (will) prepare our guys when it really counts when playoffs begin," said McClure.
The Shamrocks opened this stretch with a 3-2 loss at Notre Dame on Sept. 14, then played to a tie and win in Friday and Saturday games in southern Indiana before returning home to fall in a shootout to Larkin in a BodyArmor bracket final Sept. 18.
They beat Joliet Catholic the next day, then Marist Sept. 21 in league matches before they got back on the bus for a pair of games in Kentucky on Sept. 23-24.
After a day off, the Shamrocks defeated Nazareth 3-0 before their triumph over Saint Viator (7-6-0, 3-3-0).
"It was a great opportunity for us to go to Indiana, and when we got a late invitation to play in Paducah, Ky., we jumped on it. Even though we lost one and drew another, it was quite an experience for the guys," offered McClure.
"It (was) a lot of soccer over two weeks for us, but I am glad we were able to play that many games, and to experience playing against different styles of play," said Nico Leon, who shared Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors with teammate Daniel Carrera.
"Those two trips out of town really helped us build chemistry among ourselves, plus it was a great way for all of us to learn how to play and improve together," added Carrera. He wears the captain’s armband proudly along Leon and Jorge Parra, who scored the backbreaker against Saint Viator with his 13th goal of the season. It doubled the Shamrocks advantage just after the hour.
The host Lions were forced to chase the match.
"We had a tough start to this game today," said Saint Viator manager Byron DeLeon, whose club then fell to Class A state power Althoff before topping Mendota on Friday at the Great River Classic in Burlington, Iowa.
“(We) gave away two early goals, came back to get even, then didn't match their level of play in the second half, which the final score reflected.
"St. Patrick came ready to play. They have very good depth, and really don't lose a lot when they bring on their reserves, and we just came up short today."
Neither side looked ready for the opening whistle as each club struggled to connect and possess. The teams rarely used their respective midfield players, who were bypassed in favor of a more direct approach.
Nonetheless, the visitors opened first when a wicked 30-yard, left-footed cracker from Leon went through the gloves of keeper Jimmy Doherty in the 11th minute.
The home side quickly countered in search of the equalizer. Taylor Petrillo exploded up the right side and played an early ball across that Conor Giroux sent just wide in the Lions first and best early opportunity of the contest.
With the lead, the Shamrocks began to play more of their style of quick touches and possession soccer. In doing so, they create a handful of deep corners and throws, in addition to free kicks. That fell right into Leon’s wheelhouse. He has the ability to deliver deadly balls from nearly anywhere on the pitch.
Saint Viator junior Reilly Salatino enjoyed a well-delivered free kick or two on this sunny, but chilly fall afternoon. His first forced Shamrocks keeper Jaedan Calderon to bravely come off his line to punch the effort from the midline out of danger.
"Jaedan is an athletic and fearless keeper. To have him back there for us gives us a much better chance for success," said McClure.
Salatino, and his mates along the back blocked a trio of shots sent on frame as the visitors began to build towards their second goal. It came in the 23rd minute when Jason Torres drove his long attempt past Doherty.
"Jimmy has been outstanding all year long for us," said DeLeon. “He had a little trouble with those first two goals, but he's not the reason we lost. We have complete confidence in him," said DeLeon.
"We were not playing very well early on, and we gave them too much space and time, which led to their goals," said Salatino.
"We needed to pick ourselves up as quickly as we could, and we did, which says a lot about this team," added the junior, who formed a solid central defensive partnership alongside Cristbol Carranza.
Saint Viator responded quickly. Benson Tsa punished the visitors for a poorly played clearing attempt. Giroux made the interception and quickly played to Tsa whose 20-yard smash beat a defenseless Calderon in the 25th-minute goal.
The Lions weathered a short, but volatile, response from their guests before putting a quartet of attempts on frame.
The best of the bunch came from Nathan Davila. On the turn, he unloaded a sharp, left-footed snap-shot that Doherty responded well to for the save.
Salatino equalized with a superb touch off a Gabriel Glotz corner. The junior make a strong run to the near post and redirected his effort past a stunned Calderon and his defenders two minutes before the intermission.
“I just ran to the top of the box, and (Glotz) gave me a great ball. I was able to get a foot on it to put it past their keeper," said Salatino, who made it all sound much easier than it appeared.
St. Patrick was was left to cure the error of its ways.
"We let up a little too much after we got the lead, we've done that a lot all year," admitted Leon.
"We didn't finish the first half strong, but we came out and played so much better in the second half -- the way we know we can."
McClure, who moved his players around throughout the first half to fit the pieces into place, found the right combination when he when deployed Sergio Barron along the back on the outside and pushed Gael Quinonez up-top from his first half position along the back.
"The speed of Sergio really helped us on his side because Saint Viator was trying all day to play balls through on the outside. He did a great job for us in the second half," said McClure
The Lions nearly surprised their guests just after the second half opened when Jack Glasstetter set Petrillo free and in on Calderon. The keeper’s hockey goalie-styled kick save kept the home side from taking the lead in the 42nd minute.
St. Patrick regained its poise after this near miss and added its third goal of the afternoon. Christian Medina finished Leon’s super-quick counter with a divine one-timer.
The eventual game-winner inspired 15 minutes of dominating play from the Shamrocks, who put four on frame. The best came from Leon and Parra, who forced Doherty into action.
A lovely bit of combination play that began deep from within the Shamrocks end with Rafael Rios, cycled through Parra, Leon and Medina. It ended with the visitors breaking the defensive resolve of the Lions and Parra adding a final goal to the score line in the 64th minute.
"We just didn't pick our play up in the second half to match their energy and urgency. It cost us in the end," said Salatino.
"We obviously have to do things better than we have the last couple of games," said DeLeon.
"It's important that we learn our lessons from these games and apply them as we move forward. Hopefully we’ll be ready for this weekend in Iowa, and as we get closer to the playoffs."
St. Patrick also found some things to work on.
"I was a little disappointed that we gave up those two goals after we did so well to go up 2-0,” said McClure. “We struggled with the physical play, and that took us out of the way we played.
"Once we got ourselves back (playing) the way we do with our possession style, you saw things open up for us in the second half, and we were able to control most of the play at that point."
Starting lineups
St. Patrick (3-5-2)
G- Jaedan Calderon
D- Gael Quinonez
D- Daniel Carrera
D- Rafael Ramirez
MF- Sergio Barron
MF- Nathan Davila
MF- Nico Leon
MF- Rafael Rios
MF- Christian Medina
F- Chris Perez
F- Jorge Parra
Saint Viator (4-3-3)
G- Jimmy Doherty
D- Christian Giacalone
D- Reilly Salatino
D- Cristobal Carranza
D- Colin Kuchera
M- Gabriel Glodz
M- Kevin Eich
M- Michael O'Connor
F- Jack Glasstetter
F- Taylor Petrillo
F- Conor Giroux
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Daniel Carrera, jr., D, St. Patrick;
Nico Leon, sr., MF, St. Patrick
Referee: Justin O'Brien
Scoring summary
First Half
St. Patrick: Leon (Parra, Rios) 11'
St. Patrick: Torres (Leon, Rios), 23'
Saint Viator: Tsa (Giroux) 25'
Saint Viator: Salatino (Glotz) 38'
SECOND HALF
St. Patrick: Davila (Leon) 44'
St. Patrick: Parra (Rios) 64'
Game statistics
Shots on goal
St. Patrick: 11
Saint Viator: 6
Shots off
St. Patrick: 9
Saint Viator: 3
Corner kicks
St. Patrick: 5
Saint Viator: 6
Offsides
St. Patrick: 2
Saint Viator: 2
Fouls
St. Patrick: 5
Saint Viator: 7