Marmion's forward march rolls over St. Rita
Cadets score early, take control in 6-0 win
By Steve Nemeth
AURORA --- On a hot, humid day that qualified for IHSA-mandated water breaks, St. Rita lacked energy from the start while Marmion played like it got an extra jolt of adrenaline.
Unfortunately for visiting St. Rita it was all uphill from there. The host Cadets vim and vigor led to 6-0 romp in a Chicago Catholic League crossover match.
Just a mere 1:53 into the match, David Lawinger put Marmion ahead with a 34-yard high floater that carried over the keeper and under the crossbar.
Less than four minutes later, Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match Andre Cerda doubled the lead and the Cadets (4-3-0) continued their left-right march of win one, lose one, win the next one. For St. Rita (4-2-1), its five-match unbeaten string to start of year has fallen into a two-loss stumble.
“This was one you just want to put in the rearview mirror, which unfortunately applies. As much as it sounds like an excuse, the reality of sitting in a hot bus for an hour and half does zap your energy,” St. Rita co-head coach Bob Kellam said. “We came out flat, and the sun was an extra factor.”
That was a reference to the 90-plus temperature for the opening kick and that Mustang starting goalie David Bauer had the additional disadvantage of trying to judge Lawinger’s knuckling shot versus a setting sun.
Make that unofficial assist to Marmion co-captain James Serrano who opted to choose which goal to attack upon the Cadets winning the coin toss.
“Coach Romano always stresses the need to be aggressive at the start of every match and if you feel it, hit it. So seeing some space I took a gamble,” Lawinger said of his first goal of the year. “It seemed like it was just going, going, going and then it started to make a little dip, and I thought 'All right.'”
As disappointing a start as that was for St. Rita, the Mustangs couldn’t get into any kind of offensive stride when Marmion doubled its lead. Serrano earned an assist with a stellar cross that Cerda blasted home from 12 yards for his first 2018 goal. Not a bad way for someone making his first start; it merited glowing words of praise from coach Jimmy Romano.
“We’re talking about a guy who didn’t play a minute at the start of the year and barely played as a defender. We asked him to try a new role as a forward and his impact has been undeniable,” Romano said. “He has changed the way we now play. Again we’re talking about a defender switching to forward and working his way not only onto the field, but into a start, and his first start includes a goal.”
“Since I didn’t feel that comfortable on defense, I felt great about the switch,” Cerda said. “Guess I’m always up for scoring. Coach stresses the need to really execute in the first 10 minutes to get into rhythm. I didn’t think the goalie was in a great position, and it was such a beautiful ball (from Serrano). It just happened so quickly. As good as it feels to score, it feels even greater to contribute to a victory.”
With well over 70 minutes still to play, a victory was far from assured. Not quite 10 minutes in Bauer made a solid punch out on another dangerous Marmion cross. Cerda wasn’t as fortunate on another cross when the senior’s shot sailed high. Serrano had a great opportunity from the right 15 minutes in, but Bauer had a highlight-reel worthy kick save.
However at 16:29, Serrano used a James Lawinger assist for the first of two goals and boosted the Marmion lead to 3-0. It would have been much worse if not for Bauer continuing to protect the St. Rita net in a variety of ways. The Cadets’ Drew Noecker put a shot off the right post but Bauer raced off his line to thwart a potential goal at 37:16. Less that four minutes after that a Serrano cannon shot was popped high into the area by Bauer who then caught his block to deny a Marmion putback. Cerda had a header from a corner go wide left late in the opening half.
The second half began with Bauer sprinting out to win a race on a Marmion through-ball to Adam Ruiz. With 29 minutes left in regulation, St. Rita’s Jesus “Chuy” Flores had an attempt sail high over the Marmion net. That was only the third try the Mustangs would have in a one-sided statistical array.
The Cadets owned a dominating 27-4 advantage for overall attempts and a 15-0 edge in shots on goal. The strong showing by Marmion’s backline made life easy for the two sophomore keepers who made some defensive clears but did not register an actual save.
Nathaniel Gelsomino worked 61 minutes while Christian Garcia took over for the last 19 of the shared shutout. Marmion junior goalie Jason Baker’s status from an ankle injury will be evaluated later this week to determine when he’ll stop sitting out matches. He was sidelined against Streamwood and the Cadets have now had a trio of keepers since that time.
“Defensively a lot of credit belongs to our backline,” Romano insisted. “We’ve rotated (Aidan Reynolds, Sebastian Gutierrez, Joey Lagman, Michael Murray and David Lawinger) and last year at this time we had a minus-17 in goal differential, after today we’re plus six. We’re clearly staying more disciplined, and all those guys are stepping up. This was our third shutout, which is one more than we had all of last year.”
One reason Romano is so enthused about the offensive spark Cerda provides, is because he expects Serrano to be the offensive juggernaut that earned him a place on Chicagoland Soccer’s 2017 All-State Watch List.
At 55:17, Serrano essentially used a missile shot off Bauer to gain a second assist as the carom landed near the far left post where James Lawinger tapped it in. It was the younger Lawinger’s first goal as well. Nearly six minutes later, Lagman fed the ball to C.J. Sowers. With his back to the goal and a defender rushing toward him, Sowers executed a volley over his shoulders that eluded Bauer and made it inside the right post.
The Mustangs exhausted and discouraged defense was no match 1:24 later when Ruiz played a through-ball that became a breakaway for Serrano who was 1-v.-1 with Bauer and slipped in a 13-yarder to complete the scoring. The day’s efforts upped Serrano’s team-highs to seven goals and four assists.
Marmion’s task is to put together back-to-back wins, and then a third straight to create a win streak. The Cadets visit Providence on Thursday and then have two straight home dates.
“Our experience from the senior and juniors is starting to show, and the more time we get in practice with the newcomers the better we’ve become as a unit,” explained Sowers, a junior midfielder who also made the Watch List. “We’ve picked up both our skill and talent level in order to be more competitive. And we’ve gotten better at keeping our spirits high.”
That is something that the Mustangs need to master, especially with a less experienced roster.
“Since the first loss (to Brother Rice), we haven’t regained our confidence,” St. Rita’s Langston Bedgood said. “The first five of six games the main thing was we believed in ourselves. There’s a lot of talent, but we have to believe in our ability to utilize the talent like we did to start the year.”
“The last two losses, a lack of communication has killed us,” co-captain Ryan Dangles said. “While you can’t win them all, you always want to improve. Suddenly the communication is lacking; we’re not finishing chances. We’re not marking; we’re not playing our game and not playing as a team. We have to look at this as a bump in the road. An opponent scores, pick your head up. You make an error, learn to recover and don’t let it happen again.”
Making that turnaround can begin on Thursday when St. Rita hosts St. Laurence and Kellam sees several cornerstones for the Mustangs to utilize.
“Defensively, Tyler Padilla has been and was again today, very steady for us. He does what we ask of him and he provides leadership, although we’d prefer it to be a little more vocal,” Kellam said.
Padilla and teammate Carlos Sanchez both made the All-State Watch List as well.
“Langston (Bedgood) continues to work at getting things going the right way,” Kellam noted. “Essentially all our juniors are stepping up. Kenya (Sumpter) and Brendan (Breslin) have played well. Although he had an unfortunate start today, David (Bauer) has shown his ability to make us successful (as evidenced by a trio of shutouts).”
Starting lineups
St. Rita
GK Davie Bauer
D Jack Carey
D Brendan Breslin
D Tyler Padilla
D Ryan Dangles
M Jaime Banuelos
M Julio Walton
M Jesus “Chuy” Flores
F Logan Corum
F Carlos Sanchez
F Langston Bedgood
Marmion
GK Nathaniel Gelsomino
D David Lawinger
D Sebastian Gutierrez
D Michael Murray
D Joey Lagman
M Tyler “T.J.” Laurich
M C.J. Sowers
M James Lawinger
M Adrian Ruiz
F James Serrano
F Andre Cerda
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Andre Cerda, sr., F, Marmion
Referees: Brett Richter (center), Christie Ernst, Victor Herrera
Game summary
Marmion 6, St. Rita 0
St. Rita (4-2-1) 0 0 --- 0
Marmion (4-3-0) 3 3 --- 6
Scoring
First half
M – D. Lawinger 34-yard high floater over keeper and under crossbar (unassisted), 1:53 gone
M – Cerda 12-yard no doubt finish off cross (Serrano assist), 5:38 gone
M – Serrano perfectly time, perfectly placed strike (J. Lawinger assist), 16:29 gone
Second half
M – J. Lawinger tap-in finish near left post on carom off keeper (Serrano assist), 55:17 gone
M – Sowers back-to-goal over his head nine-yarder (Lagman assist), 61:05 gone
M – Serrano breakaway off through ball for 1-v.-1 13-yarder past goalie (Ruiz assist), 62:29 gone
Shots
SR 2 – 1 --- 3
M 12 – 15 --- 27
Shots on goal
SR 0 – 0 --- 0
M 7 – 8 --- 15
Saves (GK)
SR (Bauer 75 min.) 4 – 4 (Manning, 5 min,) 1 --- 9
M (Gelsomino 61 min.) 0 – 0 (Garcia 19 min.) 0 --- 0
Corner kicks
SR 0 – 1 --- 1
M 3 - 0 --- 3
Offsides
SR 1 – 0 --- 1
M 2 – 2 --- 4
Cadets score early, take control in 6-0 win
By Steve Nemeth
AURORA --- On a hot, humid day that qualified for IHSA-mandated water breaks, St. Rita lacked energy from the start while Marmion played like it got an extra jolt of adrenaline.
Unfortunately for visiting St. Rita it was all uphill from there. The host Cadets vim and vigor led to 6-0 romp in a Chicago Catholic League crossover match.
Just a mere 1:53 into the match, David Lawinger put Marmion ahead with a 34-yard high floater that carried over the keeper and under the crossbar.
Less than four minutes later, Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match Andre Cerda doubled the lead and the Cadets (4-3-0) continued their left-right march of win one, lose one, win the next one. For St. Rita (4-2-1), its five-match unbeaten string to start of year has fallen into a two-loss stumble.
“This was one you just want to put in the rearview mirror, which unfortunately applies. As much as it sounds like an excuse, the reality of sitting in a hot bus for an hour and half does zap your energy,” St. Rita co-head coach Bob Kellam said. “We came out flat, and the sun was an extra factor.”
That was a reference to the 90-plus temperature for the opening kick and that Mustang starting goalie David Bauer had the additional disadvantage of trying to judge Lawinger’s knuckling shot versus a setting sun.
Make that unofficial assist to Marmion co-captain James Serrano who opted to choose which goal to attack upon the Cadets winning the coin toss.
“Coach Romano always stresses the need to be aggressive at the start of every match and if you feel it, hit it. So seeing some space I took a gamble,” Lawinger said of his first goal of the year. “It seemed like it was just going, going, going and then it started to make a little dip, and I thought 'All right.'”
As disappointing a start as that was for St. Rita, the Mustangs couldn’t get into any kind of offensive stride when Marmion doubled its lead. Serrano earned an assist with a stellar cross that Cerda blasted home from 12 yards for his first 2018 goal. Not a bad way for someone making his first start; it merited glowing words of praise from coach Jimmy Romano.
“We’re talking about a guy who didn’t play a minute at the start of the year and barely played as a defender. We asked him to try a new role as a forward and his impact has been undeniable,” Romano said. “He has changed the way we now play. Again we’re talking about a defender switching to forward and working his way not only onto the field, but into a start, and his first start includes a goal.”
“Since I didn’t feel that comfortable on defense, I felt great about the switch,” Cerda said. “Guess I’m always up for scoring. Coach stresses the need to really execute in the first 10 minutes to get into rhythm. I didn’t think the goalie was in a great position, and it was such a beautiful ball (from Serrano). It just happened so quickly. As good as it feels to score, it feels even greater to contribute to a victory.”
With well over 70 minutes still to play, a victory was far from assured. Not quite 10 minutes in Bauer made a solid punch out on another dangerous Marmion cross. Cerda wasn’t as fortunate on another cross when the senior’s shot sailed high. Serrano had a great opportunity from the right 15 minutes in, but Bauer had a highlight-reel worthy kick save.
However at 16:29, Serrano used a James Lawinger assist for the first of two goals and boosted the Marmion lead to 3-0. It would have been much worse if not for Bauer continuing to protect the St. Rita net in a variety of ways. The Cadets’ Drew Noecker put a shot off the right post but Bauer raced off his line to thwart a potential goal at 37:16. Less that four minutes after that a Serrano cannon shot was popped high into the area by Bauer who then caught his block to deny a Marmion putback. Cerda had a header from a corner go wide left late in the opening half.
The second half began with Bauer sprinting out to win a race on a Marmion through-ball to Adam Ruiz. With 29 minutes left in regulation, St. Rita’s Jesus “Chuy” Flores had an attempt sail high over the Marmion net. That was only the third try the Mustangs would have in a one-sided statistical array.
The Cadets owned a dominating 27-4 advantage for overall attempts and a 15-0 edge in shots on goal. The strong showing by Marmion’s backline made life easy for the two sophomore keepers who made some defensive clears but did not register an actual save.
Nathaniel Gelsomino worked 61 minutes while Christian Garcia took over for the last 19 of the shared shutout. Marmion junior goalie Jason Baker’s status from an ankle injury will be evaluated later this week to determine when he’ll stop sitting out matches. He was sidelined against Streamwood and the Cadets have now had a trio of keepers since that time.
“Defensively a lot of credit belongs to our backline,” Romano insisted. “We’ve rotated (Aidan Reynolds, Sebastian Gutierrez, Joey Lagman, Michael Murray and David Lawinger) and last year at this time we had a minus-17 in goal differential, after today we’re plus six. We’re clearly staying more disciplined, and all those guys are stepping up. This was our third shutout, which is one more than we had all of last year.”
One reason Romano is so enthused about the offensive spark Cerda provides, is because he expects Serrano to be the offensive juggernaut that earned him a place on Chicagoland Soccer’s 2017 All-State Watch List.
At 55:17, Serrano essentially used a missile shot off Bauer to gain a second assist as the carom landed near the far left post where James Lawinger tapped it in. It was the younger Lawinger’s first goal as well. Nearly six minutes later, Lagman fed the ball to C.J. Sowers. With his back to the goal and a defender rushing toward him, Sowers executed a volley over his shoulders that eluded Bauer and made it inside the right post.
The Mustangs exhausted and discouraged defense was no match 1:24 later when Ruiz played a through-ball that became a breakaway for Serrano who was 1-v.-1 with Bauer and slipped in a 13-yarder to complete the scoring. The day’s efforts upped Serrano’s team-highs to seven goals and four assists.
Marmion’s task is to put together back-to-back wins, and then a third straight to create a win streak. The Cadets visit Providence on Thursday and then have two straight home dates.
“Our experience from the senior and juniors is starting to show, and the more time we get in practice with the newcomers the better we’ve become as a unit,” explained Sowers, a junior midfielder who also made the Watch List. “We’ve picked up both our skill and talent level in order to be more competitive. And we’ve gotten better at keeping our spirits high.”
That is something that the Mustangs need to master, especially with a less experienced roster.
“Since the first loss (to Brother Rice), we haven’t regained our confidence,” St. Rita’s Langston Bedgood said. “The first five of six games the main thing was we believed in ourselves. There’s a lot of talent, but we have to believe in our ability to utilize the talent like we did to start the year.”
“The last two losses, a lack of communication has killed us,” co-captain Ryan Dangles said. “While you can’t win them all, you always want to improve. Suddenly the communication is lacking; we’re not finishing chances. We’re not marking; we’re not playing our game and not playing as a team. We have to look at this as a bump in the road. An opponent scores, pick your head up. You make an error, learn to recover and don’t let it happen again.”
Making that turnaround can begin on Thursday when St. Rita hosts St. Laurence and Kellam sees several cornerstones for the Mustangs to utilize.
“Defensively, Tyler Padilla has been and was again today, very steady for us. He does what we ask of him and he provides leadership, although we’d prefer it to be a little more vocal,” Kellam said.
Padilla and teammate Carlos Sanchez both made the All-State Watch List as well.
“Langston (Bedgood) continues to work at getting things going the right way,” Kellam noted. “Essentially all our juniors are stepping up. Kenya (Sumpter) and Brendan (Breslin) have played well. Although he had an unfortunate start today, David (Bauer) has shown his ability to make us successful (as evidenced by a trio of shutouts).”
Starting lineups
St. Rita
GK Davie Bauer
D Jack Carey
D Brendan Breslin
D Tyler Padilla
D Ryan Dangles
M Jaime Banuelos
M Julio Walton
M Jesus “Chuy” Flores
F Logan Corum
F Carlos Sanchez
F Langston Bedgood
Marmion
GK Nathaniel Gelsomino
D David Lawinger
D Sebastian Gutierrez
D Michael Murray
D Joey Lagman
M Tyler “T.J.” Laurich
M C.J. Sowers
M James Lawinger
M Adrian Ruiz
F James Serrano
F Andre Cerda
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Andre Cerda, sr., F, Marmion
Referees: Brett Richter (center), Christie Ernst, Victor Herrera
Game summary
Marmion 6, St. Rita 0
St. Rita (4-2-1) 0 0 --- 0
Marmion (4-3-0) 3 3 --- 6
Scoring
First half
M – D. Lawinger 34-yard high floater over keeper and under crossbar (unassisted), 1:53 gone
M – Cerda 12-yard no doubt finish off cross (Serrano assist), 5:38 gone
M – Serrano perfectly time, perfectly placed strike (J. Lawinger assist), 16:29 gone
Second half
M – J. Lawinger tap-in finish near left post on carom off keeper (Serrano assist), 55:17 gone
M – Sowers back-to-goal over his head nine-yarder (Lagman assist), 61:05 gone
M – Serrano breakaway off through ball for 1-v.-1 13-yarder past goalie (Ruiz assist), 62:29 gone
Shots
SR 2 – 1 --- 3
M 12 – 15 --- 27
Shots on goal
SR 0 – 0 --- 0
M 7 – 8 --- 15
Saves (GK)
SR (Bauer 75 min.) 4 – 4 (Manning, 5 min,) 1 --- 9
M (Gelsomino 61 min.) 0 – 0 (Garcia 19 min.) 0 --- 0
Corner kicks
SR 0 – 1 --- 1
M 3 - 0 --- 3
Offsides
SR 1 – 0 --- 1
M 2 – 2 --- 4