St. Rita falls to experienced Richards
5-0 loss doesn't diminish optimism for young squad
By Steve Millar
OAK LAWN - Five games into the season, St. Rita is still searching for its first win. But the young Mustangs have given their co-head coaches, Bob Kellam and Tim McCarthy, reasons to be excited.
“We’re very young,” Kellam said. “We’re starting six kids that are either freshmen or sophomores. We’re basically playing a JV team against a varsity, and we’ve done some good things and been competitive. We’re still growing.
“Right now, our young kids are at a disadvantage physically, but not technically or skill-wise. So, our future’s bright.”
Taking on a veteran squad from Richards on Wednesday, the Mustangs showed their youth, falling 5-0.
Senior forward Michael Ortega-Cervantes sparked the host Bulldogs (1-1-0), providing two goals and two assists, and wreaking havoc on the St. Rita defense all day.
The defeat came a day after the Mustangs (0-4-1) tied Tinley Park 2-2 (on Tueday). St. Rita’s previous three losses were by two goals or less.
“This was our worst game of the season,” Kellam said. “It’s the first game that’s been a blowout.
“It was a great game against Tinley Park. We got down one, fought back to go up 2-1 and then gave up a late goal for the tie. So, I think that took a lot out of us. The 22-hour turnaround was tough. I think it would’ve been a different game if we were fresh, and I don’t think the 5-0 score was indicative of how the game went.”
Richards put the Mustangs in a hole about as fast as possible. On the opening kickoff, Amr Alshatnawi played a long ball down the left sideline.
Ortega-Cervantes, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, tracked it down, sped past the defense and tucked a shot under the crossbar to give the Bulldogs the lead just 11 seconds in.
“That was crazy,” Ortega-Cervantes said. “Amr was talking to me before and he was like ‘You’re fast, I’m just going to play it to you down the wing and you go get it.’ I got the ball, and I just went for it.”
The early strike was a tough blow for the Mustangs, according to junior defender and captain Ryan Dangles.
“That was demoralizing,” he said. “We had a tough fight last night and didn’t get the result we wanted. So, then when that happened, a few guys hung their heads, and we started digging our grave.”
St. Rita hung tough for the rest of the first half, keeping it a 1-0 game headed into the break. Richards, though, picked things up in the second half.
“That first goal was a great way to start, but after that we rested a little bit and didn’t play to our potential,” Richards coach Dan Scanlan said. “We played a lot better in the second half.”
Three minutes into the second half, St. Rita senior midfielder Daniel St. Preux got free on a counter attack and tested Richards goalkeeper Mike O’Sullivan with a solid attempt at goal.
O’Sullivan, though, caught the ball and quickly got the Bulldogs going the other way. Ortega-Cervantes carried it into the box and set up Younes Ahmed for a goal to make it 2-0.
Ortega-Cervantes assisted on Alonzo Fonseca’s goal with 31:54 to go and scored his second with 18:03 left. Hugo Delgado closed the scoring for the Bulldogs.
“A lot of our guys have played together the past three years on varsity, and they’re starting to meld together,” Scanlan said. “We have kids that really put in extra work to be ready for this year.”
St. Rita had a couple golden chances to score late in the contest. Langston Bedgood took a pass from William Beebe and fired a shot off the crossbar with 16:30 left.
Five minutes later, Mustangs pressure led to a Richards handball in the box. Freshman Julio Walton took a well-struck penalty kick, but O’Sullivan made a diving save.
Bedgood, a sophomore, has impressed his coaches.
“He’s a really talented kid,” Kellam said.
Kellam also pointed to the play of junior captains Dangles and Jaime Banuelos as bright spots, along with senior forward Beebe.
“Beebe didn’t play for us the last two years,” Kellam said. “He was with the Chicago Magic Academy. It’s really good to have him back, and he’s been playing well.”
Beebe has taken on a leadership role.
“Since I’ve played at the academy level and played against some great players, guys on the national team even, I feel like I can help the young guys a lot,” Beebe said. “I just try to get them to do things the way I’ve seen great players do them.”
Goalkeepers David Bauer and Hector Aguilera have also stood out. Bauer, a junior, played Wednesday, making six saves. Kellam feels Aguilera, a senior, has made big strides from last season.
“(Aguilera) put in a lot of work,” Kellam said. “He went to camps, and he’s been showing really well. He’s made drastic improvements.”
Dangles is optimistic the Mustangs are getting close to being the team they want to be.
“We’re seeing good things,” he said. “We’re creating a lot of chances, but we’re struggling a bit with the finishing. We’re coming together, though. We put in a lot of work over the summer and our preseason.
“If we can just crack down on our finishing, we’ll be a big threat to other teams.”
Beebe expects St. Rita to improve throughout the season.
“We have a lot of learning to do with the younger kids with discipline, and we have a lot to do to build chemistry,” he said. “When we can do that, we’ll get stronger as we go on and find the right combinations.”
Starting lineups
St. Rita
GK: David Bauer
D: Brendan Breslin
D: Ryan Caulfield
D: Ryan Dangles
D: Tyler Padilla
M: Daniel St. Preux
M: Jaime Banuelos
M: Julio Walton
M: Chuy Flores
M: Langston Bedgood
F: William Beebe
Richards
GK: Mike O’Sullivan
D: Arthur Raines
D: Adam Alkilani
D: Steven Serrano
D: Mark Grochal
M: Younes Ahmed
M: Amr Alshatnawi
M: Abdallah Ahmed
M: Khaled Muthana
F: Michael Ortega-Cervantes
F: Alonzo Fonseca
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Michael Ortega-Cervantes, F, Richards
Scoring summary
First half
Richards: Ortega-Cervantes (Alshatnawai) 1’
Second half
Richards: Ahmed (Ortega-Cervantes) 43’
Fonseca (Ortega-Cervantes) 49’
Ortega-Cervantes (unassisted) 62’
Delgado (Salim) ‘73
5-0 loss doesn't diminish optimism for young squad
By Steve Millar
OAK LAWN - Five games into the season, St. Rita is still searching for its first win. But the young Mustangs have given their co-head coaches, Bob Kellam and Tim McCarthy, reasons to be excited.
“We’re very young,” Kellam said. “We’re starting six kids that are either freshmen or sophomores. We’re basically playing a JV team against a varsity, and we’ve done some good things and been competitive. We’re still growing.
“Right now, our young kids are at a disadvantage physically, but not technically or skill-wise. So, our future’s bright.”
Taking on a veteran squad from Richards on Wednesday, the Mustangs showed their youth, falling 5-0.
Senior forward Michael Ortega-Cervantes sparked the host Bulldogs (1-1-0), providing two goals and two assists, and wreaking havoc on the St. Rita defense all day.
The defeat came a day after the Mustangs (0-4-1) tied Tinley Park 2-2 (on Tueday). St. Rita’s previous three losses were by two goals or less.
“This was our worst game of the season,” Kellam said. “It’s the first game that’s been a blowout.
“It was a great game against Tinley Park. We got down one, fought back to go up 2-1 and then gave up a late goal for the tie. So, I think that took a lot out of us. The 22-hour turnaround was tough. I think it would’ve been a different game if we were fresh, and I don’t think the 5-0 score was indicative of how the game went.”
Richards put the Mustangs in a hole about as fast as possible. On the opening kickoff, Amr Alshatnawi played a long ball down the left sideline.
Ortega-Cervantes, Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match, tracked it down, sped past the defense and tucked a shot under the crossbar to give the Bulldogs the lead just 11 seconds in.
“That was crazy,” Ortega-Cervantes said. “Amr was talking to me before and he was like ‘You’re fast, I’m just going to play it to you down the wing and you go get it.’ I got the ball, and I just went for it.”
The early strike was a tough blow for the Mustangs, according to junior defender and captain Ryan Dangles.
“That was demoralizing,” he said. “We had a tough fight last night and didn’t get the result we wanted. So, then when that happened, a few guys hung their heads, and we started digging our grave.”
St. Rita hung tough for the rest of the first half, keeping it a 1-0 game headed into the break. Richards, though, picked things up in the second half.
“That first goal was a great way to start, but after that we rested a little bit and didn’t play to our potential,” Richards coach Dan Scanlan said. “We played a lot better in the second half.”
Three minutes into the second half, St. Rita senior midfielder Daniel St. Preux got free on a counter attack and tested Richards goalkeeper Mike O’Sullivan with a solid attempt at goal.
O’Sullivan, though, caught the ball and quickly got the Bulldogs going the other way. Ortega-Cervantes carried it into the box and set up Younes Ahmed for a goal to make it 2-0.
Ortega-Cervantes assisted on Alonzo Fonseca’s goal with 31:54 to go and scored his second with 18:03 left. Hugo Delgado closed the scoring for the Bulldogs.
“A lot of our guys have played together the past three years on varsity, and they’re starting to meld together,” Scanlan said. “We have kids that really put in extra work to be ready for this year.”
St. Rita had a couple golden chances to score late in the contest. Langston Bedgood took a pass from William Beebe and fired a shot off the crossbar with 16:30 left.
Five minutes later, Mustangs pressure led to a Richards handball in the box. Freshman Julio Walton took a well-struck penalty kick, but O’Sullivan made a diving save.
Bedgood, a sophomore, has impressed his coaches.
“He’s a really talented kid,” Kellam said.
Kellam also pointed to the play of junior captains Dangles and Jaime Banuelos as bright spots, along with senior forward Beebe.
“Beebe didn’t play for us the last two years,” Kellam said. “He was with the Chicago Magic Academy. It’s really good to have him back, and he’s been playing well.”
Beebe has taken on a leadership role.
“Since I’ve played at the academy level and played against some great players, guys on the national team even, I feel like I can help the young guys a lot,” Beebe said. “I just try to get them to do things the way I’ve seen great players do them.”
Goalkeepers David Bauer and Hector Aguilera have also stood out. Bauer, a junior, played Wednesday, making six saves. Kellam feels Aguilera, a senior, has made big strides from last season.
“(Aguilera) put in a lot of work,” Kellam said. “He went to camps, and he’s been showing really well. He’s made drastic improvements.”
Dangles is optimistic the Mustangs are getting close to being the team they want to be.
“We’re seeing good things,” he said. “We’re creating a lot of chances, but we’re struggling a bit with the finishing. We’re coming together, though. We put in a lot of work over the summer and our preseason.
“If we can just crack down on our finishing, we’ll be a big threat to other teams.”
Beebe expects St. Rita to improve throughout the season.
“We have a lot of learning to do with the younger kids with discipline, and we have a lot to do to build chemistry,” he said. “When we can do that, we’ll get stronger as we go on and find the right combinations.”
Starting lineups
St. Rita
GK: David Bauer
D: Brendan Breslin
D: Ryan Caulfield
D: Ryan Dangles
D: Tyler Padilla
M: Daniel St. Preux
M: Jaime Banuelos
M: Julio Walton
M: Chuy Flores
M: Langston Bedgood
F: William Beebe
Richards
GK: Mike O’Sullivan
D: Arthur Raines
D: Adam Alkilani
D: Steven Serrano
D: Mark Grochal
M: Younes Ahmed
M: Amr Alshatnawi
M: Abdallah Ahmed
M: Khaled Muthana
F: Michael Ortega-Cervantes
F: Alonzo Fonseca
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Michael Ortega-Cervantes, F, Richards
Scoring summary
First half
Richards: Ortega-Cervantes (Alshatnawai) 1’
Second half
Richards: Ahmed (Ortega-Cervantes) 43’
Fonseca (Ortega-Cervantes) 49’
Ortega-Cervantes (unassisted) 62’
Delgado (Salim) ‘73