St. Rita's rampant attack too much for IC
Mustangs' 80-minute effort produces 3-1 victory
By Mike Garofola
ELMHURST -- Fans of St. Rita soccer got a glimpse of what's to come Thursday night when the young side flashed some exceptional and entertaining soccer during its 3-1 victory over host IC Catholic Prep.
The visiting Mustangs (6-11-2) responded well to its disappointing 1-0 loss at home in its Chicago Catholic League White Division finale to DeLaSalle earlier in the week with a hard-working effort to spoil Senior Night here at Lewis Stadium at the Plunkett Sports Complex.
"IC started 11 seniors, and we started one, with three juniors and the rest freshmen and sophomores which is something we've been doing all season long. You saw what these young players can do, and hopefully it's the start of something really exciting for Rita soccer," beamed co-manager Bob Kellam.
"I know we've been saying all year that we're so young. Not only are we young, but we're also not very big and strong right now because of having so many underclassmen. When we play like we did tonight for such long stretches, it's fun to watch," admitted one of the few 'old' men on the club senior Ryan Caulfield, who anchors the St. Rita backline.
"When you look, at home we played against Providence last week (who) were big, strong and filled with a roster of seniors. We took them into overtime before losing 4-3. It lets me know that the program is in really good shape for a long time, and it's fun to be a part of it right here at the beginning."
IC Catholic Prep (2-13-1) used its backline to send long balls to the Knights front-line targets during the first period. The visiting Mustangs were a joy to watch as they played through the center of the park as often as they could -- much to the delight of Kellam, his co-manager Tim McCarthy, and Caulfield, who had a great view of the proceedings from his spot in the Mustangs 3-2-3-2 formation.
"We've got the guys who are great on the ball, unselfish, and who can really push the attack. So when they have a little time and space, they're fun to watch, and so is our attack," said Kellam.
Despite playing on a very narrow pitch, the Mustangs made it appear much bigger than it was by using quick touches and creative industry from their attacking midfielders Chuy Flores and Ryan Dangles, and their front burners Juan Carlos Sanchez and Danny Dargan. That quartet with Julio Walton gave the home side fits throughout.
Walton was stationed just behind Flores and Dangles as more of a withdraw forward, while outside-mids, Langston Bedgood and Brendan Breslin offered pace and support from their spots on the flanks.
"It's taken us awhile to get confident with each other, but we finally seem to have reached that point. And now we're rolling. We hope to keep on rolling for the rest of the season," offered Bedgood, who bagged the opener, and later the dagger into the hearts of the Knights four minutes from time.
"We practice on turf, play on it in our fantastic stadium, and with the players we have, we really are a turf team," began Caulfield.
"But when you saw us at Guerin, we struggle on grass fields, and it showed with our possession game even though we won big that day.
"Again, it's all about our young team playing with confidence, regardless of the field conditions we're playing on."
The key player for the Mustangs on Thursday night was Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match Dangles, who edged out three teammates for the honor.
The junior was the ultimate box-to-box warrior, winning balls and immediately jumping into the Mustangs attack with pace and purpose. On the flip side, he tracked back and defended when needed.
"Dangles was amazing tonight," said Kellam.
"He's one of our few three-year veterans who play with so much energy on both sides of the ball. And he's a real leader, and one that is so unselfish in his play as well."
In the 19th minute, Sanchez brought the Mustangs out of their seats when his attempted full bicycle just missed the mark. The junior's sensational attempt proved to be a prelude of more to come from the visitors.
The breakthrough finally arrived when Bedgood was put into a 1-v.-1 with Knights keeper Zen Tverdokhlib, who had no chance during the 33rd-minute exchange.
"It was a pretty easy goal for me to get because of what my teammate did ahead of the goal," said a modest Bedgood, who finished what Jose Alencastro and Kenya Sumpter, Jr., started.
Three minutes later it was Sumpter, Jr., who added to the scoreline in spectacular fashion.
Walton passed outside to Sumpter, Jr., on the left side, and the speedster roared up the wing. He flew past his defender before unloading his shot into the far inside netting.
The IC Catholic Prep soccer family recognized 12 seniors during the intermission with a thoughtful tribute to its players who helped establish the young program under the guidance of manager Javier Andrade.
"When I came here to start the program three years ago, our athletic director warned me that we may not win any games. For quite a while we proved him wrong with two very good years before this year. And I know better times are ahead for the Knights once we get more club players into our soccer program," said the affable Knights manager.
"As you can see we have several big, strong and athletic young men playing out there for us, but most have little or no soccer experience," continued Andrade, who also coaches for Elmhurst FC.
"But we've played many of our opponents very well this season. ... Our issue is, again, lack of soccer-playing experience, which usually is what does us in when we're in a very tight game."
The Mustangs built off their strong first half finish behind work from Dangles, Walton, Flores and company. But despite their dominance, it was a mix of the aforementioned Tverdokhlib between the sticks and St. Rita's inability to be ruthless in the final third that kept things dangerously close at 2-0.
The most difficult advantage to protect was broken when Alex Meurer drew the home side close in the 73rd minute when the senior slotted past Dave Bauer, who lost in the no-win situation.
Bedgood quickly erased the Meurer goal with one of his own when Flores picked out his mate just outside the box. The header flew past an acrobatic diving attempt from Tverdokhlib.
"I've been working on getting a goal on a header, so it felt to finally get one," smiled Bedgood.
"Chuy gave me a great ball, and that was all I needed."
The victory sends the Mustangs into its final three fixtures of the regular season before heading into the Back of the Yards Regional, where they were assigned the no. 14 seed and a likely regional final contest with no. 3 Bulls Prep.
St. Rita is excited about the possibilities.
"I like the way we've been playing of late," begins Kellam.
"We'll have our leading scorer William Beebe back for 10-15 minutes of play this Tuesday against Marian, so he should be good to go for the rest of the way, and the rest of the guys are looking good, and ready to go from here on out."
The Mustangs host Evergreen Park on Thursday and then up-and-coming East Suburban Catholic Conference club St. Patrick in its home finale October 14.
Starting lineups
St. Rita (3-2-3-2 starting formation)
GK- David Bauer
D- Jaime Banuelos
D- Tyler Padilla
D- Ryan Caulfied
DM- Chuy Flores
DM- Ryan Dangles
M- Langston Bedgood
M- Julio Walton
M- Bendan Breslin
F- Juan Carlos Sanchez
F- Danny Dargan
IC Catholic Prep (4-4-2)
GK- Zen Tverdokhlib
D- Joshua De La Cruz
D- Alex Cabrera
D- Jack Fowler
D- Dan McCann
M- Anthony Bavaro
M- Clayton Davis
M- Jack Hill
M- Robert Whelan
F- Tim McCann
F- Alex Meurer
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ryan Dangles, jr., DM, St. Rita
Referee: Bryce Cann
Scoring Summary
St. Rita
Bedgood (Alencastro, Sumpter, Jr.) 33'
Sumpter (Walton) 36'
Bedgood (Flores) 76'
IC Catholic Prep
Meuer (Russ, Asmussen) 71'
Mustangs' 80-minute effort produces 3-1 victory
By Mike Garofola
ELMHURST -- Fans of St. Rita soccer got a glimpse of what's to come Thursday night when the young side flashed some exceptional and entertaining soccer during its 3-1 victory over host IC Catholic Prep.
The visiting Mustangs (6-11-2) responded well to its disappointing 1-0 loss at home in its Chicago Catholic League White Division finale to DeLaSalle earlier in the week with a hard-working effort to spoil Senior Night here at Lewis Stadium at the Plunkett Sports Complex.
"IC started 11 seniors, and we started one, with three juniors and the rest freshmen and sophomores which is something we've been doing all season long. You saw what these young players can do, and hopefully it's the start of something really exciting for Rita soccer," beamed co-manager Bob Kellam.
"I know we've been saying all year that we're so young. Not only are we young, but we're also not very big and strong right now because of having so many underclassmen. When we play like we did tonight for such long stretches, it's fun to watch," admitted one of the few 'old' men on the club senior Ryan Caulfield, who anchors the St. Rita backline.
"When you look, at home we played against Providence last week (who) were big, strong and filled with a roster of seniors. We took them into overtime before losing 4-3. It lets me know that the program is in really good shape for a long time, and it's fun to be a part of it right here at the beginning."
IC Catholic Prep (2-13-1) used its backline to send long balls to the Knights front-line targets during the first period. The visiting Mustangs were a joy to watch as they played through the center of the park as often as they could -- much to the delight of Kellam, his co-manager Tim McCarthy, and Caulfield, who had a great view of the proceedings from his spot in the Mustangs 3-2-3-2 formation.
"We've got the guys who are great on the ball, unselfish, and who can really push the attack. So when they have a little time and space, they're fun to watch, and so is our attack," said Kellam.
Despite playing on a very narrow pitch, the Mustangs made it appear much bigger than it was by using quick touches and creative industry from their attacking midfielders Chuy Flores and Ryan Dangles, and their front burners Juan Carlos Sanchez and Danny Dargan. That quartet with Julio Walton gave the home side fits throughout.
Walton was stationed just behind Flores and Dangles as more of a withdraw forward, while outside-mids, Langston Bedgood and Brendan Breslin offered pace and support from their spots on the flanks.
"It's taken us awhile to get confident with each other, but we finally seem to have reached that point. And now we're rolling. We hope to keep on rolling for the rest of the season," offered Bedgood, who bagged the opener, and later the dagger into the hearts of the Knights four minutes from time.
"We practice on turf, play on it in our fantastic stadium, and with the players we have, we really are a turf team," began Caulfield.
"But when you saw us at Guerin, we struggle on grass fields, and it showed with our possession game even though we won big that day.
"Again, it's all about our young team playing with confidence, regardless of the field conditions we're playing on."
The key player for the Mustangs on Thursday night was Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match Dangles, who edged out three teammates for the honor.
The junior was the ultimate box-to-box warrior, winning balls and immediately jumping into the Mustangs attack with pace and purpose. On the flip side, he tracked back and defended when needed.
"Dangles was amazing tonight," said Kellam.
"He's one of our few three-year veterans who play with so much energy on both sides of the ball. And he's a real leader, and one that is so unselfish in his play as well."
In the 19th minute, Sanchez brought the Mustangs out of their seats when his attempted full bicycle just missed the mark. The junior's sensational attempt proved to be a prelude of more to come from the visitors.
The breakthrough finally arrived when Bedgood was put into a 1-v.-1 with Knights keeper Zen Tverdokhlib, who had no chance during the 33rd-minute exchange.
"It was a pretty easy goal for me to get because of what my teammate did ahead of the goal," said a modest Bedgood, who finished what Jose Alencastro and Kenya Sumpter, Jr., started.
Three minutes later it was Sumpter, Jr., who added to the scoreline in spectacular fashion.
Walton passed outside to Sumpter, Jr., on the left side, and the speedster roared up the wing. He flew past his defender before unloading his shot into the far inside netting.
The IC Catholic Prep soccer family recognized 12 seniors during the intermission with a thoughtful tribute to its players who helped establish the young program under the guidance of manager Javier Andrade.
"When I came here to start the program three years ago, our athletic director warned me that we may not win any games. For quite a while we proved him wrong with two very good years before this year. And I know better times are ahead for the Knights once we get more club players into our soccer program," said the affable Knights manager.
"As you can see we have several big, strong and athletic young men playing out there for us, but most have little or no soccer experience," continued Andrade, who also coaches for Elmhurst FC.
"But we've played many of our opponents very well this season. ... Our issue is, again, lack of soccer-playing experience, which usually is what does us in when we're in a very tight game."
The Mustangs built off their strong first half finish behind work from Dangles, Walton, Flores and company. But despite their dominance, it was a mix of the aforementioned Tverdokhlib between the sticks and St. Rita's inability to be ruthless in the final third that kept things dangerously close at 2-0.
The most difficult advantage to protect was broken when Alex Meurer drew the home side close in the 73rd minute when the senior slotted past Dave Bauer, who lost in the no-win situation.
Bedgood quickly erased the Meurer goal with one of his own when Flores picked out his mate just outside the box. The header flew past an acrobatic diving attempt from Tverdokhlib.
"I've been working on getting a goal on a header, so it felt to finally get one," smiled Bedgood.
"Chuy gave me a great ball, and that was all I needed."
The victory sends the Mustangs into its final three fixtures of the regular season before heading into the Back of the Yards Regional, where they were assigned the no. 14 seed and a likely regional final contest with no. 3 Bulls Prep.
St. Rita is excited about the possibilities.
"I like the way we've been playing of late," begins Kellam.
"We'll have our leading scorer William Beebe back for 10-15 minutes of play this Tuesday against Marian, so he should be good to go for the rest of the way, and the rest of the guys are looking good, and ready to go from here on out."
The Mustangs host Evergreen Park on Thursday and then up-and-coming East Suburban Catholic Conference club St. Patrick in its home finale October 14.
Starting lineups
St. Rita (3-2-3-2 starting formation)
GK- David Bauer
D- Jaime Banuelos
D- Tyler Padilla
D- Ryan Caulfied
DM- Chuy Flores
DM- Ryan Dangles
M- Langston Bedgood
M- Julio Walton
M- Bendan Breslin
F- Juan Carlos Sanchez
F- Danny Dargan
IC Catholic Prep (4-4-2)
GK- Zen Tverdokhlib
D- Joshua De La Cruz
D- Alex Cabrera
D- Jack Fowler
D- Dan McCann
M- Anthony Bavaro
M- Clayton Davis
M- Jack Hill
M- Robert Whelan
F- Tim McCann
F- Alex Meurer
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Ryan Dangles, jr., DM, St. Rita
Referee: Bryce Cann
Scoring Summary
St. Rita
Bedgood (Alencastro, Sumpter, Jr.) 33'
Sumpter (Walton) 36'
Bedgood (Flores) 76'
IC Catholic Prep
Meuer (Russ, Asmussen) 71'