SCE 'Settle-ing' on shutout success,
tops Streamwood in ranked battle
Fighting Saints hold off Sabres 1-0 in nonconference action
By Steve Nemeth
ST. CHARLES -- It’s definitely not a coincidence that Jack Settle has two shutouts and St. Charles East has back-to-back victories.
The Saints -- ranked no. 30 in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 preseason poll -- leaned heavily on their senior goalie to keep Streamwood off the scoreboard in order to preserve a 1-0 victory.
“If you thought some of tonight’s saves were spectacular, you should have seen him Monday night (for a 2-0 clean-sheet versus South Elgin). He made two saves I don’t believe I’ve ever seen another keeper make,” said East coach Vince DiNuzzo, who was an All-Upstate Eight Conference goalie back in his own prep days.
And the final 10 minutes featured an offensive barrage from a Streamwood squad that was pushing hard for an equalizer. However, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match recipient kept the scoreboard’s visitor tally at zero.
The Sabres, ranked no. 8, were justified in both crediting Settle for his work while also considering themselves to be a little unlucky.
“Some nights the better team doesn’t always win. East is a really good team, but I also thought we did everything but put the ball in the back of the net,” Streamwood coach Matt Polovin insisted “Their keeper made several nice saves, but our guys gave it every ounce possible. We threw everything at them including (Sabres goalie) Antonio (Hererra) being in the box for the final seconds.”
Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the outcome hinged on each team’s perspective. Naturally Polovin termed the evening’s lone goal as “one little blunder.” Speaking on behalf of the Saints, Sebastian Carranza described his game-winner as “the result of great hustle play.”
Just 5:25 into the second half, East junior Sam Wade sprinted to get to a through-ball by the Saints while a Streamwood defender went for a tackle. The resulting collision also wiped out Sabres goalie Hererra. Meanwhile, the ball caromed to left of center.
“It was bouncing a little and on plays like that, there is a moment when you’re thinking ‘Don’t shank it.’ Once I made the first touch to settle it, I didn’t even have to kick it that hard,” Carranza said of his 14-yard empty-netter.
Last year, Saints scoring leader and Chicagoland Soccer All-State pick Truitt Battin had the kind of season -- team highs of 16 goals, five game-winners, and 38 points -- that might have led some to believe it made life easier for Carranza. That may have happened on occasion, but Carranza’s 13 goals, four game-winners, team-best seven assists, and 33 points were the reason he was named to the 2018 Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List as a freshman.
In 2019, Carranza has clearly stepped out of any shadow and into the spotlight. His two goals against South Elgin plus the Streamwood strike give him three for the year plus two game-winners in just two matches. Obviously he’ll keep this pace up all year, right?
“I doubt that. I’ll gladly try, but realistically I just want us to win, whether I score or someone else does,” Carranza said. “My personal goal is to simply play hard. We’re playing good team soccer so far and Jack has made a ton of saves, but we’ve got a lot of season ahead of us.”
As Wednesday’s nonconference match between two former UEC foes unfolded, both sides thought a victory was just around the corner.
Less than 10 minutes after the opening whistle, East’s Alex Mancera chipped a free kick from one side to the other with neither team touching it. In the 15th minute, Saints sub Luca Avendano blasted a try that caromed off enough bodies to force Streamwood’s Hererra to make a diving save to his right. When the Sabres got lazy trying to get the ball upfield, Hererra had to make a follow-up save.
Midway through the opening half, East had a flurry and believed the ball crossed the goal line, however, any such debate was moot because the offside flag was up.
Hererra was clearly a hero making a big save on a simply blistering shot from the left side by Wade. The senior goalie did the same on a redirection off a Mancera corner kick. The first half closed with East's Settle diving to his left to deny a Joel Sandoval rocket aimed inside the right post.
Shortly after St. Charles East took the lead, Streamwood had a golden opportunity to draw even when Alejandro Morales lofted a free kick from the left directly in front of the goal resulting in a ping-pong effect that gave Edwin Peralta a point blank chance. Unfortunately for Peralta -- also a 2018 CS Watch List pick -- his try soared high.
With 27:22 left in regulation, Morales launched a shot that Settle fielded with confidence. Five minutes later, Jose Banuelos had a fastbreak leading to a 1-v.-1 only to have Settle rush out to cut off the angle and earn cheers for the stop. Morales sent a drive toward the left post prompting Settle to dive right for a stop.
With 6:37 remaining, Josh Taboada dribbled to left of center for a missile that required Settle to once again stretch out his 6-foot-4 frame. Freshman Aaron Taboada was hoping to find an open Streamwood teammate with a volley toward the goal, but a Saints defender headed the attack away on a play that may have pleased Settle the most.
“Saves are great, but what I really prefer us to do on defense is not allow shots in the first place. Part of my job is keeping the defense organized,” Settle explained. “Obviously communication is a big part of that. To me shutouts are produced by the defensive unit.”
That was clearly part of a philosophy DiNuzzo has been able to instill in his team.
“I’m more impressed that we’ve kept two teams from scoring,” DiNuzzo said. “Part of that is most of Jack’s saves have come on shots from 20 yards or beyond and that can be credited to our back four.”
Technically that recognition was for regulars Ryan Champine, Zach Gamster, Geoff Unterberg, and Myles Hamilton, although Wednesday it included a strong showing by reserve Aaron Frost.
“This early most teams are simply trying to figure out their best 11. I believe we might be deeper. As well as Jack has played, we’ve got two other goalies (seniors Zach Doerr and Joshua Kennedy) who could easily be starters on other teams,” DiNuzzo added.
They may get an opportunity or relief duty as the Saints prepare to co-host the St. Charles Invitational with rival North. Both St. Charles schools serve as host sites for group play from Monday through Thursday setting up crossovers to determine seventh through first place on Saturday, Sept. 7.
The Saints face Plainfield Central this Monday at 10 a.m., then host Metea Valley on Wednesday and Maine South on Thursday.
Having opened with a 1-1 tie at Metea Valley, the 0-1-1 start guarantees Streamwood will sink in the next poll, however, it would be a mistake to write off Polovin’s crew.
“They’ll be around in October,” DiNuzzo forecast in regard to the Sabres’ future.
Like East, Streamwood won a regional last fall. While eventual Class 3A fourth place finisher Lake Park ended the Saints’ season with a shootout in a sectional semifinal, the Sabres went on to win a sectional before those same Lancers beat them in a supersectional.
“We can’t let this start bring us down, because we know we’re capable of so much more,” insisted Streamwood tri-captain Jose Ibarra, a 2018 Chicagoland Soccer All-State honoree and the player Polovin continually bills as one of the best defenders in the state. “The key is for us to play harder as a team, just like we did last season. Tonight we were unlucky on a couple shots. So we’ll work on finishing.”
“It’s early in the season, and we need to keep growing our chemistry. We started slowly last year as well, and then got on a run,” Polovin said, noting that Streamwood went to the Barrington Invitational and won it.
And guess what’s next on the schedule? The Barrington Invitational.
“We’ve got four freshmen seeing major playing time, I don’t see anyone else using four freshmen,” Polovin added. “That’s why I’m confident we’ll get better.”
However, the schedule won’t make the turnaround any easier. Streamwood opened against no. 22-rated Metea Valley, faced no. 30 St. Charles East, and starts the Barrington event this Saturday against Conant. Although Conant isn’t ranked, it’s a tradition-rich program off to a 2-0 start having thumped Maine East 5-0 and Saint Viator 3-0.
The tourney schedule then matches the Sabres against no. 13 Mt. Carmel and no. 34 Marmion to complete pool play, and yet another ranked opponent could await on the Barrington tourney’s final day. Streamwood then opens UEC competition against loop newcomer Fenton -- all of which happens before the Sabres even play a single home match.
Starting lineups
Streamwood
GK: Antonio Hererra
D Fernando Mancera
D Josh Taboada
D Jose Ibarra
D Brian Caldera
M Edwin Peralta
M Aaron Taboada
M Anthony Caldera
M Alejandro Morales
F Jose Banuelos
F Angel Diaz
Metea Valley
GK: Ghandi Cruz
D Justin Hines
D Tyler Kero
D Davis Quarles
D Clarke Simonich
DM Nick Sanchez
DM Abraham Antar
DM Matthew Dovalovsky
OM Colin Bastianoni
OM Joey Donovan
F Alex Krehl
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jack Settle, sr. GK, St. Charles East
Referees: Dylan Kramer (center), Alex Alvarado, Raul Farfun
Game summary
St. Charles East 1, Streamwood 0
Streamwood 0 0 -- 0 (0-1-1)
St. Charles East 0 1 -- 1 (2-0-0)
Scoring
First half
No scoring
Second half
SCE -- Carranza 14-yarder from left into open net (Wade assist), 45:25 gone
Shots
S 5 - 9 -- 14
SCE 9 – 9 -- 18
Shots on goal
S 2 – 4 -- 6
SCE 4 – 4 -- 8
Saves (goalie):
S (Hererra) 4 – 3 -- 7
SCE (Settle) 2 – 4 -- 6
Corner kicks
S 0 – 1 -- 1
SCE 1 – 2 -- 3
Offsides
S 0 – 0 -- 0
SCE 1 – 1 -- 2
tops Streamwood in ranked battle
Fighting Saints hold off Sabres 1-0 in nonconference action
By Steve Nemeth
ST. CHARLES -- It’s definitely not a coincidence that Jack Settle has two shutouts and St. Charles East has back-to-back victories.
The Saints -- ranked no. 30 in the Chicagoland Soccer First 50 preseason poll -- leaned heavily on their senior goalie to keep Streamwood off the scoreboard in order to preserve a 1-0 victory.
“If you thought some of tonight’s saves were spectacular, you should have seen him Monday night (for a 2-0 clean-sheet versus South Elgin). He made two saves I don’t believe I’ve ever seen another keeper make,” said East coach Vince DiNuzzo, who was an All-Upstate Eight Conference goalie back in his own prep days.
And the final 10 minutes featured an offensive barrage from a Streamwood squad that was pushing hard for an equalizer. However, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match recipient kept the scoreboard’s visitor tally at zero.
The Sabres, ranked no. 8, were justified in both crediting Settle for his work while also considering themselves to be a little unlucky.
“Some nights the better team doesn’t always win. East is a really good team, but I also thought we did everything but put the ball in the back of the net,” Streamwood coach Matt Polovin insisted “Their keeper made several nice saves, but our guys gave it every ounce possible. We threw everything at them including (Sabres goalie) Antonio (Hererra) being in the box for the final seconds.”
Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the outcome hinged on each team’s perspective. Naturally Polovin termed the evening’s lone goal as “one little blunder.” Speaking on behalf of the Saints, Sebastian Carranza described his game-winner as “the result of great hustle play.”
Just 5:25 into the second half, East junior Sam Wade sprinted to get to a through-ball by the Saints while a Streamwood defender went for a tackle. The resulting collision also wiped out Sabres goalie Hererra. Meanwhile, the ball caromed to left of center.
“It was bouncing a little and on plays like that, there is a moment when you’re thinking ‘Don’t shank it.’ Once I made the first touch to settle it, I didn’t even have to kick it that hard,” Carranza said of his 14-yard empty-netter.
Last year, Saints scoring leader and Chicagoland Soccer All-State pick Truitt Battin had the kind of season -- team highs of 16 goals, five game-winners, and 38 points -- that might have led some to believe it made life easier for Carranza. That may have happened on occasion, but Carranza’s 13 goals, four game-winners, team-best seven assists, and 33 points were the reason he was named to the 2018 Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List as a freshman.
In 2019, Carranza has clearly stepped out of any shadow and into the spotlight. His two goals against South Elgin plus the Streamwood strike give him three for the year plus two game-winners in just two matches. Obviously he’ll keep this pace up all year, right?
“I doubt that. I’ll gladly try, but realistically I just want us to win, whether I score or someone else does,” Carranza said. “My personal goal is to simply play hard. We’re playing good team soccer so far and Jack has made a ton of saves, but we’ve got a lot of season ahead of us.”
As Wednesday’s nonconference match between two former UEC foes unfolded, both sides thought a victory was just around the corner.
Less than 10 minutes after the opening whistle, East’s Alex Mancera chipped a free kick from one side to the other with neither team touching it. In the 15th minute, Saints sub Luca Avendano blasted a try that caromed off enough bodies to force Streamwood’s Hererra to make a diving save to his right. When the Sabres got lazy trying to get the ball upfield, Hererra had to make a follow-up save.
Midway through the opening half, East had a flurry and believed the ball crossed the goal line, however, any such debate was moot because the offside flag was up.
Hererra was clearly a hero making a big save on a simply blistering shot from the left side by Wade. The senior goalie did the same on a redirection off a Mancera corner kick. The first half closed with East's Settle diving to his left to deny a Joel Sandoval rocket aimed inside the right post.
Shortly after St. Charles East took the lead, Streamwood had a golden opportunity to draw even when Alejandro Morales lofted a free kick from the left directly in front of the goal resulting in a ping-pong effect that gave Edwin Peralta a point blank chance. Unfortunately for Peralta -- also a 2018 CS Watch List pick -- his try soared high.
With 27:22 left in regulation, Morales launched a shot that Settle fielded with confidence. Five minutes later, Jose Banuelos had a fastbreak leading to a 1-v.-1 only to have Settle rush out to cut off the angle and earn cheers for the stop. Morales sent a drive toward the left post prompting Settle to dive right for a stop.
With 6:37 remaining, Josh Taboada dribbled to left of center for a missile that required Settle to once again stretch out his 6-foot-4 frame. Freshman Aaron Taboada was hoping to find an open Streamwood teammate with a volley toward the goal, but a Saints defender headed the attack away on a play that may have pleased Settle the most.
“Saves are great, but what I really prefer us to do on defense is not allow shots in the first place. Part of my job is keeping the defense organized,” Settle explained. “Obviously communication is a big part of that. To me shutouts are produced by the defensive unit.”
That was clearly part of a philosophy DiNuzzo has been able to instill in his team.
“I’m more impressed that we’ve kept two teams from scoring,” DiNuzzo said. “Part of that is most of Jack’s saves have come on shots from 20 yards or beyond and that can be credited to our back four.”
Technically that recognition was for regulars Ryan Champine, Zach Gamster, Geoff Unterberg, and Myles Hamilton, although Wednesday it included a strong showing by reserve Aaron Frost.
“This early most teams are simply trying to figure out their best 11. I believe we might be deeper. As well as Jack has played, we’ve got two other goalies (seniors Zach Doerr and Joshua Kennedy) who could easily be starters on other teams,” DiNuzzo added.
They may get an opportunity or relief duty as the Saints prepare to co-host the St. Charles Invitational with rival North. Both St. Charles schools serve as host sites for group play from Monday through Thursday setting up crossovers to determine seventh through first place on Saturday, Sept. 7.
The Saints face Plainfield Central this Monday at 10 a.m., then host Metea Valley on Wednesday and Maine South on Thursday.
Having opened with a 1-1 tie at Metea Valley, the 0-1-1 start guarantees Streamwood will sink in the next poll, however, it would be a mistake to write off Polovin’s crew.
“They’ll be around in October,” DiNuzzo forecast in regard to the Sabres’ future.
Like East, Streamwood won a regional last fall. While eventual Class 3A fourth place finisher Lake Park ended the Saints’ season with a shootout in a sectional semifinal, the Sabres went on to win a sectional before those same Lancers beat them in a supersectional.
“We can’t let this start bring us down, because we know we’re capable of so much more,” insisted Streamwood tri-captain Jose Ibarra, a 2018 Chicagoland Soccer All-State honoree and the player Polovin continually bills as one of the best defenders in the state. “The key is for us to play harder as a team, just like we did last season. Tonight we were unlucky on a couple shots. So we’ll work on finishing.”
“It’s early in the season, and we need to keep growing our chemistry. We started slowly last year as well, and then got on a run,” Polovin said, noting that Streamwood went to the Barrington Invitational and won it.
And guess what’s next on the schedule? The Barrington Invitational.
“We’ve got four freshmen seeing major playing time, I don’t see anyone else using four freshmen,” Polovin added. “That’s why I’m confident we’ll get better.”
However, the schedule won’t make the turnaround any easier. Streamwood opened against no. 22-rated Metea Valley, faced no. 30 St. Charles East, and starts the Barrington event this Saturday against Conant. Although Conant isn’t ranked, it’s a tradition-rich program off to a 2-0 start having thumped Maine East 5-0 and Saint Viator 3-0.
The tourney schedule then matches the Sabres against no. 13 Mt. Carmel and no. 34 Marmion to complete pool play, and yet another ranked opponent could await on the Barrington tourney’s final day. Streamwood then opens UEC competition against loop newcomer Fenton -- all of which happens before the Sabres even play a single home match.
Starting lineups
Streamwood
GK: Antonio Hererra
D Fernando Mancera
D Josh Taboada
D Jose Ibarra
D Brian Caldera
M Edwin Peralta
M Aaron Taboada
M Anthony Caldera
M Alejandro Morales
F Jose Banuelos
F Angel Diaz
Metea Valley
GK: Ghandi Cruz
D Justin Hines
D Tyler Kero
D Davis Quarles
D Clarke Simonich
DM Nick Sanchez
DM Abraham Antar
DM Matthew Dovalovsky
OM Colin Bastianoni
OM Joey Donovan
F Alex Krehl
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jack Settle, sr. GK, St. Charles East
Referees: Dylan Kramer (center), Alex Alvarado, Raul Farfun
Game summary
St. Charles East 1, Streamwood 0
Streamwood 0 0 -- 0 (0-1-1)
St. Charles East 0 1 -- 1 (2-0-0)
Scoring
First half
No scoring
Second half
SCE -- Carranza 14-yarder from left into open net (Wade assist), 45:25 gone
Shots
S 5 - 9 -- 14
SCE 9 – 9 -- 18
Shots on goal
S 2 – 4 -- 6
SCE 4 – 4 -- 8
Saves (goalie):
S (Hererra) 4 – 3 -- 7
SCE (Settle) 2 – 4 -- 6
Corner kicks
S 0 – 1 -- 1
SCE 1 – 2 -- 3
Offsides
S 0 – 0 -- 0
SCE 1 – 1 -- 2