St. Patrick rocks Saint Viator
Shamrocks score 8 times in 2nd half, record 10-1 league win
By Mike Garofola
CHICAGO - Kyle McClure's club from St. Patrick took apart visiting Saint Viator Wednesday night with a commanding performance and 10-1 win at Reed-Dunning Park in a key East Suburban Catholic Conference soccer match on the northwest side of Chicago.
The goals were neatly shared on this mild October evening -- eight-different players scored, including junior Jaden Buelvas, who bagged three on the lopsided scoresheet.
Without a doubt, this was our most complete victory of the season," said a thrilled McClure. St. Patrick now stands along with Benet as the only undefeated teams in the league. The Shamrocks 1-1 tie Sept. 12 at Marist should lead to a solo champion.
The first half of the game, particularly the opening quarter hour or so, was a little uneasy for the St. Patrick faithful in addition to seniors: Aaron Moreno-Lopez and LuisAngel Saucedo. They agreed the pressure of what's at stake in the league, and being named the new no. 1 team in the recent Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 contributed to the Shamrocks so-so start.
"We felt like we had a lot to prove to measure up to us being the no. 1 team (plus) playing a team like Saint Viator, with its great coach (Mike Taylor) and how important this game was to them. It all seemed to hit us, because we were not very sharp at the start tonight," said Saucedo.
"We were shaky," admitted Moreno-Lopez. "We have several goals this season, and one of the big ones is to win the conference title but we didn't really show much early on."
While the Shamrocks (19-0-2, 6-0-1) were at half pace, the Lions (8-5-2, 5-1-0) were immediately on its their front foot from the opening whistle using a high, tight line to slow the Pat's offense to a crawl and creating two quality chances in the first 10 minutes.
"We knew we had to come out and play our best right from the start in order to give Pat's a game and to have a chance to keep it close and surprise them with a goal or two to put them on their heels," said Taylor, who last year watched his club lose 2-1 in overtime to the Shamrocks last season in Arlington Heights.
"If we put one of our first two chances in early on maybe it's a little different of a game. But when we didn't and they got the first two before the half, you knew it could be a long night for us."
Trent Reyes hit the side outside netting for the Lions at the end of a well-executed counter just moments after Bryce McDonnell went wide with his effort from in close.
When the Shamrocks finally got themselves in the game, they played through the heart of their midfield: Jonathan Rodriguez, Moreno-Lopez, and Saucedo. They in turn connected with their dynamic duo up-top, Joshua Torres and Buelvas, who opened things up for the home side.
"It took us awhile to find our rhythm and to play our game of possession, quick movement and touches using the width of our stadium, but when we did we created a bunch of great chances," said Saucedo.
Saint Viator's junior goalkeeper Matt Marchiori singlehandedly kept his club in this contest, turning away numerous attempts while breathing a sigh of relief after the Shamrocks missed two sitters before eventually scoring the opener.
"Matt has kept us in a lot of our games," began Taylor.
"As a sophomore last year, he played with a lot of confidence, as if he was a senior. "This year his overall game has improved so much. Tonight, despite having so many goals scored, he showed why he's one of the top keepers in our area this season."
Ivan Guerreo opened the scoring at 23 minutes, thanks in part to some careless defending according to Taylor. Then Marchiori made a spectacular stop on a point-blank effort from Torres, the first of four Marchiori stopped on the Shamrocks leading scorer.
The Lions keeper could do nothing when Rodriguez doubled the Shamrocks advantage after Sebastian Estrada started it all with a neat tackle and interception.
The junior quickly played to Torres, whose great turn allowed him to find Rodriguez by himself at the back post for a sharp one-timer into the net.
"Our strength has been on defense thus far, but today, you saw a technically skilled team with great athletics take advantage of our youth along the back and in the midfield," said Taylor.
Another sequence in which Torres freed himself of defenders with trickery ended with a 'double-save' by Marchiori on back-to-back close range blasts just before the intermission.
"We should have finished our chances in that first half, but to be honest, their keeper had a lot to do with that," admitted Moreno-Lopez
Whatever McClure and his staff had to say to their lads at the break must have struck a cord with them, because almost immediately after the shrill blast of the referee's whistle sounded the Shamrocks attack went from 0-60 mph in a blink.
With the hosts' turning on the style, speed and bravado, four goals came in the space of nine. Suddenly the visitors chasing six goals.
The build-up to each was sweet enough, with the strikeforce of Buelvas, Moreno-Lopez, Rodriguez and Torres all having a hand in each of the four goals netted.
This quartet entered the night with 51 goals and 37 assists, and exited it 56 and 46 respectively.
The big statiscal winner on the evening was Buelvas, who bagged three and helped with two others.
"I have a difficult time believing that Buelvas and Torres are not the two fastest forwards around," said McClure of the pair who shared Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.
"Buelvas is incredible fast. In open space he just gains more speed on defenders. Joshua combines actual speed with incredible speed on the ball to be that much more dangerous."
Taylor's concern at the onset was the Shamrocks technical prowess and their ability to move the ball quickly and from touchline to touchline. The player that impressed him more than others on film was Rodriguez.
"Obviously when you watch them, you can see the talent they have when attacking, but no. 11 (Rodriguez) is someone you have to watch because his soccer IQ is way up there," Taylor said. "He is very good at recognizing situations and making the proper adjustments for himself and his teammates."
A nicely played 'one-two' between Rodriguez and Torres allowed Buelvas to earn his third on the night to make it 7-0 at 52 minutes - meaning the rest of the second period would be halved.
After Adam Przytula increaded the lead to 8-0, Saint Viator sophomore Andy Anderson was rewarded for his work when he ended the shutout bid with a lovely strike.
In between the Shamrocks ninth and tenth goals, McClure brought on several of his players from the bench, including keeper Bryant Alvarez to finish off the final 13 minutes of the game.
Sebastian Estrada and Connor Day would close out the scoring.
"The difference between Pat's and ourselves is their senior-laden team, incredible athletism and speed," Taylor said. "It's not easy to watch a game like this, but we know we'll get another chance at them down the road at some point. And we'll plan on having a different result than tonight."
Despite the score, the Shamrocks seemed relieved this game was behind them.
"It's good to get this one out of the way," said Saucedo. "We all know how important the rest of this week is to all of us, especially with the league title we're going after."
The Shamrocks dropped their first game of the year at no. 23 Oak Park and River Forest the following night, so the focus will be on league foe Marian on Saturday, before taking on state power Morton on Sunday in a PepsiCo final.
"Winning the ESCC for the second-straight year is really important for us," adds Moreno-Lopez. "So we can't lose focus on that ahead of our game with Morton."
Starting lineups
Saint Viator (4-4-2)
G- Matt Marchiori
D- Matt Oleksak
D- Sebastian Howarth
D- Quinten Parry
D- Christian Evans
M- David Lavender
M- Trent Reyes
M- Conrad Glodz
M- Bryce McDonnell
F- David Stahl
F- Liam Smith
St. Patrick (3-5-2)
G- Jorge Cebrero
D- Sebastian Modrzejewski
D- Adam Przytula
D- Collin Krueger
DM- Angel Adame
DM- Leonardo Magana
M- Jonathan Rodriguez
M- Aaron Moreno-Lopez
M- Luis Saucedo
F- Jaden Buelvas
F- Joshua Torres
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Jaden Buelvas, jr., F, St. Patrick
Joshua Torres, jr., F, St. Patrick
Scoring summary
First half
St. Patrick: Guerrero (U/A)
St. Patrick: Rodriguez (Torres, Estrada).
Second half
St. Patrick: Buelvas (Moreno-Lopez)
St. Patrick: Torres (Buelvas)
St. Patrick: Moreno-Lopez (Torres, Buelvas)
St. Patrick: Buelvas (Rodriguez)
St. Patrick: Buelvas (Torres)
St. Patrick: Przytula (Rodriguez)
Saint Viator: Anderson (McDonnell)
St. Patrick: Estrada (Magana)
St. Patrick: Day (Vega)
Shamrocks score 8 times in 2nd half, record 10-1 league win
By Mike Garofola
CHICAGO - Kyle McClure's club from St. Patrick took apart visiting Saint Viator Wednesday night with a commanding performance and 10-1 win at Reed-Dunning Park in a key East Suburban Catholic Conference soccer match on the northwest side of Chicago.
The goals were neatly shared on this mild October evening -- eight-different players scored, including junior Jaden Buelvas, who bagged three on the lopsided scoresheet.
Without a doubt, this was our most complete victory of the season," said a thrilled McClure. St. Patrick now stands along with Benet as the only undefeated teams in the league. The Shamrocks 1-1 tie Sept. 12 at Marist should lead to a solo champion.
The first half of the game, particularly the opening quarter hour or so, was a little uneasy for the St. Patrick faithful in addition to seniors: Aaron Moreno-Lopez and LuisAngel Saucedo. They agreed the pressure of what's at stake in the league, and being named the new no. 1 team in the recent Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 contributed to the Shamrocks so-so start.
"We felt like we had a lot to prove to measure up to us being the no. 1 team (plus) playing a team like Saint Viator, with its great coach (Mike Taylor) and how important this game was to them. It all seemed to hit us, because we were not very sharp at the start tonight," said Saucedo.
"We were shaky," admitted Moreno-Lopez. "We have several goals this season, and one of the big ones is to win the conference title but we didn't really show much early on."
While the Shamrocks (19-0-2, 6-0-1) were at half pace, the Lions (8-5-2, 5-1-0) were immediately on its their front foot from the opening whistle using a high, tight line to slow the Pat's offense to a crawl and creating two quality chances in the first 10 minutes.
"We knew we had to come out and play our best right from the start in order to give Pat's a game and to have a chance to keep it close and surprise them with a goal or two to put them on their heels," said Taylor, who last year watched his club lose 2-1 in overtime to the Shamrocks last season in Arlington Heights.
"If we put one of our first two chances in early on maybe it's a little different of a game. But when we didn't and they got the first two before the half, you knew it could be a long night for us."
Trent Reyes hit the side outside netting for the Lions at the end of a well-executed counter just moments after Bryce McDonnell went wide with his effort from in close.
When the Shamrocks finally got themselves in the game, they played through the heart of their midfield: Jonathan Rodriguez, Moreno-Lopez, and Saucedo. They in turn connected with their dynamic duo up-top, Joshua Torres and Buelvas, who opened things up for the home side.
"It took us awhile to find our rhythm and to play our game of possession, quick movement and touches using the width of our stadium, but when we did we created a bunch of great chances," said Saucedo.
Saint Viator's junior goalkeeper Matt Marchiori singlehandedly kept his club in this contest, turning away numerous attempts while breathing a sigh of relief after the Shamrocks missed two sitters before eventually scoring the opener.
"Matt has kept us in a lot of our games," began Taylor.
"As a sophomore last year, he played with a lot of confidence, as if he was a senior. "This year his overall game has improved so much. Tonight, despite having so many goals scored, he showed why he's one of the top keepers in our area this season."
Ivan Guerreo opened the scoring at 23 minutes, thanks in part to some careless defending according to Taylor. Then Marchiori made a spectacular stop on a point-blank effort from Torres, the first of four Marchiori stopped on the Shamrocks leading scorer.
The Lions keeper could do nothing when Rodriguez doubled the Shamrocks advantage after Sebastian Estrada started it all with a neat tackle and interception.
The junior quickly played to Torres, whose great turn allowed him to find Rodriguez by himself at the back post for a sharp one-timer into the net.
"Our strength has been on defense thus far, but today, you saw a technically skilled team with great athletics take advantage of our youth along the back and in the midfield," said Taylor.
Another sequence in which Torres freed himself of defenders with trickery ended with a 'double-save' by Marchiori on back-to-back close range blasts just before the intermission.
"We should have finished our chances in that first half, but to be honest, their keeper had a lot to do with that," admitted Moreno-Lopez
Whatever McClure and his staff had to say to their lads at the break must have struck a cord with them, because almost immediately after the shrill blast of the referee's whistle sounded the Shamrocks attack went from 0-60 mph in a blink.
With the hosts' turning on the style, speed and bravado, four goals came in the space of nine. Suddenly the visitors chasing six goals.
The build-up to each was sweet enough, with the strikeforce of Buelvas, Moreno-Lopez, Rodriguez and Torres all having a hand in each of the four goals netted.
This quartet entered the night with 51 goals and 37 assists, and exited it 56 and 46 respectively.
The big statiscal winner on the evening was Buelvas, who bagged three and helped with two others.
"I have a difficult time believing that Buelvas and Torres are not the two fastest forwards around," said McClure of the pair who shared Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.
"Buelvas is incredible fast. In open space he just gains more speed on defenders. Joshua combines actual speed with incredible speed on the ball to be that much more dangerous."
Taylor's concern at the onset was the Shamrocks technical prowess and their ability to move the ball quickly and from touchline to touchline. The player that impressed him more than others on film was Rodriguez.
"Obviously when you watch them, you can see the talent they have when attacking, but no. 11 (Rodriguez) is someone you have to watch because his soccer IQ is way up there," Taylor said. "He is very good at recognizing situations and making the proper adjustments for himself and his teammates."
A nicely played 'one-two' between Rodriguez and Torres allowed Buelvas to earn his third on the night to make it 7-0 at 52 minutes - meaning the rest of the second period would be halved.
After Adam Przytula increaded the lead to 8-0, Saint Viator sophomore Andy Anderson was rewarded for his work when he ended the shutout bid with a lovely strike.
In between the Shamrocks ninth and tenth goals, McClure brought on several of his players from the bench, including keeper Bryant Alvarez to finish off the final 13 minutes of the game.
Sebastian Estrada and Connor Day would close out the scoring.
"The difference between Pat's and ourselves is their senior-laden team, incredible athletism and speed," Taylor said. "It's not easy to watch a game like this, but we know we'll get another chance at them down the road at some point. And we'll plan on having a different result than tonight."
Despite the score, the Shamrocks seemed relieved this game was behind them.
"It's good to get this one out of the way," said Saucedo. "We all know how important the rest of this week is to all of us, especially with the league title we're going after."
The Shamrocks dropped their first game of the year at no. 23 Oak Park and River Forest the following night, so the focus will be on league foe Marian on Saturday, before taking on state power Morton on Sunday in a PepsiCo final.
"Winning the ESCC for the second-straight year is really important for us," adds Moreno-Lopez. "So we can't lose focus on that ahead of our game with Morton."
Starting lineups
Saint Viator (4-4-2)
G- Matt Marchiori
D- Matt Oleksak
D- Sebastian Howarth
D- Quinten Parry
D- Christian Evans
M- David Lavender
M- Trent Reyes
M- Conrad Glodz
M- Bryce McDonnell
F- David Stahl
F- Liam Smith
St. Patrick (3-5-2)
G- Jorge Cebrero
D- Sebastian Modrzejewski
D- Adam Przytula
D- Collin Krueger
DM- Angel Adame
DM- Leonardo Magana
M- Jonathan Rodriguez
M- Aaron Moreno-Lopez
M- Luis Saucedo
F- Jaden Buelvas
F- Joshua Torres
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match: Jaden Buelvas, jr., F, St. Patrick
Joshua Torres, jr., F, St. Patrick
Scoring summary
First half
St. Patrick: Guerrero (U/A)
St. Patrick: Rodriguez (Torres, Estrada).
Second half
St. Patrick: Buelvas (Moreno-Lopez)
St. Patrick: Torres (Buelvas)
St. Patrick: Moreno-Lopez (Torres, Buelvas)
St. Patrick: Buelvas (Rodriguez)
St. Patrick: Buelvas (Torres)
St. Patrick: Przytula (Rodriguez)
Saint Viator: Anderson (McDonnell)
St. Patrick: Estrada (Magana)
St. Patrick: Day (Vega)