Young game plan works against Taft
Moran goal keys 5th-straight win for Dolphins
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO — Success takes on peculiar or unorthodox shapes in soccer. A game shaped by the random and unpredictable is like that.
Young has found its stride the last two weeks. A big part of that is the Dolphins’ ability to set down patterns and stick to them meticulously.
“We have a set game plan,” senior forward Colin Moran said. “We try to get a goal early. We have a solid defense. We made some changes to our defense, and we figured stuff out.”
Moran wrote his own storyline with a first half goal off a set piece that held up for the Dolphins’ 1-0 victory over Taft in Chicago Public League Premier Division North play on the Near West Side on Wednesday.
Young (6-5-0, 5-1-0) won its fifth-consecutive game. The Dolphins are 6-1-0 since an 0-4-0 start, the only loss coming on penalty kicks against Fenton in the PepsiCo Showdown.
By contrast, Taft remained hamstrung. The Eagles dominated possession and had the Dolphins reeling for large parts of the second half, even though they were going into the wind.
Young keeper Jackson Sprenger had four saves for the shutout. During the five-game winning streak, the Dolphins have permitted just two goals and registered three shutouts.
“Whatever you want to call it, finish, score, or break the seal, it’s like a mental block right now,” Taft coach Jeff Lucco said.
“Even with all the possession we had, we never had anything that was clear. We had chances, but none of them were clear cut. We were missing the end product.”
Young held the early advantage in time as Taft tried to find their rhythm and pace.
In the 19th minute on a free kick, Young midfielder Nikhil Bapat sent the service inside the box where defender Nate Chmielowicz played the initial ball.
His shot deflected off a Taft defender and Moran was ideally positioned for the rebound score.
“A lot of our game is built off of set pieces,” Moran said. “We have a lot of scrappy players who jump on the ball in the box and whip a shot in. We try to get a head on it, or anything we could do.
“We score a lot of goals that way.”
Moran underscored one of the primary motifs of the game – being in the right place at the right time is an invaluable skill.
Taft (1-6-5, 1-1-3) regrouped and showed its mettle and determination. If ever a team demonstrated how misleading records can be sometimes, the Eagles are exhibit A.
“When we are down like that, all I am thinking about is pride,” defender Edwin Alanis said. “We’re losing. That’s fine, but we are playing for our hearts. We are playing for pride.
“We have to represent the school, the community and where we come from. Even if we’re down by five or 10 goals, we are still going to fight for that one goal.”
Alanis has a monster leg, and his deep drives from the back created some excellent opportunities for the Eagles to mount their attack.
The other key piece for the Eagles was the near complete return to health of forward Suriel Vital, whom Lucco calls him the team’s best individual talent. He has been hampered the entire season by complications of a hamstring tear.
He has slowly worked his way back into shape. His quickness on the ball and ability to create off the dribble provides a different offensive dimension to the team.
“That was the longest he has played this year,” Lucco said. “He made a difference. He’s left footed, so he is able to move up against that outside back.
“Whenever Whitney tried to counter, we were able to regain our position.”
The goal provided the Dolphins the freedom to concede possession and flood the final third with bodies and force Taft to shoot from distance and move the ball through increasingly tight windows.
Young has made tremendous growth defensively since the beginning of the season.
“I think it’s mainly the coaches who have given us a plan for us to follow,” defender Sascha Frias-Kaehler said. “We all started trusting each other and having fun.
“We kept working hard.”
Effort has linked with greater consistency and cohesion. The results tell the story.
“We are more compact,” Frias-Kaehler said. “We communicate more, and we are dropping back. Our defensive midfielders come with us, so it’s not four on three, or situations like that.”
Taft also had reason for optimism going forward. The return of Vital juiced up the attack. Forward Alex Mietka also impressed. His blend of size and power makes him a very intriguing target.
He definitely did some damage. Defender Adrian Grden also impressed with his free kicks and ability to get to the edge.
“The first 10 minutes we were off our game,” Lucco said. “In the second half we were really good.
That was probably the best I’ve seen us play.”
The Taft players recognized their own growth, even if the result was not what they were hoping for.
“During the first half we are getting into the rhythm of the game,” Alanis said. “The first half we conceded. The final 60 minutes we dominated the whole game.
“It was unlucky that we couldn’t put one in.”
Both teams had reasons to be optimistic pushing forward. Young continued to build off its continuity and ever growing confidence. The Dolphins have been both opportunistic and stingy, getting just enough offense when needed and locking down defensively.
“They were definitely putting pressure on us, but our goalie made some solid saves,” Moran said. “We have a lot of offensive talent. As we have turned these losses into wins, our mentality has switched with it.”
For his all-around play in helping score the goal and preventing a goal at his end, Nate Chmielowicz earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match award.
Taft knows it is better and more capable than it has shown. The pieces are starting to click.
“Our coach said after the game this was one of our best second halves of the season,” Alanis said. “If we keep playing this way, I’m sure we could go far in the city finals.”
Starting lineups
Taft
GK: Sean Ocampo
D: Victor Lewicki
D: Edwin Alanis
D: Roy Molina
D: Adrian Grden
MF: Daniel Korniat
MF: Matej Sokola
MF: Gabriel Vidaurre
F: Giuseppe Lazzara
F: Mohamed Abbad
F: Alex Mietka
Young
GK: Jackson Sprenger
D: Sascha Frias-Kaehler
D: Diego Delgado
D: Nate Chmielowicz
D: Garen Petrulis
MF: Reese Kruschke
MF: Nikhil Bapat
MF: Gabe Lopez
F: Colin Moran
F: James Albaraccin
F: Brandon Baarsma
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Nate Chmielowicz, sr., D, Young
Scoring summary
First half
Young—Colin Moran (Nate Chmielowicz), 19th minute
Second half
No scoring
Moran goal keys 5th-straight win for Dolphins
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO — Success takes on peculiar or unorthodox shapes in soccer. A game shaped by the random and unpredictable is like that.
Young has found its stride the last two weeks. A big part of that is the Dolphins’ ability to set down patterns and stick to them meticulously.
“We have a set game plan,” senior forward Colin Moran said. “We try to get a goal early. We have a solid defense. We made some changes to our defense, and we figured stuff out.”
Moran wrote his own storyline with a first half goal off a set piece that held up for the Dolphins’ 1-0 victory over Taft in Chicago Public League Premier Division North play on the Near West Side on Wednesday.
Young (6-5-0, 5-1-0) won its fifth-consecutive game. The Dolphins are 6-1-0 since an 0-4-0 start, the only loss coming on penalty kicks against Fenton in the PepsiCo Showdown.
By contrast, Taft remained hamstrung. The Eagles dominated possession and had the Dolphins reeling for large parts of the second half, even though they were going into the wind.
Young keeper Jackson Sprenger had four saves for the shutout. During the five-game winning streak, the Dolphins have permitted just two goals and registered three shutouts.
“Whatever you want to call it, finish, score, or break the seal, it’s like a mental block right now,” Taft coach Jeff Lucco said.
“Even with all the possession we had, we never had anything that was clear. We had chances, but none of them were clear cut. We were missing the end product.”
Young held the early advantage in time as Taft tried to find their rhythm and pace.
In the 19th minute on a free kick, Young midfielder Nikhil Bapat sent the service inside the box where defender Nate Chmielowicz played the initial ball.
His shot deflected off a Taft defender and Moran was ideally positioned for the rebound score.
“A lot of our game is built off of set pieces,” Moran said. “We have a lot of scrappy players who jump on the ball in the box and whip a shot in. We try to get a head on it, or anything we could do.
“We score a lot of goals that way.”
Moran underscored one of the primary motifs of the game – being in the right place at the right time is an invaluable skill.
Taft (1-6-5, 1-1-3) regrouped and showed its mettle and determination. If ever a team demonstrated how misleading records can be sometimes, the Eagles are exhibit A.
“When we are down like that, all I am thinking about is pride,” defender Edwin Alanis said. “We’re losing. That’s fine, but we are playing for our hearts. We are playing for pride.
“We have to represent the school, the community and where we come from. Even if we’re down by five or 10 goals, we are still going to fight for that one goal.”
Alanis has a monster leg, and his deep drives from the back created some excellent opportunities for the Eagles to mount their attack.
The other key piece for the Eagles was the near complete return to health of forward Suriel Vital, whom Lucco calls him the team’s best individual talent. He has been hampered the entire season by complications of a hamstring tear.
He has slowly worked his way back into shape. His quickness on the ball and ability to create off the dribble provides a different offensive dimension to the team.
“That was the longest he has played this year,” Lucco said. “He made a difference. He’s left footed, so he is able to move up against that outside back.
“Whenever Whitney tried to counter, we were able to regain our position.”
The goal provided the Dolphins the freedom to concede possession and flood the final third with bodies and force Taft to shoot from distance and move the ball through increasingly tight windows.
Young has made tremendous growth defensively since the beginning of the season.
“I think it’s mainly the coaches who have given us a plan for us to follow,” defender Sascha Frias-Kaehler said. “We all started trusting each other and having fun.
“We kept working hard.”
Effort has linked with greater consistency and cohesion. The results tell the story.
“We are more compact,” Frias-Kaehler said. “We communicate more, and we are dropping back. Our defensive midfielders come with us, so it’s not four on three, or situations like that.”
Taft also had reason for optimism going forward. The return of Vital juiced up the attack. Forward Alex Mietka also impressed. His blend of size and power makes him a very intriguing target.
He definitely did some damage. Defender Adrian Grden also impressed with his free kicks and ability to get to the edge.
“The first 10 minutes we were off our game,” Lucco said. “In the second half we were really good.
That was probably the best I’ve seen us play.”
The Taft players recognized their own growth, even if the result was not what they were hoping for.
“During the first half we are getting into the rhythm of the game,” Alanis said. “The first half we conceded. The final 60 minutes we dominated the whole game.
“It was unlucky that we couldn’t put one in.”
Both teams had reasons to be optimistic pushing forward. Young continued to build off its continuity and ever growing confidence. The Dolphins have been both opportunistic and stingy, getting just enough offense when needed and locking down defensively.
“They were definitely putting pressure on us, but our goalie made some solid saves,” Moran said. “We have a lot of offensive talent. As we have turned these losses into wins, our mentality has switched with it.”
For his all-around play in helping score the goal and preventing a goal at his end, Nate Chmielowicz earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match award.
Taft knows it is better and more capable than it has shown. The pieces are starting to click.
“Our coach said after the game this was one of our best second halves of the season,” Alanis said. “If we keep playing this way, I’m sure we could go far in the city finals.”
Starting lineups
Taft
GK: Sean Ocampo
D: Victor Lewicki
D: Edwin Alanis
D: Roy Molina
D: Adrian Grden
MF: Daniel Korniat
MF: Matej Sokola
MF: Gabriel Vidaurre
F: Giuseppe Lazzara
F: Mohamed Abbad
F: Alex Mietka
Young
GK: Jackson Sprenger
D: Sascha Frias-Kaehler
D: Diego Delgado
D: Nate Chmielowicz
D: Garen Petrulis
MF: Reese Kruschke
MF: Nikhil Bapat
MF: Gabe Lopez
F: Colin Moran
F: James Albaraccin
F: Brandon Baarsma
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Nate Chmielowicz, sr., D, Young
Scoring summary
First half
Young—Colin Moran (Nate Chmielowicz), 19th minute
Second half
No scoring