Lane uses shootout to top Taft again
Reserve GK Venegas leads victory in CPL quarterfinals
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Lane goalkeeper Fabian Venegas saw the clock melt down, his preparation already began. Time and memory took hold, his own mind calm and direct.
“You have to prepare and be ready for that moment,” he said. “Because if you get nervous than you start to second guess yourself, and you might make mistakes out there. That can cause your team to lose.”
Despite not playing any of the 90 minutes of regulation and two five-minute overtimes, Venegas betrayed neither a hint of nervousness nor pause. He was locked in.
Venegas recorded two blocks of Taft shooters and all four Lane shooters converted as the Indians defeated the Eagles 4-1 in penalty kicks to advance after a scoreless double overtime draw in the Chicago Public League tournament quarterfinal Saturday at Goode Academy.
Marcin Kieta, Arnel Sinanagic, David delaHuerta and Cathal O’Connor converted for the Indians (11-4-2), who advance to the semifinal round against Solorio, a 3-0 winner over Von Steuben.
In the lower bracket, Washington defeated Hancock 4-1 and Young got two goals from Evan Wimberly to beat Lincoln Park 2-0.
The next stage is the Tuesday semifinals at Lane.
This quarterfinal was a rematch of last year’s extraordinary title game when Taft scored an 80th-minute goal. The quarterfinal scenario echoed that game. Venegas also relieved starter Simon Jillson for the shootout a year ago.
“I was fresher, but also when we take penalty kicks in practice I am usually better at stopping them,” Venegas said. “My focus is just on stopping the ball. In my head I told myself to be aggressive, and that helped me relax.”
Venegas earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match prize for his contribution to keep Lane's Chicago Public League championship hopes alive.
Taft (9-6-4) again played brilliantly, utilizing an unorthodox game plan that played to the mercurial weather conditions. The northern winds gusted up to 30 miles an hour.
“I thought in the first half, especially the first 25 minutes, Lane was pretty shocked,” Taft coach Jeff Lucco said. “We possessed the ball really well and created chances. But we didn’t finish. We created a ton of set pieces the whole year, but we just have not finished them. Last year we converted a lot, and that was a big part of our success. We could not do that this year.”
Lucco had to reconfigure his attack a bit. Jonathan Meneses, a senior forward, suffered a broken arm in group play against Kelly on Thursday. The Eagles’ 3-5-2 attack flummoxed the Indians at times.
The wind played havoc with balls in the air, and the closest Taft came to scoring was off a deflected ball that took a perverse bounce and required Jillson to make a game-altering tip over the crossbar.
Last year’s championship game only deepened the rivalry. The game is both intensely personal and deeply cultural. Multiple players on both teams are first-generation American, the children of Polish emigres.
“Every year we look forward to this one game, and this one game only,” Taft senior defender Marek Klimek. “Lane is our biggest rival, and we have a lot of friends on that team. It is hard to put our friendship aside in the 80 minutes that we played.”
Playing against Taft is a deeply emotional experience for star Lane forward Alex Mezyk.
“I live in the neighborhood, and Taft is my neighborhood school,” he said. “I grew up with most of the guys, and the game has a lot more meaning. It’s a good thing we won, so I don’t have to go back home and hear that we lost.”
Lane won the opening coin toss and elected to play into the wind in the first half. Their strategy was to get through the first half unscatched and take advantage in the second half. Lane had the more consistent opportunities.
Taft was opportunistic when the opportunity came. Klimek played a great service into the box that freshman midfielder Brandon Tovar smashed with a header that again Jillson made an alert stop of. Taft forward Patrick Knap had a free kick late in the second half off the left edge that Tovar nearly finished as well.
“All credit to Taft,” Lane coach Andrew Ricks said. “They played a very defensive style, and it was very effective. They played it perfectly, and that kind of style wins games. They knew how to counterattack, and they trained for it well.”
Taft’s strategy was to neutralize Mezyk.
“Taft knows Alex Mezyk very well,” Ricks said. “They were not going to let him beat them. They held him well, but maybe it meant they were not able to get as many people forward. They played very well, and they got the game to penalty kicks, which is a roll of the dice.”
Under the modified rules, the game was played with two five-minute overtime periods to give each side a chance with the wind. Knap had a couple of dangerous opportunities from distance in the first overtime. In the second overtime, Mezyk elevated for a header on a cross from Kieta.
“I tried to go far post and side net, and I should have just gone simple there,” Mezyk said. “But you live and learn.”
Taft and Lane just seemed destined to end this way. Lucco also switched keepers, going with junior Michael Pierri, who has more experience with shootouts. The teams had alternate approaches to the selection of shooters. Ricks picked the players and their order for the Indians. Taft players choose for themselves.
Lane shot first. Kieta drilled a ball in the lower left corner.
“The players kind of looked at each other and said I am going to step up and take it,” Kieta said. “The reason I like the pressure is I am a senior. I think about it as this is my time to shine.”
In blocking the Eagles’ first shooter, Venegas gained the early upper hand. He was quick to stay centered.
“I never like to think of it as a cushion, because then I won’t perform at my best,” he said. “I just go there to save the next one, and then save each shot.”
With Lane up 3-1, Venegas denied the Eagles’ third shooter not once, but twice. The first time the official ruled he left the line too early. On the second attempt, Venegas instinctively moved left for the critical block.
O’Connor was formally credited with the game-winning goal by drilling his shot into the lower left corner.
“Those guys stepped up and said they wanted it,” Lucco said. “Mikey was close on a couple of them. It was a good game. It’s hard because of last year. Twelve of these guys were on that team. For the seniors it is really hard. They really wanted to win city. Our goal was to get back.
“We didn’t treat this like another game. I don’t even try to tell my players that. We knew we’d have to beat Lane. We just haven't quite gotten over that hump.”
Klimek agreed. The Lane players were respectful of the disappointment and pain of the Eagles.
“Two years in a row now, and this was really tough,” Klimek said. “It was a really difficult thing to go through.”
Starting lineups
Taft
GK: Pablo Rueda
D: Mateusz Koziara
D: Patrick Bogusz
D: Marek Klimek
MF: Alexis Sanchez
MF: Sergio Diaz
MF: Ilyas Boukrim
MF: Byron Abaaya
MF: Brandon Tovar
F: Patrick Knap
F: Jakub Lapinski
Lane
GK: Simon Jillson
D: Dennis Dresevic
D: Zachary Rogers
D: Greg Golba
D: Arnel Sinanagic
MF: Brandon Rivera
MF: Jose Villa
MF: David delaHuerta
MF: Cathal O’Connor
MF: Marcin Kieta
F: Alex Mezyk
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the match: Fabian Venegas, sr., GK, Lane
Scoring summary
None
Reserve GK Venegas leads victory in CPL quarterfinals
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Lane goalkeeper Fabian Venegas saw the clock melt down, his preparation already began. Time and memory took hold, his own mind calm and direct.
“You have to prepare and be ready for that moment,” he said. “Because if you get nervous than you start to second guess yourself, and you might make mistakes out there. That can cause your team to lose.”
Despite not playing any of the 90 minutes of regulation and two five-minute overtimes, Venegas betrayed neither a hint of nervousness nor pause. He was locked in.
Venegas recorded two blocks of Taft shooters and all four Lane shooters converted as the Indians defeated the Eagles 4-1 in penalty kicks to advance after a scoreless double overtime draw in the Chicago Public League tournament quarterfinal Saturday at Goode Academy.
Marcin Kieta, Arnel Sinanagic, David delaHuerta and Cathal O’Connor converted for the Indians (11-4-2), who advance to the semifinal round against Solorio, a 3-0 winner over Von Steuben.
In the lower bracket, Washington defeated Hancock 4-1 and Young got two goals from Evan Wimberly to beat Lincoln Park 2-0.
The next stage is the Tuesday semifinals at Lane.
This quarterfinal was a rematch of last year’s extraordinary title game when Taft scored an 80th-minute goal. The quarterfinal scenario echoed that game. Venegas also relieved starter Simon Jillson for the shootout a year ago.
“I was fresher, but also when we take penalty kicks in practice I am usually better at stopping them,” Venegas said. “My focus is just on stopping the ball. In my head I told myself to be aggressive, and that helped me relax.”
Venegas earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match prize for his contribution to keep Lane's Chicago Public League championship hopes alive.
Taft (9-6-4) again played brilliantly, utilizing an unorthodox game plan that played to the mercurial weather conditions. The northern winds gusted up to 30 miles an hour.
“I thought in the first half, especially the first 25 minutes, Lane was pretty shocked,” Taft coach Jeff Lucco said. “We possessed the ball really well and created chances. But we didn’t finish. We created a ton of set pieces the whole year, but we just have not finished them. Last year we converted a lot, and that was a big part of our success. We could not do that this year.”
Lucco had to reconfigure his attack a bit. Jonathan Meneses, a senior forward, suffered a broken arm in group play against Kelly on Thursday. The Eagles’ 3-5-2 attack flummoxed the Indians at times.
The wind played havoc with balls in the air, and the closest Taft came to scoring was off a deflected ball that took a perverse bounce and required Jillson to make a game-altering tip over the crossbar.
Last year’s championship game only deepened the rivalry. The game is both intensely personal and deeply cultural. Multiple players on both teams are first-generation American, the children of Polish emigres.
“Every year we look forward to this one game, and this one game only,” Taft senior defender Marek Klimek. “Lane is our biggest rival, and we have a lot of friends on that team. It is hard to put our friendship aside in the 80 minutes that we played.”
Playing against Taft is a deeply emotional experience for star Lane forward Alex Mezyk.
“I live in the neighborhood, and Taft is my neighborhood school,” he said. “I grew up with most of the guys, and the game has a lot more meaning. It’s a good thing we won, so I don’t have to go back home and hear that we lost.”
Lane won the opening coin toss and elected to play into the wind in the first half. Their strategy was to get through the first half unscatched and take advantage in the second half. Lane had the more consistent opportunities.
Taft was opportunistic when the opportunity came. Klimek played a great service into the box that freshman midfielder Brandon Tovar smashed with a header that again Jillson made an alert stop of. Taft forward Patrick Knap had a free kick late in the second half off the left edge that Tovar nearly finished as well.
“All credit to Taft,” Lane coach Andrew Ricks said. “They played a very defensive style, and it was very effective. They played it perfectly, and that kind of style wins games. They knew how to counterattack, and they trained for it well.”
Taft’s strategy was to neutralize Mezyk.
“Taft knows Alex Mezyk very well,” Ricks said. “They were not going to let him beat them. They held him well, but maybe it meant they were not able to get as many people forward. They played very well, and they got the game to penalty kicks, which is a roll of the dice.”
Under the modified rules, the game was played with two five-minute overtime periods to give each side a chance with the wind. Knap had a couple of dangerous opportunities from distance in the first overtime. In the second overtime, Mezyk elevated for a header on a cross from Kieta.
“I tried to go far post and side net, and I should have just gone simple there,” Mezyk said. “But you live and learn.”
Taft and Lane just seemed destined to end this way. Lucco also switched keepers, going with junior Michael Pierri, who has more experience with shootouts. The teams had alternate approaches to the selection of shooters. Ricks picked the players and their order for the Indians. Taft players choose for themselves.
Lane shot first. Kieta drilled a ball in the lower left corner.
“The players kind of looked at each other and said I am going to step up and take it,” Kieta said. “The reason I like the pressure is I am a senior. I think about it as this is my time to shine.”
In blocking the Eagles’ first shooter, Venegas gained the early upper hand. He was quick to stay centered.
“I never like to think of it as a cushion, because then I won’t perform at my best,” he said. “I just go there to save the next one, and then save each shot.”
With Lane up 3-1, Venegas denied the Eagles’ third shooter not once, but twice. The first time the official ruled he left the line too early. On the second attempt, Venegas instinctively moved left for the critical block.
O’Connor was formally credited with the game-winning goal by drilling his shot into the lower left corner.
“Those guys stepped up and said they wanted it,” Lucco said. “Mikey was close on a couple of them. It was a good game. It’s hard because of last year. Twelve of these guys were on that team. For the seniors it is really hard. They really wanted to win city. Our goal was to get back.
“We didn’t treat this like another game. I don’t even try to tell my players that. We knew we’d have to beat Lane. We just haven't quite gotten over that hump.”
Klimek agreed. The Lane players were respectful of the disappointment and pain of the Eagles.
“Two years in a row now, and this was really tough,” Klimek said. “It was a really difficult thing to go through.”
Starting lineups
Taft
GK: Pablo Rueda
D: Mateusz Koziara
D: Patrick Bogusz
D: Marek Klimek
MF: Alexis Sanchez
MF: Sergio Diaz
MF: Ilyas Boukrim
MF: Byron Abaaya
MF: Brandon Tovar
F: Patrick Knap
F: Jakub Lapinski
Lane
GK: Simon Jillson
D: Dennis Dresevic
D: Zachary Rogers
D: Greg Golba
D: Arnel Sinanagic
MF: Brandon Rivera
MF: Jose Villa
MF: David delaHuerta
MF: Cathal O’Connor
MF: Marcin Kieta
F: Alex Mezyk
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the match: Fabian Venegas, sr., GK, Lane
Scoring summary
None