Timothy overcomes
painful start to blank Lisle
DeVries offense, Steiner's GKing in relief lead Trojans to 3-0 win
By Dave Owen
LISLE – A healthy dose of Hendrik DeVries hustle turned a painful first 15 minutes of the season for Timothy into a winning opening night.
Junnior DeVries’ extra effort on two plays in the box midway through the first half resulted in goals for him and sparked the Trojans (1-0-0) to a 2-0 lead over host Lisle 19 minutes into the game.
Defending Class A semifinalist Timothy rolled from there to a 3-0 win in a rematch of the Trojans’ 4-1 2021 sectional semifinal win against the Lions (0-1-0).
As big as DeVries’ goals were, they were a much needed emotional lift after a literal major hit to the Trojans 10 minutes into the game.
In a race to a loose ball at the upper left edge of the box, Lisle forward Charlie Shoemaker collided with Timothy sophomore goalkeeper Peter Buikema.
Shoemaker got to his feet and showed great sportsmanship standing nearby and trying to comfort Buikema. But the keeper remained on the ground for several minutes, eventually being helped off the field by two coaches and taken to the hospital.
“It looked like a chest (injury), maybe a broken rib, but we'll find out,” Trojans coach Joel Zielke said after the game.
“The plan going in was each of our (keepers) would play a half and Kyle (backup Steiner) would see the field. Obviously, it was a little sooner, and in circumstances not ideal.”
Buikema’s replacement Steiner had appeared in 15 games last fall, including a key role in Timothy’s regular-season 3-2 win over eventual state champion Wheaton Academy. So, in a horrible time, the Trojans were at least in good hands.
“We have two great goalies,” DeVries said. “Last year Peter and Kyle both played, so I knew that I could trust Kyle. But it's definitely not something you want to see.
“It's horrible, and I'm praying for Peter and I hope he's fine, but I'm glad we at least have a great keeper to back him up.”
Timothy’s goalkeeper depth is no mystery to opponents either.
“I knew coming in they were both very good, and the sophomore (Buikema) is fantastic,” Lisle coach Patrick Graff said. “They switched halves against us last year (at keeper).
“I told the guys right away when he (Steiner) came in, 'No change, it's still a stud goalie back there.'”
Steiner lived up to that billing with eight saves and a clean-sheet in his 70 minutes in relief of Buikema.
“I'm mainly praying for Peter,” Steiner said. “It was a really scary injury.”
But as for his approach to filling Buikema’s spot under harsh circumstances?
“I know Peter and how last year he came off the bench last year with so much composure,” Steiner said. “I thought, ‘Why can't I do the same?’
“Our backline was huge. So many headers, adjustments, and a great job just clearing the ball out. It was fantastic, amazing.”
After Buikema’s injury, Lisle had the first big chances when Shoemaker first sent an 18-yard straight-on liner just over the crossbar (12th minute), and Steiner followed one minute later with a right-post grab of a Norbert Guzik shot.
But when Timothy answered with an attack 25:38 before halftime, DeVries’ work ethic paid off to open the scoring.
On Owen Wise’s high cross from the left side, DeVries headed the ball away from Lisle goalkeeper Nathan Vasich left of the post and deflected his ensuing shot off a Lions defender and in.
“I've been used to being a hustle player,” DeVries said. “Throwing my body around isn't always the best thing for me, but it's what I'm good at.
“The ball went up and I thought maybe I had a chance to win the header (from the keeper). I guess it worked, because I jostled the ball away. And then I instinctively just turned around and shot it, and it went in.”
DeVries was just getting started as a force in the box.
Four minutes later, he outbattled two Lisle defenders to win a Cameron Baker cross to the front. After his first shot was blocked, he lasered a low rebound try into the net to put Timothy up 2-0.
“The second goal again was just hustle,” DeVries said. “Cameron played the ball in, and I kind of missed it with my left foot; but I stayed with it and I eventually put it in the net. That was great.”
From the devastation of seeing Buikema helped off the field eight minutes earlier, the Trojans showed great resiliency.
“I thought our boys battled,” Zielke said. “They (Lisle) came out strong. We knew they would. We beat them 4-1 at sectionals last year, and we knew there would be that edge there, another opportunity for them in a new season.
“They probably felt there was some unfinished business, so we had to weather that storm the first 10-15 minutes. Then we got a nice hustle goal out of Hendrik that kind of calmed us down and opened the gates.”
Lisle’s goalkeeper expected a major test of his talents from Timothy.
“They're one of the best teams out there,” Vasich said. “Ever since we played them when I was a freshman, they've always been a consistently good team. Every year they have younger kids getting better and better and developing well. They've been a good team for a while.”
After DeVries’ bookend finishes, Lisle closed the first half on the offensive.
Steiner made a head high catch of a 30-yard free kick in the 34th minute. Then 1:50 before halftime, Lisle won a race to a loose ball left of the box and had Steiner out of position in pursuit of the sphere.
But Nikita Yasinskyi’s open-net shot was blocked by Trojans defender Ethan Munk, and Nathan Canada cleared the ball from danger.
Munk would come up with an even bigger goal-saving block to preserve the shutout with 6:30 left in the game. After Steiner’s initial diving save, Gian Mora-Lovera won the rebound and fired a 12-yard shot toward the open net. But Munk stepped in to clear the high shot near the goal line.
“I tried to make a play in the corner. He (the Lisle player) slotted the ball in, and Kyle came off his line a little bit,” Munk said. “I tried to drop back in, and luckily I was there to head it out. I was kind of lucky. It wasn't really planned.”
With Buikema’s injury, little went as planned for the Timothy defense all night. But the Trojans found a way to adjust.
“Luckily we have Kyle who came up big at moments in the first and second half,” Munk said. “And we brought the boys (on defense) together and stayed focused on keeping our shape, and focused on next play, next play.
“Stay tight and compact so they can't get anything in.”
Earlier in the half, Munk was on the end of a great set piece threat. On Baker's 50-yard free kick with 37:45 to go, Munk got a solid 15-yard header off of the send that required a nice over the shoulder catch by Vasich.
Four minutes after that, the Timothy defense led to counterattack offense. Baker nicely cleared a Lisle corner kick with 33:40 left, setting up a chance at the other end in which Cameron Bode won a ball in the box and set up DeVries for a 10-yard shot saved by Vasich.
DeVries was again close to a hat-trick moments later when his end line header right of the post was cleared by Lisle defender Ryan Hsu.
Those three Lisle denials kept the score 2-0 at the time, but just briefly.
With 32:02 to play, the Trojans turned a set piece into an added insurance goal. Sophomore Cooper Rainone’s corner kick found Baker in front for a nice header put-away and the game’s final score.
Despite Timothy’s trio of nice finishes and other bids, Lisle has plenty of reason for optimism down the road.
“It's always that first game jitters, especially in back,” Graff said. “That's the one new part of our team, our defenders. Two of them are back but didn't get a lot of minutes. So this is the first time those four or five guys are playing a full game together.
“I thought overall they did well, with just a couple easily fixable mistakes that can be changed. I think this defense is going to be fantastic.”
After Timothy’s great 2021 season, which ended with a run to fourth place in Class A, the Trojans are aiming even higher.
“Our ending was definitely not what we wanted,” DeVries said. “We didn't do well in the semifinal: we lost 6-1 (to Wheaton Academy), which was not fun and third place we should have won (losing in PKs to Bloomington Central). We left a lot of chances on the board that game.
“But I definitely think this year we have a new mentality. We lost some guys, but the juniors and seniors have really stepped it up. I think this year we have a good chance of going far.”
Said Munk: “The rough finish to last year keeps us hungry for this year. That makes us go even harder. We want to be back to where we were last year.”
The first steps Tuesday toward that repeat journey looked very good.
“We have 17 back who have varsity experience,” Zielke said. “Losing Ethan Lemkuil our conference player of the year and (top scorer) Christian Cruz, those are two really big pieces. But we're going to learn and get things figured out, and I feel good. And we have good depth too.”
“We obviously lost a few seniors and team leaders,” Steiner said, “but we have players who are going to lead us this year. And we all know what we want: to go the Final Four again like last year.”
With his team up 3-0 after Baker’s header goal, Steiner closed the door with nice saves on Oscar Sanchez (28:30 left), Mora-Lovera (straight on 18-yarder with 23:30 to go) and a nice high grab of Aldo Mora’s header off a corner kick with 2:50 to play.
Add in Munk’s late clear near the goal line, and what looked like a painful night early with Buikema’s injury ended in a nice victory for the Trojans.
“We were nervous knowing they (Lisle) had a chip on their back from last time (the 2021 sectional loss),” DeVries said. “I felt for the first 20 (minutes) that really showed: they were controlling better and putting in great effort, but I just think we stuck it out and showed we were the better team.”
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match DeVries had 12 goals last year and began 2022 in similar style.
“Hendrik has such a motor and is just going to go and go,” Zielke said. “He played well. Kyle played a really solid game with a couple really big saves, and Ethan Munk really locked down the backline as our leader there.
“Those three were the top guys, and the other guys had moments. But they were a little more consistent, those three.”
Timothy moves on from Tuesday’s test to a massive weekend challenge at the Red & White Classic at Hinsdale Central.
“It’s big to get this win,” Munk said. “It gives us confidence going into this weekend when we play two big schools Hinsdale Central and Barrington.”
Zielke summed up the Trojans’ David vs. Goliath approach of facing strong Class 3A foes.
“We want to be prepared for October,” he said. “We were invited to play there, and we always welcome those opportunities. We want to show our boys every variety of soccer and be ready for every situation that might come down the road.”
Steiner echoed those sentiments.
“We always play big schools at the start of the year,” he said. “We want to challenge ourselves so when it comes to the postseason we’re ready for those bigger games.”
As Timothy rides momentum into its big weekend, Lisle also found merit in Tuesday’s battle.
“It's a learning experience I guess,” Vasich said. “We have a whole season ahead of us. We know what to do now and how to fix our errors, so it's only up from here. I think the rest of the season we’ll play well.”
Having seen his team battle hard against a top foe, Graff is also very optimistic.
“Timothy’s a good team,” he said. “We knew it. They kicked us out of the playoffs last year, and we knew it was going to be tough coming in. They’re a very good team and very well coached.
“I thought we adjusted in the second half and were more comfortable with each other. And we started attacking more. But we can't play scared against these guys. Every year we're in contention in the playoffs, and we get scared against these bigger teams. We are one of the bigger (enrollment) Class A teams, and we need to remember that. It's a learning curve.”
Starting lineups
Timothy
GK Peter Buikema
D Travis Lemkuil
D Ethan Munk
D Nathan Canada
D Carter Day
M Cameron Baker
M Jake Firnsin
M Owen Wise
M Josiah Bhetia
F Hendrik DeVries
F Cooper Rainone
Lisle
GK Nathan Vasich
D Ryan Hsu
D Max Sirovatka
D Brandon Su
D Nolan Kelly
M Gian Mora-Lovera
M Oscar Sanchez
M Aldo Mora
F Nikita Yasinskyi
F Charlie Shoemaker
F Norbert Guzik
Chicagoland SoccerMan of the Match: Hendrik DeVries, sr. F, Timothy
Scoring summary
First half
Timothy: Hendrik Devries (Owen Wise assist), 15’
Timothy: Devries (unassisted), 19’
Second half
Timothy: Cameron Baker (Cooper Rainone assist), 48’
painful start to blank Lisle
DeVries offense, Steiner's GKing in relief lead Trojans to 3-0 win
By Dave Owen
LISLE – A healthy dose of Hendrik DeVries hustle turned a painful first 15 minutes of the season for Timothy into a winning opening night.
Junnior DeVries’ extra effort on two plays in the box midway through the first half resulted in goals for him and sparked the Trojans (1-0-0) to a 2-0 lead over host Lisle 19 minutes into the game.
Defending Class A semifinalist Timothy rolled from there to a 3-0 win in a rematch of the Trojans’ 4-1 2021 sectional semifinal win against the Lions (0-1-0).
As big as DeVries’ goals were, they were a much needed emotional lift after a literal major hit to the Trojans 10 minutes into the game.
In a race to a loose ball at the upper left edge of the box, Lisle forward Charlie Shoemaker collided with Timothy sophomore goalkeeper Peter Buikema.
Shoemaker got to his feet and showed great sportsmanship standing nearby and trying to comfort Buikema. But the keeper remained on the ground for several minutes, eventually being helped off the field by two coaches and taken to the hospital.
“It looked like a chest (injury), maybe a broken rib, but we'll find out,” Trojans coach Joel Zielke said after the game.
“The plan going in was each of our (keepers) would play a half and Kyle (backup Steiner) would see the field. Obviously, it was a little sooner, and in circumstances not ideal.”
Buikema’s replacement Steiner had appeared in 15 games last fall, including a key role in Timothy’s regular-season 3-2 win over eventual state champion Wheaton Academy. So, in a horrible time, the Trojans were at least in good hands.
“We have two great goalies,” DeVries said. “Last year Peter and Kyle both played, so I knew that I could trust Kyle. But it's definitely not something you want to see.
“It's horrible, and I'm praying for Peter and I hope he's fine, but I'm glad we at least have a great keeper to back him up.”
Timothy’s goalkeeper depth is no mystery to opponents either.
“I knew coming in they were both very good, and the sophomore (Buikema) is fantastic,” Lisle coach Patrick Graff said. “They switched halves against us last year (at keeper).
“I told the guys right away when he (Steiner) came in, 'No change, it's still a stud goalie back there.'”
Steiner lived up to that billing with eight saves and a clean-sheet in his 70 minutes in relief of Buikema.
“I'm mainly praying for Peter,” Steiner said. “It was a really scary injury.”
But as for his approach to filling Buikema’s spot under harsh circumstances?
“I know Peter and how last year he came off the bench last year with so much composure,” Steiner said. “I thought, ‘Why can't I do the same?’
“Our backline was huge. So many headers, adjustments, and a great job just clearing the ball out. It was fantastic, amazing.”
After Buikema’s injury, Lisle had the first big chances when Shoemaker first sent an 18-yard straight-on liner just over the crossbar (12th minute), and Steiner followed one minute later with a right-post grab of a Norbert Guzik shot.
But when Timothy answered with an attack 25:38 before halftime, DeVries’ work ethic paid off to open the scoring.
On Owen Wise’s high cross from the left side, DeVries headed the ball away from Lisle goalkeeper Nathan Vasich left of the post and deflected his ensuing shot off a Lions defender and in.
“I've been used to being a hustle player,” DeVries said. “Throwing my body around isn't always the best thing for me, but it's what I'm good at.
“The ball went up and I thought maybe I had a chance to win the header (from the keeper). I guess it worked, because I jostled the ball away. And then I instinctively just turned around and shot it, and it went in.”
DeVries was just getting started as a force in the box.
Four minutes later, he outbattled two Lisle defenders to win a Cameron Baker cross to the front. After his first shot was blocked, he lasered a low rebound try into the net to put Timothy up 2-0.
“The second goal again was just hustle,” DeVries said. “Cameron played the ball in, and I kind of missed it with my left foot; but I stayed with it and I eventually put it in the net. That was great.”
From the devastation of seeing Buikema helped off the field eight minutes earlier, the Trojans showed great resiliency.
“I thought our boys battled,” Zielke said. “They (Lisle) came out strong. We knew they would. We beat them 4-1 at sectionals last year, and we knew there would be that edge there, another opportunity for them in a new season.
“They probably felt there was some unfinished business, so we had to weather that storm the first 10-15 minutes. Then we got a nice hustle goal out of Hendrik that kind of calmed us down and opened the gates.”
Lisle’s goalkeeper expected a major test of his talents from Timothy.
“They're one of the best teams out there,” Vasich said. “Ever since we played them when I was a freshman, they've always been a consistently good team. Every year they have younger kids getting better and better and developing well. They've been a good team for a while.”
After DeVries’ bookend finishes, Lisle closed the first half on the offensive.
Steiner made a head high catch of a 30-yard free kick in the 34th minute. Then 1:50 before halftime, Lisle won a race to a loose ball left of the box and had Steiner out of position in pursuit of the sphere.
But Nikita Yasinskyi’s open-net shot was blocked by Trojans defender Ethan Munk, and Nathan Canada cleared the ball from danger.
Munk would come up with an even bigger goal-saving block to preserve the shutout with 6:30 left in the game. After Steiner’s initial diving save, Gian Mora-Lovera won the rebound and fired a 12-yard shot toward the open net. But Munk stepped in to clear the high shot near the goal line.
“I tried to make a play in the corner. He (the Lisle player) slotted the ball in, and Kyle came off his line a little bit,” Munk said. “I tried to drop back in, and luckily I was there to head it out. I was kind of lucky. It wasn't really planned.”
With Buikema’s injury, little went as planned for the Timothy defense all night. But the Trojans found a way to adjust.
“Luckily we have Kyle who came up big at moments in the first and second half,” Munk said. “And we brought the boys (on defense) together and stayed focused on keeping our shape, and focused on next play, next play.
“Stay tight and compact so they can't get anything in.”
Earlier in the half, Munk was on the end of a great set piece threat. On Baker's 50-yard free kick with 37:45 to go, Munk got a solid 15-yard header off of the send that required a nice over the shoulder catch by Vasich.
Four minutes after that, the Timothy defense led to counterattack offense. Baker nicely cleared a Lisle corner kick with 33:40 left, setting up a chance at the other end in which Cameron Bode won a ball in the box and set up DeVries for a 10-yard shot saved by Vasich.
DeVries was again close to a hat-trick moments later when his end line header right of the post was cleared by Lisle defender Ryan Hsu.
Those three Lisle denials kept the score 2-0 at the time, but just briefly.
With 32:02 to play, the Trojans turned a set piece into an added insurance goal. Sophomore Cooper Rainone’s corner kick found Baker in front for a nice header put-away and the game’s final score.
Despite Timothy’s trio of nice finishes and other bids, Lisle has plenty of reason for optimism down the road.
“It's always that first game jitters, especially in back,” Graff said. “That's the one new part of our team, our defenders. Two of them are back but didn't get a lot of minutes. So this is the first time those four or five guys are playing a full game together.
“I thought overall they did well, with just a couple easily fixable mistakes that can be changed. I think this defense is going to be fantastic.”
After Timothy’s great 2021 season, which ended with a run to fourth place in Class A, the Trojans are aiming even higher.
“Our ending was definitely not what we wanted,” DeVries said. “We didn't do well in the semifinal: we lost 6-1 (to Wheaton Academy), which was not fun and third place we should have won (losing in PKs to Bloomington Central). We left a lot of chances on the board that game.
“But I definitely think this year we have a new mentality. We lost some guys, but the juniors and seniors have really stepped it up. I think this year we have a good chance of going far.”
Said Munk: “The rough finish to last year keeps us hungry for this year. That makes us go even harder. We want to be back to where we were last year.”
The first steps Tuesday toward that repeat journey looked very good.
“We have 17 back who have varsity experience,” Zielke said. “Losing Ethan Lemkuil our conference player of the year and (top scorer) Christian Cruz, those are two really big pieces. But we're going to learn and get things figured out, and I feel good. And we have good depth too.”
“We obviously lost a few seniors and team leaders,” Steiner said, “but we have players who are going to lead us this year. And we all know what we want: to go the Final Four again like last year.”
With his team up 3-0 after Baker’s header goal, Steiner closed the door with nice saves on Oscar Sanchez (28:30 left), Mora-Lovera (straight on 18-yarder with 23:30 to go) and a nice high grab of Aldo Mora’s header off a corner kick with 2:50 to play.
Add in Munk’s late clear near the goal line, and what looked like a painful night early with Buikema’s injury ended in a nice victory for the Trojans.
“We were nervous knowing they (Lisle) had a chip on their back from last time (the 2021 sectional loss),” DeVries said. “I felt for the first 20 (minutes) that really showed: they were controlling better and putting in great effort, but I just think we stuck it out and showed we were the better team.”
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match DeVries had 12 goals last year and began 2022 in similar style.
“Hendrik has such a motor and is just going to go and go,” Zielke said. “He played well. Kyle played a really solid game with a couple really big saves, and Ethan Munk really locked down the backline as our leader there.
“Those three were the top guys, and the other guys had moments. But they were a little more consistent, those three.”
Timothy moves on from Tuesday’s test to a massive weekend challenge at the Red & White Classic at Hinsdale Central.
“It’s big to get this win,” Munk said. “It gives us confidence going into this weekend when we play two big schools Hinsdale Central and Barrington.”
Zielke summed up the Trojans’ David vs. Goliath approach of facing strong Class 3A foes.
“We want to be prepared for October,” he said. “We were invited to play there, and we always welcome those opportunities. We want to show our boys every variety of soccer and be ready for every situation that might come down the road.”
Steiner echoed those sentiments.
“We always play big schools at the start of the year,” he said. “We want to challenge ourselves so when it comes to the postseason we’re ready for those bigger games.”
As Timothy rides momentum into its big weekend, Lisle also found merit in Tuesday’s battle.
“It's a learning experience I guess,” Vasich said. “We have a whole season ahead of us. We know what to do now and how to fix our errors, so it's only up from here. I think the rest of the season we’ll play well.”
Having seen his team battle hard against a top foe, Graff is also very optimistic.
“Timothy’s a good team,” he said. “We knew it. They kicked us out of the playoffs last year, and we knew it was going to be tough coming in. They’re a very good team and very well coached.
“I thought we adjusted in the second half and were more comfortable with each other. And we started attacking more. But we can't play scared against these guys. Every year we're in contention in the playoffs, and we get scared against these bigger teams. We are one of the bigger (enrollment) Class A teams, and we need to remember that. It's a learning curve.”
Starting lineups
Timothy
GK Peter Buikema
D Travis Lemkuil
D Ethan Munk
D Nathan Canada
D Carter Day
M Cameron Baker
M Jake Firnsin
M Owen Wise
M Josiah Bhetia
F Hendrik DeVries
F Cooper Rainone
Lisle
GK Nathan Vasich
D Ryan Hsu
D Max Sirovatka
D Brandon Su
D Nolan Kelly
M Gian Mora-Lovera
M Oscar Sanchez
M Aldo Mora
F Nikita Yasinskyi
F Charlie Shoemaker
F Norbert Guzik
Chicagoland SoccerMan of the Match: Hendrik DeVries, sr. F, Timothy
Scoring summary
First half
Timothy: Hendrik Devries (Owen Wise assist), 15’
Timothy: Devries (unassisted), 19’
Second half
Timothy: Cameron Baker (Cooper Rainone assist), 48’