Timothy holds off Lake Park for draw
Weary Trojans survive Lancers' late pressure in 1-1 non-league tie
By Bob Narang
ROSELLE -- At first Lake Park coach Sean Crosby stopped short from mentioning the dreaded “MV” phrase following Monday’s game against Timothy.
A few minutes later, Crosby uttered the two words some coaches speak with regularity. Others mention it reluctantly following a tough but close loss — "moral victory."
The Lancers played a solid 80 minutes but came away with a 1-1 tie against the highly ranked Trojans on Monday night. Timothy, which is currently no. 14 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, had not allowed a goal in their previous five games dating back to a 2-1 loss to Stevenson on March 13.
The Lancers (3-4-3) came off a solid 1-0 win over Batavia on April 1.
“We’re really in midseason form," Crosby said. "It’s taken us a while in the condensed season. It should be a moral victory for (our players) and should give them a lot of confidence in back-to-back games where we out-performed, out-attacked, out-possessed, out-defended but just unfortunately we couldn’t clean up a couple of mistakes."
The nonconference match showcased two teams with different agendas. The Lancers sought a program-building victory over the Trojans. Meanwhile, Timothy (6-1-1) wanted to knock off some rust after not playing since a 7-0 victory over Aurora Christian on March 30. Before that, the Trojans hadn’t played since March 25. The Trojans took last week off because of spring break.
“We talked about this spring break week ever since we knew this season was going to be in the spring,” Timothy coach Joel Zielke said. “We talked about how it can make or break what we’re doing ... We knew they were going to the beach. The parents planned that. There’s not much you can do about it. We weren’t crisp tonight. Our fitness wasn’t there. We didn’t have a touch like we normally do. It will take a day or two to get back.”
Even so, the Trojans came out the attacking team and scored in the ninth minute off an aggressive play by Josh Bode. The Calvin University recruit relied on his hustle to take advantage of a loose ball in the box to tap a shot past Lake Park goalie Andrew Swacha. It was Bode’s 16th goal in seven games this season, including a five-goal effort in the win over Aurora Christian.
“I was just going for the balls that everyone thinks the keeper is going to get,” Bode said. “I battled out with the keeper and getting scraps and being hungry for the goal. That’s what it takes."
Swacha blamed himself for allowing the goal, but he came up big throughout the game. He finished with four saves against the talented Trojans.
“The ball had a lot of spin on it, but it's still my fault,” Swacha said. “It went through my hands and gloves, so I think it’s time to get new gloves. It was a cross from the 30 yard, and it curled up in the air and just slipped through my hands. I gave up the ball, came right out of my hands right in front of the goal and was just an easy tap-in.”
In the 24th minute, Biagio Lerario got the equalizer for the Lancers scoring off an assist from Edgar Villagran. Instead of attempting a quick shot, Lerario took a second to steady himself before slightly knocking in the tying goal from 15 yards.
Villagran said the Lancers couldn’t build off the goal in the second half despite numerous quality opportunities, mainly in a final 14 minutes.
“We fought all 80 minutes,” Villagran said. “We were putting our heads down, because we couldn’t finish at all. The goals weren’t going in. We didn’t stop and just kept going. We had a better second half than first. We played really good overall. We had a lot of chances. We fought.”
The Lancers were unable to take advantage of Timothy’s issues with tired legs in the final 40 minutes. Several Lake Park players, including Villagran, Frankie Caira, Anthony Bartlett and Jose Maldonado, nearly knocked a shot into the back of the net.
Caira, for example, had two solid chances in a seven-minute span early in the second half. He hit the crossbar from 25 yards and sailed a shot with just under 26 minutes left. The Lancers also had a potential go-ahead goal called off because of an offsides call with 6:34 left in the game.
"I thought we fought every minute of the 80,” Caira said. “I think we will come out stronger. We got so unlucky that game. We gave up one easy goal, and I thought we responded really well to the goal they got.
“It’s frustrating. We definitely should’ve won that game, because we had easy opportunities. I hit the crossbar, and was so unlucky. In the box, I also totally whiffed. Our next practice we will focus on finishing, and we will come out 10 times stronger.”
Swacha, a sophomore, had another promising performance in the net after earning the shutout against Batavia. His highlight-reel save on a penalty kick save late in the first half led to a loud outburst from the stands.
“I thought I had better save it, because the first goal was on me. I knew I had to make up for it in a way,” Swacha said. “I didn’t have my best game, and made a mistake. I was trying to prove to the team that I got over it and to keep trusting me.
“They (Timothy) are a very good team and highly ranked in the state. It was definitely a challenge, especially since nobody has seen them before.
“I just wished I performed better. The team, as a whole, performed really well. We got a lot of chances, and just a shame a few of those chances didn’t go in the back of the net. Their goalie made a few really good saves, too.”
Timothy senior keeper Jason Westra finished with five saves. His stellar play amid a flurry of shots late in the game saved the Trojans from a defeat.
“We were little rusty coming back from spring break, and it was a good team we were playing against,” Westra said. “We just had to compete, and it was a dogfight out there. Every shot I knew I had to do whatever I could to save it. We had a hard time tonight. Our team chemistry was off tonight. It was difficult with our fitness, because we were playing on a big field.”
Crosby said his players showed their togetherness in the tie.
“They enjoyed the game, worked hard and were selfless and moved the ball and everybody did their role,” Crosby said. “It was a great overall performance, from the guys that started to the ones who came off the bench and gave us a spark. A lot of guys were involved in goal scoring chances, and we just couldn’t put that last one away.
“Everybody from the start of our roster to the end stepped up and gave us a chance. If there’s a critique for us, I wish we would’ve been more clinical inside the box to find the back of the net, because there’s a number of guys who got chances. Their keeper did a good job protecting his net, so credit to him. We tested him, but we just needed to find a corner. If we continue to do that, I know we will find the back of the net more."
Starting lineups
Timothy
GK Jason Westra
D Jake Alex
D Michael Vogt
D Ethan Munk
D Josh Kiefer
M Ethan Lemkuil
M Christian Cruz
M Cameron Baker
F Josh Bode
F Eddie Favela
F Jackson Day
Lake Park
GK Andrew Swacha
D Logan Pobloske
D Anthony Magner
D Max Panek
D Aiden Killmer
M Frankie Caira
M Jakub Zych
M Edgar Villagran
M Biagio Lerario
M Chris Payan
F Anthony Bartlett
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Biagio Lerario, sr., M, Lake Park
Scoring summary
First half
TC — Bode (J. Day) 9’
LP — Lerario (Villagran) 16’
Second half
No scoring
Weary Trojans survive Lancers' late pressure in 1-1 non-league tie
By Bob Narang
ROSELLE -- At first Lake Park coach Sean Crosby stopped short from mentioning the dreaded “MV” phrase following Monday’s game against Timothy.
A few minutes later, Crosby uttered the two words some coaches speak with regularity. Others mention it reluctantly following a tough but close loss — "moral victory."
The Lancers played a solid 80 minutes but came away with a 1-1 tie against the highly ranked Trojans on Monday night. Timothy, which is currently no. 14 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, had not allowed a goal in their previous five games dating back to a 2-1 loss to Stevenson on March 13.
The Lancers (3-4-3) came off a solid 1-0 win over Batavia on April 1.
“We’re really in midseason form," Crosby said. "It’s taken us a while in the condensed season. It should be a moral victory for (our players) and should give them a lot of confidence in back-to-back games where we out-performed, out-attacked, out-possessed, out-defended but just unfortunately we couldn’t clean up a couple of mistakes."
The nonconference match showcased two teams with different agendas. The Lancers sought a program-building victory over the Trojans. Meanwhile, Timothy (6-1-1) wanted to knock off some rust after not playing since a 7-0 victory over Aurora Christian on March 30. Before that, the Trojans hadn’t played since March 25. The Trojans took last week off because of spring break.
“We talked about this spring break week ever since we knew this season was going to be in the spring,” Timothy coach Joel Zielke said. “We talked about how it can make or break what we’re doing ... We knew they were going to the beach. The parents planned that. There’s not much you can do about it. We weren’t crisp tonight. Our fitness wasn’t there. We didn’t have a touch like we normally do. It will take a day or two to get back.”
Even so, the Trojans came out the attacking team and scored in the ninth minute off an aggressive play by Josh Bode. The Calvin University recruit relied on his hustle to take advantage of a loose ball in the box to tap a shot past Lake Park goalie Andrew Swacha. It was Bode’s 16th goal in seven games this season, including a five-goal effort in the win over Aurora Christian.
“I was just going for the balls that everyone thinks the keeper is going to get,” Bode said. “I battled out with the keeper and getting scraps and being hungry for the goal. That’s what it takes."
Swacha blamed himself for allowing the goal, but he came up big throughout the game. He finished with four saves against the talented Trojans.
“The ball had a lot of spin on it, but it's still my fault,” Swacha said. “It went through my hands and gloves, so I think it’s time to get new gloves. It was a cross from the 30 yard, and it curled up in the air and just slipped through my hands. I gave up the ball, came right out of my hands right in front of the goal and was just an easy tap-in.”
In the 24th minute, Biagio Lerario got the equalizer for the Lancers scoring off an assist from Edgar Villagran. Instead of attempting a quick shot, Lerario took a second to steady himself before slightly knocking in the tying goal from 15 yards.
Villagran said the Lancers couldn’t build off the goal in the second half despite numerous quality opportunities, mainly in a final 14 minutes.
“We fought all 80 minutes,” Villagran said. “We were putting our heads down, because we couldn’t finish at all. The goals weren’t going in. We didn’t stop and just kept going. We had a better second half than first. We played really good overall. We had a lot of chances. We fought.”
The Lancers were unable to take advantage of Timothy’s issues with tired legs in the final 40 minutes. Several Lake Park players, including Villagran, Frankie Caira, Anthony Bartlett and Jose Maldonado, nearly knocked a shot into the back of the net.
Caira, for example, had two solid chances in a seven-minute span early in the second half. He hit the crossbar from 25 yards and sailed a shot with just under 26 minutes left. The Lancers also had a potential go-ahead goal called off because of an offsides call with 6:34 left in the game.
"I thought we fought every minute of the 80,” Caira said. “I think we will come out stronger. We got so unlucky that game. We gave up one easy goal, and I thought we responded really well to the goal they got.
“It’s frustrating. We definitely should’ve won that game, because we had easy opportunities. I hit the crossbar, and was so unlucky. In the box, I also totally whiffed. Our next practice we will focus on finishing, and we will come out 10 times stronger.”
Swacha, a sophomore, had another promising performance in the net after earning the shutout against Batavia. His highlight-reel save on a penalty kick save late in the first half led to a loud outburst from the stands.
“I thought I had better save it, because the first goal was on me. I knew I had to make up for it in a way,” Swacha said. “I didn’t have my best game, and made a mistake. I was trying to prove to the team that I got over it and to keep trusting me.
“They (Timothy) are a very good team and highly ranked in the state. It was definitely a challenge, especially since nobody has seen them before.
“I just wished I performed better. The team, as a whole, performed really well. We got a lot of chances, and just a shame a few of those chances didn’t go in the back of the net. Their goalie made a few really good saves, too.”
Timothy senior keeper Jason Westra finished with five saves. His stellar play amid a flurry of shots late in the game saved the Trojans from a defeat.
“We were little rusty coming back from spring break, and it was a good team we were playing against,” Westra said. “We just had to compete, and it was a dogfight out there. Every shot I knew I had to do whatever I could to save it. We had a hard time tonight. Our team chemistry was off tonight. It was difficult with our fitness, because we were playing on a big field.”
Crosby said his players showed their togetherness in the tie.
“They enjoyed the game, worked hard and were selfless and moved the ball and everybody did their role,” Crosby said. “It was a great overall performance, from the guys that started to the ones who came off the bench and gave us a spark. A lot of guys were involved in goal scoring chances, and we just couldn’t put that last one away.
“Everybody from the start of our roster to the end stepped up and gave us a chance. If there’s a critique for us, I wish we would’ve been more clinical inside the box to find the back of the net, because there’s a number of guys who got chances. Their keeper did a good job protecting his net, so credit to him. We tested him, but we just needed to find a corner. If we continue to do that, I know we will find the back of the net more."
Starting lineups
Timothy
GK Jason Westra
D Jake Alex
D Michael Vogt
D Ethan Munk
D Josh Kiefer
M Ethan Lemkuil
M Christian Cruz
M Cameron Baker
F Josh Bode
F Eddie Favela
F Jackson Day
Lake Park
GK Andrew Swacha
D Logan Pobloske
D Anthony Magner
D Max Panek
D Aiden Killmer
M Frankie Caira
M Jakub Zych
M Edgar Villagran
M Biagio Lerario
M Chris Payan
F Anthony Bartlett
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Biagio Lerario, sr., M, Lake Park
Scoring summary
First half
TC — Bode (J. Day) 9’
LP — Lerario (Villagran) 16’
Second half
No scoring