Triad tops St. Laurence for third
Knights rally past Vikings for 2-1 win
By Chris Walker
HOFFMAN ESTATES – There’s no denying that teams playing in a third place game would rather play in the championship, but there’s also nothing they can do about the semifinal results except learn from them.
That’s the kind of attitude Triad coach Jim Jackson shared with his team before Saturday’s third place game against St. Laurence. He borrowed something from an Edwardsville kid who was quoted about losing to West Chicago in a Class 3A semifinal. Apparently it worked as the Knights edged the Vikings, 2-1.
“It’s funny because I was reading an article about Edwardsville’s loss late (Friday) night and one of their kids said ‘We’re playing tomorrow like it’s a championship game,’” Jackson said. “I quoted that to my boys because we’re 10 minutes from Edwardsville. We know a lot of Edwardsville kids, and I actually live in Edwardsville. We were a little stagnant in the first half and against the wind, but we tried to pump them up at halftime, and they responded.”
Triad (23-3-3) drew even at 1-1 just a few minutes into the second half when senior Michael Tentis converted a PK.
“We just had to refocus our minds and come out and play so we figured we might as well play hard and try to win,” Tentis said. “We came out in the second half really hot being down 1-0. We knew we couldn’t end like that so we had to pick up our play, and we were all over them so it was nice to get two early ones.”
The Knights scored the game-winner just a few minutes later as Travis Speer flicked a throw-in from Tentis and sophomore Roger Weber headed it in with 33:39 left in the game.
“I just banged it right over the defender’s head,” Weber said. “The keeper was out, and I just saw the goal open and placed it where the defender wasn’t and still got it over the defender.”
Weber, who joined the team from club this year and still hasn’t decided if he’ll come back and play for the Knights his junior season, said they were fighting hard for the victory.
“I got the feeling that this meant a lot,” he said. “It’s big. If we would’ve lost it would’ve been a sad bus ride home so we fought hard to win.”
St. Laurence finished the season with two-straight losses, which was only the second time this season the Vikings lost consecutive games in a row. While they’ll remember that, since a trip to state, especially the first in school history, should be unforgettable, they’re also going to remember what they accomplished after the first time they lost two games, which was on Aug. 29 and Aug. 31, a pair of 1-0 defeats to Lockport and Fenwick in the Windy City Ram Classic.
They then won 17 of their next 20.
“Obviously this is a season I am never going to forget,” Vikings senior midfielder Luke Arthurs said. “The best season I ever had, the best team I ever played with. I am always going to remember how far we went, even though we finished last out of the Final Four teams.”
The Vikings are losing a big chunk of their roster, players who all contributed in some way to a historic season.
“To play with the guys we had was really special and something I am always going to remember,” senior midfielder Saul Camacho said. “This was the best season I ever had. To hold something up for the school means a lot to us and the whole program. The future is very bright.”
Camacho mentioned that the Vikings have always been a bit overlooked, but now after an appearance among the state’s elite teams he expects to see some respect toward the Burbank school.
“It feels good to officially put St. Laurence on the map as far as soccer is concerned,” he said. “We have always been underrated. No one really gave us respect. This year marked something for respect.”
The Vikings lost lost to eventual state champion Benet on Friday afternoon.
“I am personally proud of what we did because we got to be here,” Vikings senior goalkeeper Fernando Cervantez said. “And it was a great experience, even though I am really hurt by the results.”
Camacho had a chance to tie the game with four minutes remaining as he awarded a penalty kick on a play that resulted in Triad losing its starting keeper David DuPont due to a foul and the ensuing yellow card.
That forced Jackson to make a personnel change and call in backup keeper Brayden Tonn.
Imagine hitting the snooze button too many times on a school morning, realizing you’re going to miss the bus and then getting dressed in about a minute and sprinting out into the cold fall morning. That’s basically what Tonn had to do, uncovering his layers and taking the field with the game on the line.
“The kid hasn’t seen as much action as he wanted to this year, but he’s a heck of a keeper,” Jackson said. “He split time with David last year and then David kind of took the lead this year. Brayden had some injuries, but he never complained. He kept working hard on getting better. We always knew we had two excellent keepers and tried to get as much time for Brayden as we could. It’s pretty unbelievable.”
Tonn called the moment the top one in his playing career and also couldn’t compare it to a previous experience because it was so unique.
“I can’t think of anything like this happening before,” he said. “I was just over there watching the game and they got the PK, but I didn’t know David had to come out or not. I just took my stuff off and tried to get ready and went out.”
While he took off layers of clothing that had kept him warm, he made sure to keep his confidence on.
“I was confident that I was going to save it,” he said. “I had a good feeling and made the save.”
Tonn was only on the field for a few seconds more than a minute of action before DuPont returned to the game to close out the 2-1 victory. Nonetheless, Tonn’s performance saved the game and earned him some recognition along with the team's third place trophy. For his heroic act, he was named Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match.
It was the fourth PK of the game. Weber’s header was the only goal in the run of play, and while Triad stopped the potential game-tying PK late in the game, it also missed one earlier that left Jackson scratching his head.
Camacho had given St. Laurence a 1-0 advantage when he converted a PK just 11 minutes into the action.
Triad had a chance to tie it on a PK midway through the half, but Cervantez made the huge save of senior Joe McCulloch’s attempt.
It was a solid strike by McCulloch, but Jackson was surprised to see him take it rather than Tentis.
“Joe is really good at taking PKs, but he hasn’t taken one all year so he’s taking the first one, and I don’t want to say anything as he’s almost ready to go,” Jackson said. “He hit a nice shot and the keeper makes a good save, but I was wondering what the guys were thinking there. We didn’t even talk about it at halftime. It was something I forgot about it.”
He was reminded of it though when another PK opportunity presented itself a few minutes into the second half, and Jackson made sure his IHSSCA all-stater took it this time.
“Fortunately we got another PK in the second half and I’m thinking, ‘Michael, you’re taking it. You’re my all-state player,’” Jackson said. “And he buried it. And then we scored another goal on another set piece. The kids have been awesome on set pieces this year.”
Of course, the game was far from over, and the Vikings had a great chance to tie it and force the trophy winner to be determined, ironically, in a PK shootout.
“Unfortunately at the end there they had the PK, and I’m thinking ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” Jackson said. “We’re trying to get 14 layers off of Brayden to get him in the game and he hadn’t even touched a ball and then he goes out there comes up huge.”
By taking third place, Triad matched the best finish in school history. The Knights also placed third 10 years ago under head coach Mike Villa.
Both teams will lose a lot of seniors but both also have some young talent so there is hope that the tremendous success of the 2019 season won't dissipate with their departures.
The Vikings lose 13 seniors but only a small handful of starters.
“This was a very young team with only four senior starters,” St. Laurence coach Kyle Boekeloo said. “We got healthy and then got hot at the right time and everything clicked for us.”
The Knights are losing 11 seniors.
“It’s going to be tough, but we had good freshmen and JV teams and half the team is coming back,” Jackson said. “We’ll have a good nucleus coming back. We hadn’t been here in 10 years and this is where we’ve tried to get to. We had an unbelievable season and you don’t know what’s going to happen in the playoffs or who you are going to play, especially for us as we go further north.”
Starting lineups
Triad
GK David DuPont
D Austin Borri
D Joe McCulloch
D Ty Presley
D Michael Tentis
D Roger Weber
MF Colton Clark
MF Jake Ellis
MF Eli Kraabel
F Travis Speer
F Tucker Kendrick
St. Laurence
GK Fernando Cervantez
D Jessie Cardiel
D Julian Cardiel
D Ruben Chacon
D Thomas Suchecki
MF Luke Arthurs
MF Saul Camacho
MF Marcos Martinez
MF Ruben Perez
F Andres Lemus
F Pedro Pantoja
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Brayden Tonn, so., GK, Triad
Officials: Tom Schaefer (center), Doug Curtner (AR1) Boris Vukovic (AR2), Mike Schmick (4th), Chris Rudolph (reserve)
Scoring summary
Triad 2, St. Laurence 1
Triad – 0 2 – 2
SL – 1 0 - 1
First half
St. Laurence – Saul Camacho PK 28:42
Second half
Triad – Michael Tentis PK 3:11
Triad – Roger Weber (Travis Speer) 6:21
Knights rally past Vikings for 2-1 win
By Chris Walker
HOFFMAN ESTATES – There’s no denying that teams playing in a third place game would rather play in the championship, but there’s also nothing they can do about the semifinal results except learn from them.
That’s the kind of attitude Triad coach Jim Jackson shared with his team before Saturday’s third place game against St. Laurence. He borrowed something from an Edwardsville kid who was quoted about losing to West Chicago in a Class 3A semifinal. Apparently it worked as the Knights edged the Vikings, 2-1.
“It’s funny because I was reading an article about Edwardsville’s loss late (Friday) night and one of their kids said ‘We’re playing tomorrow like it’s a championship game,’” Jackson said. “I quoted that to my boys because we’re 10 minutes from Edwardsville. We know a lot of Edwardsville kids, and I actually live in Edwardsville. We were a little stagnant in the first half and against the wind, but we tried to pump them up at halftime, and they responded.”
Triad (23-3-3) drew even at 1-1 just a few minutes into the second half when senior Michael Tentis converted a PK.
“We just had to refocus our minds and come out and play so we figured we might as well play hard and try to win,” Tentis said. “We came out in the second half really hot being down 1-0. We knew we couldn’t end like that so we had to pick up our play, and we were all over them so it was nice to get two early ones.”
The Knights scored the game-winner just a few minutes later as Travis Speer flicked a throw-in from Tentis and sophomore Roger Weber headed it in with 33:39 left in the game.
“I just banged it right over the defender’s head,” Weber said. “The keeper was out, and I just saw the goal open and placed it where the defender wasn’t and still got it over the defender.”
Weber, who joined the team from club this year and still hasn’t decided if he’ll come back and play for the Knights his junior season, said they were fighting hard for the victory.
“I got the feeling that this meant a lot,” he said. “It’s big. If we would’ve lost it would’ve been a sad bus ride home so we fought hard to win.”
St. Laurence finished the season with two-straight losses, which was only the second time this season the Vikings lost consecutive games in a row. While they’ll remember that, since a trip to state, especially the first in school history, should be unforgettable, they’re also going to remember what they accomplished after the first time they lost two games, which was on Aug. 29 and Aug. 31, a pair of 1-0 defeats to Lockport and Fenwick in the Windy City Ram Classic.
They then won 17 of their next 20.
“Obviously this is a season I am never going to forget,” Vikings senior midfielder Luke Arthurs said. “The best season I ever had, the best team I ever played with. I am always going to remember how far we went, even though we finished last out of the Final Four teams.”
The Vikings are losing a big chunk of their roster, players who all contributed in some way to a historic season.
“To play with the guys we had was really special and something I am always going to remember,” senior midfielder Saul Camacho said. “This was the best season I ever had. To hold something up for the school means a lot to us and the whole program. The future is very bright.”
Camacho mentioned that the Vikings have always been a bit overlooked, but now after an appearance among the state’s elite teams he expects to see some respect toward the Burbank school.
“It feels good to officially put St. Laurence on the map as far as soccer is concerned,” he said. “We have always been underrated. No one really gave us respect. This year marked something for respect.”
The Vikings lost lost to eventual state champion Benet on Friday afternoon.
“I am personally proud of what we did because we got to be here,” Vikings senior goalkeeper Fernando Cervantez said. “And it was a great experience, even though I am really hurt by the results.”
Camacho had a chance to tie the game with four minutes remaining as he awarded a penalty kick on a play that resulted in Triad losing its starting keeper David DuPont due to a foul and the ensuing yellow card.
That forced Jackson to make a personnel change and call in backup keeper Brayden Tonn.
Imagine hitting the snooze button too many times on a school morning, realizing you’re going to miss the bus and then getting dressed in about a minute and sprinting out into the cold fall morning. That’s basically what Tonn had to do, uncovering his layers and taking the field with the game on the line.
“The kid hasn’t seen as much action as he wanted to this year, but he’s a heck of a keeper,” Jackson said. “He split time with David last year and then David kind of took the lead this year. Brayden had some injuries, but he never complained. He kept working hard on getting better. We always knew we had two excellent keepers and tried to get as much time for Brayden as we could. It’s pretty unbelievable.”
Tonn called the moment the top one in his playing career and also couldn’t compare it to a previous experience because it was so unique.
“I can’t think of anything like this happening before,” he said. “I was just over there watching the game and they got the PK, but I didn’t know David had to come out or not. I just took my stuff off and tried to get ready and went out.”
While he took off layers of clothing that had kept him warm, he made sure to keep his confidence on.
“I was confident that I was going to save it,” he said. “I had a good feeling and made the save.”
Tonn was only on the field for a few seconds more than a minute of action before DuPont returned to the game to close out the 2-1 victory. Nonetheless, Tonn’s performance saved the game and earned him some recognition along with the team's third place trophy. For his heroic act, he was named Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match.
It was the fourth PK of the game. Weber’s header was the only goal in the run of play, and while Triad stopped the potential game-tying PK late in the game, it also missed one earlier that left Jackson scratching his head.
Camacho had given St. Laurence a 1-0 advantage when he converted a PK just 11 minutes into the action.
Triad had a chance to tie it on a PK midway through the half, but Cervantez made the huge save of senior Joe McCulloch’s attempt.
It was a solid strike by McCulloch, but Jackson was surprised to see him take it rather than Tentis.
“Joe is really good at taking PKs, but he hasn’t taken one all year so he’s taking the first one, and I don’t want to say anything as he’s almost ready to go,” Jackson said. “He hit a nice shot and the keeper makes a good save, but I was wondering what the guys were thinking there. We didn’t even talk about it at halftime. It was something I forgot about it.”
He was reminded of it though when another PK opportunity presented itself a few minutes into the second half, and Jackson made sure his IHSSCA all-stater took it this time.
“Fortunately we got another PK in the second half and I’m thinking, ‘Michael, you’re taking it. You’re my all-state player,’” Jackson said. “And he buried it. And then we scored another goal on another set piece. The kids have been awesome on set pieces this year.”
Of course, the game was far from over, and the Vikings had a great chance to tie it and force the trophy winner to be determined, ironically, in a PK shootout.
“Unfortunately at the end there they had the PK, and I’m thinking ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” Jackson said. “We’re trying to get 14 layers off of Brayden to get him in the game and he hadn’t even touched a ball and then he goes out there comes up huge.”
By taking third place, Triad matched the best finish in school history. The Knights also placed third 10 years ago under head coach Mike Villa.
Both teams will lose a lot of seniors but both also have some young talent so there is hope that the tremendous success of the 2019 season won't dissipate with their departures.
The Vikings lose 13 seniors but only a small handful of starters.
“This was a very young team with only four senior starters,” St. Laurence coach Kyle Boekeloo said. “We got healthy and then got hot at the right time and everything clicked for us.”
The Knights are losing 11 seniors.
“It’s going to be tough, but we had good freshmen and JV teams and half the team is coming back,” Jackson said. “We’ll have a good nucleus coming back. We hadn’t been here in 10 years and this is where we’ve tried to get to. We had an unbelievable season and you don’t know what’s going to happen in the playoffs or who you are going to play, especially for us as we go further north.”
Starting lineups
Triad
GK David DuPont
D Austin Borri
D Joe McCulloch
D Ty Presley
D Michael Tentis
D Roger Weber
MF Colton Clark
MF Jake Ellis
MF Eli Kraabel
F Travis Speer
F Tucker Kendrick
St. Laurence
GK Fernando Cervantez
D Jessie Cardiel
D Julian Cardiel
D Ruben Chacon
D Thomas Suchecki
MF Luke Arthurs
MF Saul Camacho
MF Marcos Martinez
MF Ruben Perez
F Andres Lemus
F Pedro Pantoja
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Brayden Tonn, so., GK, Triad
Officials: Tom Schaefer (center), Doug Curtner (AR1) Boris Vukovic (AR2), Mike Schmick (4th), Chris Rudolph (reserve)
Scoring summary
Triad 2, St. Laurence 1
Triad – 0 2 – 2
SL – 1 0 - 1
First half
St. Laurence – Saul Camacho PK 28:42
Second half
Triad – Michael Tentis PK 3:11
Triad – Roger Weber (Travis Speer) 6:21