Warren, Libertyville can't break the ice
NSC powers play to stalemate in league opener
By Mike Garofola
LIBERTYVILLE -- With the title race officially on in the North Suburban Conference, a Warren at Libertyville contest is billed as one that could ultimately decide who will lift the league trophy in early October.
But after 80 minutes failed to provide a finish from either side, it was just one point each for no. 9 Warren (5-1-1, 0-0-1) and 19th-ranked Libertyville (2-3-2, 0-0-1) after a hard-fought draw inside the Walter R. Johnson Sports Complex on a gorgeous Thursday night.
"It was a game we should have won. We dominated a lot of the play tonight but just were not good enough in the final third," said Libertyville senior Alek LaRoi, who shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor with Warren central defender Ryan Stanciak.
"Libertyville was very good,” said Stanciak, who played with agility and showed total confidence with the ball on his foot. “We did not play well in the first half, but came back to play a solid second half of soccer. The game was back-and-forth, end-to-end, just the way I expected it to be."
"Ryan has been a workhorse for us this year, his work-rate and overall effort have been very impressive," said Blue Devils manager Jason Ahonen.
“Along with Tyler Hughes, they both really committed to our program this past summer. They are giving us what we need out of our center backs.”
The Stanciak-Hughes duo, in addition to their mates on the outside, Jack Elkinton and Diego Torres, had to contend with long-range serves throughout this evening from the likes of Jack Huber and Jake Berlowski from out of the back, and either LaRoi or Cole Danner when they withdrew from their spots up-top.
"We were organized in the middle all night long," said Danner. “When we had the chance, our guys along the back … put some great balls into their box or to the back post, but we just couldn't finish any of those balls.”
"Most of their better chances came from those long, diagonal balls into the box,” said Ahonen. “I thought through the run of play, we had a handful of chances inside the 18 that we just could not find the back of the net."
The annual affair between longtime league rivals has an innate familiarity forged through the association of so many players during the club season.
The list is long of how many play for the Libertyville FC 74s, which likely only added to the intensity and energy felt throughout the stadium.
The home side came out on its front foot, quickly showing its intent to attack with numbers with the Wildcats outside back Berlowski jumping into the action on the left side to provide an extra attacking player.
"We truly believe we had a lot of play all night long," said manager Kevin Thunholm. “We talked about taking space away and challenging every ball, but we also talked about winning the midfield, which I believe both Alek and Andrew Phillips did quite well.”
Phillips, who plays the six about as well as anyone does in and around the Chicagoland area, can operate deep while getting forward quickly to distribute, attack and win balls in the opponent's end to create pressure.
The senior, who is Wisconsin-Whitewater bound, won 11 balls in the first half and another nine after the break, which included going five-for-five during the early stages of the second period.
"Andrew does it all for us," stated Thunholm.
The speed of play, coupled with plenty of energy from both sides from the opening whistle, forced each to stay true to its tactical approach. The combination work from Libertyville’s Henry Bownas, Danner, LaRoi and Phillips proved challenging and forced Stanciak, Hughes and their teammates to take on some water until the Blue Devils ship could level itself out.
"They put us under a lot of pressure in the first 15-20 minutes," said Stanciak. “So, we had to really defend as a team, which we did well. It took us a little time to get our attack up and running."
"Yes, early-on the ball was in our end way too much," added senior Matt Paraskos, who was a key figure in the second half when the Blue Devils came to life and created some quality chances. “But we overcame a slow start and finally got ourselves back in the game.”
A zig-zag run from Paraskos allowed him to go end line and send a looping serve that was parried out of the area by an alert Libertyville backline that defended smartly on this sequence.
Disaster nearly struck Warren moments later when a short ball out of the back from Blue Devils keeper Ethan Cole was collected by the ever-opportunistic LaRoi, who quickly unleashed a nasty smash from close-in that Cole stopped.
LaRoi followed up at the center of two-straight chances. With the first, he went wide of the near post at 20 minutes. Then his header of a service from Berlowski forced Cole into a stop.
"We dominated play in the first half and should have put at least one into the back of the net," said a disappointed LaRoi.
Jack Huber got into the action when his mid-line free kick was punched out of the area by Cole.
Warren senior Miguel Garcia, who leads the Blue Devils with 10 goals and can provide offense in an instant, was set free but quickly nullified by a Berlowski tackle before he could get into a 1-v-1 with Wildcats keeper Eli Johnson in the 33rd minute.
Johnson came to the rescue just before the intermission when a superb 12-yard attempt from Garcia to the back post nearly stunned the home side.
"I thought we came back into the game really well toward the end of the first half,” said Paraskos. “We got the ball to Miguel a lot more, and Lucas (Ahonen) as well."
"Lucas continues to improve learning a new position (the 10),” said coach Ahonen of his son. “For both club and with us last year, he was a left-outside back. Now he's been put into the middle and asked to take on a much larger responsibility.
"We need to find ways to get the ball to him more often so we can be more dangerous."
Lucas Ahonen flashed a left-footed effort wide in the 54th minute in what was a rather tepid start to the second half. Each club lacked the same energy they displayed in an action-packed first 40 minutes.
However, things began to pick up when Paraskos took charge and showed great confidence on the ball. He created space for himself to become the conduit for others with several accurate passes. Perhaps his best came when he sent Tommy DeSanto clear. The ensuing, bending effort went just wide of the back post in the 58th minute.
Libertyville answered when a nicely played early ball from out of the back by C.J. Villani allowed Danner to get free, but the alert Cole came far off his line to prevent further trouble.
Moments later, Phillips collected a deep throw from the near touchline and in the process of turning was brought down inside the box.
The Wildcats tri-captain sent his spot-kick over the bar in the 63rd minute.
"I'm sure Andrew would like that PK back, but that's the way soccer goes sometimes," LaRoi said.
After the Phillips miss, play turned a little chippy during the next 10 minutes. Referee Alex Kulahinov, who managed the game well, booked three players to help keep things under control for the final stages.
Warren’s Cole was fearless in his crowded box when he brought down a well-driven free kick to the spot from Berlowski in the 66th minute, He then came off his line to collect a lovely early ball from Phillips that was targeted for an onrushing LaRoi.
The Blue Devils' nearly surprised their hosts six minutes from time with a brilliant piece of work on a corner.
That's when Paraskos played a flat, low ball on the floor toward Garcia, whose dummy went untouched to Ahonen.
However, the 16-yard effort went over the bar.
Garcia had two chances in the final few minutes, but the contest seemed destined to finish goal-less.
"I like the fact that we competed hard for all 80 minutes," began Jason Ahonen. “Although at times, we may not have had the ball as much as we would have liked, we still were creating chances up until the last few minutes of the game.
"We've struggled of late scoring, but scoring is contagious. We're putting too much pressure on ourselves in our last two games when things have not gone the way we want them to.
"Games like this will help us down the road. We need to just relax and get back to having fun."
The reigning North Suburban Conference champs will train up to their next league test at no. 16 Stevenson on Tuesday.
Libertyville hosts Lakes at noon Saturday.
"We took a big step forward tonight,” said Thunholm. “We needed an all-around strong game on both sides of the ball, and we got it. So, I am extremely happy.
"Of course, I wish we could have finished in the flow of the game, and the PK was unfortunate. But we are playing the way we expected when this group came together.
"No excuses, of course, but we were without three starters due to injury and still turned in a strong night of soccer.
"We love competing against Warren. They have great players and kids, and coaching staff as well. It always an 80-minute battle and a great way to begin the NSC gauntlet."
Starting lineups
Warren (4-4-2)
G- Ethan Cole
D- Diego Torres
D- Tyler Hughes
D- Ryan Stanciak
D- Jack Elkinton
MF- Chris Crowson
MF- Lucas Ahonen
MF- Tommy DeSanto
MF- Matt Galvan
F- Matt Paraskos
F- Miguel Garcia
Libertyville (4-3-2-1)
G- Eli Johnson
D- Jake Berlowski
D- Jack Huber
D- Nick Snow
D- C.J. Villani
MF- Henry Bownas
MF- Andrew Phillips
MF- Mateo Portillo
MF- Alek LaRoi
F- Noah Finneman
F- Cole Danner
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Alek LaRoi, sr., MF, Libertyville;
Ryan Stanciak, sr., D, Warren
Referee: Alex Kulahinov
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
Statistics
Shots on goal
Warren: 3
Libertyville: 5
Shots off
Warren: 6
Libertyville: 13
Yellow cards
Warren: 2
Libertyville: 3
NSC powers play to stalemate in league opener
By Mike Garofola
LIBERTYVILLE -- With the title race officially on in the North Suburban Conference, a Warren at Libertyville contest is billed as one that could ultimately decide who will lift the league trophy in early October.
But after 80 minutes failed to provide a finish from either side, it was just one point each for no. 9 Warren (5-1-1, 0-0-1) and 19th-ranked Libertyville (2-3-2, 0-0-1) after a hard-fought draw inside the Walter R. Johnson Sports Complex on a gorgeous Thursday night.
"It was a game we should have won. We dominated a lot of the play tonight but just were not good enough in the final third," said Libertyville senior Alek LaRoi, who shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor with Warren central defender Ryan Stanciak.
"Libertyville was very good,” said Stanciak, who played with agility and showed total confidence with the ball on his foot. “We did not play well in the first half, but came back to play a solid second half of soccer. The game was back-and-forth, end-to-end, just the way I expected it to be."
"Ryan has been a workhorse for us this year, his work-rate and overall effort have been very impressive," said Blue Devils manager Jason Ahonen.
“Along with Tyler Hughes, they both really committed to our program this past summer. They are giving us what we need out of our center backs.”
The Stanciak-Hughes duo, in addition to their mates on the outside, Jack Elkinton and Diego Torres, had to contend with long-range serves throughout this evening from the likes of Jack Huber and Jake Berlowski from out of the back, and either LaRoi or Cole Danner when they withdrew from their spots up-top.
"We were organized in the middle all night long," said Danner. “When we had the chance, our guys along the back … put some great balls into their box or to the back post, but we just couldn't finish any of those balls.”
"Most of their better chances came from those long, diagonal balls into the box,” said Ahonen. “I thought through the run of play, we had a handful of chances inside the 18 that we just could not find the back of the net."
The annual affair between longtime league rivals has an innate familiarity forged through the association of so many players during the club season.
The list is long of how many play for the Libertyville FC 74s, which likely only added to the intensity and energy felt throughout the stadium.
The home side came out on its front foot, quickly showing its intent to attack with numbers with the Wildcats outside back Berlowski jumping into the action on the left side to provide an extra attacking player.
"We truly believe we had a lot of play all night long," said manager Kevin Thunholm. “We talked about taking space away and challenging every ball, but we also talked about winning the midfield, which I believe both Alek and Andrew Phillips did quite well.”
Phillips, who plays the six about as well as anyone does in and around the Chicagoland area, can operate deep while getting forward quickly to distribute, attack and win balls in the opponent's end to create pressure.
The senior, who is Wisconsin-Whitewater bound, won 11 balls in the first half and another nine after the break, which included going five-for-five during the early stages of the second period.
"Andrew does it all for us," stated Thunholm.
The speed of play, coupled with plenty of energy from both sides from the opening whistle, forced each to stay true to its tactical approach. The combination work from Libertyville’s Henry Bownas, Danner, LaRoi and Phillips proved challenging and forced Stanciak, Hughes and their teammates to take on some water until the Blue Devils ship could level itself out.
"They put us under a lot of pressure in the first 15-20 minutes," said Stanciak. “So, we had to really defend as a team, which we did well. It took us a little time to get our attack up and running."
"Yes, early-on the ball was in our end way too much," added senior Matt Paraskos, who was a key figure in the second half when the Blue Devils came to life and created some quality chances. “But we overcame a slow start and finally got ourselves back in the game.”
A zig-zag run from Paraskos allowed him to go end line and send a looping serve that was parried out of the area by an alert Libertyville backline that defended smartly on this sequence.
Disaster nearly struck Warren moments later when a short ball out of the back from Blue Devils keeper Ethan Cole was collected by the ever-opportunistic LaRoi, who quickly unleashed a nasty smash from close-in that Cole stopped.
LaRoi followed up at the center of two-straight chances. With the first, he went wide of the near post at 20 minutes. Then his header of a service from Berlowski forced Cole into a stop.
"We dominated play in the first half and should have put at least one into the back of the net," said a disappointed LaRoi.
Jack Huber got into the action when his mid-line free kick was punched out of the area by Cole.
Warren senior Miguel Garcia, who leads the Blue Devils with 10 goals and can provide offense in an instant, was set free but quickly nullified by a Berlowski tackle before he could get into a 1-v-1 with Wildcats keeper Eli Johnson in the 33rd minute.
Johnson came to the rescue just before the intermission when a superb 12-yard attempt from Garcia to the back post nearly stunned the home side.
"I thought we came back into the game really well toward the end of the first half,” said Paraskos. “We got the ball to Miguel a lot more, and Lucas (Ahonen) as well."
"Lucas continues to improve learning a new position (the 10),” said coach Ahonen of his son. “For both club and with us last year, he was a left-outside back. Now he's been put into the middle and asked to take on a much larger responsibility.
"We need to find ways to get the ball to him more often so we can be more dangerous."
Lucas Ahonen flashed a left-footed effort wide in the 54th minute in what was a rather tepid start to the second half. Each club lacked the same energy they displayed in an action-packed first 40 minutes.
However, things began to pick up when Paraskos took charge and showed great confidence on the ball. He created space for himself to become the conduit for others with several accurate passes. Perhaps his best came when he sent Tommy DeSanto clear. The ensuing, bending effort went just wide of the back post in the 58th minute.
Libertyville answered when a nicely played early ball from out of the back by C.J. Villani allowed Danner to get free, but the alert Cole came far off his line to prevent further trouble.
Moments later, Phillips collected a deep throw from the near touchline and in the process of turning was brought down inside the box.
The Wildcats tri-captain sent his spot-kick over the bar in the 63rd minute.
"I'm sure Andrew would like that PK back, but that's the way soccer goes sometimes," LaRoi said.
After the Phillips miss, play turned a little chippy during the next 10 minutes. Referee Alex Kulahinov, who managed the game well, booked three players to help keep things under control for the final stages.
Warren’s Cole was fearless in his crowded box when he brought down a well-driven free kick to the spot from Berlowski in the 66th minute, He then came off his line to collect a lovely early ball from Phillips that was targeted for an onrushing LaRoi.
The Blue Devils' nearly surprised their hosts six minutes from time with a brilliant piece of work on a corner.
That's when Paraskos played a flat, low ball on the floor toward Garcia, whose dummy went untouched to Ahonen.
However, the 16-yard effort went over the bar.
Garcia had two chances in the final few minutes, but the contest seemed destined to finish goal-less.
"I like the fact that we competed hard for all 80 minutes," began Jason Ahonen. “Although at times, we may not have had the ball as much as we would have liked, we still were creating chances up until the last few minutes of the game.
"We've struggled of late scoring, but scoring is contagious. We're putting too much pressure on ourselves in our last two games when things have not gone the way we want them to.
"Games like this will help us down the road. We need to just relax and get back to having fun."
The reigning North Suburban Conference champs will train up to their next league test at no. 16 Stevenson on Tuesday.
Libertyville hosts Lakes at noon Saturday.
"We took a big step forward tonight,” said Thunholm. “We needed an all-around strong game on both sides of the ball, and we got it. So, I am extremely happy.
"Of course, I wish we could have finished in the flow of the game, and the PK was unfortunate. But we are playing the way we expected when this group came together.
"No excuses, of course, but we were without three starters due to injury and still turned in a strong night of soccer.
"We love competing against Warren. They have great players and kids, and coaching staff as well. It always an 80-minute battle and a great way to begin the NSC gauntlet."
Starting lineups
Warren (4-4-2)
G- Ethan Cole
D- Diego Torres
D- Tyler Hughes
D- Ryan Stanciak
D- Jack Elkinton
MF- Chris Crowson
MF- Lucas Ahonen
MF- Tommy DeSanto
MF- Matt Galvan
F- Matt Paraskos
F- Miguel Garcia
Libertyville (4-3-2-1)
G- Eli Johnson
D- Jake Berlowski
D- Jack Huber
D- Nick Snow
D- C.J. Villani
MF- Henry Bownas
MF- Andrew Phillips
MF- Mateo Portillo
MF- Alek LaRoi
F- Noah Finneman
F- Cole Danner
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Alek LaRoi, sr., MF, Libertyville;
Ryan Stanciak, sr., D, Warren
Referee: Alex Kulahinov
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
Statistics
Shots on goal
Warren: 3
Libertyville: 5
Shots off
Warren: 6
Libertyville: 13
Yellow cards
Warren: 2
Libertyville: 3