Warren finds stride
against Rockford Lutheran
Medina’s hat-trick sparks 8-0 invitational win
By Matt Misiek
GRAYSLAKE -- With the new season barely underway, questions are yet to be answered for many teams.
Warren is looking to find the answer to one very specific question.
Who are they?
With many new faces on the team, the Blue Devils (1-1-0) are taking steps to figure out their identity.
By the time Thursday afternoon’s match against Rockford Lutheran was over, Warren discovered its confidence and an unrelenting attack. After dropping their opening match of the Grayslake North Knights Invitational 3-2 to Prairie Ridge on Tuesday, the Blue Devils were able to break through early and never looked back, cruising past the Crusaders 8-0.
There were many standout performances for Warren in the contest. However, Cris Medina’s afternoon stood out. The sophomore forward opened the scoring in the fifth minute and ended up with a hat-trick on the day.
Medina’s first goal was set up by the hard work of Dylan Penarrieta. The junior midfielder stepped in front of Rockford Lutheran’s keeper Josh Pearson’s goal kick and headed the bouncing ball to Medina, who took a volley at the top of the 18 and lofted it over the Crusader defense.
Medina, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, notched his second goal in the 48th minute with some fancy dribbling and a spin move before firing past Pearson.
The hat-trick was completed in the 63rd minute as he headed in a rebound of his own shot.
“We were just working on getting the ball out wide,” said Medina. “But scoring goals is awesome, getting a hat-trick, just being there when the ball was centered.”
Service up front was especially good for Warren, resulting in the chances that found the back of the net. Blue Devil captain and midfielder Mike Bassier notched the first of his two goals off of a cross from forward Daniel Colin in the 20th minute. Twelve minutes later, it was Penarrieta’s great work again along the right wing setting up a cross that fellow midfielder Jovan Selakovic buried past Pearson.
“Everything we have been working on in practice, worked today,” said Penarrieta. “Getting the ball out wide and getting the balls into the box.”
Warren also brought defenders Ryley Sheehan and Tommy Travelstead into the attack often. Sheehan’s far-post run in the 39th minute was rewarded with a free header to make it 4-0, thanks to a superb cross from senior Declan Porter.
“We stayed together,” Porter said. “We worked towards goal all game. We obviously didn’t start the season the way we wanted with the loss (to Prairie Ridge), but we came back and played well today.”
Tony Zavala tallied the final goal for the Blue Devils in the 78th minute.
Class A, 375-student Rockford Lutheran (0-2-0) is taking the tournament experience in stride. With two-straight defeats, the first Tuesday in a 5-0 loss to host Grayslake North 5-0, the Crusaders are looking ahead to how this will serve them in Big Northern Conference play.
“We play in a smaller conference,” said midfielder Noah Wheaton. “This is good to play against the bigger conferences as it will help us try to be the top seed at the end of the season.”
Wheaton came very close to notching a goal of his own in the 50th minute. He drove a 30-yard free kick from the left towards Warren goalie Austin Cortes. The shot bounced off Cortes and then the crossbar and bounced out. The overall effort from Lutheran's senior midfielder had Warren coach Jason Ahonen impressed.
“Number 9 (Wheaton) is quality,” Ahonen said. “He can play on any team at any time.”
Goalkeeper Pearson also played well for the Crusaders, making quality saves on many Blue Devil chances and receiving praise after the game. He was able to pick out his favorite stop.
“There was a stop in the second half,” said Pearson. “They (Warren) were in their front right, my left, and I had to dive back to my right and punch the ball over the post.”
Rockford Lutheran head coach Scott Lofgren explained how important Pearson has been.
“Josh has been a god-sent to us,” Lofgren added. “His ability to read the play and understand the game helps his abilities immensely. Having his leadership to correct things ahead of time, has really been massive.”
As for Warren, the process of building the team foundation is still in progress according to coach Ahonen.
“We wanted to really stress this game to spread out wide.” Ahonen said. “It was something we didn’t do on Tuesday, and that is why we lost. I thought their keeper (Pearson) may some great stops in the first half.
“However, we did a better job of creating our chances in the second half. But it is still early, we returned only one starter from last year, three players overall. Everyone’s back to being new.”
Bassier liked the changes he saw from the opener.
“I think that everyone stepped up and embraced their new roles,” said Bassier. “They tried to fill the spots that were needed, played to their strengths, and did whatever was needed to help the team win.”
Starting lineups
Warren
GK: Hunter Faurbo
D: Ryley Sheehan
D: Tommy Travelstead
D: Andre Chirinos
MF: Nolan Ehlers
MF: Dylan Penarrieta
MF: Declan Porter
MF: Mike Bassier
MF Jovan Selakovic
F: Cris Medina
F: Cristian Fajardo
Rockford Lutheran
GK: Josh Pearson
D: Octavio Magallanes
D: Matt List
D: Logan Starry
D: Jesse Buss
MF: Nick Logan
MF: Noah Wheaton
MF: Andrew Chester
MF: Joey Vaughan
F: Caleb Perry
F: Deep Patel
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Cris Medina, so., MF, Warren
Officials: Milton Carranza (center), Ed Schell, Julio Negron
against Rockford Lutheran
Medina’s hat-trick sparks 8-0 invitational win
By Matt Misiek
GRAYSLAKE -- With the new season barely underway, questions are yet to be answered for many teams.
Warren is looking to find the answer to one very specific question.
Who are they?
With many new faces on the team, the Blue Devils (1-1-0) are taking steps to figure out their identity.
By the time Thursday afternoon’s match against Rockford Lutheran was over, Warren discovered its confidence and an unrelenting attack. After dropping their opening match of the Grayslake North Knights Invitational 3-2 to Prairie Ridge on Tuesday, the Blue Devils were able to break through early and never looked back, cruising past the Crusaders 8-0.
There were many standout performances for Warren in the contest. However, Cris Medina’s afternoon stood out. The sophomore forward opened the scoring in the fifth minute and ended up with a hat-trick on the day.
Medina’s first goal was set up by the hard work of Dylan Penarrieta. The junior midfielder stepped in front of Rockford Lutheran’s keeper Josh Pearson’s goal kick and headed the bouncing ball to Medina, who took a volley at the top of the 18 and lofted it over the Crusader defense.
Medina, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match, notched his second goal in the 48th minute with some fancy dribbling and a spin move before firing past Pearson.
The hat-trick was completed in the 63rd minute as he headed in a rebound of his own shot.
“We were just working on getting the ball out wide,” said Medina. “But scoring goals is awesome, getting a hat-trick, just being there when the ball was centered.”
Service up front was especially good for Warren, resulting in the chances that found the back of the net. Blue Devil captain and midfielder Mike Bassier notched the first of his two goals off of a cross from forward Daniel Colin in the 20th minute. Twelve minutes later, it was Penarrieta’s great work again along the right wing setting up a cross that fellow midfielder Jovan Selakovic buried past Pearson.
“Everything we have been working on in practice, worked today,” said Penarrieta. “Getting the ball out wide and getting the balls into the box.”
Warren also brought defenders Ryley Sheehan and Tommy Travelstead into the attack often. Sheehan’s far-post run in the 39th minute was rewarded with a free header to make it 4-0, thanks to a superb cross from senior Declan Porter.
“We stayed together,” Porter said. “We worked towards goal all game. We obviously didn’t start the season the way we wanted with the loss (to Prairie Ridge), but we came back and played well today.”
Tony Zavala tallied the final goal for the Blue Devils in the 78th minute.
Class A, 375-student Rockford Lutheran (0-2-0) is taking the tournament experience in stride. With two-straight defeats, the first Tuesday in a 5-0 loss to host Grayslake North 5-0, the Crusaders are looking ahead to how this will serve them in Big Northern Conference play.
“We play in a smaller conference,” said midfielder Noah Wheaton. “This is good to play against the bigger conferences as it will help us try to be the top seed at the end of the season.”
Wheaton came very close to notching a goal of his own in the 50th minute. He drove a 30-yard free kick from the left towards Warren goalie Austin Cortes. The shot bounced off Cortes and then the crossbar and bounced out. The overall effort from Lutheran's senior midfielder had Warren coach Jason Ahonen impressed.
“Number 9 (Wheaton) is quality,” Ahonen said. “He can play on any team at any time.”
Goalkeeper Pearson also played well for the Crusaders, making quality saves on many Blue Devil chances and receiving praise after the game. He was able to pick out his favorite stop.
“There was a stop in the second half,” said Pearson. “They (Warren) were in their front right, my left, and I had to dive back to my right and punch the ball over the post.”
Rockford Lutheran head coach Scott Lofgren explained how important Pearson has been.
“Josh has been a god-sent to us,” Lofgren added. “His ability to read the play and understand the game helps his abilities immensely. Having his leadership to correct things ahead of time, has really been massive.”
As for Warren, the process of building the team foundation is still in progress according to coach Ahonen.
“We wanted to really stress this game to spread out wide.” Ahonen said. “It was something we didn’t do on Tuesday, and that is why we lost. I thought their keeper (Pearson) may some great stops in the first half.
“However, we did a better job of creating our chances in the second half. But it is still early, we returned only one starter from last year, three players overall. Everyone’s back to being new.”
Bassier liked the changes he saw from the opener.
“I think that everyone stepped up and embraced their new roles,” said Bassier. “They tried to fill the spots that were needed, played to their strengths, and did whatever was needed to help the team win.”
Starting lineups
Warren
GK: Hunter Faurbo
D: Ryley Sheehan
D: Tommy Travelstead
D: Andre Chirinos
MF: Nolan Ehlers
MF: Dylan Penarrieta
MF: Declan Porter
MF: Mike Bassier
MF Jovan Selakovic
F: Cris Medina
F: Cristian Fajardo
Rockford Lutheran
GK: Josh Pearson
D: Octavio Magallanes
D: Matt List
D: Logan Starry
D: Jesse Buss
MF: Nick Logan
MF: Noah Wheaton
MF: Andrew Chester
MF: Joey Vaughan
F: Caleb Perry
F: Deep Patel
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Cris Medina, so., MF, Warren
Officials: Milton Carranza (center), Ed Schell, Julio Negron