Washington survives Juarez Cinderella run
Garibay finishes give Washington chance to defend title
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- During a tense action sequence, Angel Arismendiz made an unusual gesture. Just before taking his penalty kick in the shootout to determine the city finalist, the Washington forward approached Juarez keeper Benito Martinez and the two embraced.
“He’s one of my best friends,” Arismendiz explained after the game.
His team transcended friendship but the action spoke volumes about the special culture of soccer on the South Side of Chicago. It reverberated throughout the stadium.
“At the end of the day we are all one big CPS family,” Washington coach Alvar Perez said.
The second shooter for the Patriots, Arismendiz buried his shot into the lower left corner, for practical purposes, sealing the deal for his team.
The defending city champion Patriots moved one step closer to their dream of becoming the first South Side program to repeat as city champs. After a 2-2 deadlock after overtime, Washington captured the shootout 3-0 in the semifinals of the Public League city championship here at Winnemac Stadium Tuesday.
Washington (12-3-1) advances to meet top-seed Solorio (16-1-1) in Thursday’s championship at 7 p.m. at Toyota Park in Bridgeview. The programs have made names for themselves of late -- Washington won the 2014 Class AA state championship; Solorio is the defending Class AA state champion.
Washington’s standout junior keeper Gabriel Ramirez had already given his team a clear advantage when he blocked the first attempt of the Eagles.
Juarez’s second and third shooters sailed their shots over the bar, and the Eagles Cinderella run had ended. But Juarez gave the Patriots everything they wanted. Juarez (9-8-1) entered the city tournament under .500 with a 5-6-1 mark last year.
“We are peaking at the right time,” Juarez coach Dan Michmerhuizen said.
Nobody personified the resilience and redemption of the Eagles like freshman midfielder Peter Gonzalez. He appeared to be the goat after he missed a wide-open net on a rebound off the post midway through the second half.
His 79th minute goal forced the overtime.
Washington senior midfielder Juan Antonio Garibay was the man of the hour for the Patriots. He scored both of their goals in regulation. He also started the perfect run of the shootout phase by drilling the first attempt, also into the lower left corner.
Garibay earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match prize. He converted a penalty kick in the 54th minute that nullified the Eagles’ first half advantage.
“I always go to the same side on kicks,” Garibay said. “If you look at the video, you are going to notice how I go. I shot the same way on both goals. It was the same as the other day when we were down 1-0 [against Lane], and we had to make our comeback.”
The Patriots also stormed back from a 1-0 deficit against Lane in the quarterfinal round Saturday. That game they scored twice in less than a minute. The knack of playing from behind makes for some thrilling and dramatic soccer. Perez, for one, prefers the old-fashioned brand of winning from the start.
“It is tough playing from behind,” Perez said. “I hate this when the boys do this to me. First it was Lane and now Juarez.”
Juarez nearly scored in the first minute as sophomore forward Jarrell Harris broke through the Patriots’ backline for a strong chance that Ramirez deflected with his left hand. The Eagles appeared impervious to the reputation of Washington.
“They played the dark horse, Cinderella team, and it showed,” Perez said. “They had their chances. I think our experience was really big today. We have the experience of going around and played in these kinds of games.”
Juarez broke through in the 20th minute as junior midfielder Manuel Santiago controlled a deflection on the left wing. Athletic and explosive, Santiago hammered a left-footed sidewinder from about 26 yards inside the near post for the goal.
Juarez made a statement.
“This is my fourth year as varsity coach,” Michmerhuizen said. “When I took over, we were in the 2nd Division and had not made the [city] playoffs in 10 years. Last year, our goal was to make the playoffs. We made the playoffs and got bounced before the elimination round.
“This year, we said 'We are going deeper.'”
The lead held up for more than 30 minutes. Juarez’s inexperience came to light at several junctures, the most critical a careless foul inside the box that set up Garibay’s penalty kick.
The goal settled down the Patriots, who suddenly began attacking in greater numbers with more certainty and a greater sense of purpose.
“We came out sluggish in the first half, but once we settled down and started playing our game in the second half it is just magic,” Arismendiz said.
“You are able to push through and get into space and find the right guys to make the right plays.”
In the 70th minute, Arismendiz broke through the Eagles’ interior and slotted a ball to Garibay on the right wing. He smashed the ball inside the near post from about 16 yards in the 70th minute.
Washington appeared ready to ride out the final moments. Juarez had other ideas. Senior forward Kevin Martinez had a dangerous chance denied when his shot was pushed wide. In the 79th minute, Peter Gonzalez atoned for his wide-open miss.
Suddenly, Washington had to switch gears.
“It felt like it was more emotionally demanding at that point to have to come back and play overtime,” Arismendiz said. “We had the mentality that we were going to win. We just have to defend. For that goal to happen in that manner, it just hurts your heart.
“You have to push through to win the game.”
The defeat stung for Hancock, which arguably had the better play and more consistent opportunities.
“I have only four seniors and to be in the semifinals against the defending city champions and basically control so much of the game and just be on the wrong side of the score, I want to cry,” Michmerhuizen said.
“We worked hard.”
Starting lineups
Washington
GK: Gabriel Ramirez
D: Jose Gonzalez
D: Joel Sevilla
D: Juan Vega
D: Juan Ramirez
MF: Felipe Ramirez
MF: Juan Antonio Garibay
MF: Rafael De Santiago
MF: Adrian Yanez
F: Juan Landeros
F: Angel Arismendiz
Juarez
GK: Benito Martinez
D: Oscar Cruz
D: Brayerd Pacheco
D: Roberto Valencia
D: Bryan Soto
MF: Jesus Castellanos
MF: Manuel Santiago
MF: Sergio Ramirez
MF: Peter Gonzalez
F: Jarrell Harris
F: Kevin Martinez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Juan Antonio Garibay, sr., MF, Washington
Scoring summary
First half
Juarez—Manuel Santiago (unassisted), 20th minute
Second half
Washington—Juan Antonio Garibay (penalty kick), 54th minute
Washington—Garibay (Angel Arismendiz), 70th minute
Juarez—Peter Gonzalez (unassisted), 79th minute
First overtime
None
Second overtime
None
Penalty kick shootout
Washington—Garibay (make), Arismendiz (make), Juan Vega (make)
Juarez—Jesus Castellanos (blocked), Bryan Soto (missed), Roberto Valencia (missed)
Garibay finishes give Washington chance to defend title
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- During a tense action sequence, Angel Arismendiz made an unusual gesture. Just before taking his penalty kick in the shootout to determine the city finalist, the Washington forward approached Juarez keeper Benito Martinez and the two embraced.
“He’s one of my best friends,” Arismendiz explained after the game.
His team transcended friendship but the action spoke volumes about the special culture of soccer on the South Side of Chicago. It reverberated throughout the stadium.
“At the end of the day we are all one big CPS family,” Washington coach Alvar Perez said.
The second shooter for the Patriots, Arismendiz buried his shot into the lower left corner, for practical purposes, sealing the deal for his team.
The defending city champion Patriots moved one step closer to their dream of becoming the first South Side program to repeat as city champs. After a 2-2 deadlock after overtime, Washington captured the shootout 3-0 in the semifinals of the Public League city championship here at Winnemac Stadium Tuesday.
Washington (12-3-1) advances to meet top-seed Solorio (16-1-1) in Thursday’s championship at 7 p.m. at Toyota Park in Bridgeview. The programs have made names for themselves of late -- Washington won the 2014 Class AA state championship; Solorio is the defending Class AA state champion.
Washington’s standout junior keeper Gabriel Ramirez had already given his team a clear advantage when he blocked the first attempt of the Eagles.
Juarez’s second and third shooters sailed their shots over the bar, and the Eagles Cinderella run had ended. But Juarez gave the Patriots everything they wanted. Juarez (9-8-1) entered the city tournament under .500 with a 5-6-1 mark last year.
“We are peaking at the right time,” Juarez coach Dan Michmerhuizen said.
Nobody personified the resilience and redemption of the Eagles like freshman midfielder Peter Gonzalez. He appeared to be the goat after he missed a wide-open net on a rebound off the post midway through the second half.
His 79th minute goal forced the overtime.
Washington senior midfielder Juan Antonio Garibay was the man of the hour for the Patriots. He scored both of their goals in regulation. He also started the perfect run of the shootout phase by drilling the first attempt, also into the lower left corner.
Garibay earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match prize. He converted a penalty kick in the 54th minute that nullified the Eagles’ first half advantage.
“I always go to the same side on kicks,” Garibay said. “If you look at the video, you are going to notice how I go. I shot the same way on both goals. It was the same as the other day when we were down 1-0 [against Lane], and we had to make our comeback.”
The Patriots also stormed back from a 1-0 deficit against Lane in the quarterfinal round Saturday. That game they scored twice in less than a minute. The knack of playing from behind makes for some thrilling and dramatic soccer. Perez, for one, prefers the old-fashioned brand of winning from the start.
“It is tough playing from behind,” Perez said. “I hate this when the boys do this to me. First it was Lane and now Juarez.”
Juarez nearly scored in the first minute as sophomore forward Jarrell Harris broke through the Patriots’ backline for a strong chance that Ramirez deflected with his left hand. The Eagles appeared impervious to the reputation of Washington.
“They played the dark horse, Cinderella team, and it showed,” Perez said. “They had their chances. I think our experience was really big today. We have the experience of going around and played in these kinds of games.”
Juarez broke through in the 20th minute as junior midfielder Manuel Santiago controlled a deflection on the left wing. Athletic and explosive, Santiago hammered a left-footed sidewinder from about 26 yards inside the near post for the goal.
Juarez made a statement.
“This is my fourth year as varsity coach,” Michmerhuizen said. “When I took over, we were in the 2nd Division and had not made the [city] playoffs in 10 years. Last year, our goal was to make the playoffs. We made the playoffs and got bounced before the elimination round.
“This year, we said 'We are going deeper.'”
The lead held up for more than 30 minutes. Juarez’s inexperience came to light at several junctures, the most critical a careless foul inside the box that set up Garibay’s penalty kick.
The goal settled down the Patriots, who suddenly began attacking in greater numbers with more certainty and a greater sense of purpose.
“We came out sluggish in the first half, but once we settled down and started playing our game in the second half it is just magic,” Arismendiz said.
“You are able to push through and get into space and find the right guys to make the right plays.”
In the 70th minute, Arismendiz broke through the Eagles’ interior and slotted a ball to Garibay on the right wing. He smashed the ball inside the near post from about 16 yards in the 70th minute.
Washington appeared ready to ride out the final moments. Juarez had other ideas. Senior forward Kevin Martinez had a dangerous chance denied when his shot was pushed wide. In the 79th minute, Peter Gonzalez atoned for his wide-open miss.
Suddenly, Washington had to switch gears.
“It felt like it was more emotionally demanding at that point to have to come back and play overtime,” Arismendiz said. “We had the mentality that we were going to win. We just have to defend. For that goal to happen in that manner, it just hurts your heart.
“You have to push through to win the game.”
The defeat stung for Hancock, which arguably had the better play and more consistent opportunities.
“I have only four seniors and to be in the semifinals against the defending city champions and basically control so much of the game and just be on the wrong side of the score, I want to cry,” Michmerhuizen said.
“We worked hard.”
Starting lineups
Washington
GK: Gabriel Ramirez
D: Jose Gonzalez
D: Joel Sevilla
D: Juan Vega
D: Juan Ramirez
MF: Felipe Ramirez
MF: Juan Antonio Garibay
MF: Rafael De Santiago
MF: Adrian Yanez
F: Juan Landeros
F: Angel Arismendiz
Juarez
GK: Benito Martinez
D: Oscar Cruz
D: Brayerd Pacheco
D: Roberto Valencia
D: Bryan Soto
MF: Jesus Castellanos
MF: Manuel Santiago
MF: Sergio Ramirez
MF: Peter Gonzalez
F: Jarrell Harris
F: Kevin Martinez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Juan Antonio Garibay, sr., MF, Washington
Scoring summary
First half
Juarez—Manuel Santiago (unassisted), 20th minute
Second half
Washington—Juan Antonio Garibay (penalty kick), 54th minute
Washington—Garibay (Angel Arismendiz), 70th minute
Juarez—Peter Gonzalez (unassisted), 79th minute
First overtime
None
Second overtime
None
Penalty kick shootout
Washington—Garibay (make), Arismendiz (make), Juan Vega (make)
Juarez—Jesus Castellanos (blocked), Bryan Soto (missed), Roberto Valencia (missed)