Huerta ‘trick’ takes Washington past Young
Forward’s 2nd half goals power Patriots 3-0 CPL semifinal win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Washington coach Alvaro Perez has a sly, easy-going manner.
He is also highly disciplined and does not make exceptions for his top players when it comes to following his team rules.
After senior forward Angel Huerta missed the Patriots’ quarterfinal victory over Taft Saturday, Perez meted out his own brand of punishment.
Huerta watched the first half of the Patriots’ semifinal game against Young from the bench.
“It had to do with him not being there Saturday,” Perez said. “I understand that sometimes you have things going on with your family on the weekends, but he made a commitment to the team.
“I told him, as punishment, I was not going to sit him the whole game, but the whole first half.”
Huerta made up for missed time -- much to the detriment to Young.
Huerta scored three goals in a 15-minute second half blitz as the Patriots cooled off the surging Dolphins with a 3-0 victory in the semifinals of the Chicago Public League playoffs Tuesday at Lane Stadium.
Washington (13-3-2) advances to play Payton in the city championship Thursday night at Lane.
The game is going to be broadcast live on WCIU (Channel 26), more popularly known as the “U.”
Huerta appreciated the second chance and the contributions of his teammates.
“I want to give a shoutout to all of my teammates,” he said. “At halftime, we had a talk. Everybody was lifting each other up, talking and waiting for the best.
“That’s exactly what happened.”
Young (10-6-1) entered the semifinals as the second hottest team behind Payton in the city.
The Dolphins knocked out Washington’s South Side rival Solorio 1-0 in the quarterfinals Saturday.
Young was 10-1-1 over its last 12 games with a 10-game unbeaten streak (9-0-1) leading into the semifinal stage of the city tournament.
After absorbing the early offensive attack of Washington, the Dolphins appeared to find their legs. The momentum clearly swung their way by the end of the first half.
Young nearly scored off a set piece throw during the closing seconds of the first half.
“I think we should have beat them,” midfielder Nikhil Bapat said. “We should have scored a goal, or a couple, I thought.
“That happens in a game sometimes. We did everything right except for the final finishing part. We weren’t there at the end.”
Halftime intervened, and the time appeared to dislodge the Dolphins from their late-half play.
Washington appeared sharper and quicker to the ball. By contrast, Young was chaotic and choppy. Everything seemed a struggle.
“Our team was a little naive,” Young coach Ross LaBauex said. “It’s tough to win and be focused, and these are big games.
“Coming into this game, we were winning some games and playing well. We lost focus, and we didn’t play our game.”
The back-breaking action came in the 55th minute. Washington defender Christian Ramirez smashed a ball from the left edge from about 24 yards.
Young keeper Jackson Sprenger was pulled off frame. The ball took an unexpected bounce. Huerta suddenly stood, by himself, in front of an empty net.
“They were pressing up,” Perez said. “I always stress to my team about being the one to score first, the one who scores that second goal, and then the third goal, to get the opponent off your back.”
Huerta’s opener began a downward spiral for the Dolphins.
Young did not approach the same team they were against Solorio on Saturday. The goal appeared to shock them and left them scrambling for answers.
They never escaped their daze.
Moments later, Huerta trucked down the right edge and caught a through-ball from midfielder Angelo Williams about 16 yards out.
He took a quick juke step and blasted a sidewinder that curled inside the far post for a 2-0 Patriots lead in the 60th minute.
Young was reeling.
“I like to be more technical on the ball,” Huerta said. “I am not really as fast as other defenders, so I like to drop down, receive the ball and turn and play.”
The hat-trick materialized over the next 10 minutes. Huerta exploited another loop in the Dolphins’ back and blasted home a low, driving ball that skidded underneath a diving Sprenger.
Huerta was an easy choice for the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction.
For Young, the wheel of fortune only tipped in one direction.
“Luck is part of the game,” Dolphins’ midfielder Gave Lopez said. “They got two lucky bounces against us, and we were pretty unlucky on our shots.”
Teammate and forward Colin Moran, the team’s top scorer, illustrated the point in the 72nd minute. He got deep on the left wing and unfurled a left-footed blast from about 22 yards.
It curved beautifully, only to smash off the bar.
Another chance, a blast from forward Brandon Baarsma, was denied by Patriots’ keeper Bryan Lozano.
Lozano exited the game in the 69th minute after he collided with a Young player.
The Dolphins were close, and yet, despite their best efforts, not quite there.
“We forgot what it is going to take to win big games,” LaBauex said. “Maybe the moment was too big for some of us.
“Washington settled in, and they are going to move the ball. They’re a very well-coached team, and it’s a team that moves the ball once they’re in rhythm.”
Washington beat Lane in 2017 to capture the city title. The Patriots lost to Solorio in a now-classic double overtime thriller in 2018.
“This team is still trying to come out of a pandemic,” Perez said. “This is an escape for them, and this is where they get it.”
The one-sided loss conjured tough memories of Young’s start.
Still, the anticlimactic finish to the Dolphins’ city tournament run does not diminish their accomplishments of the last five weeks.
This was a different team than the one that started 0-4-0.
“We started taking fewer risks, and we stopped playing the ball out of the back,” Bapat said. “We cleared the ball long, and forced our opponents into making mistakes.
“Our whole game plan was to take fewer risks and concede fewer goals, and it worked.”
Starting lineups
Young
GK: Jackson Sprenger
D: Sascha Frias-Kaehler
D: Diego Delgado
D: Nate Chmielowicz
D: Garen Petrulis
MF: Reese Kruschke
MF: Nikhil Bapat
MF: Gabe Lopez
MF: Alejandro Goldstein
F: Colin Moran
F: Cole Hockman
Washington
GK: Bryan Lozano
D: Christian Ramirez
D: Giovanni Rosas
D: Raul Flores
D: Sebastian Ramirez
MF: Angel Larios
MF: Cesar Martinez
MF: Christian Aparicio
MF: Angelo Williams
F: Leonardo Solis
F: Julian Martinez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Angel Huerta, sr., F, Washington
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Washington—Angel Huerta (Christian Ramirez), 55th minute
Washington—Huerta (Angelo Williams), 60th minute
Washington—Huerta (Julian Martinez), 70th minute
Forward’s 2nd half goals power Patriots 3-0 CPL semifinal win
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Washington coach Alvaro Perez has a sly, easy-going manner.
He is also highly disciplined and does not make exceptions for his top players when it comes to following his team rules.
After senior forward Angel Huerta missed the Patriots’ quarterfinal victory over Taft Saturday, Perez meted out his own brand of punishment.
Huerta watched the first half of the Patriots’ semifinal game against Young from the bench.
“It had to do with him not being there Saturday,” Perez said. “I understand that sometimes you have things going on with your family on the weekends, but he made a commitment to the team.
“I told him, as punishment, I was not going to sit him the whole game, but the whole first half.”
Huerta made up for missed time -- much to the detriment to Young.
Huerta scored three goals in a 15-minute second half blitz as the Patriots cooled off the surging Dolphins with a 3-0 victory in the semifinals of the Chicago Public League playoffs Tuesday at Lane Stadium.
Washington (13-3-2) advances to play Payton in the city championship Thursday night at Lane.
The game is going to be broadcast live on WCIU (Channel 26), more popularly known as the “U.”
Huerta appreciated the second chance and the contributions of his teammates.
“I want to give a shoutout to all of my teammates,” he said. “At halftime, we had a talk. Everybody was lifting each other up, talking and waiting for the best.
“That’s exactly what happened.”
Young (10-6-1) entered the semifinals as the second hottest team behind Payton in the city.
The Dolphins knocked out Washington’s South Side rival Solorio 1-0 in the quarterfinals Saturday.
Young was 10-1-1 over its last 12 games with a 10-game unbeaten streak (9-0-1) leading into the semifinal stage of the city tournament.
After absorbing the early offensive attack of Washington, the Dolphins appeared to find their legs. The momentum clearly swung their way by the end of the first half.
Young nearly scored off a set piece throw during the closing seconds of the first half.
“I think we should have beat them,” midfielder Nikhil Bapat said. “We should have scored a goal, or a couple, I thought.
“That happens in a game sometimes. We did everything right except for the final finishing part. We weren’t there at the end.”
Halftime intervened, and the time appeared to dislodge the Dolphins from their late-half play.
Washington appeared sharper and quicker to the ball. By contrast, Young was chaotic and choppy. Everything seemed a struggle.
“Our team was a little naive,” Young coach Ross LaBauex said. “It’s tough to win and be focused, and these are big games.
“Coming into this game, we were winning some games and playing well. We lost focus, and we didn’t play our game.”
The back-breaking action came in the 55th minute. Washington defender Christian Ramirez smashed a ball from the left edge from about 24 yards.
Young keeper Jackson Sprenger was pulled off frame. The ball took an unexpected bounce. Huerta suddenly stood, by himself, in front of an empty net.
“They were pressing up,” Perez said. “I always stress to my team about being the one to score first, the one who scores that second goal, and then the third goal, to get the opponent off your back.”
Huerta’s opener began a downward spiral for the Dolphins.
Young did not approach the same team they were against Solorio on Saturday. The goal appeared to shock them and left them scrambling for answers.
They never escaped their daze.
Moments later, Huerta trucked down the right edge and caught a through-ball from midfielder Angelo Williams about 16 yards out.
He took a quick juke step and blasted a sidewinder that curled inside the far post for a 2-0 Patriots lead in the 60th minute.
Young was reeling.
“I like to be more technical on the ball,” Huerta said. “I am not really as fast as other defenders, so I like to drop down, receive the ball and turn and play.”
The hat-trick materialized over the next 10 minutes. Huerta exploited another loop in the Dolphins’ back and blasted home a low, driving ball that skidded underneath a diving Sprenger.
Huerta was an easy choice for the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match distinction.
For Young, the wheel of fortune only tipped in one direction.
“Luck is part of the game,” Dolphins’ midfielder Gave Lopez said. “They got two lucky bounces against us, and we were pretty unlucky on our shots.”
Teammate and forward Colin Moran, the team’s top scorer, illustrated the point in the 72nd minute. He got deep on the left wing and unfurled a left-footed blast from about 22 yards.
It curved beautifully, only to smash off the bar.
Another chance, a blast from forward Brandon Baarsma, was denied by Patriots’ keeper Bryan Lozano.
Lozano exited the game in the 69th minute after he collided with a Young player.
The Dolphins were close, and yet, despite their best efforts, not quite there.
“We forgot what it is going to take to win big games,” LaBauex said. “Maybe the moment was too big for some of us.
“Washington settled in, and they are going to move the ball. They’re a very well-coached team, and it’s a team that moves the ball once they’re in rhythm.”
Washington beat Lane in 2017 to capture the city title. The Patriots lost to Solorio in a now-classic double overtime thriller in 2018.
“This team is still trying to come out of a pandemic,” Perez said. “This is an escape for them, and this is where they get it.”
The one-sided loss conjured tough memories of Young’s start.
Still, the anticlimactic finish to the Dolphins’ city tournament run does not diminish their accomplishments of the last five weeks.
This was a different team than the one that started 0-4-0.
“We started taking fewer risks, and we stopped playing the ball out of the back,” Bapat said. “We cleared the ball long, and forced our opponents into making mistakes.
“Our whole game plan was to take fewer risks and concede fewer goals, and it worked.”
Starting lineups
Young
GK: Jackson Sprenger
D: Sascha Frias-Kaehler
D: Diego Delgado
D: Nate Chmielowicz
D: Garen Petrulis
MF: Reese Kruschke
MF: Nikhil Bapat
MF: Gabe Lopez
MF: Alejandro Goldstein
F: Colin Moran
F: Cole Hockman
Washington
GK: Bryan Lozano
D: Christian Ramirez
D: Giovanni Rosas
D: Raul Flores
D: Sebastian Ramirez
MF: Angel Larios
MF: Cesar Martinez
MF: Christian Aparicio
MF: Angelo Williams
F: Leonardo Solis
F: Julian Martinez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Angel Huerta, sr., F, Washington
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
Washington—Angel Huerta (Christian Ramirez), 55th minute
Washington—Huerta (Angelo Williams), 60th minute
Washington—Huerta (Julian Martinez), 70th minute