Waubonsie Valley quick
to make point versus Lake Park
Late arrival adds to Lake Park woes in 3-1 loss
By Steve Nemeth
PLAINFIELD --- There’s a mini-championship on tap for Thursday’s conclusion of Group 3 play in the 2019 Plainfield Classic.
Monday evening saw Waubonsie Valley score really early and then fairly late to lock in a 3-1 triumph over Lake Park and claim its first two group-play matches. Oswego did the same in the night’s second game thanks to a 3-0 whitewash of Plainfield South.
All of which makes Thursday’s 5 p.m. meeting a showdown for a semifinal berth to Saturday’s finish for the four-day event. However, Waubonsie’s immediate concern is its 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night home date with DuPage Valley Conference foe Neuqua Valley.
Minus the existence of a Star Trek transporter, flying cars, less traffic congestion or a simply reliable bus, Lake Park would trade going back to the future for simply going back to its season pre-Plainfield Classic. The Lancers came into the tourney with a five-match (4-0-1) unbeaten streak
Already wearing a target following last season’s fourth place Class 3A state finish and the inaugural Classic title, Lake Park endured its worst loss (5-1 Saturday in the opening round) to date courtesy of Oswego. Two days later things were compounded as its bus endured traffic troubles that led to the Waubonsie match starting 45 minutes late.
Although the Lancers (4-5-1) have no desire to make excuses, clearly their timing was off from the very beginning as the Warriors (4-3-1) scored a mere 45 seconds into the match.
It was the first of three glorious goals for Waubonsie.
“I’ve been struggling to finish, near-misses, great saves, or not enough touch, just unlucky,” explained Jerry Perez in regard to his first goal of the season. “My coaches and teammates have kept encouraging me to have confidence that a goal was coming, and it finally did.”
Perez took a feed from Noah Glorioso and blasted a 12-yarder off the left post and in for the quick lead. The confidence and momentum booster helped make Perez the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
“Jerry’s determination has been phenomenal; he never quits; he never stops hustling,” Waubonsie Valley coach Jose Garcia said. “That early goal gave him and the team confidence to stay on the attack.”
Just under 10 minutes later, a Lancer foul led to a penalty kick which Glorioso buried.
After Lake Park began the second half dominating play and compiling chance after chance, the law of averages finally swung in the Lancers’ favor with 26:35 still to play. Suddenly that one-goal margin was in jeopardy until Glorioso put the nail in the coffin scoring his team-best fifth goal of the season with 3:06 remaining. With the exception of the Warriors’ three setbacks, the 2018 Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List member has had either a goal or assist in every match.
Statistically the match was a tale of two halves, somewhat similar to Lake Park’s match with Oswego.
“Starting the game mentally not there was unfortunately a carryover of the sluggish beginning we also played on Saturday. We don’t need to give people gift goals like we did tonight,” Lancers coach Sean Crosby said. “After damaging ourselves lacking the desire to score, we responded in the second half. We were close to putting away two or three more.”
Indeed Lake Park showed the kind of life and aggressiveness better resembling a state final unit. Gray McClellan – another CS Watch List member – had a breakaway opportunity 7:10 after intermission against Waubonsie Valley keeper Bryan Grimaldo. The Warriors senior goalie blocked the 16-yard blast and while seated, grabbed the potential rebound out of the air.
Minutes later Oleksandr Melnyk drilled a 26-yarder from left of center that Grimaldo saved with a dive. The Waubonsie keeper also grabbed a header from Melynk. However, he had next to no chance to stop a 12-yard rocket by Max Armas.
“We talked at halftime about finding spots, seeing Gray working end line, I delayed my run to find a little gap from where I was able to bury the shot near post,” Armas said in reference to his fifth goal of the year. “We were amped up to score, and our confidence was much better in the second half. We played much more like the team we are. Unfortunately it was too late and not enough to get the result we wanted.”
That certainly wasn’t due to a lack of effort. Ten of Lake Park’s 15 second half shots were on frame. For the entire match, the Lancers had a 22-14 advantage in overall attempts and a 13-8 edge for shots on goal, plus a 6-1 tally for corner kicks.
“(Both Saturday and today) we were frustrated by the idea of being shut out, something that hadn’t happened since our season-opener. Not to mention in our recent run we were putting in four of five goals,” Crosby noted. “We talked at half about ‘Why aren’t we scoring?’ From the backline to the front we were determined to do better.”
Armas’ goal came off McClellan’s team-high fifth assist (to go with his four goals and two game-winners). If there is a “flux capacitor” for the Lancer offense it’s the senior forward. McClellan dispossessed an opponent, worked down the sideline, and used a burst to get by and attack parallel to the touchline from where his short cross set up his teammate and put the Lancers back in the match.
“In addition to the goal, Grayden created three or more great chances. He simply has the hustle, heart, and attitude to score or else create opportunities,” Crosby said. “Max (Panek) really worked hard on defense; Edgar (Villagran) and Ricardo (Ciaccio) did the same in midfield. Oleksandr piled up the chances, either during the run of play or on free kicks. It seemed like he was just narrowly wide, but did everything he could to score.”
An indication of how difficult it was for Waubonsie to complete the transition from defending to attacking was evident. The Warriors did not get a shot on frame until there was 7:29 left. Zach Stanley booted a 22-yarder that Lancer goalie Kyle Czeremuga snared. Unfortunately for Lake Park and the junior keeper, the only other Warrior shot goal in the second half came with 3:06 to be played.
That’s when Brandon Garduno angled a pass to the right wing from where Glorioso squared his hips to blast a volley inside the far left post.
“How many goals I have or who scores doesn’t matter as long as the team is playing well, which is what we’re doing now,” Glorioso said. “As for the PK, I size up the keeper and focus more on placing the ball.
“Our backline is playing great, while up ahead we’re possessing the ball and finishing,” Glorioso continued in describing Waubonsie’s back-to-back triumphs.
“We really were possessing the ball well in the first half,” Perez agreed. “We did slip a little during the second half, but that’s when our defense came through.”
“Our desire is to always play our game of soccer, which is possession and playing to feet,” Garcia added. “We want to connect passes and not fall into playing kick ball.”
Understandably, Garcia’s emphasis is on today’s DVC match with Neuqua, but when pressed on Thursday’s outing, he acknowledged a mental note. “They’re the team that knocked us out of the semifinals last year. (Oswego’s) playing really well so we know it’ll be a tough one to get.”
Starting lineups
Lake Park
GK: Kyle Czeremuga
D Francesco Ciara
D Max Panek
D Anthony Magner
D Logan Pobloske
M Ricardo Ciaccio
M Edgar Villagran
M Oleksandr Melnyk
M Jackub Zych
F Max Armas
F Grayden McClellan
Waubonsie Valley
GK: Bryan Grimaldo
D Brandon Garduno
D Teague Stoltar
D Zach Stanley
D Adrien Mehra
D Dan Morgan
M Noah Glorioso
M Javi Gonzalez
M Jerry Perez
F Milan Etrastus-Obilo
F Daniel Fritz
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jerry Perez, sr., F, Waubonsie Valley
Referees: Ricardo Mercado (center), Steven Zack, Francisco Damian
Game summary
Waubonsie Valley 3, Lake Park 1
Lake Park 0 1 --- 1 (4-5-1)
Waubonsie V 2 1 --- 3 (4-3-1)
Scoring
First half
WV --- Perez 11-yard redirect off the left post and in (Glorioso assist), 0:45 gone
WV --- Glorioso penalty kick conversion (unassisted), 10:41 gone
Second Half
LP --- Armas 12-yard blast inside left post (McCelland assist), 53:25 gone
WV --- Glorioso 13-yard one-touch volley from right side (Garduno assist), 76:54 gone
Overall shots
LP 7 – 15 --- 22
WV 8 – 6 --- 14
Shots on goal
LP 3 – 10 --- 13
WV 6 – 2 --- 8
Saves (goalie)
LP (Czeremuga) 4 – 1 --- 5
WV (Grimaldo) 3 – 9 --- 12
Corner kicks
LP 2 – 4 --- 6
WV 0 – 1 --- 1
Offsides
LP 0 – 1 --- 1
WV 0 – 1 --- 1
to make point versus Lake Park
Late arrival adds to Lake Park woes in 3-1 loss
By Steve Nemeth
PLAINFIELD --- There’s a mini-championship on tap for Thursday’s conclusion of Group 3 play in the 2019 Plainfield Classic.
Monday evening saw Waubonsie Valley score really early and then fairly late to lock in a 3-1 triumph over Lake Park and claim its first two group-play matches. Oswego did the same in the night’s second game thanks to a 3-0 whitewash of Plainfield South.
All of which makes Thursday’s 5 p.m. meeting a showdown for a semifinal berth to Saturday’s finish for the four-day event. However, Waubonsie’s immediate concern is its 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night home date with DuPage Valley Conference foe Neuqua Valley.
Minus the existence of a Star Trek transporter, flying cars, less traffic congestion or a simply reliable bus, Lake Park would trade going back to the future for simply going back to its season pre-Plainfield Classic. The Lancers came into the tourney with a five-match (4-0-1) unbeaten streak
Already wearing a target following last season’s fourth place Class 3A state finish and the inaugural Classic title, Lake Park endured its worst loss (5-1 Saturday in the opening round) to date courtesy of Oswego. Two days later things were compounded as its bus endured traffic troubles that led to the Waubonsie match starting 45 minutes late.
Although the Lancers (4-5-1) have no desire to make excuses, clearly their timing was off from the very beginning as the Warriors (4-3-1) scored a mere 45 seconds into the match.
It was the first of three glorious goals for Waubonsie.
“I’ve been struggling to finish, near-misses, great saves, or not enough touch, just unlucky,” explained Jerry Perez in regard to his first goal of the season. “My coaches and teammates have kept encouraging me to have confidence that a goal was coming, and it finally did.”
Perez took a feed from Noah Glorioso and blasted a 12-yarder off the left post and in for the quick lead. The confidence and momentum booster helped make Perez the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
“Jerry’s determination has been phenomenal; he never quits; he never stops hustling,” Waubonsie Valley coach Jose Garcia said. “That early goal gave him and the team confidence to stay on the attack.”
Just under 10 minutes later, a Lancer foul led to a penalty kick which Glorioso buried.
After Lake Park began the second half dominating play and compiling chance after chance, the law of averages finally swung in the Lancers’ favor with 26:35 still to play. Suddenly that one-goal margin was in jeopardy until Glorioso put the nail in the coffin scoring his team-best fifth goal of the season with 3:06 remaining. With the exception of the Warriors’ three setbacks, the 2018 Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List member has had either a goal or assist in every match.
Statistically the match was a tale of two halves, somewhat similar to Lake Park’s match with Oswego.
“Starting the game mentally not there was unfortunately a carryover of the sluggish beginning we also played on Saturday. We don’t need to give people gift goals like we did tonight,” Lancers coach Sean Crosby said. “After damaging ourselves lacking the desire to score, we responded in the second half. We were close to putting away two or three more.”
Indeed Lake Park showed the kind of life and aggressiveness better resembling a state final unit. Gray McClellan – another CS Watch List member – had a breakaway opportunity 7:10 after intermission against Waubonsie Valley keeper Bryan Grimaldo. The Warriors senior goalie blocked the 16-yard blast and while seated, grabbed the potential rebound out of the air.
Minutes later Oleksandr Melnyk drilled a 26-yarder from left of center that Grimaldo saved with a dive. The Waubonsie keeper also grabbed a header from Melynk. However, he had next to no chance to stop a 12-yard rocket by Max Armas.
“We talked at halftime about finding spots, seeing Gray working end line, I delayed my run to find a little gap from where I was able to bury the shot near post,” Armas said in reference to his fifth goal of the year. “We were amped up to score, and our confidence was much better in the second half. We played much more like the team we are. Unfortunately it was too late and not enough to get the result we wanted.”
That certainly wasn’t due to a lack of effort. Ten of Lake Park’s 15 second half shots were on frame. For the entire match, the Lancers had a 22-14 advantage in overall attempts and a 13-8 edge for shots on goal, plus a 6-1 tally for corner kicks.
“(Both Saturday and today) we were frustrated by the idea of being shut out, something that hadn’t happened since our season-opener. Not to mention in our recent run we were putting in four of five goals,” Crosby noted. “We talked at half about ‘Why aren’t we scoring?’ From the backline to the front we were determined to do better.”
Armas’ goal came off McClellan’s team-high fifth assist (to go with his four goals and two game-winners). If there is a “flux capacitor” for the Lancer offense it’s the senior forward. McClellan dispossessed an opponent, worked down the sideline, and used a burst to get by and attack parallel to the touchline from where his short cross set up his teammate and put the Lancers back in the match.
“In addition to the goal, Grayden created three or more great chances. He simply has the hustle, heart, and attitude to score or else create opportunities,” Crosby said. “Max (Panek) really worked hard on defense; Edgar (Villagran) and Ricardo (Ciaccio) did the same in midfield. Oleksandr piled up the chances, either during the run of play or on free kicks. It seemed like he was just narrowly wide, but did everything he could to score.”
An indication of how difficult it was for Waubonsie to complete the transition from defending to attacking was evident. The Warriors did not get a shot on frame until there was 7:29 left. Zach Stanley booted a 22-yarder that Lancer goalie Kyle Czeremuga snared. Unfortunately for Lake Park and the junior keeper, the only other Warrior shot goal in the second half came with 3:06 to be played.
That’s when Brandon Garduno angled a pass to the right wing from where Glorioso squared his hips to blast a volley inside the far left post.
“How many goals I have or who scores doesn’t matter as long as the team is playing well, which is what we’re doing now,” Glorioso said. “As for the PK, I size up the keeper and focus more on placing the ball.
“Our backline is playing great, while up ahead we’re possessing the ball and finishing,” Glorioso continued in describing Waubonsie’s back-to-back triumphs.
“We really were possessing the ball well in the first half,” Perez agreed. “We did slip a little during the second half, but that’s when our defense came through.”
“Our desire is to always play our game of soccer, which is possession and playing to feet,” Garcia added. “We want to connect passes and not fall into playing kick ball.”
Understandably, Garcia’s emphasis is on today’s DVC match with Neuqua, but when pressed on Thursday’s outing, he acknowledged a mental note. “They’re the team that knocked us out of the semifinals last year. (Oswego’s) playing really well so we know it’ll be a tough one to get.”
Starting lineups
Lake Park
GK: Kyle Czeremuga
D Francesco Ciara
D Max Panek
D Anthony Magner
D Logan Pobloske
M Ricardo Ciaccio
M Edgar Villagran
M Oleksandr Melnyk
M Jackub Zych
F Max Armas
F Grayden McClellan
Waubonsie Valley
GK: Bryan Grimaldo
D Brandon Garduno
D Teague Stoltar
D Zach Stanley
D Adrien Mehra
D Dan Morgan
M Noah Glorioso
M Javi Gonzalez
M Jerry Perez
F Milan Etrastus-Obilo
F Daniel Fritz
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jerry Perez, sr., F, Waubonsie Valley
Referees: Ricardo Mercado (center), Steven Zack, Francisco Damian
Game summary
Waubonsie Valley 3, Lake Park 1
Lake Park 0 1 --- 1 (4-5-1)
Waubonsie V 2 1 --- 3 (4-3-1)
Scoring
First half
WV --- Perez 11-yard redirect off the left post and in (Glorioso assist), 0:45 gone
WV --- Glorioso penalty kick conversion (unassisted), 10:41 gone
Second Half
LP --- Armas 12-yard blast inside left post (McCelland assist), 53:25 gone
WV --- Glorioso 13-yard one-touch volley from right side (Garduno assist), 76:54 gone
Overall shots
LP 7 – 15 --- 22
WV 8 – 6 --- 14
Shots on goal
LP 3 – 10 --- 13
WV 6 – 2 --- 8
Saves (goalie)
LP (Czeremuga) 4 – 1 --- 5
WV (Grimaldo) 3 – 9 --- 12
Corner kicks
LP 2 – 4 --- 6
WV 0 – 1 --- 1
Offsides
LP 0 – 1 --- 1
WV 0 – 1 --- 1