Lake Park beats heat, WW South
Glodz scores early, late to give Lancers 1st DVC win
By Matt Le Cren
ROSELLE – As if dealing with 93-degree temperatures wasn’t hard enough for Wheaton Warrenville South on Saturday, Lake Park's Sebastian Glodz turned up the heat.
The senior scored on a rebound just 4:45 into the DuPage Valley Conference match, making the visiting Tigers sweat even more by having to chase the Lancers nearly from start to finish.
Glodz added a second goal late in the second half as Lake Park prevailed 2-0 to record its first league win.
“When we scored early, we just grabbed the momentum and we started possessing,” said Lake Park junior Matteo Costa, who assisted on Glodz’s second strike. “And what we try practicing in practice is finishing, and that’s exactly what Sebastian did.”
Franco Presta had the initial shot from outside the box. It was blocked by the defense but squirted free to Glodz for the quick finish.
“It was a great goal by him, a great way to read it and be in the right spot,” Lake Park coach Sean Crosby said. “It’s big time for us.
“Definitely you want to start with the momentum, dictate the game and press and get one early. At the start of the season we didn’t have that luxury every single time, but we found a way the last few games, and we’ve been able to get an early one or at least the first one.
“It definitely frees us up to stay aggressive in the attack and allows us to breathe a little in the back.”
Breathing wasn’t particularly easy for players on either team, but two long water breaks in each half helped them stay hydrated, and they put on a good show.
Wheaton Warrenville South (4-6-2, 1-2-1) created plenty of chances but could not crack Lake Park’s backline or overcome the play of Lancers goalie Christian Lekki, who made three saves and regularly came off his line to cut off loose balls before they became breakaways.
The Tigers triumvirate of Unla Husseini, Sumani Husseini and Fabian Aranda consistently caused worry in the attacking third but settled for long-distance shots in the first half, most of which went harmlessly over the crossbar.
The second half was a different story as the Tigers kept the ball on the ground and used their speed to pressure the defense of Lake Park (7-4-1, 1-2-0). But they were often just a step out of sequence, and when they weren’t Lekki was up to the task.
Aranda nearly had the equalizer with 30:05 left but his hard left-footed shot was tipped over the crossbar by Lekki. The Lake Park netminder came up big again a minute later when Unla Husseini got loose in the left side of the box.
Husseini put a shot on frame, but Lekki made a diving save, then got up and smothered the rebound before Jesus Martinez could get to it.
“We’re in that middle area of reading and reacting as opposed to anticipating and had we anticipated on a few opportunities, I think we might have had some clear opportunities,” Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari said. “And then we’ve got guys perhaps playing in roles that they’re not very comfortable with, and so they’re looking for that extra pass or that extra touch instead of taking it on their shoulders and playing with confidence and testing the keeper.
“But you’ve got to give (Lake Park) credit. I thought they played really well.
“They managed the ball and played the clock out well. The back did a nice job of winning that first ball.
“It’s very difficult to play (against) our guys up-top and not make a mistake. They weren’t mistake-free, but they stayed calm and supported each other.”
At times, the Tigers looked to be on the verge of breaking out. Their time still might come as Callipari likes the skill sets of Sumari Husseini, Unla Husseini and Aranda, who have speed and dribbling ability.
“Unla plays up top,” Callipari said. “Sumani, you’ll see him on the outside, you’ll see him underneath.
“He’s got that midfield mentality, but he’s a little bit younger as a player, and we sometimes play him up-top. We try to put him in positions where maybe he doesn’t have to do a lot of running defensively, and he can expose some weaknesses that perhaps the other team has. It’s just a matter of reading the game faster and understanding space and time.”
Ultimately, the Tigers ran out of time. After being held without a shot for nearly 30 minutes in the second half, the Lake Park regained offensive momentum in the final 10 minutes and would have had two more goals if not for the play of Tigers goalkeeper Joe Adamek, who made two brilliant saves.
First, Adamek made a diving stop on a wide-open drive from Paul Grzybowicz with 10:25 remaining. The ball got behind Adamek but defender Spencer Follett had plenty of time to clear it off the line.
Three minutes later Andrew Eliopoulos got open on the right side of the box, only to see Adamek deflect his low liner into the top of the crossbar and out of play.
But the Lancers finally put the game away at the 5:50 mark when Glodz ran onto a diagonal lead ball from Costa and beat the diving Adamek from the right side of the box.
“Communication is a big key in soccer,” Costa said. “Sebastian always likes to talk. So I heard him this time, and I saw him in the corner of my eye cutting across.
“So I played him that through-ball and I trusted that he would be there.”
He was.
“The scoring felt good,” Glodz said. “Getting the win felt the greatest.
“I’m just contributing to the team in any way I can. It’s not just on me.
“People played me the ball and the combination before that happens, that’s a big plus too. If we move the ball fast, keep it simple, we can score a lot more goals.”
Ironically, scoring the first one didn’t exactly put Glodz’s mind at ease.
“It was good, but it was also kind of scary because then the other team wants to press more and more. So we have to defend better, and we can’t slack off in any way,” Glodz said. “I felt we did a good job of it.”
They also did a good job of battling the unseasonable heat. The Lancers took plenty of water breaks during recent practices and were able to fight through the sweat, while the Tigers had a tougher task due to the early deficit.
“I think it plays heavy on a young player on how to handle both the clock and the opposition and the heat, so it was a trifecta today,” Callipari said. “Unfortunately it was a tall order, and we didn’t respond.”
Despite that, Callipari liked how his team played after intermission.
“I thought we played really well in the second half,” Callipari said. “We knew they were going to make some mistakes. We just had to capitalize, and we didn’t.
“This was two teams that were in the middle of the pack. You expected the play to be even, and I thought it was that. It was a good soccer game.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK Joe Adamek
D Sam Schlegel
D Spencer Follett
D Will Buxton
D Gabby Lazcano
M Ryan Duffy
M Fabian Aranda
M Unla Husseini
M Marco Barrios
M Jesus Martinez
F Declin Ermer
Lake Park
GK Christian Lekki
D Daniel Nocek
D Thomas Zakic
D Sebastian Augustyn
D Max Ellenbecker
M Gabriel Mendrano
M Andrew Eliopoulos
M Sebastian Glodz
M Brent Hatfield
M Matteo Costa
M Franco Presta
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Sebastian Glodz, M, Lake Park.
Scoring summary
1st Half
Lake Park – Sebastian Glodz 35:15
2nd Half
Lake Park – Glodz (Matteo Costa) 5:50
Glodz scores early, late to give Lancers 1st DVC win
By Matt Le Cren
ROSELLE – As if dealing with 93-degree temperatures wasn’t hard enough for Wheaton Warrenville South on Saturday, Lake Park's Sebastian Glodz turned up the heat.
The senior scored on a rebound just 4:45 into the DuPage Valley Conference match, making the visiting Tigers sweat even more by having to chase the Lancers nearly from start to finish.
Glodz added a second goal late in the second half as Lake Park prevailed 2-0 to record its first league win.
“When we scored early, we just grabbed the momentum and we started possessing,” said Lake Park junior Matteo Costa, who assisted on Glodz’s second strike. “And what we try practicing in practice is finishing, and that’s exactly what Sebastian did.”
Franco Presta had the initial shot from outside the box. It was blocked by the defense but squirted free to Glodz for the quick finish.
“It was a great goal by him, a great way to read it and be in the right spot,” Lake Park coach Sean Crosby said. “It’s big time for us.
“Definitely you want to start with the momentum, dictate the game and press and get one early. At the start of the season we didn’t have that luxury every single time, but we found a way the last few games, and we’ve been able to get an early one or at least the first one.
“It definitely frees us up to stay aggressive in the attack and allows us to breathe a little in the back.”
Breathing wasn’t particularly easy for players on either team, but two long water breaks in each half helped them stay hydrated, and they put on a good show.
Wheaton Warrenville South (4-6-2, 1-2-1) created plenty of chances but could not crack Lake Park’s backline or overcome the play of Lancers goalie Christian Lekki, who made three saves and regularly came off his line to cut off loose balls before they became breakaways.
The Tigers triumvirate of Unla Husseini, Sumani Husseini and Fabian Aranda consistently caused worry in the attacking third but settled for long-distance shots in the first half, most of which went harmlessly over the crossbar.
The second half was a different story as the Tigers kept the ball on the ground and used their speed to pressure the defense of Lake Park (7-4-1, 1-2-0). But they were often just a step out of sequence, and when they weren’t Lekki was up to the task.
Aranda nearly had the equalizer with 30:05 left but his hard left-footed shot was tipped over the crossbar by Lekki. The Lake Park netminder came up big again a minute later when Unla Husseini got loose in the left side of the box.
Husseini put a shot on frame, but Lekki made a diving save, then got up and smothered the rebound before Jesus Martinez could get to it.
“We’re in that middle area of reading and reacting as opposed to anticipating and had we anticipated on a few opportunities, I think we might have had some clear opportunities,” Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari said. “And then we’ve got guys perhaps playing in roles that they’re not very comfortable with, and so they’re looking for that extra pass or that extra touch instead of taking it on their shoulders and playing with confidence and testing the keeper.
“But you’ve got to give (Lake Park) credit. I thought they played really well.
“They managed the ball and played the clock out well. The back did a nice job of winning that first ball.
“It’s very difficult to play (against) our guys up-top and not make a mistake. They weren’t mistake-free, but they stayed calm and supported each other.”
At times, the Tigers looked to be on the verge of breaking out. Their time still might come as Callipari likes the skill sets of Sumari Husseini, Unla Husseini and Aranda, who have speed and dribbling ability.
“Unla plays up top,” Callipari said. “Sumani, you’ll see him on the outside, you’ll see him underneath.
“He’s got that midfield mentality, but he’s a little bit younger as a player, and we sometimes play him up-top. We try to put him in positions where maybe he doesn’t have to do a lot of running defensively, and he can expose some weaknesses that perhaps the other team has. It’s just a matter of reading the game faster and understanding space and time.”
Ultimately, the Tigers ran out of time. After being held without a shot for nearly 30 minutes in the second half, the Lake Park regained offensive momentum in the final 10 minutes and would have had two more goals if not for the play of Tigers goalkeeper Joe Adamek, who made two brilliant saves.
First, Adamek made a diving stop on a wide-open drive from Paul Grzybowicz with 10:25 remaining. The ball got behind Adamek but defender Spencer Follett had plenty of time to clear it off the line.
Three minutes later Andrew Eliopoulos got open on the right side of the box, only to see Adamek deflect his low liner into the top of the crossbar and out of play.
But the Lancers finally put the game away at the 5:50 mark when Glodz ran onto a diagonal lead ball from Costa and beat the diving Adamek from the right side of the box.
“Communication is a big key in soccer,” Costa said. “Sebastian always likes to talk. So I heard him this time, and I saw him in the corner of my eye cutting across.
“So I played him that through-ball and I trusted that he would be there.”
He was.
“The scoring felt good,” Glodz said. “Getting the win felt the greatest.
“I’m just contributing to the team in any way I can. It’s not just on me.
“People played me the ball and the combination before that happens, that’s a big plus too. If we move the ball fast, keep it simple, we can score a lot more goals.”
Ironically, scoring the first one didn’t exactly put Glodz’s mind at ease.
“It was good, but it was also kind of scary because then the other team wants to press more and more. So we have to defend better, and we can’t slack off in any way,” Glodz said. “I felt we did a good job of it.”
They also did a good job of battling the unseasonable heat. The Lancers took plenty of water breaks during recent practices and were able to fight through the sweat, while the Tigers had a tougher task due to the early deficit.
“I think it plays heavy on a young player on how to handle both the clock and the opposition and the heat, so it was a trifecta today,” Callipari said. “Unfortunately it was a tall order, and we didn’t respond.”
Despite that, Callipari liked how his team played after intermission.
“I thought we played really well in the second half,” Callipari said. “We knew they were going to make some mistakes. We just had to capitalize, and we didn’t.
“This was two teams that were in the middle of the pack. You expected the play to be even, and I thought it was that. It was a good soccer game.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK Joe Adamek
D Sam Schlegel
D Spencer Follett
D Will Buxton
D Gabby Lazcano
M Ryan Duffy
M Fabian Aranda
M Unla Husseini
M Marco Barrios
M Jesus Martinez
F Declin Ermer
Lake Park
GK Christian Lekki
D Daniel Nocek
D Thomas Zakic
D Sebastian Augustyn
D Max Ellenbecker
M Gabriel Mendrano
M Andrew Eliopoulos
M Sebastian Glodz
M Brent Hatfield
M Matteo Costa
M Franco Presta
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match – Sebastian Glodz, M, Lake Park.
Scoring summary
1st Half
Lake Park – Sebastian Glodz 35:15
2nd Half
Lake Park – Glodz (Matteo Costa) 5:50