Neuqua V. grass field can't slow down York
Dukes mow down Wildcats 2-0 in quality nonconference match
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – York prefers playing on artificial turf, which is not surprising considering the fast surface allows the Dukes to take advantage of their speed.
To many soccer purists, fake grass changes the essential nature of the game, which is a valid point.
But those who think the Dukes are at a disadvantage playing on the natural stuff are in for a surprise.
It’s fake news.
York’s skill was on full display Thursday on the lush natural grass at Neuqua Valley. The Dukes (8-2-0) put on a show in dispatching the host Wildcats 2-0 in a game that was still in doubt until the final seconds.
“This is not necessarily our favorite place to play on grass,” York coach Lukasz Majewski said. “We’re a much faster team, and this slows the game down.”
True, but it didn’t faze – or stop – the Dukes, who outshot Neuqua 18-12 and impressively won the midfield battle.
“This is a really nice field so it allowed us to keep possession and play nice balls,” York junior Joe Meade said. “We could have gotten more goals, but a 2-0 result is good.”
Indeed, the Dukes, ranked eighth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, could easily have had five or six more goals. But the play of Neuqua goalkeepers Luke Molnar and Brysen Ramsey kept the Wildcats (5-5-2) in the game, and the visitors squandered several other good chances.
“Obviously, finishing was a big part of it today,” Majewski said. “We had chances.
“I wish we would have put things away a little sooner, but it is what it is. A result is a result, and I like the zero on the back end.”
The shutout was necessary because the outcome hung in the balance until the final minute. That’s when Meade got the ball in the attack zone and raced toward the Neuqua box.
With less than 30 seconds left, Meade was being frantically pursued by several defenders. But instead of trying to dribble into the corner to run out the clock, he slid a ball into space to his left.
Freshman Sam Musial was there to score his first high school goal, a crisp yet composed finish past Ramsey and into the lower right corner of the net with 15 seconds remaining.
“I was thinking about taking a shot for myself but then we had numbers up, and I knew somebody most likely would be coming from the left side because that was the blind side,” Meade said. “Everyone was shifted over.
“I heard Sam Musial screaming for it. Just put it right in his path, and he finished it.”
With that, the York fans let out a sigh of relief.
“I think it was a lot tighter than we wanted it to be,” York senior Spencer Doan said. “Scoring a goal that late kind of takes the pressure off with 15 seconds left.”
Doan had opened the scoring at the 14:20 mark of the first half. Ethan Oder’s corner kick from the right side was headed out by a defender, but Doan got it just inside the box and poked a shot past Molnar, who played a brilliant first half in stymying several golden scoring opportunities.
It was the first goal of the season for Doan, who was back in the lineup after missing two games with a knee injury.
“It was a good feeling,” Doan said. “It was a good goal to get right before the half.”
It seemed to be a long time coming for the Dukes, who took Neuqua’s vaunted midfield led by David Kuhn and Jose Navarro out of the equation for the majority of the match, yet couldn’t dent the scoreboard in the first 25 minutes.
“I thought we had the midfield pretty locked down,” Doan said. “They have some quality players in the midfield but our defensive mids worked really hard today and a good performance by the center backs.
“We had some close calls. (Molnar is) a quality keeper.”
Molnar, who made five saves, one fewer than Ramsey did in an equally solid showing in the second half, didn’t have to wait long to flash his skills.
The Dukes attacked off the opening kickoff and soon got behind the Neuqua defense. Junior Andrew Pygon walked in alone on Molnar, who lunged to his right to make a diving save with just 37 seconds gone.
Ten minutes later, junior Parker Gawne broke into the box and fired toward the far post, but again Molnar sprawled to his right to tip it away.
“I was ready to play this game,” Molnar said. “I was looking forward to it.
“I knew this game was important because seeding is coming up this weekend, and I knew we needed this game. Unfortunately, we lost but we can take a lot from this game. We can learn from it.”
The Wildcats have learned they have three solid goalies in Molnar, Ramsey and Dylan Soto, all of whom have seen action. None of the trio has won the starting job but all have earned playing time.
Ramsey and Soto are seniors, which gives them an inside track to seeing the field, but Molnar has had his moments, especially against the high-powered Dukes. He made two stops on Gawne, who was the hard-luck player of the game, hitting the post once and getting rejected five times by Molar and Ramsey.
“I think it was one of my better performances this season,” Molnar said. “I think that motivates me to work even harder, and it keeps me looking forward to games ahead.”
The Dukes were looking forward to getting at least one insurance goal. They could have scored several times in the second half and Gawne might have had a hat-trick against lesser opponents.
Ramsey denied Gawne in the 45th minute with a diving save to tip a shot wide. Fifteen minutes later, Gawne made a terrific move to split two defenders before racing in on Ramsey, who made a kick save on the initial shot by Gawne, whose point-blank rebound went over the crossbar.
With Doan, Gawne, Meade and junior Jack Musial, the Dukes have plenty of weapons. All are dangerous and create a collective buzz in the attack zone that strikes fear in defenders.
“We have a lot of good guys, a mix of juniors and seniors and one freshman,” Meade said. “We all work together well, and all of us have our own abilities and things that we do well. We just mix it together well and get wins.”
It’s a recipe for success which Majewski concocted over the summer.
“Everybody brings something different to the table so we just keep on reminding them -- do what you do best,” Majewski said. “Let Joe do his thing, let Parker do his thing and let the defense do their thing.
“We try to get it through their mind -- bring what you can bring. We don’t ask for too much more, although we do ask for a higher level of effort.
“We have people in place that will make us successful as long as we let them do their job and you help them do their job. That’s the model.”
Neuqua Valley coach Arnoldo Gonzalez lamented that the Wildcats lately have been doing their job for 30 or 40 minutes at a time, then giving up a goal.
Even so, the hosts had some chances, forcing Johnson to come up with four saves, including a diving effort on Navarro and a leaping grab on a 25-yard chip by Tom Bludgen in the first half.
But the best opportunity came in the 71st minute when Sean Osoba lined a 25-yard shot off the underside of the crossbar. The ball came down and hit the ground in the field of play, though the Wildcats thought the ball had crossed the goal line for the tying goal.
“That ball goes in, it’s a 1-1 game,” Gonzalez noted. “I thought it was in.”
He wasn’t alone.
“That one ball looked like it went in,” Molnar said. “I thought we played pretty well during the first half.
“It was unfortunate that they got that goal on me, but the second half I think we died down a bit. We started to come back, but it was too late.”
Starting lineups
York
GK Kyle Johnson
D John Milani
D Parker Gawne
D Josh Borzello
D Jason Marcelo
M Jacob Kresnicka
M Jack Musial
M Joe Meade
M Paolo Favuzzi
F Antonio Lepore
F Ethan Oder
Neuqua Valley
GK Luke Molnar
D Kevin Wu
D Ryan Jasek
D Mac Lehman
D Brandon Szabo
M Tom Bludgen
M David Kuhn
M Anthony Safo
M Jose Navarro
M Jack Bella
F Sean Osoba
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Joe Meade, jr., M/F, York
Scoring summary
First half
York – Spencer Doan 14:20
Second half
York – Sam Musial (Joe Meade) :15
Dukes mow down Wildcats 2-0 in quality nonconference match
By Matt Le Cren
NAPERVILLE – York prefers playing on artificial turf, which is not surprising considering the fast surface allows the Dukes to take advantage of their speed.
To many soccer purists, fake grass changes the essential nature of the game, which is a valid point.
But those who think the Dukes are at a disadvantage playing on the natural stuff are in for a surprise.
It’s fake news.
York’s skill was on full display Thursday on the lush natural grass at Neuqua Valley. The Dukes (8-2-0) put on a show in dispatching the host Wildcats 2-0 in a game that was still in doubt until the final seconds.
“This is not necessarily our favorite place to play on grass,” York coach Lukasz Majewski said. “We’re a much faster team, and this slows the game down.”
True, but it didn’t faze – or stop – the Dukes, who outshot Neuqua 18-12 and impressively won the midfield battle.
“This is a really nice field so it allowed us to keep possession and play nice balls,” York junior Joe Meade said. “We could have gotten more goals, but a 2-0 result is good.”
Indeed, the Dukes, ranked eighth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, could easily have had five or six more goals. But the play of Neuqua goalkeepers Luke Molnar and Brysen Ramsey kept the Wildcats (5-5-2) in the game, and the visitors squandered several other good chances.
“Obviously, finishing was a big part of it today,” Majewski said. “We had chances.
“I wish we would have put things away a little sooner, but it is what it is. A result is a result, and I like the zero on the back end.”
The shutout was necessary because the outcome hung in the balance until the final minute. That’s when Meade got the ball in the attack zone and raced toward the Neuqua box.
With less than 30 seconds left, Meade was being frantically pursued by several defenders. But instead of trying to dribble into the corner to run out the clock, he slid a ball into space to his left.
Freshman Sam Musial was there to score his first high school goal, a crisp yet composed finish past Ramsey and into the lower right corner of the net with 15 seconds remaining.
“I was thinking about taking a shot for myself but then we had numbers up, and I knew somebody most likely would be coming from the left side because that was the blind side,” Meade said. “Everyone was shifted over.
“I heard Sam Musial screaming for it. Just put it right in his path, and he finished it.”
With that, the York fans let out a sigh of relief.
“I think it was a lot tighter than we wanted it to be,” York senior Spencer Doan said. “Scoring a goal that late kind of takes the pressure off with 15 seconds left.”
Doan had opened the scoring at the 14:20 mark of the first half. Ethan Oder’s corner kick from the right side was headed out by a defender, but Doan got it just inside the box and poked a shot past Molnar, who played a brilliant first half in stymying several golden scoring opportunities.
It was the first goal of the season for Doan, who was back in the lineup after missing two games with a knee injury.
“It was a good feeling,” Doan said. “It was a good goal to get right before the half.”
It seemed to be a long time coming for the Dukes, who took Neuqua’s vaunted midfield led by David Kuhn and Jose Navarro out of the equation for the majority of the match, yet couldn’t dent the scoreboard in the first 25 minutes.
“I thought we had the midfield pretty locked down,” Doan said. “They have some quality players in the midfield but our defensive mids worked really hard today and a good performance by the center backs.
“We had some close calls. (Molnar is) a quality keeper.”
Molnar, who made five saves, one fewer than Ramsey did in an equally solid showing in the second half, didn’t have to wait long to flash his skills.
The Dukes attacked off the opening kickoff and soon got behind the Neuqua defense. Junior Andrew Pygon walked in alone on Molnar, who lunged to his right to make a diving save with just 37 seconds gone.
Ten minutes later, junior Parker Gawne broke into the box and fired toward the far post, but again Molnar sprawled to his right to tip it away.
“I was ready to play this game,” Molnar said. “I was looking forward to it.
“I knew this game was important because seeding is coming up this weekend, and I knew we needed this game. Unfortunately, we lost but we can take a lot from this game. We can learn from it.”
The Wildcats have learned they have three solid goalies in Molnar, Ramsey and Dylan Soto, all of whom have seen action. None of the trio has won the starting job but all have earned playing time.
Ramsey and Soto are seniors, which gives them an inside track to seeing the field, but Molnar has had his moments, especially against the high-powered Dukes. He made two stops on Gawne, who was the hard-luck player of the game, hitting the post once and getting rejected five times by Molar and Ramsey.
“I think it was one of my better performances this season,” Molnar said. “I think that motivates me to work even harder, and it keeps me looking forward to games ahead.”
The Dukes were looking forward to getting at least one insurance goal. They could have scored several times in the second half and Gawne might have had a hat-trick against lesser opponents.
Ramsey denied Gawne in the 45th minute with a diving save to tip a shot wide. Fifteen minutes later, Gawne made a terrific move to split two defenders before racing in on Ramsey, who made a kick save on the initial shot by Gawne, whose point-blank rebound went over the crossbar.
With Doan, Gawne, Meade and junior Jack Musial, the Dukes have plenty of weapons. All are dangerous and create a collective buzz in the attack zone that strikes fear in defenders.
“We have a lot of good guys, a mix of juniors and seniors and one freshman,” Meade said. “We all work together well, and all of us have our own abilities and things that we do well. We just mix it together well and get wins.”
It’s a recipe for success which Majewski concocted over the summer.
“Everybody brings something different to the table so we just keep on reminding them -- do what you do best,” Majewski said. “Let Joe do his thing, let Parker do his thing and let the defense do their thing.
“We try to get it through their mind -- bring what you can bring. We don’t ask for too much more, although we do ask for a higher level of effort.
“We have people in place that will make us successful as long as we let them do their job and you help them do their job. That’s the model.”
Neuqua Valley coach Arnoldo Gonzalez lamented that the Wildcats lately have been doing their job for 30 or 40 minutes at a time, then giving up a goal.
Even so, the hosts had some chances, forcing Johnson to come up with four saves, including a diving effort on Navarro and a leaping grab on a 25-yard chip by Tom Bludgen in the first half.
But the best opportunity came in the 71st minute when Sean Osoba lined a 25-yard shot off the underside of the crossbar. The ball came down and hit the ground in the field of play, though the Wildcats thought the ball had crossed the goal line for the tying goal.
“That ball goes in, it’s a 1-1 game,” Gonzalez noted. “I thought it was in.”
He wasn’t alone.
“That one ball looked like it went in,” Molnar said. “I thought we played pretty well during the first half.
“It was unfortunate that they got that goal on me, but the second half I think we died down a bit. We started to come back, but it was too late.”
Starting lineups
York
GK Kyle Johnson
D John Milani
D Parker Gawne
D Josh Borzello
D Jason Marcelo
M Jacob Kresnicka
M Jack Musial
M Joe Meade
M Paolo Favuzzi
F Antonio Lepore
F Ethan Oder
Neuqua Valley
GK Luke Molnar
D Kevin Wu
D Ryan Jasek
D Mac Lehman
D Brandon Szabo
M Tom Bludgen
M David Kuhn
M Anthony Safo
M Jose Navarro
M Jack Bella
F Sean Osoba
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Joe Meade, jr., M/F, York
Scoring summary
First half
York – Spencer Doan 14:20
Second half
York – Sam Musial (Joe Meade) :15