York holds off furious
Oak Park and River Forest comeback effort
Dukes use 1st half goals to edge Huskies 2-1 in league opener
By Curt Herron
OAK PARK -- It says a lot about a team when it is disappointed after claiming a one-goal victory and delivering the first loss to a team that is ranked second in Chicagoland and returns several top performers from a squad that reached the Elite Eight last season.
But when you're the defending Class 3A champions and also have a lot of key players back, expectations are very high. And experiencing stretches in the past two matches where your team defended more than attacked is somewhat less than acceptable.
That’s how York felt Tuesday after the West Suburban Conference Silver Division opener between defending champion Dukes and host Oak Park and River Forest.
Although York wasn’t happy about its overall performance, the team was pleased that it did a better job of capitalizing on opprtunites than the Huskies were. That helped the visitors capture a 2-1 victory at historic Oak Park Stadium.
After waiting 72 minutes for the game-tying, 80th-minute goal to take the Hillner Classic title versus Lake Park Sept. 3, seventh-ranked York scored its goals in just over two minutes late in the opening half against the second-ranked Huskies.
Junior Jayden Waski scored following an assist from senior Jose Herrera in the 33rd minute, before senior Alexander Menolascina connected on a header following a corner kick from senior Ryder Kohl in the 35th minute that proved to be the difference for the Dukes (5-0-1, 1-0-0). The game figures to be one of many memorable matches in the Silver Division, which features four teams that are ranked among the top 14 teams.
Although the home team had some good opportunities during the opening half and many more threatening chances during the final 40 minutes, Oak Park and River Forest (5-1-0, 0-1-0) managed its only goal on a penalty kick by Chicagoland Soccer/IHSSCA all-stater and junior Easton Bogard in the 47th minute.
Much of the frustration for the Huskies was caused by a strong performance from York sophomore goalkeeper Diego Ochoa, who was named the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match for his excellent effort. The play of the Dukes disruptive backline also stood out. Seniors Soren Moore, Stefan Rebic and Kohl, and junior Mateusz Janowski made a deep impact.
"It's difficult to play in this environment," Dukes coach Jordan Stopka said. " I told them, if they (OPRF) get that one goal, that they would be all over us both in the stands and on the field and that's what happened.
“We held our own, but we want to be a little more intelligent moving forward. There were a lot of dumb ideas and dumb fouls.
"They deserved an equalizer, but it didn't come for them. Much like we couldn't score against Lake Park, they couldn't score against us. We need to stop giving those chances up. Literally props to OPRF; that team is really good, and they really scare me when they have the ball."
Oak Park and River Forest came as close to scoring as you can with numerous opportunities in the box and several other close calls during the final part of the match.
But rather than obsessing on what didn't happen in this early-season matchup, Huskies coach Jason Fried highlighted the resilience that his squad displayed. He realizes all too well that if his squad can keep threatening to score as it did down the stretch, they will be rewarded for their efforts in the future.
"I actually thought that the boys played really well, and they put together 75 minutes of really good soccer," Fried said. "We definitely created enough opportunities to put in three, four, five or six goals. So, I have to give their goalkeeper and defense a lot of credit.
“There were three or four times when the ball was on the goal line, and it just could not go in.
“It was a lot of fight by York and a lot of good creating moments by us. I told the team at the end that it was a loss that I can live with, because they played really well. We just had two really bad mental errors. We really haven't had any of those this year, and they punished us for it.
"We have to use today's game as a building block, and I actually think that the guys feel pretty positive about it. They felt like they played well enough, and we could have easily won that game. But York is a great team, too, and they did a great job finishing when they had chances.
“In the first half I thought we were really organized and played well, but we really didn't actually test the keeper enough. I thought that we played better today than we played Friday (a 2-1 cross-town home win over Fenwick). Sometimes the outcome isn't what you want it to be, but it's an outcome that you can live with, because we're getting better."
There weren't that many good scoring chances during the initial 40 minutes, but when two good opportunities came the Dukes' way as the half, they capitalized for a 2-0 halftime.
In the 33rd minute, Herrera sent a pass to Waski, who fired in an attempt from 20 yards to put York up for good. After Oak Park and River Forest senior Isaac Cummings was denied on an attempt by Ochoa, York was it again.
Senior Kevin O'Connor sent in a liner that was deflected by Huskies junior goalkeeper Christian Dussias. That resulted in a corner kick that Kohl placed into the box and Menolascina headed home in the 35th minute.
"Jose was able to beat one kid and play me through and I finished from outside of the box, which kind of started our momentum," Waski said. "And then we were able to secure a goal on a corner kick and that kind of kept the momentum going. But really, we didn't possess the ball and weren't able to get the ball down and play. They kind of beat us at playing the game, but we were able to fight to the end of the game.
"They kind of possessed until the end, but we were able to make some big stops, including from our goalie Diego who came up big in this game. There were two late chances for them, and he was able to stop them and clear the ball."
It was the second-straight match in which Menolascina scored his team's second goal on a header. The previous came with 34 seconds remaining in Saturday's 2-2 draw at Lake Park.
Oak Park and River Forest tried to fight back with a goal of its own before the intermission. Rebic headed away a long free kick from Bogard. Then after junior Robert Sambou was fouled just beyond the top of the box, Bogard's free kick was thwarted by a wall of York defenders.
York started strong in the second half as junior Gustavo Herrera sent in a pair of threatening chances, and senior Frank Rofrano also had a good attempt. Oak Park and River Forest eventually connected for its lone goal when the Dukes were called for a foul in the box, and Bogard fired in the subsequent penalty in the 47th minute.
Bogard, one of three players in Illinois who received IHSSCA All-State honors as a sophomore, was injured in the team's opener this season. Tuesday was the first time that he was able to play at a high level throughout the majority of a match.
For offense, the Huskies have relied on seniors Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey (five goals), Colin Hayes (four goals) and Ezra Plotkin (four assists) and sophomore Bryce Richards (three goals, two assists) to lead the way.
"I think we did a good job with our pressure when it was organized," Bogard said. "Overall, our strength is our possession, and we definitely dominated. After lackluster attacking in the first half and then those errors in the three-minute period that led to their goals, we stepped up our game in the second half. If we play like that, I see us beating any team.
"We're very soccer smart and have a very good IQ team. I think we have a strong understanding of the game. Over time as we practice together and understand our system better, we all will just mesh. With the combination of our good, strong system that the coaches set up and our good IQ, that will really be a good fit."
Over the next few minutes, Menolascina, Hernandez and Waski were all turned away by Dussias, while Ochoa made stops against Cummings and Moore.
Other top attempts during the final 20 minutes were provided by senior Nazir Cruz, junior Diego Zarate, Bogard, Plotkin, Hayes and Richards for the Huskies while Waski had good chances for the Dukes.
Oak Park and River Forest senior Tukura Hess said his team needs to stay rooted in the present.
"What we did last year is just motivation for us, but we can't use that to say that we're better than teams," Hess said. "Last year, we earned it, and I think this year we have to do the same thing and fight for it.
"One of the things that I like about our team, the same as last year, is that we are really resilient. Some teams when they get scored on, they may put the heads down. But we seem to come back harder and stronger."
A few of the top opportunities during the early part of the match were provided by Rofrano and Hernandez for the Dukes and Richards, Sambou and Bogard for the Huskies.
York felt fortunate that its first half goals were enough to hold off a determined Huskies comeback effort.
"They're a great team," Kohl said. "They have the center back (Hess) and Easton (Bogard). We were just lucky that Jadyn (Hsieh-Bailey) was out with a red card, or otherwise it would have been a completely different game.
"(Coach) Stopka said that we are at a mid-level right now, and we can get up a lot higher. I think that's true and the fact that we beat OPRF when we're only in the middle right now, our potential could be a lot higher.
“We just have chemistry. A bunch of us are seniors, 18 of our 24 kids, and we've known each other for five or six years. And we have a bunch of kids who have stepped up this year, like Jadyn (Waski), Michael Greco, Mateusz Janowski and Xander (Menolascina), who scored two goals the past two games."
Startling lineups
York
GK: Diego Ochoa
D: Ryder Kohl
D: Mateusz Janowski
D: Soren Moore
D: Stefan Rebic
MF: Michael Greco
MF: Gustavo Herrera
MF: Joe Hernandez
MF: Jayden Waski
F: Jose Herrera
F: Frank Rofrano
Oak Park and River Forest
GK: Christian Dussias
D: Tukura Hess
D: Ben Naber
D: Ezra Plotkin
D: Diego Zarate
MF: Isaac Cummings
MF: Colin Hayes
MF: Easton Bogard
MF: Nazir Cruz
F: Bryce Richards
F: Robert Sambou
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Diego Ochoa, so., GK, York
Scoring summary
First half
York: Jayden Waski (Jose Herrera), 33'
York: Alexander Menolascina (Ryder Kohl), 35'
Second half
Oak Park and River Forest: Easton Bogard (PK), 47'
Oak Park and River Forest comeback effort
Dukes use 1st half goals to edge Huskies 2-1 in league opener
By Curt Herron
OAK PARK -- It says a lot about a team when it is disappointed after claiming a one-goal victory and delivering the first loss to a team that is ranked second in Chicagoland and returns several top performers from a squad that reached the Elite Eight last season.
But when you're the defending Class 3A champions and also have a lot of key players back, expectations are very high. And experiencing stretches in the past two matches where your team defended more than attacked is somewhat less than acceptable.
That’s how York felt Tuesday after the West Suburban Conference Silver Division opener between defending champion Dukes and host Oak Park and River Forest.
Although York wasn’t happy about its overall performance, the team was pleased that it did a better job of capitalizing on opprtunites than the Huskies were. That helped the visitors capture a 2-1 victory at historic Oak Park Stadium.
After waiting 72 minutes for the game-tying, 80th-minute goal to take the Hillner Classic title versus Lake Park Sept. 3, seventh-ranked York scored its goals in just over two minutes late in the opening half against the second-ranked Huskies.
Junior Jayden Waski scored following an assist from senior Jose Herrera in the 33rd minute, before senior Alexander Menolascina connected on a header following a corner kick from senior Ryder Kohl in the 35th minute that proved to be the difference for the Dukes (5-0-1, 1-0-0). The game figures to be one of many memorable matches in the Silver Division, which features four teams that are ranked among the top 14 teams.
Although the home team had some good opportunities during the opening half and many more threatening chances during the final 40 minutes, Oak Park and River Forest (5-1-0, 0-1-0) managed its only goal on a penalty kick by Chicagoland Soccer/IHSSCA all-stater and junior Easton Bogard in the 47th minute.
Much of the frustration for the Huskies was caused by a strong performance from York sophomore goalkeeper Diego Ochoa, who was named the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match for his excellent effort. The play of the Dukes disruptive backline also stood out. Seniors Soren Moore, Stefan Rebic and Kohl, and junior Mateusz Janowski made a deep impact.
"It's difficult to play in this environment," Dukes coach Jordan Stopka said. " I told them, if they (OPRF) get that one goal, that they would be all over us both in the stands and on the field and that's what happened.
“We held our own, but we want to be a little more intelligent moving forward. There were a lot of dumb ideas and dumb fouls.
"They deserved an equalizer, but it didn't come for them. Much like we couldn't score against Lake Park, they couldn't score against us. We need to stop giving those chances up. Literally props to OPRF; that team is really good, and they really scare me when they have the ball."
Oak Park and River Forest came as close to scoring as you can with numerous opportunities in the box and several other close calls during the final part of the match.
But rather than obsessing on what didn't happen in this early-season matchup, Huskies coach Jason Fried highlighted the resilience that his squad displayed. He realizes all too well that if his squad can keep threatening to score as it did down the stretch, they will be rewarded for their efforts in the future.
"I actually thought that the boys played really well, and they put together 75 minutes of really good soccer," Fried said. "We definitely created enough opportunities to put in three, four, five or six goals. So, I have to give their goalkeeper and defense a lot of credit.
“There were three or four times when the ball was on the goal line, and it just could not go in.
“It was a lot of fight by York and a lot of good creating moments by us. I told the team at the end that it was a loss that I can live with, because they played really well. We just had two really bad mental errors. We really haven't had any of those this year, and they punished us for it.
"We have to use today's game as a building block, and I actually think that the guys feel pretty positive about it. They felt like they played well enough, and we could have easily won that game. But York is a great team, too, and they did a great job finishing when they had chances.
“In the first half I thought we were really organized and played well, but we really didn't actually test the keeper enough. I thought that we played better today than we played Friday (a 2-1 cross-town home win over Fenwick). Sometimes the outcome isn't what you want it to be, but it's an outcome that you can live with, because we're getting better."
There weren't that many good scoring chances during the initial 40 minutes, but when two good opportunities came the Dukes' way as the half, they capitalized for a 2-0 halftime.
In the 33rd minute, Herrera sent a pass to Waski, who fired in an attempt from 20 yards to put York up for good. After Oak Park and River Forest senior Isaac Cummings was denied on an attempt by Ochoa, York was it again.
Senior Kevin O'Connor sent in a liner that was deflected by Huskies junior goalkeeper Christian Dussias. That resulted in a corner kick that Kohl placed into the box and Menolascina headed home in the 35th minute.
"Jose was able to beat one kid and play me through and I finished from outside of the box, which kind of started our momentum," Waski said. "And then we were able to secure a goal on a corner kick and that kind of kept the momentum going. But really, we didn't possess the ball and weren't able to get the ball down and play. They kind of beat us at playing the game, but we were able to fight to the end of the game.
"They kind of possessed until the end, but we were able to make some big stops, including from our goalie Diego who came up big in this game. There were two late chances for them, and he was able to stop them and clear the ball."
It was the second-straight match in which Menolascina scored his team's second goal on a header. The previous came with 34 seconds remaining in Saturday's 2-2 draw at Lake Park.
Oak Park and River Forest tried to fight back with a goal of its own before the intermission. Rebic headed away a long free kick from Bogard. Then after junior Robert Sambou was fouled just beyond the top of the box, Bogard's free kick was thwarted by a wall of York defenders.
York started strong in the second half as junior Gustavo Herrera sent in a pair of threatening chances, and senior Frank Rofrano also had a good attempt. Oak Park and River Forest eventually connected for its lone goal when the Dukes were called for a foul in the box, and Bogard fired in the subsequent penalty in the 47th minute.
Bogard, one of three players in Illinois who received IHSSCA All-State honors as a sophomore, was injured in the team's opener this season. Tuesday was the first time that he was able to play at a high level throughout the majority of a match.
For offense, the Huskies have relied on seniors Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey (five goals), Colin Hayes (four goals) and Ezra Plotkin (four assists) and sophomore Bryce Richards (three goals, two assists) to lead the way.
"I think we did a good job with our pressure when it was organized," Bogard said. "Overall, our strength is our possession, and we definitely dominated. After lackluster attacking in the first half and then those errors in the three-minute period that led to their goals, we stepped up our game in the second half. If we play like that, I see us beating any team.
"We're very soccer smart and have a very good IQ team. I think we have a strong understanding of the game. Over time as we practice together and understand our system better, we all will just mesh. With the combination of our good, strong system that the coaches set up and our good IQ, that will really be a good fit."
Over the next few minutes, Menolascina, Hernandez and Waski were all turned away by Dussias, while Ochoa made stops against Cummings and Moore.
Other top attempts during the final 20 minutes were provided by senior Nazir Cruz, junior Diego Zarate, Bogard, Plotkin, Hayes and Richards for the Huskies while Waski had good chances for the Dukes.
Oak Park and River Forest senior Tukura Hess said his team needs to stay rooted in the present.
"What we did last year is just motivation for us, but we can't use that to say that we're better than teams," Hess said. "Last year, we earned it, and I think this year we have to do the same thing and fight for it.
"One of the things that I like about our team, the same as last year, is that we are really resilient. Some teams when they get scored on, they may put the heads down. But we seem to come back harder and stronger."
A few of the top opportunities during the early part of the match were provided by Rofrano and Hernandez for the Dukes and Richards, Sambou and Bogard for the Huskies.
York felt fortunate that its first half goals were enough to hold off a determined Huskies comeback effort.
"They're a great team," Kohl said. "They have the center back (Hess) and Easton (Bogard). We were just lucky that Jadyn (Hsieh-Bailey) was out with a red card, or otherwise it would have been a completely different game.
"(Coach) Stopka said that we are at a mid-level right now, and we can get up a lot higher. I think that's true and the fact that we beat OPRF when we're only in the middle right now, our potential could be a lot higher.
“We just have chemistry. A bunch of us are seniors, 18 of our 24 kids, and we've known each other for five or six years. And we have a bunch of kids who have stepped up this year, like Jadyn (Waski), Michael Greco, Mateusz Janowski and Xander (Menolascina), who scored two goals the past two games."
Startling lineups
York
GK: Diego Ochoa
D: Ryder Kohl
D: Mateusz Janowski
D: Soren Moore
D: Stefan Rebic
MF: Michael Greco
MF: Gustavo Herrera
MF: Joe Hernandez
MF: Jayden Waski
F: Jose Herrera
F: Frank Rofrano
Oak Park and River Forest
GK: Christian Dussias
D: Tukura Hess
D: Ben Naber
D: Ezra Plotkin
D: Diego Zarate
MF: Isaac Cummings
MF: Colin Hayes
MF: Easton Bogard
MF: Nazir Cruz
F: Bryce Richards
F: Robert Sambou
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Diego Ochoa, so., GK, York
Scoring summary
First half
York: Jayden Waski (Jose Herrera), 33'
York: Alexander Menolascina (Ryder Kohl), 35'
Second half
Oak Park and River Forest: Easton Bogard (PK), 47'