Stevenson regains swagger against York
Early goals hold up for 2-1 win, best finish in school history
By Patrick Z. McGavin
HOFFMAN ESTATES — Consolation games by nature are bittersweet.
Stevenson and York had to recover physically and emotionally from semifinal losses.
Their fates were also intertwined in fascinating ways.
The teams had virtually identical records heading into the semifinal round Friday.
Both teams were in their second career state finals.
York was the defending state champion. Stevenson returned here for the first in 10 years.
In 2012, Stevenson lost 3-0 in a state semifinal game against Naperville Central. On Friday night, the Patriots were blitzed 5-0 by Naperville Central. Adding insult to injury, midfielder Burek Gulsen was unavailable to play after receiving a red card for a handball on the goalline.
By contrast, York had a grueling and surreal game against Romeoville, fighting back with only 10 men from a 3-0 deficit to take the game to double overtime before losing on a 95th-minute goal.
“It was very tough physically to come back so quickly from last night,” forward Jayden Waski said.
“There were a lot of fouls in the game, and it was very physical. Running into the wind was very hard. Both teams were gasping by the end.”
York also had two goals negated by controversial offside calls.
York coach Jordan Stopka also strenuously objected with the ruling where defender Mateusz Janowski was issued a red card.
Attrition and who’d be able to make the strongest turnaround became the questions.
“I think a 5-0 loss the game before gave us a lot more motivation to win,” Stevenson midfielder Daniel Sokolovsky said. “We were undefeated after coming into yesterday’s game, and ending our season with two losses would have been devastating.”
Stevenson answered the call with two early goals and strong keeper play for the 2-1 victory in the Class 3A third place game Saturday night at Hoffman Estates High School.
Stevenson (21-1-3) secured the best finish in program history, surpassing the fourth place finish of its previous state visit.
“Words will never describe the pride and joy I have for these young men for their sacrifice and effort,” Stevenson coach PepeJon Chavez said.
“Yesterday posed the questions for us: who are we? Or who are we becoming? Are we boys growing into men? Or are we men that just didn’t arrive yesterday, and we were unbalanced?
“Today proved the balance of who we are, a possession-based team who can handle a previous state champion.”
York (20-2-3) saw a tough conclusion to a remarkable two-year run. But the finals results did not diminish the significance of their accomplishments.
“I’d say it was an amazing experience, especially as a captain,” York forward Jose Herrera said. “Finishing fourth out of this many schools was pretty good, and going back-to-back in qualifying for state was very good.”
In the run up to the game, Stopka was not sure of the collective mood of his players.
“We did some training just before we got on the bus, stretching, and I thought they’d have their heads down.
“They were laughing and telling jokes. You could tell something happened, but they were coping with it. They just latched onto each other use for support.”
The game was played with ferocious southwest winds that favored York in the first half.
Despite its meteorilogical disadvantage, Stevenson scored twice in the first stages of the half and used the excellent goalkeeping of Aidan Morris to prevail.
“I think our attack did very well possessing int he first half, and moving the ball around and finishing through the wind,” defender Alex Huelsman said. “It was very hard to work the ball up through the field and go into the wind. Our midfield did a good job of working it out and getting the ball wide.”
In the 12th minute, midfielder Rohan Gopalam utilized a defensive breakdown by the Dukes and finished into an open net for the 1-0 lead.
York never rested on the laurels of its state title team.
“This whole year we stuck to a plan,” Jose Herrera said. “Our motto was that the job is not finished. When you come into our program, you are part of the family, and we have each other’s backs.”
His rocket ball off a clean and hard hit in the 15th minute created the 1-1 deadlock.
Stevenson found new energy and perspective off the bench with sophomore midfielder Ben Inthisone.
“This was our last game, and we just wanted to come out and win,” he said. “The starters put a lot of effort into the attack. When I hit the pitch, I just knew I had to bring the effort up.”
Working off a sharp cross from Sokolovsky, he got to the front of the goal and finished inside the far post against substitute York keeper Aaron Rivera the 19th minute for the game-winner. Starter Diego Ochoa left the game moments earlier after he was shaken up on a save. Ochoa would return later.
“Those two goals really helped us out,” Sokolovsky said. “The last game was not how we wanted to start, especially giving up a penalty kick and going down a man. We knew if we didn't start strong today it would have ended like yesterday. We knew something had to change.”
York played with an edge in the second half. The Dukes pounded the Patriots’ back and spent the majority of the second half there.
Defender Drew Ebner had a couple of headers pushed just wide. Waski had a ball hit the near post and another sail just above the crossbar.
Stevenson keeper Aidan Morris had eight saves. The Patriots also played the final six minutes down a man after midfielder Bryant Rouse was issued his second yellow card infraction. The Patriots held on.
Stevenson's combination of talent and chemistry delivered an unforgetable season.
“From the start of practice, we had a good group,” Sokolovsky said. “I knew this was going to be something special.
“We knew we’d go far. We didn’t know how far, but this team would definitely go places.”
Before last year, York had never played in a supersectional match, much less a state final.
Now they have done it twice in a row. That accomplishment will stand the test of time.
“Our goal was to at least make it to state,” midfielder Joe Hernandez said. “We took it game by game, and we had a really good regular-season. We got here, but sadly didn’t get the job done.”
York's 43-4-3 record over the past two seasons is the best in school history.
“It stings, and it’s tough to talk after two tough losses,” Stopka said. “When you put it in perspective, a bunch of teams would have loved to be here right now.
“I can’t say enough about these boys, their perseverance and their toughness, hard work and can-do attitude. When I gave them a hug after the game, I told all of the seniors ‘You guys put this program on the map.’”
Starting lineups
Stevenston
GK: Aidan Morris
D: Steven Nyc
D: Bhargav Devabhaktuni
D: Alex Huelsman
D: Grayson Lueck
MF: Rohan Gopalam
MF: Alex Xie
MF: Daniel Sokolovsky
MF: Bryant Rouse
F: Filip Janda
F: Nazar Mormul
York
GK: Diego Ochoa
D: Soren Moore
D: Ryder Kohl
D: Drew Ebner
D: Alexander Menolascina
MF: Joe Hernandez
MF: Michael Greco
MF: Gustavo Herrera
F: Jose Herrera
F: Jayden Waski
F: Frank Rofrano
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Daniel Sokolovsky, sr., MF, Stevenson
Scoring summary
First half
Stevenson—Rohan Gopalam, 12th minute
York—Jose Herrera (unassisted), 15th minute
Stevenson—Ben Inthisone (Daniel Sokolovsky), 18th minute
Second half
No scoring
Early goals hold up for 2-1 win, best finish in school history
By Patrick Z. McGavin
HOFFMAN ESTATES — Consolation games by nature are bittersweet.
Stevenson and York had to recover physically and emotionally from semifinal losses.
Their fates were also intertwined in fascinating ways.
The teams had virtually identical records heading into the semifinal round Friday.
Both teams were in their second career state finals.
York was the defending state champion. Stevenson returned here for the first in 10 years.
In 2012, Stevenson lost 3-0 in a state semifinal game against Naperville Central. On Friday night, the Patriots were blitzed 5-0 by Naperville Central. Adding insult to injury, midfielder Burek Gulsen was unavailable to play after receiving a red card for a handball on the goalline.
By contrast, York had a grueling and surreal game against Romeoville, fighting back with only 10 men from a 3-0 deficit to take the game to double overtime before losing on a 95th-minute goal.
“It was very tough physically to come back so quickly from last night,” forward Jayden Waski said.
“There were a lot of fouls in the game, and it was very physical. Running into the wind was very hard. Both teams were gasping by the end.”
York also had two goals negated by controversial offside calls.
York coach Jordan Stopka also strenuously objected with the ruling where defender Mateusz Janowski was issued a red card.
Attrition and who’d be able to make the strongest turnaround became the questions.
“I think a 5-0 loss the game before gave us a lot more motivation to win,” Stevenson midfielder Daniel Sokolovsky said. “We were undefeated after coming into yesterday’s game, and ending our season with two losses would have been devastating.”
Stevenson answered the call with two early goals and strong keeper play for the 2-1 victory in the Class 3A third place game Saturday night at Hoffman Estates High School.
Stevenson (21-1-3) secured the best finish in program history, surpassing the fourth place finish of its previous state visit.
“Words will never describe the pride and joy I have for these young men for their sacrifice and effort,” Stevenson coach PepeJon Chavez said.
“Yesterday posed the questions for us: who are we? Or who are we becoming? Are we boys growing into men? Or are we men that just didn’t arrive yesterday, and we were unbalanced?
“Today proved the balance of who we are, a possession-based team who can handle a previous state champion.”
York (20-2-3) saw a tough conclusion to a remarkable two-year run. But the finals results did not diminish the significance of their accomplishments.
“I’d say it was an amazing experience, especially as a captain,” York forward Jose Herrera said. “Finishing fourth out of this many schools was pretty good, and going back-to-back in qualifying for state was very good.”
In the run up to the game, Stopka was not sure of the collective mood of his players.
“We did some training just before we got on the bus, stretching, and I thought they’d have their heads down.
“They were laughing and telling jokes. You could tell something happened, but they were coping with it. They just latched onto each other use for support.”
The game was played with ferocious southwest winds that favored York in the first half.
Despite its meteorilogical disadvantage, Stevenson scored twice in the first stages of the half and used the excellent goalkeeping of Aidan Morris to prevail.
“I think our attack did very well possessing int he first half, and moving the ball around and finishing through the wind,” defender Alex Huelsman said. “It was very hard to work the ball up through the field and go into the wind. Our midfield did a good job of working it out and getting the ball wide.”
In the 12th minute, midfielder Rohan Gopalam utilized a defensive breakdown by the Dukes and finished into an open net for the 1-0 lead.
York never rested on the laurels of its state title team.
“This whole year we stuck to a plan,” Jose Herrera said. “Our motto was that the job is not finished. When you come into our program, you are part of the family, and we have each other’s backs.”
His rocket ball off a clean and hard hit in the 15th minute created the 1-1 deadlock.
Stevenson found new energy and perspective off the bench with sophomore midfielder Ben Inthisone.
“This was our last game, and we just wanted to come out and win,” he said. “The starters put a lot of effort into the attack. When I hit the pitch, I just knew I had to bring the effort up.”
Working off a sharp cross from Sokolovsky, he got to the front of the goal and finished inside the far post against substitute York keeper Aaron Rivera the 19th minute for the game-winner. Starter Diego Ochoa left the game moments earlier after he was shaken up on a save. Ochoa would return later.
“Those two goals really helped us out,” Sokolovsky said. “The last game was not how we wanted to start, especially giving up a penalty kick and going down a man. We knew if we didn't start strong today it would have ended like yesterday. We knew something had to change.”
York played with an edge in the second half. The Dukes pounded the Patriots’ back and spent the majority of the second half there.
Defender Drew Ebner had a couple of headers pushed just wide. Waski had a ball hit the near post and another sail just above the crossbar.
Stevenson keeper Aidan Morris had eight saves. The Patriots also played the final six minutes down a man after midfielder Bryant Rouse was issued his second yellow card infraction. The Patriots held on.
Stevenson's combination of talent and chemistry delivered an unforgetable season.
“From the start of practice, we had a good group,” Sokolovsky said. “I knew this was going to be something special.
“We knew we’d go far. We didn’t know how far, but this team would definitely go places.”
Before last year, York had never played in a supersectional match, much less a state final.
Now they have done it twice in a row. That accomplishment will stand the test of time.
“Our goal was to at least make it to state,” midfielder Joe Hernandez said. “We took it game by game, and we had a really good regular-season. We got here, but sadly didn’t get the job done.”
York's 43-4-3 record over the past two seasons is the best in school history.
“It stings, and it’s tough to talk after two tough losses,” Stopka said. “When you put it in perspective, a bunch of teams would have loved to be here right now.
“I can’t say enough about these boys, their perseverance and their toughness, hard work and can-do attitude. When I gave them a hug after the game, I told all of the seniors ‘You guys put this program on the map.’”
Starting lineups
Stevenston
GK: Aidan Morris
D: Steven Nyc
D: Bhargav Devabhaktuni
D: Alex Huelsman
D: Grayson Lueck
MF: Rohan Gopalam
MF: Alex Xie
MF: Daniel Sokolovsky
MF: Bryant Rouse
F: Filip Janda
F: Nazar Mormul
York
GK: Diego Ochoa
D: Soren Moore
D: Ryder Kohl
D: Drew Ebner
D: Alexander Menolascina
MF: Joe Hernandez
MF: Michael Greco
MF: Gustavo Herrera
F: Jose Herrera
F: Jayden Waski
F: Frank Rofrano
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Daniel Sokolovsky, sr., MF, Stevenson
Scoring summary
First half
Stevenson—Rohan Gopalam, 12th minute
York—Jose Herrera (unassisted), 15th minute
Stevenson—Ben Inthisone (Daniel Sokolovsky), 18th minute
Second half
No scoring