Young exacts revenge on Argo
Dolphins flip script with Class 3A regional semifinal shootout win
By Gary Larsen
SUMMIT — Way back in August, Argo beat Young 3-1 in a season-opening, double-overtime game. In a Class 3A Argo Regional semifinal rematch on Tuesday, the two teams did fans one better.
Back on Argo's home field and tied 1-1 after two overtimes, Young won 4-3 in a shootout to advance to the Saturday regional final against Oak Park and River Forest.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Young coach Ian McCarthy said. “Argo did beat us (on Aug. 21). They started the season sort of slow, but recently they’ve been on a great run and had some great results.”
As the no. 10 seed of this year’s Riverside-Brookfield Sectional, Argo (12-7-0) entered Tuesday’s game on a seven-game win streak that included a 1-0 win over Lyons.
Fifth-seeded Young (15-4-2) was up to the challenge in Tuesday’s rematch, controlling most of the game’s possession for the first 60 minutes. After two halves of scoreless soccer, the Dolphins took a 1-0 lead in the first overtime on a Jake Gerenraich goal.
“Especially with respect to the last few games, I thought we came out with a lot of heart,” Gerenraich said. “We came out like we did in the beginning of the season, very hungry. We also knew the field, and we thrive on wide fields. So we felt ready, and we had the right mentality from the start.”
Young’s Gabriel Regalado was dynamic and creative in spearheading Young’s first half attack when the Dolphins played solid possession soccer.
Through 40 minutes, Regalado and Rodney Bejabeng put a pair of shots on frame from distance, while Aidan Chapman twice sent in dangerous serves from the right side that went for naught. Regalado and Elias Guzman sent free kicks off frame from distance, and the Dolphins had a pair of corner kicks in the first half.
Despite the steady pressure from Young, an Argo defense led by center back Patrick Swiatkowski kept danger to a minimum.
Young defender Alex Espino raced back to clear a through-ball sent ahead to Argo forward Mateusz Sarat at 31 minutes, and the Young backline of Espino, Jake Davidson, Nate Dixon, and Jonathan Perez kept keeper Leo Juarez out of harm’s way.
Juarez is a striker by trade but started his second-straight game in net for injured starting keeper Daniel Moderhack. Juarez charged off his line and made a sliding stop at 10 minutes on an Argo counter attack.
Argo’s counterattack was Young’s chief defensive concern on Tuesday.
“They were sitting back deep with four (defenders). Obviously we possessed it very nicely, but they know how to counter,” McCarthy said. “They know how to break out with a quick pass, and they’re dangerous.”
Young saw shots from Regalado, Guzman, Gerenraich go wide through 60 minutes, and Bejabeng tested Argo keeper Ivan Guerra at the post with a hard-hit shot at 61 minutes.
Argo’s Marco Martinez Perez sent a shot wide, and Young midfielder Esme McCarthy tracked back hard to defend Sarat on the counter at 62 minutes. Sarat broke in alone on Juarez and sent a prime scoring chance wide at 63 minutes and shot another quality chance high at 78 minutes. Juarez also saved a good chance from 16 yards taken by Argo’s Adrian Pituch at 73 minutes.
“We had opportunities that we did not finish,” Argo coach John Gaytan said. “Actually, we had better scoring opportunities than (Young) did. We came back strong in the second half, and we had chances to put (chances) away, and we didn’t.”
Argo’s attack clearly picked up steam during the final 20 minutes of regulation.
“Throughout the game you have stretches where things even out,” Guzman said. “They were running through every ball, chasing every ball, and they were strong on the ball.”
Arguably Young’s best scoring chance of the game came at 68 minutes, when Regalado turned the corner on the left side and blistered a shot from point-blank range that Guerra saved at the post.
Argo’s defense did yeoman’s work in keeping Young from finding truly dangerous scoring chances all night.
“We have fifty-something goals so we’ve been succeeding in finding the net,” Gerenraich said. “We did hit a rut when we stopped scoring, and that’s something that we’ve worked to pick back up.”
Gerenraich finally broke the ice five minutes into the first of two mandatory, 10-minute overtime periods. The senior’s free kick from 37 yards out went off Guerra’s hands at the post on the right side and trickled in.
Argo midfielder Pituch was a handful for Young during the game’s final 30 minutes. The junior tied the game when he found a shot from eight yards off the post on the right side and stretched the back netting three minutes into the second overtime.
“Adrian has had a great season. He led the team in scoring, had winning goals and assists, and he’s an all-state player for us,” Gaytan said.
The ensuing shootout saw finishes from Chapman, Guzman, Regalado, and Gerenraich to give Young the victory after Argo sent two shots wide of net.
Midfielder Guzman was named Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match for his two-way effort.
“Guzman was playing from box-to-box, defensively and attacking,” McCarthy said. “He got back a couple times, and we were like ‘That’s Elias defending with our back four.’ He had a hell of a game and then obviously he had the nerves to hit that good PK at the end there.”
Guzman played truly tireless soccer Tuesday.
“At this point of the season in a game like this, I’m just going on adrenaline, Guzman said. “I don’t feel winded, and I’m chasing every ball. It’s about not wanting the season to end and getting our first regional title.”
To make that happen, Young will have win Thursday over fourth-seeded Oak Park and River Forest, which is ranked 10th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The Huskies won 5-0 over 13th-seeded Juarez in the preceding semifinal to reach the regional title game.
“This was probably the first time in the 14 years I’ve been at Young that we haven’t played (OPRF) during the regular season,” McCarthy said. “They’ve gotten the better of us over the years, but recently the games have been really tight. It should be an interesting game. They knock the ball around nicely, and they’re similar to us.”
Starting lineups
Young
GK Leo Juarez
D Jake Davidson
D Alex Espino
D Nate Dixon
D Jonathan Perez
MF Esme McCarthy
MF Owen Anderson
MF Jake Gerenraich
MF Aidan Chapman
MF Elias Guzman
F Gabriel Regalado
Argo
GK Ivan Guerra
D Reynaldo Acosta
D Patrick Swiatkowski
D Junior Palma
D Alexander Echavarrieta
MF Daniel Ratulowski
MF Manuel Figueroa
MF Angel Rodriguez
MF Adrian Pituch
MF Marco Martinez
F Mateusz Sarat
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Elias Guzman, jr., MF, Young
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
First overtime
Young - Gerenraich (FK) 85 minutes
Second overtime
Argo - Pituch (UA) 93 minutes
Shootout
Young (4) - Chapman, Guzman, Gerenraich, Regalado
Argo (3) - Pituch, Budz, Madoui
Dolphins flip script with Class 3A regional semifinal shootout win
By Gary Larsen
SUMMIT — Way back in August, Argo beat Young 3-1 in a season-opening, double-overtime game. In a Class 3A Argo Regional semifinal rematch on Tuesday, the two teams did fans one better.
Back on Argo's home field and tied 1-1 after two overtimes, Young won 4-3 in a shootout to advance to the Saturday regional final against Oak Park and River Forest.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Young coach Ian McCarthy said. “Argo did beat us (on Aug. 21). They started the season sort of slow, but recently they’ve been on a great run and had some great results.”
As the no. 10 seed of this year’s Riverside-Brookfield Sectional, Argo (12-7-0) entered Tuesday’s game on a seven-game win streak that included a 1-0 win over Lyons.
Fifth-seeded Young (15-4-2) was up to the challenge in Tuesday’s rematch, controlling most of the game’s possession for the first 60 minutes. After two halves of scoreless soccer, the Dolphins took a 1-0 lead in the first overtime on a Jake Gerenraich goal.
“Especially with respect to the last few games, I thought we came out with a lot of heart,” Gerenraich said. “We came out like we did in the beginning of the season, very hungry. We also knew the field, and we thrive on wide fields. So we felt ready, and we had the right mentality from the start.”
Young’s Gabriel Regalado was dynamic and creative in spearheading Young’s first half attack when the Dolphins played solid possession soccer.
Through 40 minutes, Regalado and Rodney Bejabeng put a pair of shots on frame from distance, while Aidan Chapman twice sent in dangerous serves from the right side that went for naught. Regalado and Elias Guzman sent free kicks off frame from distance, and the Dolphins had a pair of corner kicks in the first half.
Despite the steady pressure from Young, an Argo defense led by center back Patrick Swiatkowski kept danger to a minimum.
Young defender Alex Espino raced back to clear a through-ball sent ahead to Argo forward Mateusz Sarat at 31 minutes, and the Young backline of Espino, Jake Davidson, Nate Dixon, and Jonathan Perez kept keeper Leo Juarez out of harm’s way.
Juarez is a striker by trade but started his second-straight game in net for injured starting keeper Daniel Moderhack. Juarez charged off his line and made a sliding stop at 10 minutes on an Argo counter attack.
Argo’s counterattack was Young’s chief defensive concern on Tuesday.
“They were sitting back deep with four (defenders). Obviously we possessed it very nicely, but they know how to counter,” McCarthy said. “They know how to break out with a quick pass, and they’re dangerous.”
Young saw shots from Regalado, Guzman, Gerenraich go wide through 60 minutes, and Bejabeng tested Argo keeper Ivan Guerra at the post with a hard-hit shot at 61 minutes.
Argo’s Marco Martinez Perez sent a shot wide, and Young midfielder Esme McCarthy tracked back hard to defend Sarat on the counter at 62 minutes. Sarat broke in alone on Juarez and sent a prime scoring chance wide at 63 minutes and shot another quality chance high at 78 minutes. Juarez also saved a good chance from 16 yards taken by Argo’s Adrian Pituch at 73 minutes.
“We had opportunities that we did not finish,” Argo coach John Gaytan said. “Actually, we had better scoring opportunities than (Young) did. We came back strong in the second half, and we had chances to put (chances) away, and we didn’t.”
Argo’s attack clearly picked up steam during the final 20 minutes of regulation.
“Throughout the game you have stretches where things even out,” Guzman said. “They were running through every ball, chasing every ball, and they were strong on the ball.”
Arguably Young’s best scoring chance of the game came at 68 minutes, when Regalado turned the corner on the left side and blistered a shot from point-blank range that Guerra saved at the post.
Argo’s defense did yeoman’s work in keeping Young from finding truly dangerous scoring chances all night.
“We have fifty-something goals so we’ve been succeeding in finding the net,” Gerenraich said. “We did hit a rut when we stopped scoring, and that’s something that we’ve worked to pick back up.”
Gerenraich finally broke the ice five minutes into the first of two mandatory, 10-minute overtime periods. The senior’s free kick from 37 yards out went off Guerra’s hands at the post on the right side and trickled in.
Argo midfielder Pituch was a handful for Young during the game’s final 30 minutes. The junior tied the game when he found a shot from eight yards off the post on the right side and stretched the back netting three minutes into the second overtime.
“Adrian has had a great season. He led the team in scoring, had winning goals and assists, and he’s an all-state player for us,” Gaytan said.
The ensuing shootout saw finishes from Chapman, Guzman, Regalado, and Gerenraich to give Young the victory after Argo sent two shots wide of net.
Midfielder Guzman was named Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match for his two-way effort.
“Guzman was playing from box-to-box, defensively and attacking,” McCarthy said. “He got back a couple times, and we were like ‘That’s Elias defending with our back four.’ He had a hell of a game and then obviously he had the nerves to hit that good PK at the end there.”
Guzman played truly tireless soccer Tuesday.
“At this point of the season in a game like this, I’m just going on adrenaline, Guzman said. “I don’t feel winded, and I’m chasing every ball. It’s about not wanting the season to end and getting our first regional title.”
To make that happen, Young will have win Thursday over fourth-seeded Oak Park and River Forest, which is ranked 10th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25. The Huskies won 5-0 over 13th-seeded Juarez in the preceding semifinal to reach the regional title game.
“This was probably the first time in the 14 years I’ve been at Young that we haven’t played (OPRF) during the regular season,” McCarthy said. “They’ve gotten the better of us over the years, but recently the games have been really tight. It should be an interesting game. They knock the ball around nicely, and they’re similar to us.”
Starting lineups
Young
GK Leo Juarez
D Jake Davidson
D Alex Espino
D Nate Dixon
D Jonathan Perez
MF Esme McCarthy
MF Owen Anderson
MF Jake Gerenraich
MF Aidan Chapman
MF Elias Guzman
F Gabriel Regalado
Argo
GK Ivan Guerra
D Reynaldo Acosta
D Patrick Swiatkowski
D Junior Palma
D Alexander Echavarrieta
MF Daniel Ratulowski
MF Manuel Figueroa
MF Angel Rodriguez
MF Adrian Pituch
MF Marco Martinez
F Mateusz Sarat
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Elias Guzman, jr., MF, Young
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
First overtime
Young - Gerenraich (FK) 85 minutes
Second overtime
Argo - Pituch (UA) 93 minutes
Shootout
Young (4) - Chapman, Guzman, Gerenraich, Regalado
Argo (3) - Pituch, Budz, Madoui