Anderson’s late goal sends Young past Taft
Dolphins beat Eagles 2-1 in CPL Premier North showdown
By Gary Larsen
CHICAGO — After scoring a goal in the 76th minute to give Young a 2-1 lead over host Taft, Owen Anderson proceeded to run amok in celebration, charging away from the Taft goal, wide-eyed and hollering, as his teammates chased after him to share in the madness of the moment.
Anderson lost himself in that moment for another good reason.
“That was my first goal of the year,” explained the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
Soccer may be “the beautiful game” but for all its potential beauty, it is also arguably the game most likely to cause coaches headaches, ulcers, and prematurely gray hair.
In Wednesday’s Chicago Public League Premier North Division showdown between Young (4-1-0, 1-0-0) and Taft (1-2-1, 0-1-0), Taft coach Jeff Lucco and Young coach Ian McCarthy took turns withstanding the demon of coaching-related stress for 80 minutes.
Lucco was first, as he was forced to watch Young put on a possession clinic in the first half. The Dolphins had the Eagles chasing all over the pitch with short passes and quick touches, fueled by skill and precision.
“We had the best possession we’ve seen this season in that first half,” McCarthy said. “There was constant movement off the ball, and it looked good.”
Lucco always knows what he’s getting when McCarthy brings his boys over.
“They were better than us the whole first half,” Lucco said. “They move the ball around, and (McCarthy) prides himself on that. He’s an Arsenal fan, and I can see why.”
Young’s payoff came at 20 minutes when Esme McCarthy’s corner kick was headed by Anderson in the box and fell to the ground. Aidan Chapman located it quickly and dispatched it to the back netting from 12 yards.
The 6-foot-3 Chapman stands out in nearly every game, and not just because of his size. Anderson, Esme McCarthy, and Rodney Bejabeng are creative midfielders, and Chapman is pivotal in helping feed that creativity.
“Aidan Chapman winning so many balls up-top enables us to start our possession,” McCarthy said. “If he can win a ball from either one of our clearances or one of their missed plays, and we can find our midfielders Owen, Esme, and Rodney, we’re pretty good in the attack.”
Taft answered Chapman’s goal with more urgency in the counterattack. Taft faced a similar possession-oriented team in its season opener, a 1-0 loss to Loyola.
“My preference is playing possession,” Taft midfielder Brandon Tovar said, “but I feel we have the potential to play both ways. It depends on which way a team comes at us. Loyola moved the ball well in the middle. and we played the counter very well against them as well.”
Trailing 1-0, Taft began sending a steady stream of balls ahead that saw Jairo Duarte, Ricardo Gonzalez, Sergio Diaz, and Suriel Vital take turns running at Young’s backline and keeper Daniel Moderhack.
Young was up to the challenge in maintaining its 1-0 lead to halftime. But in the second half, it was McCarthy’s turn to deal with some stress as Taft picked up its intensity and slowed Young’s possession game.
The Eagles also began finding a bit of their own possession.
“I feel like in the second half we definitely dominated more,” Tovar said. “We were lost and chasing them in the first half, and we just weren’t communicating. But in the second half we came back, communicated, and started forming our own shape. We were moving the ball more. Instead of us chasing, we had them chasing.”
McCarthy applauded Taft’s second half effort.
“I thought Taft played great. They’ve got experienced players, and this is a good rivalry,” McCarthy said. “Jeff (Lucco) does a great job preparing these boys. He and I were texting back and forth today, and we both know that this is early in the season, so both teams can be dramatically better by the end of the season.”
Finding dangerous scoring chances was another matter for Taft, however. The Young backline, led by captain Alex Espino, proved up to every challenge, and Moderhack handled everything else sent his way.
That changed at 60 minutes, when a tripping call on Young set up a penalty kick goal by Taft’s Jakub Lapinski. The 1-1 tie seemed headed for the end of regulation before Anderson struck in the game’s waning minutes.
Anderson fired at 76 minutes on Taft keeper Sean Ocampo, who sprawled to make a fine initial stop.
“Rodney Bejabeng was in the corner, so I just put myself in the box,” Anderson said. “Rodney sent a great cross, I hit it one time. Their goalie saved it, but it came right back to me. He was sort of on the ground, and I just slotted it through his legs.
“It was incredible. Right place, right time.”
Wednesday marked the first of three games in three days for Young, which takes on Lincoln-Way West Thursday in a bid to repeat as the consolation champions of the Windy City Ram Classic at SeatGeek Stadium. The Dolphins then play rival Lane in another big conference game Friday.
“Playing at SeatGeek Stadium is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the boys,” McCarthy said. “So I think we’ll get all 20 guys on the field so they can all touch the ball.”
Anderson was happy to see his side win the first game in Young’s back-to-back-to-back series this week.
“They had a lot of momentum in the second half,” Anderson said of Taft. “They’re at home, and they had the crowd with them, everyone was screaming, and it was a lot of pressure on us. But we came back in the end.
“This is the best we’ve looked in a long time. I think we have a good chance to go far in the city playoffs and also make a run at state.”
Taft will compete in a tournament in downstate Morton on Friday and Saturday before returning to host Sullivan in a CPL Premier Division North game on Monday.
Taft’s early-season play has now featured a quality effort in a loss to Loyola, slightly more uneven play in a win over Niles North, and a tie against Steinmetz that Tovar wishes the Eagles could have back.
“That tie against Steinmetz hurt,” Tovar said. “That was a team we should have beat, but our energy was lacking. With the potential and talent we have, we should come out and play way better.”
Lucco isn’t overly concerned.
“Our two losses were both by one goal and both of them were fixable things, so that’s the positive thing,” Lucco said. “It’s not like we’re getting completely played off the field. So we’ll be fine as long as we keep working and try to peak by the time the city playoffs start. If we can find a way to put everything together for a whole game, I won’t worry.”
Lucco also applauded the day’s work that defenders Anibal Hernandez and Sergio Diaz put in against Young.
“He didn’t start, but Anibal Hernandez played left back for us and that was the best and most confident we’ve seen him play,” Lucco said. “He was intercepting passes and yelling at guys on where to go. And we moved Sergio Diaz back to center back because he’s been a little sick, and he was really good back there.”
Starting lineups
Young
GK: Daniel Moderhack
D: Alan Gayton
D: Josh Meyer
D: Alex Espino
D: Nate Dixon
M: Diego Nieto
M: Esme McCarthy
M: Rodney Bejabeng
M: Owen Anderson
M: Elias Guzman
F: Aidan Chapman
Taft
GK: Sean Ocampo
D: Tomek Miecczkowski
D: Jakub Lapinski
D: Matt Davila
D: Motea Nasser
M: Brandon Tovar
M: Byron Abayay
M: Adam Jezierczak
M: Sergio Diaz
F Suriel Vital
F: Chris Reynoso
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Owen Anderson, sr., MF, Young
Scoring summary
First half
Young — Chapman (UA) 20th minute
Second half
Taft — Lapinski (PK) 60th minute
Young — Anderson (Bejabeng) 76th minute
Dolphins beat Eagles 2-1 in CPL Premier North showdown
By Gary Larsen
CHICAGO — After scoring a goal in the 76th minute to give Young a 2-1 lead over host Taft, Owen Anderson proceeded to run amok in celebration, charging away from the Taft goal, wide-eyed and hollering, as his teammates chased after him to share in the madness of the moment.
Anderson lost himself in that moment for another good reason.
“That was my first goal of the year,” explained the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
Soccer may be “the beautiful game” but for all its potential beauty, it is also arguably the game most likely to cause coaches headaches, ulcers, and prematurely gray hair.
In Wednesday’s Chicago Public League Premier North Division showdown between Young (4-1-0, 1-0-0) and Taft (1-2-1, 0-1-0), Taft coach Jeff Lucco and Young coach Ian McCarthy took turns withstanding the demon of coaching-related stress for 80 minutes.
Lucco was first, as he was forced to watch Young put on a possession clinic in the first half. The Dolphins had the Eagles chasing all over the pitch with short passes and quick touches, fueled by skill and precision.
“We had the best possession we’ve seen this season in that first half,” McCarthy said. “There was constant movement off the ball, and it looked good.”
Lucco always knows what he’s getting when McCarthy brings his boys over.
“They were better than us the whole first half,” Lucco said. “They move the ball around, and (McCarthy) prides himself on that. He’s an Arsenal fan, and I can see why.”
Young’s payoff came at 20 minutes when Esme McCarthy’s corner kick was headed by Anderson in the box and fell to the ground. Aidan Chapman located it quickly and dispatched it to the back netting from 12 yards.
The 6-foot-3 Chapman stands out in nearly every game, and not just because of his size. Anderson, Esme McCarthy, and Rodney Bejabeng are creative midfielders, and Chapman is pivotal in helping feed that creativity.
“Aidan Chapman winning so many balls up-top enables us to start our possession,” McCarthy said. “If he can win a ball from either one of our clearances or one of their missed plays, and we can find our midfielders Owen, Esme, and Rodney, we’re pretty good in the attack.”
Taft answered Chapman’s goal with more urgency in the counterattack. Taft faced a similar possession-oriented team in its season opener, a 1-0 loss to Loyola.
“My preference is playing possession,” Taft midfielder Brandon Tovar said, “but I feel we have the potential to play both ways. It depends on which way a team comes at us. Loyola moved the ball well in the middle. and we played the counter very well against them as well.”
Trailing 1-0, Taft began sending a steady stream of balls ahead that saw Jairo Duarte, Ricardo Gonzalez, Sergio Diaz, and Suriel Vital take turns running at Young’s backline and keeper Daniel Moderhack.
Young was up to the challenge in maintaining its 1-0 lead to halftime. But in the second half, it was McCarthy’s turn to deal with some stress as Taft picked up its intensity and slowed Young’s possession game.
The Eagles also began finding a bit of their own possession.
“I feel like in the second half we definitely dominated more,” Tovar said. “We were lost and chasing them in the first half, and we just weren’t communicating. But in the second half we came back, communicated, and started forming our own shape. We were moving the ball more. Instead of us chasing, we had them chasing.”
McCarthy applauded Taft’s second half effort.
“I thought Taft played great. They’ve got experienced players, and this is a good rivalry,” McCarthy said. “Jeff (Lucco) does a great job preparing these boys. He and I were texting back and forth today, and we both know that this is early in the season, so both teams can be dramatically better by the end of the season.”
Finding dangerous scoring chances was another matter for Taft, however. The Young backline, led by captain Alex Espino, proved up to every challenge, and Moderhack handled everything else sent his way.
That changed at 60 minutes, when a tripping call on Young set up a penalty kick goal by Taft’s Jakub Lapinski. The 1-1 tie seemed headed for the end of regulation before Anderson struck in the game’s waning minutes.
Anderson fired at 76 minutes on Taft keeper Sean Ocampo, who sprawled to make a fine initial stop.
“Rodney Bejabeng was in the corner, so I just put myself in the box,” Anderson said. “Rodney sent a great cross, I hit it one time. Their goalie saved it, but it came right back to me. He was sort of on the ground, and I just slotted it through his legs.
“It was incredible. Right place, right time.”
Wednesday marked the first of three games in three days for Young, which takes on Lincoln-Way West Thursday in a bid to repeat as the consolation champions of the Windy City Ram Classic at SeatGeek Stadium. The Dolphins then play rival Lane in another big conference game Friday.
“Playing at SeatGeek Stadium is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the boys,” McCarthy said. “So I think we’ll get all 20 guys on the field so they can all touch the ball.”
Anderson was happy to see his side win the first game in Young’s back-to-back-to-back series this week.
“They had a lot of momentum in the second half,” Anderson said of Taft. “They’re at home, and they had the crowd with them, everyone was screaming, and it was a lot of pressure on us. But we came back in the end.
“This is the best we’ve looked in a long time. I think we have a good chance to go far in the city playoffs and also make a run at state.”
Taft will compete in a tournament in downstate Morton on Friday and Saturday before returning to host Sullivan in a CPL Premier Division North game on Monday.
Taft’s early-season play has now featured a quality effort in a loss to Loyola, slightly more uneven play in a win over Niles North, and a tie against Steinmetz that Tovar wishes the Eagles could have back.
“That tie against Steinmetz hurt,” Tovar said. “That was a team we should have beat, but our energy was lacking. With the potential and talent we have, we should come out and play way better.”
Lucco isn’t overly concerned.
“Our two losses were both by one goal and both of them were fixable things, so that’s the positive thing,” Lucco said. “It’s not like we’re getting completely played off the field. So we’ll be fine as long as we keep working and try to peak by the time the city playoffs start. If we can find a way to put everything together for a whole game, I won’t worry.”
Lucco also applauded the day’s work that defenders Anibal Hernandez and Sergio Diaz put in against Young.
“He didn’t start, but Anibal Hernandez played left back for us and that was the best and most confident we’ve seen him play,” Lucco said. “He was intercepting passes and yelling at guys on where to go. And we moved Sergio Diaz back to center back because he’s been a little sick, and he was really good back there.”
Starting lineups
Young
GK: Daniel Moderhack
D: Alan Gayton
D: Josh Meyer
D: Alex Espino
D: Nate Dixon
M: Diego Nieto
M: Esme McCarthy
M: Rodney Bejabeng
M: Owen Anderson
M: Elias Guzman
F: Aidan Chapman
Taft
GK: Sean Ocampo
D: Tomek Miecczkowski
D: Jakub Lapinski
D: Matt Davila
D: Motea Nasser
M: Brandon Tovar
M: Byron Abayay
M: Adam Jezierczak
M: Sergio Diaz
F Suriel Vital
F: Chris Reynoso
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Owen Anderson, sr., MF, Young
Scoring summary
First half
Young — Chapman (UA) 20th minute
Second half
Taft — Lapinski (PK) 60th minute
Young — Anderson (Bejabeng) 76th minute