Young relishes shootout win at Toyota Park
Dolphins win Windy City consolation bracket title over LWE
By Steve Millar
BRIDGEVIEW – Standing with four of his teammates at midfield at Toyota Park during the penalty-kick shootout to decide Sunday’s Windy City Ram Classic consolation championship, Young senior Jake Gerenraich was already envisioning the celebration.
“The five of us standing over there, we had a feeling something good was going to happen,” Gerenraich said. “We said we were going to charge at our keeper as soon as it did, and then it happened.
“Oh my God, what a feeling. That was so much fun.”
The celebration began for Young when Lincoln-Way East’s final shooter ripped a shot off the crossbar, ensuring a 5-4 shootout win for the Dolphins and the 32-team tournament’s consolation champion plaque.
Young (12-3-1) and the Griffins (9-3-1) were tied 1-1 after regulation.
Gerenraich, Aidan Chapman, Elias Guzman, Alex Espino and Gabriel Regalado scored in the shootout for Young, while Ryan Corydon, Jackson Seida, Cory Pitlik and Ethan Barranca found the net for Lincoln-Way East.
“It’s just committing to a side, going up there and being confident that whichever direction you pick, you can make it,” Gerenraich said. “Even if the goalie guesses the right side, like (LWE goalkeeper Victor Porada) did a couple times, you can still get it by him if you’re committed and take a good shot.”
The shootout was only necessary because of the second half heroics of Young junior midfielder Rodney Bejabeng, who was named the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
On a corner kick in the 49th minute, Gerenraich sent a cross into the box. After a couple deflections, Bejabeng found the ball on his foot and ripped a shot past Porada to tie the game 1-1.
“It was a scramble in the box to get to that ball, and I just got my foot down and took the shot,” Bejabeng said. “It’s an amazing feeling scoring here.”
The goal allowed the Dolphins to overcome a first half that Gerenraich described as “dismal.”
In fact, Young felt fortunate to be down just 1-0 as the Griffins’ forward trio of Seida, Corydon and Pitlik wreaked plenty of havoc in the first 35 minutes.
Lincoln-Way East struck in the third minute off a free kick from 50 yards. Andy Cahue lofted a dangerous ball into the box, where Seida tracked it down and hammered a shot past Young goalkeeper Daniel Moderhack.
“The ball was bouncing around, I just put my foot on it and struck it well and saw it go into the top corner,” Seida said.
Scoring at Toyota Park was a special moment for the junior.
“I’m never going to forget that goal,” he said. “I have the image of it happening in my mind right now, and it’s going to stay there.
“This was my first time playing here. It was crazy just stepping out of the locker room and seeing the huge stadium, then stepping on the grass and seeing how much nicer it is than other fields. It was amazing.”
The Griffins created several more scoring opportunities in the first half but couldn’t convert as Pitlik fired wide off a nice give-and-go with Corydon and Seida twice fired shots off the side of the net.
“We created a lot of opportunities,” Lincoln-Way East coach Ryan Decker said. “We’re just struggling to finish them. It feels like we should’ve gotten a result out of that game.”
The Griffins did, however, get a memorable experience.
“We walked into the locker room and their eyes were wide, and I got goosebumps,” Decker said. “This is something the guys will remember the rest of their lives. I would’ve died to play on a field like this as a young player.”
Porada made four saves for Lincoln-Way East.
For Young coach Ian McCarthy, the plan to swing the game in his team’s favor in the second half was simple: stop giving the Griffins’ forwards chances.
“We gave away a lot of loose balls in the first half,” McCarthy said. “Their speed up-top was difficult to contain, but especially when we’re coughing up balls to them and letting them push forward in transition. We definitely cleaned that up in the second half.”
Young did have to dodge one more bullet in regulation when Pitlik got a good look off a Matt Chay pass, but fired just wide with 13 minutes to go.
The Dolphins had a chance to win it in the closing seconds when Josh Meyer got a pass from Nicholas Sosnivka and fired just wide.
In the end, Young had plenty to be happy about.
“It was an amazing opportunity for us to showcase our skills on a big field, a perfect pitch,” Bejabeng said. “We had no excuses. We had a good game plan, and we came out and executed it.”
Young hopes to play at Toyota Park again. The championship game of the Chicago Public League tournament will be held there.
“I told the boys to step on the field, take it in, and really look at this as preparation for a week or two from now,” McCarthy said. “We got everybody in the game, so they got a chance to experience this and get used to playing here. We were really excited to play here.”
Starting lineups
Lincoln-Way East
GK: Victor Porada
D: Jacob Dirienzo
D: Chris Buck
D: Alex Glass
M: Kevin Galassini
M: Jeff Newberry
M: Ethan Barranca
M: Andy Cahue
F: Ryan Corydon
F: Jackson Seida
F: Cory Pitlik
Young
GK: Daniel Moderhack
D: Josh Meyer
D: Jake Davidson
D: Alex Espino
D: Jonathan Perez
M: Owen Anderson
M: Rodney Bejabeng
M: Gabriel Regalado
M: Jake Gerenraich
F: Elias Guzman
F: Aidan Chapman
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Rodney Bejabeng, jr., M, Young
Scoring summary
First half
LWE: Jackson Seida (Andy Cahue), 3rd minute
Second half
Young: Rodney Bejabeng (Jake Gerenraich), 49th minute
PKs
Young 5, LWE 4
Dolphins win Windy City consolation bracket title over LWE
By Steve Millar
BRIDGEVIEW – Standing with four of his teammates at midfield at Toyota Park during the penalty-kick shootout to decide Sunday’s Windy City Ram Classic consolation championship, Young senior Jake Gerenraich was already envisioning the celebration.
“The five of us standing over there, we had a feeling something good was going to happen,” Gerenraich said. “We said we were going to charge at our keeper as soon as it did, and then it happened.
“Oh my God, what a feeling. That was so much fun.”
The celebration began for Young when Lincoln-Way East’s final shooter ripped a shot off the crossbar, ensuring a 5-4 shootout win for the Dolphins and the 32-team tournament’s consolation champion plaque.
Young (12-3-1) and the Griffins (9-3-1) were tied 1-1 after regulation.
Gerenraich, Aidan Chapman, Elias Guzman, Alex Espino and Gabriel Regalado scored in the shootout for Young, while Ryan Corydon, Jackson Seida, Cory Pitlik and Ethan Barranca found the net for Lincoln-Way East.
“It’s just committing to a side, going up there and being confident that whichever direction you pick, you can make it,” Gerenraich said. “Even if the goalie guesses the right side, like (LWE goalkeeper Victor Porada) did a couple times, you can still get it by him if you’re committed and take a good shot.”
The shootout was only necessary because of the second half heroics of Young junior midfielder Rodney Bejabeng, who was named the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
On a corner kick in the 49th minute, Gerenraich sent a cross into the box. After a couple deflections, Bejabeng found the ball on his foot and ripped a shot past Porada to tie the game 1-1.
“It was a scramble in the box to get to that ball, and I just got my foot down and took the shot,” Bejabeng said. “It’s an amazing feeling scoring here.”
The goal allowed the Dolphins to overcome a first half that Gerenraich described as “dismal.”
In fact, Young felt fortunate to be down just 1-0 as the Griffins’ forward trio of Seida, Corydon and Pitlik wreaked plenty of havoc in the first 35 minutes.
Lincoln-Way East struck in the third minute off a free kick from 50 yards. Andy Cahue lofted a dangerous ball into the box, where Seida tracked it down and hammered a shot past Young goalkeeper Daniel Moderhack.
“The ball was bouncing around, I just put my foot on it and struck it well and saw it go into the top corner,” Seida said.
Scoring at Toyota Park was a special moment for the junior.
“I’m never going to forget that goal,” he said. “I have the image of it happening in my mind right now, and it’s going to stay there.
“This was my first time playing here. It was crazy just stepping out of the locker room and seeing the huge stadium, then stepping on the grass and seeing how much nicer it is than other fields. It was amazing.”
The Griffins created several more scoring opportunities in the first half but couldn’t convert as Pitlik fired wide off a nice give-and-go with Corydon and Seida twice fired shots off the side of the net.
“We created a lot of opportunities,” Lincoln-Way East coach Ryan Decker said. “We’re just struggling to finish them. It feels like we should’ve gotten a result out of that game.”
The Griffins did, however, get a memorable experience.
“We walked into the locker room and their eyes were wide, and I got goosebumps,” Decker said. “This is something the guys will remember the rest of their lives. I would’ve died to play on a field like this as a young player.”
Porada made four saves for Lincoln-Way East.
For Young coach Ian McCarthy, the plan to swing the game in his team’s favor in the second half was simple: stop giving the Griffins’ forwards chances.
“We gave away a lot of loose balls in the first half,” McCarthy said. “Their speed up-top was difficult to contain, but especially when we’re coughing up balls to them and letting them push forward in transition. We definitely cleaned that up in the second half.”
Young did have to dodge one more bullet in regulation when Pitlik got a good look off a Matt Chay pass, but fired just wide with 13 minutes to go.
The Dolphins had a chance to win it in the closing seconds when Josh Meyer got a pass from Nicholas Sosnivka and fired just wide.
In the end, Young had plenty to be happy about.
“It was an amazing opportunity for us to showcase our skills on a big field, a perfect pitch,” Bejabeng said. “We had no excuses. We had a good game plan, and we came out and executed it.”
Young hopes to play at Toyota Park again. The championship game of the Chicago Public League tournament will be held there.
“I told the boys to step on the field, take it in, and really look at this as preparation for a week or two from now,” McCarthy said. “We got everybody in the game, so they got a chance to experience this and get used to playing here. We were really excited to play here.”
Starting lineups
Lincoln-Way East
GK: Victor Porada
D: Jacob Dirienzo
D: Chris Buck
D: Alex Glass
M: Kevin Galassini
M: Jeff Newberry
M: Ethan Barranca
M: Andy Cahue
F: Ryan Corydon
F: Jackson Seida
F: Cory Pitlik
Young
GK: Daniel Moderhack
D: Josh Meyer
D: Jake Davidson
D: Alex Espino
D: Jonathan Perez
M: Owen Anderson
M: Rodney Bejabeng
M: Gabriel Regalado
M: Jake Gerenraich
F: Elias Guzman
F: Aidan Chapman
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Rodney Bejabeng, jr., M, Young
Scoring summary
First half
LWE: Jackson Seida (Andy Cahue), 3rd minute
Second half
Young: Rodney Bejabeng (Jake Gerenraich), 49th minute
PKs
Young 5, LWE 4