Moderhack's inside flush leads
Young over Lincoln-Way West
Dolphins keeper makes vital stops to take consolation title
By Patrick Z. McGavin
BRIDGEVIEW — Daniel Moderhack likes to calculate probabilities, but soccer is fast and often wholly unpredictable. As a keeper he operates out of a completely different perspective.
He likes to try to always stay ahead of the curve.
It worked when the junior broke decisively to his right and blocked a penalty kick by Drew Murphy that delivered Young’s 3-2 shootout victory over Lincoln-Way West in the consolation title of the Windy City Ram Classic on Thursday at SeatGeek Stadium.
The game was played under a special format with two 35-minute halves. Neither team scored in regulation, and there was no overtime.
“I play a lot of poker, and something like this is mostly a mind game,” Moderhack said. “I feel like you could predict their kicks a few moves ahead. You know where they are going to go. If they go left twice in a row, they are probably not going to go that way again.
“On the last shooter, I went left two times in a row, and I knew [Murphy] was going to go left again. I went the other way twice in a row, and they scored on me twice in a row.
“It cancels out.”
Brady Forsythe and Aaron Ronaldson converted for the Warriors (3-2-0). Senior keeper Chris Zavala was also terrific in the shootout. He blocked two Young shooters.
Trailing 2-1 entering the fourth shooter, Alex Espino smashed home his shot. After Lincoln-Way West hit the crossbar, reserve midfielder Caleb Young drilled the game-winner.
“It’s a mental thing,” Zavala said. “Sometimes the shooters give away hints with their body, but otherwise it is mostly a mental thing. On the first block, I took a guess and went the right way. On the second one, he gave a little hint on where he placed the ball.”
Playing in the vast spaces of the professional field, Lincoln-Way West enjoyed greater possession time and generated the more consistent chances.
Young answered with some sharp and disruptive actions by its backline. Moderhack registered his fourth-consecutive shutout of the tournament. He earned it with help by from defenders Espino, Alan Gaytan, Joshua Meyer and Nate Dixon.
The Dolphins (5-1-0) have permitted just one goal in their last five games.
“It’s really cool to start coming together as a team,” Moderhack said. “The defense, I can’t give them enough credit. They are really good at communicating with me. The offense has gotten really good at combining, and it is great to see us come together like this.”
For his accomplishments, Daniel Moderhack earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor. Most impressively, he stayed in the game after a collision in the second half, taking a shot to the head.
At one point, the center official even stopped the game and asked Moderhack to prove he was able to continue the game.
This is a momentous week for the Dolphins. They confront their two strongest competitors in the Chicago Public League Premier Division North. Young defeated Taft 2-1 Wednesday.
On Friday, Young plays rival Lane in a marquee showdown at the school’s new turf surface on campus in the West Loop.
“The guys were thinking about Lane,” coach Ian McCarthy said. “It’s our biggest rival, and we finally get to play them at home, on our field and under the lights.”
McCarthy admitted the Dolphins dodged a bullet against the Warriors.
“I was thinking about the Lane game too,” he said. “I told the guys in the locker room we are going to do some shifts. My starting 11 are going to play roughly half the game, and we are going to get the others into the other half.”
In the shootout, McCarthy pointed out, the heightened stage of SeatGreek only deepens the internalized pressure the shooters must content with.
“It is an interesting thing, because you probably see more nerves on the shooter in a situation like this,” McCarthy said. “Everything is so much bigger. The goal is the same — 24 by 8 – but the keeper takes advantage of that nervousness and makes them pay for it.
“Our guys missed two and their keeper came up big on those. It was a keeper's advantage today.”
Lincoln-Way West was coming off a dominant 3-0 victory over host Reavis on Saturday to qualify for the consolation title. The Warriors have exceeded early expectations, revealing a sharp mix of established and emerging talent.
Defender Tyler Vedder showed touch on several free kicks that threatened Young. Forsythe is a gifted and skilled player in the middle of the attack. Murphy is tall and angular, and his size drew the Dolphins’ attention.
“You know you just kind of have to keep your head up and get as many chances as you can. When one goes in, that is just all it takes for the game to change,” Forsythe said.
“I think we were just unlucky today. It didn’t go our way.”
Carli had the best scoring opportunity during regulation. His rocket ball from the top of the box skipped just over the bar. Young forward Aidan Chapman also had a near breakaway interrupted by the clock reaching zeroes.
None of the players had played on the professional field before. In the lead up to the game, they worked on wider play and adjusting to the greater tract. The defense has to cover more space. Conversely, the offense is also sometimes stretched out.
“There is a lot more running involved, and you have to be smarter in how you play,” Forsythe said.
“You also have to be more patient.”
The brackets are set by a blind draw. One appealing part of the tournament is the chance at redemption. Both teams were originally disappointed by their performance at the start.
“Obviously you’d like to win them all, but it’s about getting better,” McCarthy said. “The aspirations for this season are very high, and it’s just about making everything a little smoother. Hopefully we become quite a force by the end of the season.”
The endings were more telling than the start.
“It’s soccer, and sometimes you have to finish it one way or another,” Lincoln-Way West coach Matt Laude said. “Today was just not our luck. They put together a great squad. They battled, and we battled. It was a technical team. In the end, it wasn’t us. They came out on top. I have to give my hat off to them.
“They were a good, tough team.”
It is one game, with many more to come. The game provided a moment that was out of time.
“It was a great experience,” Zavala said. “We didn’t get the result we wanted. But I think everyone, including myself, had a blast playing on this field. It’s a once in a lifetime experience. Not many people get to experience this.”
Starting lineups
Young
GK: Daniel Moderhack
D: Alan Gaytan
D: Joshua Meyer
D: Alex Espino
D: Nate Dixon
MF: Owen Anderson
MF: Esme McCarthy
MF: Rodney Bejabeng
MF: Elias Guzman
MF: Diego Nieto
F: Aidan Chapman
Lincoln-Way West
GK: Chris Zavala
D: Tyler Vedder
D: Carson Cox
D: Ethan Sall
D: Dylan Frank
MF: Ryan Towner
MF: Miles Hagen
MF: Brady Forsythe
MF: Justin Darlage
MF: Drew Murphy
F: Anthony Carli
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Robert Moderhack, jr., GK, Young
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
Shootout
Young—Aidan Chapman (blocked), Owen Anderson (make), Elias Guzman (blocked), Alex Espino (make), Caleb Young (make)
Lincoln-Way West—Anthony Carli (blocked), Brady Forsythe (make), Aaron Ronaldson (make), Carson Cox (crossbar), Drew Murphy (blocked)
Young over Lincoln-Way West
Dolphins keeper makes vital stops to take consolation title
By Patrick Z. McGavin
BRIDGEVIEW — Daniel Moderhack likes to calculate probabilities, but soccer is fast and often wholly unpredictable. As a keeper he operates out of a completely different perspective.
He likes to try to always stay ahead of the curve.
It worked when the junior broke decisively to his right and blocked a penalty kick by Drew Murphy that delivered Young’s 3-2 shootout victory over Lincoln-Way West in the consolation title of the Windy City Ram Classic on Thursday at SeatGeek Stadium.
The game was played under a special format with two 35-minute halves. Neither team scored in regulation, and there was no overtime.
“I play a lot of poker, and something like this is mostly a mind game,” Moderhack said. “I feel like you could predict their kicks a few moves ahead. You know where they are going to go. If they go left twice in a row, they are probably not going to go that way again.
“On the last shooter, I went left two times in a row, and I knew [Murphy] was going to go left again. I went the other way twice in a row, and they scored on me twice in a row.
“It cancels out.”
Brady Forsythe and Aaron Ronaldson converted for the Warriors (3-2-0). Senior keeper Chris Zavala was also terrific in the shootout. He blocked two Young shooters.
Trailing 2-1 entering the fourth shooter, Alex Espino smashed home his shot. After Lincoln-Way West hit the crossbar, reserve midfielder Caleb Young drilled the game-winner.
“It’s a mental thing,” Zavala said. “Sometimes the shooters give away hints with their body, but otherwise it is mostly a mental thing. On the first block, I took a guess and went the right way. On the second one, he gave a little hint on where he placed the ball.”
Playing in the vast spaces of the professional field, Lincoln-Way West enjoyed greater possession time and generated the more consistent chances.
Young answered with some sharp and disruptive actions by its backline. Moderhack registered his fourth-consecutive shutout of the tournament. He earned it with help by from defenders Espino, Alan Gaytan, Joshua Meyer and Nate Dixon.
The Dolphins (5-1-0) have permitted just one goal in their last five games.
“It’s really cool to start coming together as a team,” Moderhack said. “The defense, I can’t give them enough credit. They are really good at communicating with me. The offense has gotten really good at combining, and it is great to see us come together like this.”
For his accomplishments, Daniel Moderhack earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor. Most impressively, he stayed in the game after a collision in the second half, taking a shot to the head.
At one point, the center official even stopped the game and asked Moderhack to prove he was able to continue the game.
This is a momentous week for the Dolphins. They confront their two strongest competitors in the Chicago Public League Premier Division North. Young defeated Taft 2-1 Wednesday.
On Friday, Young plays rival Lane in a marquee showdown at the school’s new turf surface on campus in the West Loop.
“The guys were thinking about Lane,” coach Ian McCarthy said. “It’s our biggest rival, and we finally get to play them at home, on our field and under the lights.”
McCarthy admitted the Dolphins dodged a bullet against the Warriors.
“I was thinking about the Lane game too,” he said. “I told the guys in the locker room we are going to do some shifts. My starting 11 are going to play roughly half the game, and we are going to get the others into the other half.”
In the shootout, McCarthy pointed out, the heightened stage of SeatGreek only deepens the internalized pressure the shooters must content with.
“It is an interesting thing, because you probably see more nerves on the shooter in a situation like this,” McCarthy said. “Everything is so much bigger. The goal is the same — 24 by 8 – but the keeper takes advantage of that nervousness and makes them pay for it.
“Our guys missed two and their keeper came up big on those. It was a keeper's advantage today.”
Lincoln-Way West was coming off a dominant 3-0 victory over host Reavis on Saturday to qualify for the consolation title. The Warriors have exceeded early expectations, revealing a sharp mix of established and emerging talent.
Defender Tyler Vedder showed touch on several free kicks that threatened Young. Forsythe is a gifted and skilled player in the middle of the attack. Murphy is tall and angular, and his size drew the Dolphins’ attention.
“You know you just kind of have to keep your head up and get as many chances as you can. When one goes in, that is just all it takes for the game to change,” Forsythe said.
“I think we were just unlucky today. It didn’t go our way.”
Carli had the best scoring opportunity during regulation. His rocket ball from the top of the box skipped just over the bar. Young forward Aidan Chapman also had a near breakaway interrupted by the clock reaching zeroes.
None of the players had played on the professional field before. In the lead up to the game, they worked on wider play and adjusting to the greater tract. The defense has to cover more space. Conversely, the offense is also sometimes stretched out.
“There is a lot more running involved, and you have to be smarter in how you play,” Forsythe said.
“You also have to be more patient.”
The brackets are set by a blind draw. One appealing part of the tournament is the chance at redemption. Both teams were originally disappointed by their performance at the start.
“Obviously you’d like to win them all, but it’s about getting better,” McCarthy said. “The aspirations for this season are very high, and it’s just about making everything a little smoother. Hopefully we become quite a force by the end of the season.”
The endings were more telling than the start.
“It’s soccer, and sometimes you have to finish it one way or another,” Lincoln-Way West coach Matt Laude said. “Today was just not our luck. They put together a great squad. They battled, and we battled. It was a technical team. In the end, it wasn’t us. They came out on top. I have to give my hat off to them.
“They were a good, tough team.”
It is one game, with many more to come. The game provided a moment that was out of time.
“It was a great experience,” Zavala said. “We didn’t get the result we wanted. But I think everyone, including myself, had a blast playing on this field. It’s a once in a lifetime experience. Not many people get to experience this.”
Starting lineups
Young
GK: Daniel Moderhack
D: Alan Gaytan
D: Joshua Meyer
D: Alex Espino
D: Nate Dixon
MF: Owen Anderson
MF: Esme McCarthy
MF: Rodney Bejabeng
MF: Elias Guzman
MF: Diego Nieto
F: Aidan Chapman
Lincoln-Way West
GK: Chris Zavala
D: Tyler Vedder
D: Carson Cox
D: Ethan Sall
D: Dylan Frank
MF: Ryan Towner
MF: Miles Hagen
MF: Brady Forsythe
MF: Justin Darlage
MF: Drew Murphy
F: Anthony Carli
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Robert Moderhack, jr., GK, Young
Scoring summary
First half
No scoring
Second half
No scoring
Shootout
Young—Aidan Chapman (blocked), Owen Anderson (make), Elias Guzman (blocked), Alex Espino (make), Caleb Young (make)
Lincoln-Way West—Anthony Carli (blocked), Brady Forsythe (make), Aaron Ronaldson (make), Carson Cox (crossbar), Drew Murphy (blocked)