Notebook: Morton
By Dave Owen
In the midst of an 18-goal, 16-assist season, Morton’s Giovanni Alvarez is understandably earning rave reviews.
After his hat-trick Tuesday led the Mustangs to a 4-1 win at Downers Grove South in a battle of previously unbeaten teams in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division, Alvarez earned another top endorsement.
“He individually is the best player we've seen this year, for sure,” Downers Grove South coach Jon Stapleton said. “His ability on the ball whether it be finishing or setting up his teammates is pretty phenomenal.
“He had a night. He's had a lot of those.”
Alvarez had an eight-goal, eight assist season as a sophomore to help Morton to a second place finish in the Class 3A state tournament.
“It’s a lot of fun watching him,” Morton teammate Johnny Murillo said of Alvarez. “I got moved up (to appear in six varsity games late in 2019), and it was a great experience, especially watching guys like him play. When I got moved up, I was really excited to not just play with him but all our other players.”
Unsung heroes
While Alvarez, Max Aquino and Deyair Ruiz are the top three scorers for Morton’s potent offense, the Mustangs have had major contributors that don’t often appear on the score sheet.
“Danny Diaz is a guy who sacrifices a little bit offensively for us to be our holding mid,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said. “He plays defensively for us and keeps us balanced in the back.
“Also Juan Ramirez in the back our sweeper, he does a lot back there, a lot of the dirty work. Teams may not get a lot of chances, but when they do he's the guy cleaning things up making sure we're marking, keeping guys on their men and keeping us focused defensively.”
Morton (16-1-3) has outscored opponents 80-14 this season, with nine shutouts from the defense.
Road tested
The Mustangs traveled to Burlington, Iowa Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 for the 2021 Great River Classic, a tournament featuring top teams from throughout the Midwest.
And while the three games produced just a 1-1-1 record, the competition should pay off in the Mustangs’ quest for postseason glory. The loss came against Marquette (Wis.) which is 14th in the prepsoccer.net national poll.
“Playing good teams over there helped us a lot,” Murillo said, “because we actually lost one game and after that we kept our composure.”
The loss followed a 1-1 tie with Notre Dame (Peoria) in the opener. Morton then defeated previously regionally ranked Gateway Legacy (Mo.) 4-3, which began its current five-game winning streak.
“We knew after that loss we had to keep going up and not lose anymore,” Murillo said. “That was wonderful playing against teams over there (in Iowa). They were all good.”
Outside of that trip, Morton’s only non-wins this fall were ties against Naperville North and Libertyville in September. Besides the Gateway Legacy match, a 2-1 win over Benet on Sept. 24 has been the Mustangs’ only other victory by less than two goals.
Senior moments
Morton wrapped up its regular season Wednesday with a 6-1 Senior Night win over Riverside-Brookfield. Aquino and Ruiz each scored two goals and Murillo and Alvarez each netted one.
Five unanswered goals in the second half shattered a 1-1 tie, with Aquino’s score off an Edgar Quintero assist in the 43rd minute put Morton ahead 2-1.
After an Alvarez goal, Aquino scored again off a Murillo assist with 26 minutes left to stretch the lead to 4-1. Ruiz netted the final two goals, the latter a rebound of a Luis Gonzalez shot.
By Dave Owen
In the midst of an 18-goal, 16-assist season, Morton’s Giovanni Alvarez is understandably earning rave reviews.
After his hat-trick Tuesday led the Mustangs to a 4-1 win at Downers Grove South in a battle of previously unbeaten teams in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division, Alvarez earned another top endorsement.
“He individually is the best player we've seen this year, for sure,” Downers Grove South coach Jon Stapleton said. “His ability on the ball whether it be finishing or setting up his teammates is pretty phenomenal.
“He had a night. He's had a lot of those.”
Alvarez had an eight-goal, eight assist season as a sophomore to help Morton to a second place finish in the Class 3A state tournament.
“It’s a lot of fun watching him,” Morton teammate Johnny Murillo said of Alvarez. “I got moved up (to appear in six varsity games late in 2019), and it was a great experience, especially watching guys like him play. When I got moved up, I was really excited to not just play with him but all our other players.”
Unsung heroes
While Alvarez, Max Aquino and Deyair Ruiz are the top three scorers for Morton’s potent offense, the Mustangs have had major contributors that don’t often appear on the score sheet.
“Danny Diaz is a guy who sacrifices a little bit offensively for us to be our holding mid,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said. “He plays defensively for us and keeps us balanced in the back.
“Also Juan Ramirez in the back our sweeper, he does a lot back there, a lot of the dirty work. Teams may not get a lot of chances, but when they do he's the guy cleaning things up making sure we're marking, keeping guys on their men and keeping us focused defensively.”
Morton (16-1-3) has outscored opponents 80-14 this season, with nine shutouts from the defense.
Road tested
The Mustangs traveled to Burlington, Iowa Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 for the 2021 Great River Classic, a tournament featuring top teams from throughout the Midwest.
And while the three games produced just a 1-1-1 record, the competition should pay off in the Mustangs’ quest for postseason glory. The loss came against Marquette (Wis.) which is 14th in the prepsoccer.net national poll.
“Playing good teams over there helped us a lot,” Murillo said, “because we actually lost one game and after that we kept our composure.”
The loss followed a 1-1 tie with Notre Dame (Peoria) in the opener. Morton then defeated previously regionally ranked Gateway Legacy (Mo.) 4-3, which began its current five-game winning streak.
“We knew after that loss we had to keep going up and not lose anymore,” Murillo said. “That was wonderful playing against teams over there (in Iowa). They were all good.”
Outside of that trip, Morton’s only non-wins this fall were ties against Naperville North and Libertyville in September. Besides the Gateway Legacy match, a 2-1 win over Benet on Sept. 24 has been the Mustangs’ only other victory by less than two goals.
Senior moments
Morton wrapped up its regular season Wednesday with a 6-1 Senior Night win over Riverside-Brookfield. Aquino and Ruiz each scored two goals and Murillo and Alvarez each netted one.
Five unanswered goals in the second half shattered a 1-1 tie, with Aquino’s score off an Edgar Quintero assist in the 43rd minute put Morton ahead 2-1.
After an Alvarez goal, Aquino scored again off a Murillo assist with 26 minutes left to stretch the lead to 4-1. Ruiz netted the final two goals, the latter a rebound of a Luis Gonzalez shot.