High-achieving Deerfield hosts
Highland Park in battle of
sharp CSL North squads
By Ken Keenan
When Highland Park ventures to old rival Deerfield's pitch to begin the
nitty gritty of the Central Suburban League North Division schedule at 7 p.m.
Thursday, the match will feature a pair of teams on the rise.
Deerfield (7-2-1 overall, 0-0-0 CSL) recently concluded a strong run in the
PepsiCo Showdown. The ninth-seeded Warriors -- who jumped from 16th to no. 8 in
the latest Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 Poll -- reached the tourney
semifinals with a 1-0 win over top-seeded Morton on Sept. 17. Deerfield fell two days
later to fourth-seeded Lyons by a 4-3 count in PKs after a 1-1 deadlock Sept. 19.
Meanwhile, Highland Park has gone on a 3-0-3 run, improving to 4-2-3
overall -- and is the early Central Suburban League leader with a 1-0-1 record
after netting a 1-1 tie with Maine West on Monday.
Deerfield head coach Elliott Hurtig said that his team's strong play
in the PepsiCo matches provided a nice bump heading into its CSL opener.
"It's a big confidence booster because those two teams play some of
the top teams in the state, so to come out with a win and a PK loss
shows we're right there with some of the best teams in Illinois,"
Hurtig said. "It showed a lot of character in our guys to fight back
after Lyons scored the first goal of the game in the second half. We
just kept fighting, playing confidently and moving the ball.
"Most importantly, it was a playoff-type experience with pressure, and
I think we got stronger and more confident playing under pressure. Our
conference is tough, and all the games are going to be close."
Hurtig said that he was most pleased with his crew's play on defense
at the PepsiCo, as the Warriors allowed only one combined regulation
goal against Morton and Lyons. In particular, he pointed to the
efforts of senior goalkeeper Zack Zusman (0.70 goals-against average
overall), senior defenders Will Schmetterer and Michael Such, junior
defenders Evan Gerke and Levi Goldstein, and holding midfielder Ari
Patterson.
"Zusman made a really big one-one-one save against Morton, and he's
been more confident in the air and in controlling the box," Hurtig
said. "Schmetterer and Such both played incredibly tough in the back,
and Gerke and Goldstein were strong on the outside. Patterson was much
stronger at winning head balls, and his distribution has been helping
a lot -- moving the ball quickly from side to side."
On the other hand, Deerfield has scored only nine goals in
regulation play during the last seven games. With that in mind, Hurtig
recently switched senior Matt Record (4 goals) from midfield to
forward, while junior Matt Grady (team-high 6 assists) went from
forward to mid.
"We're trying to find the right combination of players for the
attack," Hurtig said. "That shift should provide both Record and Grady
with the opportunity to get more chances to finish. Record's got some
breakaway speed, and Grady's got great vision. Together, they should
be very effective."
Senior midfielder and Wisconsin recruit Nick Klabjan leads the Warriors
in goals with 5.
Despite the solid run at the PepsiCo, Hurtig feels there is room for
improvement, especially with the conference slate beginning. He also
doesn't think that will be a problem.
"No one on our team feels they're playing their best soccer right
now," Hurtig said. "We still have another level we can get to. We need
to be more consistent -- fighting for the ball, and possessing of the
ball. We've had stretches of that, but not for a whole game. We're
always trying to improve our game. We have another level to climb.
"But we have a tight-knit group of guys, and a great group of seniors
with great leadership. So I'm really confident moving forward. As long
as the guys keep pushing each other and supporting each other, the
pieces will fall into place."
Highland Park's leading scorer is junior forward Ethan Ochoa, with
8 goals and an assist. Senior midfielder Ethan Feinburg is next
(3 goals, 2 assists), followed by senior mid Aidan Subra (2
goals, 3 assists) and senior forward Caleb Cunningham (goal, 5
assists).
Other top players are senior middie Eamonn Moore (goal, assist) and
junior defender Ambrisio Toledo.
"Deerfield is playing well, but we have also played well of late,"
said Giants head coach Blake Novotny. "We will need to be strong in
the air, play tight defensively, limit (Deerfield's) free kicks, and
finish when we create opportunities. It should be a very exciting
game."
Hurtig said, "It's a big conference game, a rivalry game, so we have
to keep playing as well as we did at PepsiCo, and take it up a notch.
Both teams will be fired up for the game, and for the rest of the
conference schedule as well."
Highland Park in battle of
sharp CSL North squads
By Ken Keenan
When Highland Park ventures to old rival Deerfield's pitch to begin the
nitty gritty of the Central Suburban League North Division schedule at 7 p.m.
Thursday, the match will feature a pair of teams on the rise.
Deerfield (7-2-1 overall, 0-0-0 CSL) recently concluded a strong run in the
PepsiCo Showdown. The ninth-seeded Warriors -- who jumped from 16th to no. 8 in
the latest Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 Poll -- reached the tourney
semifinals with a 1-0 win over top-seeded Morton on Sept. 17. Deerfield fell two days
later to fourth-seeded Lyons by a 4-3 count in PKs after a 1-1 deadlock Sept. 19.
Meanwhile, Highland Park has gone on a 3-0-3 run, improving to 4-2-3
overall -- and is the early Central Suburban League leader with a 1-0-1 record
after netting a 1-1 tie with Maine West on Monday.
Deerfield head coach Elliott Hurtig said that his team's strong play
in the PepsiCo matches provided a nice bump heading into its CSL opener.
"It's a big confidence booster because those two teams play some of
the top teams in the state, so to come out with a win and a PK loss
shows we're right there with some of the best teams in Illinois,"
Hurtig said. "It showed a lot of character in our guys to fight back
after Lyons scored the first goal of the game in the second half. We
just kept fighting, playing confidently and moving the ball.
"Most importantly, it was a playoff-type experience with pressure, and
I think we got stronger and more confident playing under pressure. Our
conference is tough, and all the games are going to be close."
Hurtig said that he was most pleased with his crew's play on defense
at the PepsiCo, as the Warriors allowed only one combined regulation
goal against Morton and Lyons. In particular, he pointed to the
efforts of senior goalkeeper Zack Zusman (0.70 goals-against average
overall), senior defenders Will Schmetterer and Michael Such, junior
defenders Evan Gerke and Levi Goldstein, and holding midfielder Ari
Patterson.
"Zusman made a really big one-one-one save against Morton, and he's
been more confident in the air and in controlling the box," Hurtig
said. "Schmetterer and Such both played incredibly tough in the back,
and Gerke and Goldstein were strong on the outside. Patterson was much
stronger at winning head balls, and his distribution has been helping
a lot -- moving the ball quickly from side to side."
On the other hand, Deerfield has scored only nine goals in
regulation play during the last seven games. With that in mind, Hurtig
recently switched senior Matt Record (4 goals) from midfield to
forward, while junior Matt Grady (team-high 6 assists) went from
forward to mid.
"We're trying to find the right combination of players for the
attack," Hurtig said. "That shift should provide both Record and Grady
with the opportunity to get more chances to finish. Record's got some
breakaway speed, and Grady's got great vision. Together, they should
be very effective."
Senior midfielder and Wisconsin recruit Nick Klabjan leads the Warriors
in goals with 5.
Despite the solid run at the PepsiCo, Hurtig feels there is room for
improvement, especially with the conference slate beginning. He also
doesn't think that will be a problem.
"No one on our team feels they're playing their best soccer right
now," Hurtig said. "We still have another level we can get to. We need
to be more consistent -- fighting for the ball, and possessing of the
ball. We've had stretches of that, but not for a whole game. We're
always trying to improve our game. We have another level to climb.
"But we have a tight-knit group of guys, and a great group of seniors
with great leadership. So I'm really confident moving forward. As long
as the guys keep pushing each other and supporting each other, the
pieces will fall into place."
Highland Park's leading scorer is junior forward Ethan Ochoa, with
8 goals and an assist. Senior midfielder Ethan Feinburg is next
(3 goals, 2 assists), followed by senior mid Aidan Subra (2
goals, 3 assists) and senior forward Caleb Cunningham (goal, 5
assists).
Other top players are senior middie Eamonn Moore (goal, assist) and
junior defender Ambrisio Toledo.
"Deerfield is playing well, but we have also played well of late,"
said Giants head coach Blake Novotny. "We will need to be strong in
the air, play tight defensively, limit (Deerfield's) free kicks, and
finish when we create opportunities. It should be a very exciting
game."
Hurtig said, "It's a big conference game, a rivalry game, so we have
to keep playing as well as we did at PepsiCo, and take it up a notch.
Both teams will be fired up for the game, and for the rest of the
conference schedule as well."