Putting pieces of the puzzle together
Plainfield S., Naperville C. will continue
to figure out the big picture in Thursday match
By Bill Stone
Naperville Central boys soccer coach Troy Adams
has never shied away from tough early-season opponents.
He kept that philosophy in perspective Monday after his
talented but fairly inexperienced Redhawks lost their
season opener 5-0 on the road to perennial power Morton.
“It wasn’t pretty," Adams said. "As I’ve said, we schedule those games
early in the season because we want to see what we do
well and what we don’t do well, and unfortunately we
found out things that we need to do better.”
Plainfield South coach David Brown approaches early
matches the same way and the two teams will meet at
4:30 p.m. Thursday in Plainfield.
Naperville Central won last year’s Aug. 28 meeting 1-0 –
the only time the Cougars were shut out in 2014.
Although Plainfield North won its Monday opener 3-1 over
Lincoln-Way Central at home, senior defender Chase Cleasby
is the lone returning starter from last year’s 14-4-1 team
that won the Lincoln-Way Invitational and the Southwest
Prairie championship with a 6-1 mark – the first conference
title in program history.
“We know what (Naperville Central is) all about. They’re
one of the top teams every year. We’ve got our work cut
out for us for sure,” Brown said.
“As the game went on (Monday), we were able to build
some possession. I thought in the second half we played
a pretty strong half. We improved as the game went on,
which is not shocking for the first game.”
One big positive was responding to a 1-0 deficit midway
through the first half after a throw-in that went
untouched through the crease to the back post before
being punched home.
Within five minutes, senior Rocky Del Real tied the game
after a strong run down the right wing. Senior Ray Uriostegui
then gave the Cougars the lead for good eight minutes
before halftime with an assist from freshman Gabe
Sandoval. Junior Kevin Garcia scored off Del Real’s corner
kick with about 15 minutes remaining.
“I thought we really limited Lincoln-Way Central in terms of
chances. (Sophomore goalie Quentin Rose) only made
three or four saves and most were off long throw-ins or
dead-ball situations,” Brown said.
Naperville Central senior goalie Joe Kallikadan also
played well Monday, Adams said. Morton scored twice
on penalty kicks and also off of a restart. The Mustangs
preserved the shutout by saving one ball on the end line.
“There’s only one (goal that Kallikadan) might have had a
chance at. Joe made a couple of unbelievable saves. It
could have been worse,” Adams said.
“I think probably the biggest positive is we played a lot of
kids that have not seen a lot of varsity time. Next game,
everyone will be calmer. I think that’s one of the reasons
we gave up the PKs. We were so hyped up that we
committed fouls we don’t usually commit.
“We don’t want to play our best soccer in August. We
want to in November,” Adams said. “Our takeaways
(from Monday) are we have some defensive work and
we need to play with a little more of an edge. We were a
little passive at times.”
In 2014, Naperville Central was 13-2-6. Its only losses came
against Naperville North, including a 2-1 defeat in the Class 3A
sectional semifinals. The Huskies reached the supersectionals
before losing to eventual state champion Hinsdale Central
on penalty kicks after playing to a scoreless tie through the
overtime periods.
Plainfield South was upset by Bolingbrook in its 2014 regional opener,
which went to penalty kicks.
The Cougars graduated 13 players from the Class of 2015 but return eight seniors
with varsity experience.
Cleasby, a third-year starter, is a “rock solid” central
defender but also has been considered as a center midfielder.
Del Real and Uriostegui will be key contributors at
midfield or forward. Also back are seniors Dominick
Christiansen, Wyatt Gallt and Kyle Klonicki.
Rose, one of two sophomores on varsity, is playing high
school soccer for the first time after most recently
playing club for Sockers FC.
“We’re excited about his potential. He’ll certainly turn
some heads,” Brown said.
Brown added that Sandoval was promoted after recent
injuries and will be available Thursday but his long-term
varsity status still has to be determined. Another key
newcomer is junior defender Jeff Mickow.
“We have a lot of movable parts this year, which is nice.
It’s just a matter of finding the best combinations at this
point,” Brown said.
“We’re young, inexperienced, so it’s going to be a little bit
different year. I think our goal would be the same as
every year. We certainly want to be competing for a
conference championship. We always set a goal for
trying to win one of the tournaments. And we’re
searching for our first regional title, too.”
Kallikadan leads the Redhawks’ four returning starters
from the sectional semifinal. The third-year varsity goalie
started for the 2013 third-place state team and last year
boasted a 0.45 goals-against average (5 goals in 11
games) – one of the top 10 GAA showings in program
history.
Other returning starters are senior center midfielder
Noah Canlas, senior inside/outside midfielder Chris
Schwaiger and central defender Griffin Geisler.
Teammates selected Kallikadan, Canlas and Geisler as
their captains.
“I feel really good that there are three guys in natural
leader positions (on the field) that their teammates also
look to as leaders,” Adams said.
“We’re looking for (Kallikadan) to make sure our back
line stays consistent. (Canlas is) physically stronger, more
confident. He sets the tone for us in practice, leads by
example.”
Geisler is the first junior named a team captain since
2008. He recently broke his wrist playing club soccer but
has received medical clearance to compete wearing protection
on his arm.
“We’ve had an injury leading up to tryouts the last four
years,” Adams said. “(Geisler will) be a very calming
presence in the back. He gets us organized, and I feel
confident with him as one of our center backs.”
Senior forward Neal Hasan is among many Redhawks
who are getting their first significant varsity time after
playing behind talented older players. Hasan didn’t see
abundant varsity action in 2014, but Adams estimated his
points per minutes played ratio among the team’s best.
“As far as this group from field players 1 to 20, there’s
not much separation as in year’s past. I think all 20 will
be competing for positions and playing time,” Adams
said.
“I think that’s going to be the theme for the season. Guys
are competing with opponents and competing with each
other for playing time. We have a lot of versatile players
who can play two, three positions. It’s not trying to figure
out where there is talent. It’s where do I use the talent
that I have?”
Plainfield S., Naperville C. will continue
to figure out the big picture in Thursday match
By Bill Stone
Naperville Central boys soccer coach Troy Adams
has never shied away from tough early-season opponents.
He kept that philosophy in perspective Monday after his
talented but fairly inexperienced Redhawks lost their
season opener 5-0 on the road to perennial power Morton.
“It wasn’t pretty," Adams said. "As I’ve said, we schedule those games
early in the season because we want to see what we do
well and what we don’t do well, and unfortunately we
found out things that we need to do better.”
Plainfield South coach David Brown approaches early
matches the same way and the two teams will meet at
4:30 p.m. Thursday in Plainfield.
Naperville Central won last year’s Aug. 28 meeting 1-0 –
the only time the Cougars were shut out in 2014.
Although Plainfield North won its Monday opener 3-1 over
Lincoln-Way Central at home, senior defender Chase Cleasby
is the lone returning starter from last year’s 14-4-1 team
that won the Lincoln-Way Invitational and the Southwest
Prairie championship with a 6-1 mark – the first conference
title in program history.
“We know what (Naperville Central is) all about. They’re
one of the top teams every year. We’ve got our work cut
out for us for sure,” Brown said.
“As the game went on (Monday), we were able to build
some possession. I thought in the second half we played
a pretty strong half. We improved as the game went on,
which is not shocking for the first game.”
One big positive was responding to a 1-0 deficit midway
through the first half after a throw-in that went
untouched through the crease to the back post before
being punched home.
Within five minutes, senior Rocky Del Real tied the game
after a strong run down the right wing. Senior Ray Uriostegui
then gave the Cougars the lead for good eight minutes
before halftime with an assist from freshman Gabe
Sandoval. Junior Kevin Garcia scored off Del Real’s corner
kick with about 15 minutes remaining.
“I thought we really limited Lincoln-Way Central in terms of
chances. (Sophomore goalie Quentin Rose) only made
three or four saves and most were off long throw-ins or
dead-ball situations,” Brown said.
Naperville Central senior goalie Joe Kallikadan also
played well Monday, Adams said. Morton scored twice
on penalty kicks and also off of a restart. The Mustangs
preserved the shutout by saving one ball on the end line.
“There’s only one (goal that Kallikadan) might have had a
chance at. Joe made a couple of unbelievable saves. It
could have been worse,” Adams said.
“I think probably the biggest positive is we played a lot of
kids that have not seen a lot of varsity time. Next game,
everyone will be calmer. I think that’s one of the reasons
we gave up the PKs. We were so hyped up that we
committed fouls we don’t usually commit.
“We don’t want to play our best soccer in August. We
want to in November,” Adams said. “Our takeaways
(from Monday) are we have some defensive work and
we need to play with a little more of an edge. We were a
little passive at times.”
In 2014, Naperville Central was 13-2-6. Its only losses came
against Naperville North, including a 2-1 defeat in the Class 3A
sectional semifinals. The Huskies reached the supersectionals
before losing to eventual state champion Hinsdale Central
on penalty kicks after playing to a scoreless tie through the
overtime periods.
Plainfield South was upset by Bolingbrook in its 2014 regional opener,
which went to penalty kicks.
The Cougars graduated 13 players from the Class of 2015 but return eight seniors
with varsity experience.
Cleasby, a third-year starter, is a “rock solid” central
defender but also has been considered as a center midfielder.
Del Real and Uriostegui will be key contributors at
midfield or forward. Also back are seniors Dominick
Christiansen, Wyatt Gallt and Kyle Klonicki.
Rose, one of two sophomores on varsity, is playing high
school soccer for the first time after most recently
playing club for Sockers FC.
“We’re excited about his potential. He’ll certainly turn
some heads,” Brown said.
Brown added that Sandoval was promoted after recent
injuries and will be available Thursday but his long-term
varsity status still has to be determined. Another key
newcomer is junior defender Jeff Mickow.
“We have a lot of movable parts this year, which is nice.
It’s just a matter of finding the best combinations at this
point,” Brown said.
“We’re young, inexperienced, so it’s going to be a little bit
different year. I think our goal would be the same as
every year. We certainly want to be competing for a
conference championship. We always set a goal for
trying to win one of the tournaments. And we’re
searching for our first regional title, too.”
Kallikadan leads the Redhawks’ four returning starters
from the sectional semifinal. The third-year varsity goalie
started for the 2013 third-place state team and last year
boasted a 0.45 goals-against average (5 goals in 11
games) – one of the top 10 GAA showings in program
history.
Other returning starters are senior center midfielder
Noah Canlas, senior inside/outside midfielder Chris
Schwaiger and central defender Griffin Geisler.
Teammates selected Kallikadan, Canlas and Geisler as
their captains.
“I feel really good that there are three guys in natural
leader positions (on the field) that their teammates also
look to as leaders,” Adams said.
“We’re looking for (Kallikadan) to make sure our back
line stays consistent. (Canlas is) physically stronger, more
confident. He sets the tone for us in practice, leads by
example.”
Geisler is the first junior named a team captain since
2008. He recently broke his wrist playing club soccer but
has received medical clearance to compete wearing protection
on his arm.
“We’ve had an injury leading up to tryouts the last four
years,” Adams said. “(Geisler will) be a very calming
presence in the back. He gets us organized, and I feel
confident with him as one of our center backs.”
Senior forward Neal Hasan is among many Redhawks
who are getting their first significant varsity time after
playing behind talented older players. Hasan didn’t see
abundant varsity action in 2014, but Adams estimated his
points per minutes played ratio among the team’s best.
“As far as this group from field players 1 to 20, there’s
not much separation as in year’s past. I think all 20 will
be competing for positions and playing time,” Adams
said.
“I think that’s going to be the theme for the season. Guys
are competing with opponents and competing with each
other for playing time. We have a lot of versatile players
who can play two, three positions. It’s not trying to figure
out where there is talent. It’s where do I use the talent
that I have?”