CLS, Hampshire prepare to battle
Gators, Whip-Purs need result to stay in FVC title chase
By Matt Misiek
March 1 on an annual calendar usually attracts some attention.
There are some informal annual celebrations that are held in the first week of March, such as Read Across America week or Newspapers in Education week. The first Monday in March for 2021 was also a formal holiday for some in the form of Casimir Pulaski Day.
However, for boys prep soccer teams across the state of Illinois, it was the best March 1 ever. The chance to lace up the cleats and hit the training ground finally arrived with the start of the 2021 season. At Crystal Lake South, the feeling in the air was special.
“March 1 was a bit surreal for everyone,” said Crystal Lake South head coach Brian Allen. “Obviously plenty of excitement to be back with the guys, a bit weird given the time of year and weather. Most importantly the joy and eagerness for the opportunity to once again coach a great group of young men and see them compete and play together, especially the seniors.”
Hampshire head coach Rick Schuster echoed his sentiments about the first of this month, ending the postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Even though all of our players play travel soccer,” he said. “They all look forward to playing together with their classmates and compete against other schools.”
Crystal Lake South (2-0-1, 1-0-1 in Fox Valley Conference), ranked 11th in the latest Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, has built a legacy with runs to the Class AA state tournament title games in 2018 and 2019. The Gators won the state title in 2018 over Notre Dame (Peoria) in a penalty shootout, and finished as Class AA runnerup to Benet in 2019.
A big focal point of that legacy was forward Alex Canfield, who suits up now for the Illinois-Chicago men’s soccer team. Canfield was the Chicagoland Soccer Player of the Year in 2019. He notched 34 goals in the campaign, and 67 over his last two years, along with 31 total assists.
Now the Gators are adjusting to life without Canfield.
“You don't replace a player like Alex with one person.” Allen said. “Luckily, we only had to talk ever so briefly about that during day one as a reminder, because honestly our front five collectively has looked very, very sharp early on.”
“What's exciting as a coach is that instead of teams knowing to focus on just one player, they now have to account for multiple players. Any one of them can beat you in a variety of ways on any given day and can step up to carry the attack if someone else is having a bad day.”
Allen has seen his front five generate offense over the first three games. Crystal Lake South erased an early two-goal deficit in their 6-2 victory on the road over Mundelein in the opener on March 11th.
Then it was the Getzinger goal show last Saturday in a 3-1 victory over Prairie Ridge at the MAC Center in Crystal Lake. Freshman Nolan Getzinger scored the opener and senior brother Tyler (Chicagoland Soccer 2019 All-State Watch List member) notched a second half brace.
The Gators drew 1-1 at Cary-Grove on Thursday, fighting for a 79th-minute equalizing goal from sophomore Josh Washington.
“Tom Coughlin (junior, who tallied two goals in the Mundelein game) has been in exceptional form for us early on as our central attacking midfielder (CAM),” Allen noted. “Ty Getzinger and Brandon Osterberg helping control the center of the park. while Deven Tinajero (goal-scorer in the opening game), Michal Dejworek (brace against Mundelein), Sam Bahnfleth, and Nolan Getzinger have provided a nice rotation with our front three to keep teams on the defensive.”
The sharp start also rolls up to quality goalkeeping.
Following in the footsteps of Brandon Gorka (currently starring at Judson University) and Carson Hill is junior Dominic Timberlake. Timberlake has stopped 19 shots over the first three matches.
“Dom was one of our most dedicated players in fall of 2019,” Allen, a goalkeeper during his standout playing career at Rolling Meadows, stated. “Even though he played the majority of season in JV games due to Carson's emergence as our starter, he would still train with varsity any chance he could.”
Hampshire (1-1-0 overall and in Fox Valley Conference play) has been a team that has gone toe-to-toe with Crystal Lake South in matchups over the past three seasons. The Whip-Purs defeated the Gators twice in 2017, including a 2-0 victory in the Johnsburg Tournament final.
Coach Schuster recalled the game in 2019 where his side stayed with the Gators and almost caught them late in their 1-0 defeat.
“We appeared to have tied them (Crystal Lake South) last year with a late-second goal,” he said. “Somehow, the officiating crew determined that the right amount of time did not go off the clock and we lost.”
Hampshire has a total new-look defensive back after losing starters to graduation. The group included all-conference, all-sectional and Chicagoland Soccer 2019 Special Mention player Ryan Heileman.
“Ryan was someone that had the skill and speed to stop a lot of attacks,” Schuster added.
The current roster of Whip-Purs includes senior forward Kobe Frenette. The member of the 2019 Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List, was second in the Fox Valley Conference in points in 2019. Frenette played a key role in the Whips 2-1 season-opening victory against McHenry on March 11 with his conversion of a second half penalty.
“The McHenry game we played real well the first half and second half our play could have been better,” Schuster said. “Some of it had to do with conditioning, but I was pleased with the effort and the amount of chances to score that we created. Both Kobe Frenette and Juan Alva scored goals and with better finishing we probably should have a couple more goals.”
Alva missed 2019 due to injury but Schuster feels that he and Frenette have looked the best in practice. He also mentioned that Jerry Marquez looks to be his strongest defender and Mark Schuster looks like the best assist creator to this point.
The result for Hampshire on Wednesday night against defending conference champion Jacobs was a step backward in an 8-2 loss. However, with the lows there are a lot of positives.
“We made two big mistakes early that really dictated the game and after that we were just always chasing the score,” Schuster noted. “Jacobs has got a really good team, and they are strong probably in every position.”
“The good points are that we scored two goals on them and had good chances to score another three goals on them. It was also important for us to see what our weaknesses are so we can correct them and I think that will help going forward especially in limiting the other teams’ chances. Alva played real well and scored two goals, Frenette also created some chances, and Mark Schuster I thought had a good game in the midfield.”
Coach Schuster outlined what he feels the key will be on Saturday against the Gators.
“With Crystal Lake South you know you are always going to get a well-coached team that plays hard,” he said. “To play well against them we are going to have shore up our defense and just finish better. If we do that we should be OK.”
Both teams and all of the Fox Valley Conference teams will participate in a new, end-of-the-season Fox Valley Conference tournament in lieu of the state tournament series this year.
Coach Allen expressed his excitement in looking ahead to the event, despite his team, especially the senior class, not having another chance at a state trophy.
“It will provide that playoff-like atmosphere and environment for our seniors and will provide an excited end to the year for all.”
Gators, Whip-Purs need result to stay in FVC title chase
By Matt Misiek
March 1 on an annual calendar usually attracts some attention.
There are some informal annual celebrations that are held in the first week of March, such as Read Across America week or Newspapers in Education week. The first Monday in March for 2021 was also a formal holiday for some in the form of Casimir Pulaski Day.
However, for boys prep soccer teams across the state of Illinois, it was the best March 1 ever. The chance to lace up the cleats and hit the training ground finally arrived with the start of the 2021 season. At Crystal Lake South, the feeling in the air was special.
“March 1 was a bit surreal for everyone,” said Crystal Lake South head coach Brian Allen. “Obviously plenty of excitement to be back with the guys, a bit weird given the time of year and weather. Most importantly the joy and eagerness for the opportunity to once again coach a great group of young men and see them compete and play together, especially the seniors.”
Hampshire head coach Rick Schuster echoed his sentiments about the first of this month, ending the postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Even though all of our players play travel soccer,” he said. “They all look forward to playing together with their classmates and compete against other schools.”
Crystal Lake South (2-0-1, 1-0-1 in Fox Valley Conference), ranked 11th in the latest Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, has built a legacy with runs to the Class AA state tournament title games in 2018 and 2019. The Gators won the state title in 2018 over Notre Dame (Peoria) in a penalty shootout, and finished as Class AA runnerup to Benet in 2019.
A big focal point of that legacy was forward Alex Canfield, who suits up now for the Illinois-Chicago men’s soccer team. Canfield was the Chicagoland Soccer Player of the Year in 2019. He notched 34 goals in the campaign, and 67 over his last two years, along with 31 total assists.
Now the Gators are adjusting to life without Canfield.
“You don't replace a player like Alex with one person.” Allen said. “Luckily, we only had to talk ever so briefly about that during day one as a reminder, because honestly our front five collectively has looked very, very sharp early on.”
“What's exciting as a coach is that instead of teams knowing to focus on just one player, they now have to account for multiple players. Any one of them can beat you in a variety of ways on any given day and can step up to carry the attack if someone else is having a bad day.”
Allen has seen his front five generate offense over the first three games. Crystal Lake South erased an early two-goal deficit in their 6-2 victory on the road over Mundelein in the opener on March 11th.
Then it was the Getzinger goal show last Saturday in a 3-1 victory over Prairie Ridge at the MAC Center in Crystal Lake. Freshman Nolan Getzinger scored the opener and senior brother Tyler (Chicagoland Soccer 2019 All-State Watch List member) notched a second half brace.
The Gators drew 1-1 at Cary-Grove on Thursday, fighting for a 79th-minute equalizing goal from sophomore Josh Washington.
“Tom Coughlin (junior, who tallied two goals in the Mundelein game) has been in exceptional form for us early on as our central attacking midfielder (CAM),” Allen noted. “Ty Getzinger and Brandon Osterberg helping control the center of the park. while Deven Tinajero (goal-scorer in the opening game), Michal Dejworek (brace against Mundelein), Sam Bahnfleth, and Nolan Getzinger have provided a nice rotation with our front three to keep teams on the defensive.”
The sharp start also rolls up to quality goalkeeping.
Following in the footsteps of Brandon Gorka (currently starring at Judson University) and Carson Hill is junior Dominic Timberlake. Timberlake has stopped 19 shots over the first three matches.
“Dom was one of our most dedicated players in fall of 2019,” Allen, a goalkeeper during his standout playing career at Rolling Meadows, stated. “Even though he played the majority of season in JV games due to Carson's emergence as our starter, he would still train with varsity any chance he could.”
Hampshire (1-1-0 overall and in Fox Valley Conference play) has been a team that has gone toe-to-toe with Crystal Lake South in matchups over the past three seasons. The Whip-Purs defeated the Gators twice in 2017, including a 2-0 victory in the Johnsburg Tournament final.
Coach Schuster recalled the game in 2019 where his side stayed with the Gators and almost caught them late in their 1-0 defeat.
“We appeared to have tied them (Crystal Lake South) last year with a late-second goal,” he said. “Somehow, the officiating crew determined that the right amount of time did not go off the clock and we lost.”
Hampshire has a total new-look defensive back after losing starters to graduation. The group included all-conference, all-sectional and Chicagoland Soccer 2019 Special Mention player Ryan Heileman.
“Ryan was someone that had the skill and speed to stop a lot of attacks,” Schuster added.
The current roster of Whip-Purs includes senior forward Kobe Frenette. The member of the 2019 Chicagoland Soccer All-State Watch List, was second in the Fox Valley Conference in points in 2019. Frenette played a key role in the Whips 2-1 season-opening victory against McHenry on March 11 with his conversion of a second half penalty.
“The McHenry game we played real well the first half and second half our play could have been better,” Schuster said. “Some of it had to do with conditioning, but I was pleased with the effort and the amount of chances to score that we created. Both Kobe Frenette and Juan Alva scored goals and with better finishing we probably should have a couple more goals.”
Alva missed 2019 due to injury but Schuster feels that he and Frenette have looked the best in practice. He also mentioned that Jerry Marquez looks to be his strongest defender and Mark Schuster looks like the best assist creator to this point.
The result for Hampshire on Wednesday night against defending conference champion Jacobs was a step backward in an 8-2 loss. However, with the lows there are a lot of positives.
“We made two big mistakes early that really dictated the game and after that we were just always chasing the score,” Schuster noted. “Jacobs has got a really good team, and they are strong probably in every position.”
“The good points are that we scored two goals on them and had good chances to score another three goals on them. It was also important for us to see what our weaknesses are so we can correct them and I think that will help going forward especially in limiting the other teams’ chances. Alva played real well and scored two goals, Frenette also created some chances, and Mark Schuster I thought had a good game in the midfield.”
Coach Schuster outlined what he feels the key will be on Saturday against the Gators.
“With Crystal Lake South you know you are always going to get a well-coached team that plays hard,” he said. “To play well against them we are going to have shore up our defense and just finish better. If we do that we should be OK.”
Both teams and all of the Fox Valley Conference teams will participate in a new, end-of-the-season Fox Valley Conference tournament in lieu of the state tournament series this year.
Coach Allen expressed his excitement in looking ahead to the event, despite his team, especially the senior class, not having another chance at a state trophy.
“It will provide that playoff-like atmosphere and environment for our seniors and will provide an excited end to the year for all.”