Lane and Washington ready for title battle
By Patrick Z. McGavin
After five rounds of tournament soccer, the typical topsy-turvy rhythms of the Chicago Public League city championship playoffs have suddenly morphed into the status quo.
To some extent a final between Washington and defending city champion Lane was fairly predictable. The teams finished 1-2 in the Premier Division, the city’s top soccer league. Both are coming off impressive semifinal shutout wins to get to this point.
That hardly diminishes the impact or the importance.
The teams have also had three full days off following Tuesday’s night results at Lane Stadium. The participation of Lane, however expected, did occasion a switch of venues from the league’s city sports officials, who wanted to avoid playing the city title on the Indians’ home field.
The game was moved to the Far South Side to be played at noon Saturday at Brooks High School, 250 E. 111th Street.
History is going to be made at the game. Washington (13-4-3) is seeking its first city title. Lane (12-4-2) is looking to become the first repeat champion in the nearly 40-year history of the tournament.
Lane defeated Solorio 2-0 in the first semifinal Tuesday. Senior forward Alex Mezyk scored both goals, his 19th and 20th on the year. He has scored goals in three of the Indians’ four city tournament games. The Solorio game marked his second multi-goal game of the tournament.
The Patriots administered Lane’s only loss to a city school, a 2-0 Premier victory on the far southeast side on September 20. That loss marked the nadir of the Indians’ season, a stretch following the PepsiCo Showdown where Lane struggled to a 1-1-2 record.
The Indians have been unstoppable since that game, winning six straight with a goal differential of 27-3. The only tight game during the run was a big one -- a scoreless draw against Taft that Lane won in a penalty kick shootout in the city quarterfinals .
Lane has refined its formation and its lineup and has pointed toward this moment.
“We don’t really know the Washington players like some of the other schools, but they are the only team that beat us in the Premier, and we want to show that we are the best team in the city,” Mezyk said.
Lane senior midfielder Brandon Rivera missed those four games leading up to the Washington game with an ankle injury. He is fully recovered and has been a catalyst. The physical, aggressive Mezyk is the powerful player at the top. The Indians’ attack runs through Rivera and senior midfielder Marcin Kieta.
Lane’s roster is senior-laden with 18 fourth-year players. Defensively, the Indians are a solid, seasoned bunch with five seniors in the back: keeper Simon Jillson and defenders Dennis Dresevic, Zachary Rogers, Greg Golba and Arnel Sinanagic, who is also one of the team’s top free kicks specialists. Signanagic played a great through-ball to Mezyk for the insurance second goal against Solorio.
The compressed nature of the schedule means everything is thrown together, and teams often are forced to learn as they go. The heavy rotation of games and the typical hurdles teams must cope with -- like injuries, development and the building of team chemistry -- contributed to the Indians’ up-and-down season.
Now the Indians are a team playing with a collective chip.
Such is the nature of the beast. Lane was a bit shocked to receive only a ninth-seed in the Class 3A sectional at Glenbrook North. Sixteen of the 18 teams in the field have a winning record. This is a Lane team that finished 17-2-2 last year, won the Premier, won the city title and took sectional top-seed Glenbrook North to the brink in losing 3-2 in a sectional semifinal the Indians led 2-0.
Lane coach Andrew Ricks said the team was working through its best combination and most efficient formation. The six-game winning streak is a testament to the team’s resolve and dedication. Lane defeated Taft in a rematch of last year’s title game and a Solorio team Ricks regards as one of the most talented in the city.
Washington is another formidable hurdle.
“I said at the beginning of the tournament, you have to beat the best teams to win it all,” Ricks said. “Nobody is going to give you the trophy. You have to earn it. I have also said this about the way we are playing. I would not want to play us, not in the city tournament or the state playoffs.
“Right now, we are just on.”
Lane wants to erase the sting of its uncharacteristic poor performance in a Premier Division game. “Washington was our worst game of the season,” Ricks said. Now, this is a team that knows where it is going.
“We are going to definitely bring our 'A' game because repeating is something that means a lot to the seniors,” Kieta said.
Lane has appeared in six of the last seven city title games. Washington is playing for the city’s top prize for just the second time in school history. The Patriots lost to Kelly in the 2010 city championship.
Washington withstood Young’s tremendous second half pressure to edge the Dolphins 1-0 on a goal by midfielder Alberto Solis in the 62nd minute. His goal nullified a blitz by Young that saw the Dolphins register a series of strong attacks at the Patriots’ goal.
Lane is likely to encounter a mirror of Solorio in the Patriots, a quick and athletic team built on speed and achieving a forward momentum.. The Patriots’ strength is the middle of the attack with Solis and midfielders Felipe Ramirez, Adrian Yanez, Martin Mendoza and Juan Antonio Garibay. Angel Arismendiz, the team’s lone forward, assisted the game-winning goal.
“We do our best when we play the top-rated opponents,” Washington coach Alvaro Perez said.
The city title is an important final step in preparation for the state tournament. Washington is the no. 2 seed of the subsectional A in the Class AA Brooks Sectional. The Patriots have never won a city title. They won the Class AA state title in 2013 and finished fourth in 2015.
They know the Indians are gunning for revenge. It works both ways.
“The first time we played (this year) was a close game, but we won it,” Solis said. “That gives us confidence.”
By Patrick Z. McGavin
After five rounds of tournament soccer, the typical topsy-turvy rhythms of the Chicago Public League city championship playoffs have suddenly morphed into the status quo.
To some extent a final between Washington and defending city champion Lane was fairly predictable. The teams finished 1-2 in the Premier Division, the city’s top soccer league. Both are coming off impressive semifinal shutout wins to get to this point.
That hardly diminishes the impact or the importance.
The teams have also had three full days off following Tuesday’s night results at Lane Stadium. The participation of Lane, however expected, did occasion a switch of venues from the league’s city sports officials, who wanted to avoid playing the city title on the Indians’ home field.
The game was moved to the Far South Side to be played at noon Saturday at Brooks High School, 250 E. 111th Street.
History is going to be made at the game. Washington (13-4-3) is seeking its first city title. Lane (12-4-2) is looking to become the first repeat champion in the nearly 40-year history of the tournament.
Lane defeated Solorio 2-0 in the first semifinal Tuesday. Senior forward Alex Mezyk scored both goals, his 19th and 20th on the year. He has scored goals in three of the Indians’ four city tournament games. The Solorio game marked his second multi-goal game of the tournament.
The Patriots administered Lane’s only loss to a city school, a 2-0 Premier victory on the far southeast side on September 20. That loss marked the nadir of the Indians’ season, a stretch following the PepsiCo Showdown where Lane struggled to a 1-1-2 record.
The Indians have been unstoppable since that game, winning six straight with a goal differential of 27-3. The only tight game during the run was a big one -- a scoreless draw against Taft that Lane won in a penalty kick shootout in the city quarterfinals .
Lane has refined its formation and its lineup and has pointed toward this moment.
“We don’t really know the Washington players like some of the other schools, but they are the only team that beat us in the Premier, and we want to show that we are the best team in the city,” Mezyk said.
Lane senior midfielder Brandon Rivera missed those four games leading up to the Washington game with an ankle injury. He is fully recovered and has been a catalyst. The physical, aggressive Mezyk is the powerful player at the top. The Indians’ attack runs through Rivera and senior midfielder Marcin Kieta.
Lane’s roster is senior-laden with 18 fourth-year players. Defensively, the Indians are a solid, seasoned bunch with five seniors in the back: keeper Simon Jillson and defenders Dennis Dresevic, Zachary Rogers, Greg Golba and Arnel Sinanagic, who is also one of the team’s top free kicks specialists. Signanagic played a great through-ball to Mezyk for the insurance second goal against Solorio.
The compressed nature of the schedule means everything is thrown together, and teams often are forced to learn as they go. The heavy rotation of games and the typical hurdles teams must cope with -- like injuries, development and the building of team chemistry -- contributed to the Indians’ up-and-down season.
Now the Indians are a team playing with a collective chip.
Such is the nature of the beast. Lane was a bit shocked to receive only a ninth-seed in the Class 3A sectional at Glenbrook North. Sixteen of the 18 teams in the field have a winning record. This is a Lane team that finished 17-2-2 last year, won the Premier, won the city title and took sectional top-seed Glenbrook North to the brink in losing 3-2 in a sectional semifinal the Indians led 2-0.
Lane coach Andrew Ricks said the team was working through its best combination and most efficient formation. The six-game winning streak is a testament to the team’s resolve and dedication. Lane defeated Taft in a rematch of last year’s title game and a Solorio team Ricks regards as one of the most talented in the city.
Washington is another formidable hurdle.
“I said at the beginning of the tournament, you have to beat the best teams to win it all,” Ricks said. “Nobody is going to give you the trophy. You have to earn it. I have also said this about the way we are playing. I would not want to play us, not in the city tournament or the state playoffs.
“Right now, we are just on.”
Lane wants to erase the sting of its uncharacteristic poor performance in a Premier Division game. “Washington was our worst game of the season,” Ricks said. Now, this is a team that knows where it is going.
“We are going to definitely bring our 'A' game because repeating is something that means a lot to the seniors,” Kieta said.
Lane has appeared in six of the last seven city title games. Washington is playing for the city’s top prize for just the second time in school history. The Patriots lost to Kelly in the 2010 city championship.
Washington withstood Young’s tremendous second half pressure to edge the Dolphins 1-0 on a goal by midfielder Alberto Solis in the 62nd minute. His goal nullified a blitz by Young that saw the Dolphins register a series of strong attacks at the Patriots’ goal.
Lane is likely to encounter a mirror of Solorio in the Patriots, a quick and athletic team built on speed and achieving a forward momentum.. The Patriots’ strength is the middle of the attack with Solis and midfielders Felipe Ramirez, Adrian Yanez, Martin Mendoza and Juan Antonio Garibay. Angel Arismendiz, the team’s lone forward, assisted the game-winning goal.
“We do our best when we play the top-rated opponents,” Washington coach Alvaro Perez said.
The city title is an important final step in preparation for the state tournament. Washington is the no. 2 seed of the subsectional A in the Class AA Brooks Sectional. The Patriots have never won a city title. They won the Class AA state title in 2013 and finished fourth in 2015.
They know the Indians are gunning for revenge. It works both ways.
“The first time we played (this year) was a close game, but we won it,” Solis said. “That gives us confidence.”