Maine South, Glenbrook South
seek change of fortunes
By Mike Garofola
It has been a tough week for both Maine South and Glenbrook South.
After its 2-0 victory in the rain and cold against Deerfield on March 25, Maine South entered the opening week of Central Suburban League South Division play undefeated, full of vim and vigor, with the no. 12 slot in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 and the hope of competing for the league title.
Glenbrook South manager, Reggie Lara, who has watched his lads go through an up-and-down season before division play began for his club has been impressed with what he called the heart, hustle and passion his Titans have put forth.
Those attributes were in full display but the Titans fell short against rivals Glenbrook North and New Trier on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.
When Maine South (5-1-2, 0-1-1) travels to Glenview at noon Saturday, Glenbrook South will play the spoiler to their guests, who cannot afford another misstep with op-ranked New Trier off to a 3-0-0 league start.
"We came out a little sluggish in our first half against Niles West (in a 0-0 tie) on Tuesday, then had the same type of second half that we did in our Deerfield win, but it wasn't enough," said Maine South midfielder Stefan Iricanin.
A tough 3-2 loss to Evanston followed Thursday.
"Our division is tough year-in and year-out, so it's important that we come out strong and play hard for 80 minutes in order to get by Evanston, New Trier and the others," Iricanin said.
Iricanin, a starter in Dan States' first 11 last season as a sophomore, started as the no. 9 this season. He recently moved to the eight spot where he can fulfill his desire to be a team player and one who creates for others around him.
"We have a very good front seven,” he said. “John Cronnolly is having a great season. David Skorupa is doing very well for us, and so is Matt Skorupa, our center back. Tommy Prokos also is doing a great job as our keeper and shares time with Drew Burgis.”
The Prokos-Iricanin connection led to both goals against Deerfield. Two booming wind-aided serves from Prokos found Iricanin, whose brilliant redirected helpers allowed both David Skorupa and Cronnolly to finish on the other end.
Glenbrook South (3-4-0, 0-2-0), which does not boast the returning core of players its opponent enjoys, has nonetheless impressed both Lara and team quad-captain David Sohn.
"We lost (12) players, many of them starters, including our leading scorer; but I really feel that despite those losses, this team has a work rate that is far better than last year’s team, and it shows with the way we play for each other," said the three-year veteran will attend Illinois next fall to study computer science with an ROTC scholarship to help pay for his tuition.
Sohn, who was an outside back a year ago and has since been deployed as the
defensive central midfielder, felt the 2-0 loss on late goals to crosstown rival Glenbrook North did not reflect how well his mates played, a suggestion Lara agreed with in part.
"We played and battled hard for 80 with GBN,” Lara said. “The game (obvioiusly) had a lot of intensity and energy from the opening whistle. I felt we lost our composure, which led to a few poor decisions, hence a flurry of yellow cards, and poor fouls.
"There's a lot of inexperience on this roster. Many of the guys are stepping into starting roles, or are on the varsity for the first time, but there's also plenty of heart with this group.
"They love the game, train hard, and enjoy being around the soccer pitch, which we all appreciate."
Lara finished up by saying Maine South is always physical, athletic and highly skilled at several positions. He expects the contest to mirror others in the CSL South: physical; plenty of back-and-forth action; and several scoring opportunities for each side.
seek change of fortunes
By Mike Garofola
It has been a tough week for both Maine South and Glenbrook South.
After its 2-0 victory in the rain and cold against Deerfield on March 25, Maine South entered the opening week of Central Suburban League South Division play undefeated, full of vim and vigor, with the no. 12 slot in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 and the hope of competing for the league title.
Glenbrook South manager, Reggie Lara, who has watched his lads go through an up-and-down season before division play began for his club has been impressed with what he called the heart, hustle and passion his Titans have put forth.
Those attributes were in full display but the Titans fell short against rivals Glenbrook North and New Trier on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.
When Maine South (5-1-2, 0-1-1) travels to Glenview at noon Saturday, Glenbrook South will play the spoiler to their guests, who cannot afford another misstep with op-ranked New Trier off to a 3-0-0 league start.
"We came out a little sluggish in our first half against Niles West (in a 0-0 tie) on Tuesday, then had the same type of second half that we did in our Deerfield win, but it wasn't enough," said Maine South midfielder Stefan Iricanin.
A tough 3-2 loss to Evanston followed Thursday.
"Our division is tough year-in and year-out, so it's important that we come out strong and play hard for 80 minutes in order to get by Evanston, New Trier and the others," Iricanin said.
Iricanin, a starter in Dan States' first 11 last season as a sophomore, started as the no. 9 this season. He recently moved to the eight spot where he can fulfill his desire to be a team player and one who creates for others around him.
"We have a very good front seven,” he said. “John Cronnolly is having a great season. David Skorupa is doing very well for us, and so is Matt Skorupa, our center back. Tommy Prokos also is doing a great job as our keeper and shares time with Drew Burgis.”
The Prokos-Iricanin connection led to both goals against Deerfield. Two booming wind-aided serves from Prokos found Iricanin, whose brilliant redirected helpers allowed both David Skorupa and Cronnolly to finish on the other end.
Glenbrook South (3-4-0, 0-2-0), which does not boast the returning core of players its opponent enjoys, has nonetheless impressed both Lara and team quad-captain David Sohn.
"We lost (12) players, many of them starters, including our leading scorer; but I really feel that despite those losses, this team has a work rate that is far better than last year’s team, and it shows with the way we play for each other," said the three-year veteran will attend Illinois next fall to study computer science with an ROTC scholarship to help pay for his tuition.
Sohn, who was an outside back a year ago and has since been deployed as the
defensive central midfielder, felt the 2-0 loss on late goals to crosstown rival Glenbrook North did not reflect how well his mates played, a suggestion Lara agreed with in part.
"We played and battled hard for 80 with GBN,” Lara said. “The game (obvioiusly) had a lot of intensity and energy from the opening whistle. I felt we lost our composure, which led to a few poor decisions, hence a flurry of yellow cards, and poor fouls.
"There's a lot of inexperience on this roster. Many of the guys are stepping into starting roles, or are on the varsity for the first time, but there's also plenty of heart with this group.
"They love the game, train hard, and enjoy being around the soccer pitch, which we all appreciate."
Lara finished up by saying Maine South is always physical, athletic and highly skilled at several positions. He expects the contest to mirror others in the CSL South: physical; plenty of back-and-forth action; and several scoring opportunities for each side.