Brother Rice, St. Ignatius ready
for Chicago Catholic League opener
By Steve Millar
Brother Rice and St. Ignatius head into Chicago Catholic League Blue Division play having produced very different results in the nonconference slate. However, both coaches are on the same page when it comes to figuring the biggest key in league games.
“I think it’s ultimately trying to avoid conceding,” St. Ignatius coach Matt Miller said. “If you don’t concede, you’ve always got a shot. We focus on keeping it tight in the back, and the goals will come.”
Brother Rice coach Matt Prunckle also stressed the importance of a clean-sheet.
“The biggest key is not giving anything away,” Prunckle said. “I think, quite frankly, we need to win games 1-0. Draws would be good for us this year, too. If we can split points in some of these games, we’ll take it.”
St. Ignatius (6-1-1) travels to the far south side of Chicago to take on the host Crusaders (2-5-1) at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Both teams finished in the bottom half of the division last season, though there was a big gap. The Wolfpack went 2-2-2 and took fifth in the seven-team league, while the Crusaders went pointless, dropping all six of their contests.
“Going into conference play, we have not proven yet that we can compete in the Catholic League Blue,” Prunckle said. “Hopefully we can step up and perform against St. Ignatius.”
The teams have a common opponent in Stagg, which beat Brother Rice 3-1 in both teams’ season-opener. The Chargers scored with :01 on the clock to top St. Ignatius 2-1 on Sunday.
Using those results to gauge what Brother Rice might have to offer, Miller knows the Wolfpack need to take the Crusaders seriously.
“I know they’re a young squad, but we played Stagg this weekend and I saw Brother Rice lost only 3-1 to them,” Miller said. “So, it looks like they played a close game against a good team, which says something about their competitiveness.”
Miller felt the battle with Stagg was a good thing for his team, despite it ultimately resulting in a first loss.
“I felt like it was the perfect game to prepare ourselves for the CCL season,” Miller said. “We played really well in the first half. In the first half, I thought we had it. In the second half, they had it. I was pleased with our performance, and I think it puts us in a good place going into this week.”
Miller said forwards Oscar Quinn Pasin and Russell Robertson and midfielder Roman Marsh have been performing well for the Wolfpack.
The Crusaders, meanwhile, picked up a 2-1 win over rival Marist in the Pulaski Cup on Sept. 6 before falling 4-2 to DePaul and 1-0 to Taft to close last week.
Any victory over Marist is always extra meaningful.
“It’s a huge rivalry game,” Prunckle said. “It’s great for the kids. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that game stays on the schedule for what it means for the school. Marist had the band out, so that helped add to the atmosphere.
“It’s two teams struggling to figure out how to win, so it was sloppy. We gave up a penalty in the first five minutes. Then we settled in, started playing more direct and we ended up getting two penalties. It’s not often you see three penalties in a game, so that game could have gone either way.”
Sophomore Jimmy Gricus has been the Crusaders’ top goal scorer. Sophomore Angelo Piech and seniors Julian Cervantes and Mason Mroz are also key contributors.
for Chicago Catholic League opener
By Steve Millar
Brother Rice and St. Ignatius head into Chicago Catholic League Blue Division play having produced very different results in the nonconference slate. However, both coaches are on the same page when it comes to figuring the biggest key in league games.
“I think it’s ultimately trying to avoid conceding,” St. Ignatius coach Matt Miller said. “If you don’t concede, you’ve always got a shot. We focus on keeping it tight in the back, and the goals will come.”
Brother Rice coach Matt Prunckle also stressed the importance of a clean-sheet.
“The biggest key is not giving anything away,” Prunckle said. “I think, quite frankly, we need to win games 1-0. Draws would be good for us this year, too. If we can split points in some of these games, we’ll take it.”
St. Ignatius (6-1-1) travels to the far south side of Chicago to take on the host Crusaders (2-5-1) at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Both teams finished in the bottom half of the division last season, though there was a big gap. The Wolfpack went 2-2-2 and took fifth in the seven-team league, while the Crusaders went pointless, dropping all six of their contests.
“Going into conference play, we have not proven yet that we can compete in the Catholic League Blue,” Prunckle said. “Hopefully we can step up and perform against St. Ignatius.”
The teams have a common opponent in Stagg, which beat Brother Rice 3-1 in both teams’ season-opener. The Chargers scored with :01 on the clock to top St. Ignatius 2-1 on Sunday.
Using those results to gauge what Brother Rice might have to offer, Miller knows the Wolfpack need to take the Crusaders seriously.
“I know they’re a young squad, but we played Stagg this weekend and I saw Brother Rice lost only 3-1 to them,” Miller said. “So, it looks like they played a close game against a good team, which says something about their competitiveness.”
Miller felt the battle with Stagg was a good thing for his team, despite it ultimately resulting in a first loss.
“I felt like it was the perfect game to prepare ourselves for the CCL season,” Miller said. “We played really well in the first half. In the first half, I thought we had it. In the second half, they had it. I was pleased with our performance, and I think it puts us in a good place going into this week.”
Miller said forwards Oscar Quinn Pasin and Russell Robertson and midfielder Roman Marsh have been performing well for the Wolfpack.
The Crusaders, meanwhile, picked up a 2-1 win over rival Marist in the Pulaski Cup on Sept. 6 before falling 4-2 to DePaul and 1-0 to Taft to close last week.
Any victory over Marist is always extra meaningful.
“It’s a huge rivalry game,” Prunckle said. “It’s great for the kids. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that game stays on the schedule for what it means for the school. Marist had the band out, so that helped add to the atmosphere.
“It’s two teams struggling to figure out how to win, so it was sloppy. We gave up a penalty in the first five minutes. Then we settled in, started playing more direct and we ended up getting two penalties. It’s not often you see three penalties in a game, so that game could have gone either way.”
Sophomore Jimmy Gricus has been the Crusaders’ top goal scorer. Sophomore Angelo Piech and seniors Julian Cervantes and Mason Mroz are also key contributors.