Marmion aims to refine battle plans
St. Joseph embraces spoiler’s role
By Steve Nemeth
On paper St. Joseph's Thursday visit to Marmion is a mismatch, but it remains an opportunity for both sides.
The host Cadets, who surfaced in the teams to watch this week in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, have the chance to continue refining their attack and their defense for some crucial skirmishes ahead.
Mission one for Marmion (8-5-1) is to focus only on the task at hand, especially when it comes to the Rubik’s Cube that is the Chicago Catholic League.
Last year there were four divisions, Red and White, and Blue and Green counted crossover matches in their division standings. For 2018, it’s simplified to two groups, and crossovers do not count.
While St. Joseph (1-8-0) has had a rough go, the Chargers have begun to embrace the role of spoiler.
Least Marmion forget, the two were in the same Green Division in 2017 and the Cadets slipped by 1-0 helping them finish second in the group, just ahead of the Chargers.
Tuesday’s storms played havoc with the CCL schedule so this year’s seven-school Blue Division has four teams each with six points thus far. However, Marmion is 2-2-0 which leaves no margin for error with just two CCL Blue contests remaining: an upcoming visit Oct 2 to Fenwick and the Oct. 10 home make-up with St. Laurence (2-1-0). Those Vikings must still host Fenwick and visit both St. Ignatius and Marmion.
No. 25 Loyola owns the only unblemished league mark (2-0-0) but the Ramblers’ four dates include hosting Fenwick, St. Ignatius and Brother Rice before visiting Mt. Carmel. A 1-0 overtime victory over Marmion obviously gives Loyola a leg up. The Wolfpack from St. Ignatius (2-1-0) did lose 4-3 to the Cadets, but must travel to Loyola before hosting St. Laurence and Mt. Carmel.
Handicapped by a smaller squad size and nagging injuries, St. Joseph continues a season-long effort to find its best and most competitive line-up. Although the Chargers have gone from a 1-2-0 start to a current six-game skid, its last group of outings have been much more interesting. For the season, the opposition is outscoring St. Joe 40-7, but that drops to 9-4 for the last three games: a 5-1 loss to Montini, a 3-2 setback versus St. Rita, and a shootout loss after a 1-1 regulation draw with Providence.
“No question we got off to a very slow start and suffered too many defensive lapses,” St. Joseph coach Matthew Sinacore said. “But the most recent games have been closer and the more the guys sense teams are going in with the assumption of an easier time, the chip on their shoulder gets bigger and bigger.
“They know the record and the scores don’t match what we’ve been doing. Unfortunately with a lack of depth, we’ve had to rotate people through a variety of positions and sometimes that can be frustrating,” Sinacore said.
That has included taking early season scoring force Lucas Hansen and moving him to anchor the defense.
“He’s played every spot but goalkeeper. He’s become a stupendous stopper and is a vocal leader. He’s so committed he feels like it’s up to him alone to save us,” Sinacore noted.
The coach also had high praise for his keeper.
“Despite some lopsided scores, it’s not wrong to say Carlos Gomez has kept us in many matches we had no business even being close,” Sinacore said. “He has an outstanding punt and makes so many saves that there are times he makes even big ones look effortless.
“Really wish e could get those two guys more goals to make their lives easier.”
For Marmion, life has been easier thanks to James Serrano’s offensive prowess. The senior forward has had a goal or assist in 11 of 14 matches. He leads the Cadets in goals (18), game-winners (four), assists (six) and points (42).
“There’s never a time when we stop working on improving,” Serrano said. “Lately we’ve put a little more emphasis on our defensive formation, but the key is to sharpen up all skills.
“Starting with his work over summer weightlifting, I’d say T.J. (Laurich) has absolutely made huge progress in his play from not just last year, but from the start of this year to now. He has especially stepped up his game in midfield taking on greater responsibility if someone’s been missing.”
Fellow co-captain Michael Murray echoed those thoughts.
“T.J. has joined with Ian (Swindle) to really take control of their third,” Murray said. “They and C.J. (Sowers) have all come a long way.
“At the beginning of the year we still counted more on individual style, but we’ve built up our attack and our play as a unit has really improved,” Murray said. “We need to continue to think one game at a time, but at the same time, the big picture includes finishing the conference race and getting prepared for the playoffs. All of which centers on reducing mistakes.”
Once again, one such error would be overlooking the Chargers. Yes Marmion won 4-2 two years before, but the Cadets just slipped by St. Joseph last season thanks to Laurich setting up Serrano for a first half strike. It was notably Jason Baker’s lone shutout in goal.
The junior is just getting his rhythm back having missed seven matches following a leg injury in an August 2-1 loss to no. 16-ranked Streamwood.
In addition to St. Joseph, Marmion has the final road trip to Fenwick before a massive Oct. 4 home date with no. 4-ranked Wheaton Academy followed by that make-up date with St. Laurence.
“Yes, that may be in the back of our minds, but we know we have to focus and push harder in the match directly in front of us,” Murray said. “In that respect, St. Joseph will test our ability to deal with limiting their strengths.”
Regardless of the opponent, coach Jimmy Romano’s pre-game charge has remained the same all year long.
“We want to score early and then work on putting them away. Then follow that play for the full 80 minutes,” Romano said. “Against St. Joe, I’d like to see the defense get a shutout. We’ve given up quite a few more than I’d like lately.
“Although we’ve gotten our formations locked down pretty well, we still want to make adjustments in every game to counter a team’s strength. If something’s not working, all the more reason to be able to adjust. We do that in this game and that’s part of the experience needed to really prepare for the teams ahead,” Romano concluded.
St. Joseph embraces spoiler’s role
By Steve Nemeth
On paper St. Joseph's Thursday visit to Marmion is a mismatch, but it remains an opportunity for both sides.
The host Cadets, who surfaced in the teams to watch this week in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, have the chance to continue refining their attack and their defense for some crucial skirmishes ahead.
Mission one for Marmion (8-5-1) is to focus only on the task at hand, especially when it comes to the Rubik’s Cube that is the Chicago Catholic League.
Last year there were four divisions, Red and White, and Blue and Green counted crossover matches in their division standings. For 2018, it’s simplified to two groups, and crossovers do not count.
While St. Joseph (1-8-0) has had a rough go, the Chargers have begun to embrace the role of spoiler.
Least Marmion forget, the two were in the same Green Division in 2017 and the Cadets slipped by 1-0 helping them finish second in the group, just ahead of the Chargers.
Tuesday’s storms played havoc with the CCL schedule so this year’s seven-school Blue Division has four teams each with six points thus far. However, Marmion is 2-2-0 which leaves no margin for error with just two CCL Blue contests remaining: an upcoming visit Oct 2 to Fenwick and the Oct. 10 home make-up with St. Laurence (2-1-0). Those Vikings must still host Fenwick and visit both St. Ignatius and Marmion.
No. 25 Loyola owns the only unblemished league mark (2-0-0) but the Ramblers’ four dates include hosting Fenwick, St. Ignatius and Brother Rice before visiting Mt. Carmel. A 1-0 overtime victory over Marmion obviously gives Loyola a leg up. The Wolfpack from St. Ignatius (2-1-0) did lose 4-3 to the Cadets, but must travel to Loyola before hosting St. Laurence and Mt. Carmel.
Handicapped by a smaller squad size and nagging injuries, St. Joseph continues a season-long effort to find its best and most competitive line-up. Although the Chargers have gone from a 1-2-0 start to a current six-game skid, its last group of outings have been much more interesting. For the season, the opposition is outscoring St. Joe 40-7, but that drops to 9-4 for the last three games: a 5-1 loss to Montini, a 3-2 setback versus St. Rita, and a shootout loss after a 1-1 regulation draw with Providence.
“No question we got off to a very slow start and suffered too many defensive lapses,” St. Joseph coach Matthew Sinacore said. “But the most recent games have been closer and the more the guys sense teams are going in with the assumption of an easier time, the chip on their shoulder gets bigger and bigger.
“They know the record and the scores don’t match what we’ve been doing. Unfortunately with a lack of depth, we’ve had to rotate people through a variety of positions and sometimes that can be frustrating,” Sinacore said.
That has included taking early season scoring force Lucas Hansen and moving him to anchor the defense.
“He’s played every spot but goalkeeper. He’s become a stupendous stopper and is a vocal leader. He’s so committed he feels like it’s up to him alone to save us,” Sinacore noted.
The coach also had high praise for his keeper.
“Despite some lopsided scores, it’s not wrong to say Carlos Gomez has kept us in many matches we had no business even being close,” Sinacore said. “He has an outstanding punt and makes so many saves that there are times he makes even big ones look effortless.
“Really wish e could get those two guys more goals to make their lives easier.”
For Marmion, life has been easier thanks to James Serrano’s offensive prowess. The senior forward has had a goal or assist in 11 of 14 matches. He leads the Cadets in goals (18), game-winners (four), assists (six) and points (42).
“There’s never a time when we stop working on improving,” Serrano said. “Lately we’ve put a little more emphasis on our defensive formation, but the key is to sharpen up all skills.
“Starting with his work over summer weightlifting, I’d say T.J. (Laurich) has absolutely made huge progress in his play from not just last year, but from the start of this year to now. He has especially stepped up his game in midfield taking on greater responsibility if someone’s been missing.”
Fellow co-captain Michael Murray echoed those thoughts.
“T.J. has joined with Ian (Swindle) to really take control of their third,” Murray said. “They and C.J. (Sowers) have all come a long way.
“At the beginning of the year we still counted more on individual style, but we’ve built up our attack and our play as a unit has really improved,” Murray said. “We need to continue to think one game at a time, but at the same time, the big picture includes finishing the conference race and getting prepared for the playoffs. All of which centers on reducing mistakes.”
Once again, one such error would be overlooking the Chargers. Yes Marmion won 4-2 two years before, but the Cadets just slipped by St. Joseph last season thanks to Laurich setting up Serrano for a first half strike. It was notably Jason Baker’s lone shutout in goal.
The junior is just getting his rhythm back having missed seven matches following a leg injury in an August 2-1 loss to no. 16-ranked Streamwood.
In addition to St. Joseph, Marmion has the final road trip to Fenwick before a massive Oct. 4 home date with no. 4-ranked Wheaton Academy followed by that make-up date with St. Laurence.
“Yes, that may be in the back of our minds, but we know we have to focus and push harder in the match directly in front of us,” Murray said. “In that respect, St. Joseph will test our ability to deal with limiting their strengths.”
Regardless of the opponent, coach Jimmy Romano’s pre-game charge has remained the same all year long.
“We want to score early and then work on putting them away. Then follow that play for the full 80 minutes,” Romano said. “Against St. Joe, I’d like to see the defense get a shutout. We’ve given up quite a few more than I’d like lately.
“Although we’ve gotten our formations locked down pretty well, we still want to make adjustments in every game to counter a team’s strength. If something’s not working, all the more reason to be able to adjust. We do that in this game and that’s part of the experience needed to really prepare for the teams ahead,” Romano concluded.