U12 Boys Recap:Layout 1.qxd

Transcription

U12 Boys Recap:Layout 1.qxd
Under-12 Boys Championship
U12 Boys Champions: GLSA Libertyville Orange
U12 Boys Finalists: Team Chicago Academy Scorpions
Ryan Bever, Scott Cloe, Tucker Goebeler, Matthew Hong, Donnie Kvien, Joseph Lee,
Ryan McKernan, Matt Moderwell, Yann Nsoga, Liam O’Connell, Kevin Reilly, Luke Sanderson,
Edson Suaste, Will Weber; Coach: Michael Zovistoski
Brayan Arambula, Andrew Barrowman, Jordan Cagigal, Joseph Coryell, Derek Dodson, Peter Haritatos, Conner Lovely, Noah Marzuki, Brett Meyers, Chibuike Nwachukwu, Freddy Ortega, Jason
Pastene, Jake Rank, Jake Toepfer, Josiah Veloz; Coach: Magno Barreto
Excitement-Filled Final Match In U12 Boys Championship
By: Chris Jamrozy, Illinois Youth Soccer
Although it was the youngest age group in
the 2010 Illinois State Cup, the Under-12
Boys title match between Libertyville GLSA
Orange and Team Chicago Scorpions may
have been the most entertaining championship game of the tournament. Aggressive offensive, stifling defensive pressure
and ice-water-in-the veins goalkeeping
kept the outcome of this game in
question until the final whistle.
When that whistle did blow, Libertyville had
earned the championship hardware with a
4-2 win in an intense match, whose twogoal victory is a bit deceiving.
“I thought the U12 final was a very entertaining and exciting game,” Michael Zovistoski, GLSA Coach said. “Both teams went
for goals and the game was open. Tactically, the boys did exactly what was asked
of them. Defensively, they pressed when
they should have, covered each other and
offensively we moved the ball well, took
players on when given the opportunity and
created several scoring opportunities.”
GLSA took a 1-0 lead when Matt Moderwell placed a ball on the face of the goal
that found Liam O’Connell for the score.
Freddy Ortega looked to even the score at
the 10-minute mark but his shot lined off
the crossbar.
The play of Moderwell & Ortega along with
midfield mates Joseph Lee (GLSA) and
Chibuike Nwachukwu (Team Chicago) was
the steam that kept the excitement engine
pumping on all cylinders. All four showcased great
individual skill while also involving their
teammates in both teams offensive
attack.
“Joe and Matt together are very solid in the
middle for us,” said Zovistoski, “ They are
both very strong on the ball, are good technical players, can hit bombs for shots and
are tough to beat defensively.
“(Ortega & Nwachukwu) are very dangerous when picking up the ball with space to
dribble.”
At the 17-minute mark, GLSA had the opportunity to take a commanding 2-0 early
lead when a penalty kick was awarded for
a foul in the box, but Connor Lovely
knocked away Moderwell’s free kick as
well as a corner kick on the very next play.
Lovely’s goalkeeping counterpart, Donnie
Kvein, was also kept busy and his leaping
save off another Ortega shot
preserved GLSA’s lead 23-minutes into the
first half.
“Donnie was huge and has really developed into a very good keeper,” Zovistoski
said. “He is a good shot stopper, communicates very well for a 12-year-old keeper,
plays out of his box and is always an outlet
to play back to or come out and play with
his feet.”
Team Chicago finally struck paydirt, when
Josiah Veloz fired a low-liner from 5-yards
outside that took a well-timed bounce over
a diving Kvein and knotted the game a 1-1.
Moderwell came right back on the attack
only to be denied by Lovely, sending the
game to halftime tied.
If possible, the intensity seemed to increase in the second half with both teams
working hard on both ends of the pitch.
Lee would put GLSA up 2-1 in the 37th
minute when he made a impressive steal
in the box from a Team Chicago defender
and in one fluid motion fired a sliding shot
to the bottom left of the net.
Team Chicago and Ortega looked to strike
back at the 41-minute mark but again his
shot fired off the post. Three minutes later
though, Ortega would finally tally a score
with a spectacular individual run through
four GLSA defenders, tying the game at 22.
GLSA would seal the victory and State
Title when Ryan McKernan headed a corner kick to the right corner of the goal at
the 54 minute which was followed 2-minutes later with the game’s final score when
Moderwell knocked in a Yann Nsoga shot
that was
deflected by Lovely.
For Zovistoski, the State Cup title run was
a satisfying reward for a group of boys he
and GLSA have coached since they were
recreational players and now developed
into State Champions.
“It is very gratifying to see the boys develop the way they have over the past couple of years,” said Zovistoski. “They had a
good soccer education from coaches early
in our (GLSA) program and I have tried to
continue that development. It has been a
wonderful experience for the boys and
their families and a massive boost for the
club.”
Under-12 Boys
GROUP ROUND
ROBIN PLAY
SEMIFINALS
CHAMPIONSHIP
GROUP A
Trevian SC Blue v Athletico SC Los Toros
5/15 8am
GLSA Libertyville Orange v Palatine Celtic SC
5/15 8am
Trevian SC Blue v GLSA Libertyville Orange
GLSA Libertyville Orange
5/15 2pm
Athletico SC Los Toros v Palatine Celtic SC
5/15 2pm
Trevian SC Blue v Palatine Celtic SC
5/16 11am
Athletico SC Los Torros v GLSA Libertyville Orange
5/16 11am
GLSA Libertyville Orange
1-0
GROUP B
LTSC Select v Grayslake Galaxy Green
5/15 8am
Illinois Fusion Black v Chicago Magic
5/15 8am
LTSC Select v Illinois Fusion Black
5/15 2pm
Grayslake Galaxy Green v Chicago Magic
5/15 2pm
Chicago Magic
LTSC Select v Chicago Magic
5/16 11am
Grayslake Galaxy Green v Illinois Fusion Black
5/16 11am
GLSA Libertyville
Orange
4-2
GROUP C
Azteca of Elgin v BTSC Green
5/15 9:30am
Pegasus v Campton United Navy
5/15 9:30am
Azteca of Elgin v Pegasus
5/15 3:30pm
BTSC Green v Campton United Navy
Campton United Navy
5/15 3:30pm
Azteca of Elgin v Campton United Navy
5/16 12:30pm
BTSC Green v Pegasus
5/16 12:30pm
Team Chicago Academy Scorpions
0-1
GROUP D
Chicago Magic North v Team Chicago Academy Scorpions
5/15 9:30am
Spartan FC Select v Lemont Raiders
5/15 9:30am
Chicago Magic North v Spartan FC Select
5/15 3:30pm
Team Chicago Academy Scorpions v Lemont Raiders
5/15 3:30pm
Chicago Magic North v Lemont Raider
5/16 12:30pm
Team Chicago Academy Scorpions v Spartan FC Select
5/16 12:30pm
Team Chicago Academy Scorpions
Under-12 Girls Championship
U12 Girls Champions: Lake Forest Elite
U12 Girls Finalists: Team Chicago Academy Scorpions
Janeece Ader, Nadia Basave, Paige Bourne, Lydia Brosnahan, Sheridan Bufe, Devin Burns,
Isabella Ebihara, Natalie Joyce, Nell Kiela, Jenny McKendry, Nicole Pollard, Lea Waddle, Adrian
Walker, Sheridan Weiss, Maikal Yamauchi, Alexandra Yasko; Coach: Oktay Akgun
Alison Chesterfield, Stephanie England, Shannon Gatehouse, Emily Hess, Abigale Kehe,Anna
Lins, Abby Novak, Bethany Orman, Rachel Rahman, Rebecca Underwood, Alexandra Watson,
Taylor Williams, Mariyah Zeitz, Sara Zeyen; Coach: Kevin Ward
Superb Defense Highlights U12 Title Game
By: Chris Jamrozy, Illinois Youth Soccer
An early first half goal by Lake Forest Elite’s Nell Keila followed by
45-minutes of spectacular defense and goalkeeper play highlighted the 1-0 win for Lake Forest over Strikers Fox Valley Premier in the Under-12 Girls State Cup Final.
At the 37-minute mark, Stephanie England’s strong run deep into
Lake Forest territory was quickly stopped in the box by the
swarming pressure of Jenny McKendry, Alexandra Yasko, Sheridan Bufe and Natalie Joyce.
“This is amazing,” Oktay Akgun, Lake Forest Head Coach said. “I
have been coaching these players for three years and finally our
hard work helped us reach a State title.”
On the next two Lake Forest possession Devin Burns’ shot attempt was stopped by a diving Chesterfield and Paige Bourne
missed just wide, keeping the Lake Forest lead to
1-0.
Both teams earned their spots in the final by rolling thru preliminary and semifinal play with Strikers FV outscoring their opponents 10-2 and Lake Forest 13-4. Surprisingly, after the offense
outburst both teams showed thru their first four games, this match
proved to be a defensive battle.
After the two Lake Forest misses, the Strikers came right back on
the attack when Sara Zeyen dished to Rachel
Rahman inside the box, but her shot was turned away by Walker.
A Strikers throw-in resulted in a shot by Emily Hess which was
again stopped by Walker.
The defensive tone was set in the first half. After Lake Forest took
a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute, both teams went on lockdown with
neither team able to put together a strong offensive run.
The final 10-minutes saw a barrage of shots by both sides as the
game clock wound down. Anna Lins put a header on goal only to
see it deflected by Walker and then cleared by Jenny
McKendry.
“Our defense played an excellent game,” said Akgun. “We were
very organized and compact. Adrian (Goalkeeper Adrian Walker)
was outstanding and made very important saves.”
In the second half both teams’ offenses perked-up only to be rejected by the strong play of both goalkeepers, Walker (Lake Forest) and Alison Chesterfield (Strikers FV).
Lea Waddle tried to get the offensive momentum back in Lake
Forest’s favor making some strong runs from midfield but the defensive backline of Abby Novak, Bethany Orman and Shannon
Gatehouse stood strong in front of Chesterfield.
In the 53rd minute, Lake Forest seemed to gain a tactical advantage with two consecutive corner kicks, only to see both
attempts knocked away Orman.
With the defense sagging back, Waddle fired a liner that looked to
seal the victory but the shot’s momentum sailed the strike up and
off the crossbar leaving Striker Fox Valley with 1-minute of stoppage time to even the score. But again, Lake Forest’s defense
prevailed with Bufe and Janeece Adler breaking up any Strikers
run at midfield.
UNDER-12 GIRLS
SINGLE ELIMINATION
PLAY
SEMIFINALS
CHAMPIONSHIP
GROUP A
Strikers FV Premier v Rockford Raptors
WC United Wildcats
1-2
GROUP ROUND
ROBIN PLAY
5/15 11am
Strikers FV Premier
Sockers FC Cup v Plainfield Legends Elite
5/15 11am
Strikers FV Premier
Strikers FV Premier v Sockers FC Cup
5/16 8am
Strikers FV Premier
Rockford Raptors v Plainfield Legends Elite
GROUP A BYES
Rockford Raptors
Sockers FC Cup
Plainfield Legends Elite
5/16 8am
Strikers FV Premier v Plainfield Legends Elite
5/16 2pm
Rockford Raptors v Sockers FC Cup
5/16 2pm
2-1
Strikers FV Premier
NSA Premier Rockets
0-3
Oak Brook SC GROUP B
NSA Premier Lasers v Oak Brook
5/15 11am
Oak Brook SC
Palatine Celtic Select v Bartlett Green
5/15 11am
NSA Premier Lasers v Palatine Celtic Select
Downers Grove Roadrunners Black
5/16 8am
Oak Brook v Bartlett Green
Bartlett Green 5/16 8am
NSA Premier Lasers v Bartlett Green
1-3
Bartlett Green
NSA Premier Lasers
Lake
Forest
Elite
5/16 2pm
Oak Brook v Palatine Celtic Select
GROUP B BYES
NSA Premier Lasers
Palatine Celtic Select
5/16 2pm
6/20 Noon
Blue Fire Inferno
GROUP C
Blue Fire InfernoGlen Ellyn Lakers Green v Campton United Navy
4-0
5/15 12:30pm
Pegasus Warriors Red
Blue Fire Inferno v Lake Forest Elite
5/15 12:30pm
Glen Ellyn Lakers Green v Blue Fire Inferno
5/16 9:30am
Lake Forest Elite
Campton United Navy v Lake Forest Elite
Lake Forest Elite
5/16 9:30am
4-0
Lake Forest Elite Glen Ellyn Lakers Green v Lake Forest Elite
Bolingbrook SC Raiders Purple
5/16 3:30pm
Campton United Navy v Blue Fire Inferno
5/16 3:30pm
GROUP C BYES
Glen Ellyn Lakers Green
Campton United Navy
Lake Forest Elite
2-0
GROUP D
Challengers SC Jaguars v Team Evanston Orange
LTSC Select
5/15 12:30pm
4-3
LTSC Select
Dabrico United
LTSC v Lincoln Way Blue
5/15 12:30pm
Challengers SC Jaguars v LTSC
5/16 9:30am
Team Evanston Orange v Lincoln Way Blue
Crystal Lake Force Elite
0-2
5/16 9:30am
Challengers SC Jaguars v Lincoln Way Blue
5/16 3:30pm
Lincoln Way Blue
Lincoln Way Blue
GROUP D BYES
Challengers SC Jaguars
Team Evanston Orange
Team Evanston Orange v LTSC
5/16 3:30pm
Challengers SC Jaguars
Under-13 Boys Championship
U13 Boys Champions: Sockers FC
U13 Boys Finalists: Chicago Fire Jrs. Pre-Academy
Frank Bak, Giovanni Ciaccio, John Freitag, Kou Glaser, Mike Kaczor, Jack Kavanagh,
Liam Kelleher, Michael Kotlyar, Agostino Lappo, Johnny McArtor, Christopher Mueller, Kiel
Pederson, Lionel Perez-Lopez, Jelani Pieters, Zack Saltzman, Andrew Schulz, Erik Stammer,
Matthew Swift; Coach: Ahmed Gad
Kenton Andrews, Zachary Barangan, Thomas Brannigan, Michael Carver, Nick Coon, Eric Diaz,
Collin Fernandez, Anthony Gulli, Sawyer Jackman, Ian Larson, Jordan Moore, Munashe
Nyamunduru, Edgar Olaguez, Mauricio Pineda, Gavin Sanchez, Eduardo Saucedo, Shannon Seymour, Jorge Torrescano; Coach: Matt Kirkpatrick
Penalty Kicks Needed To Decide U13 Boys Title
By: Chris Jamrozy, Illinois Youth Soccer
Not only did the teams in the Under-13
Boys Championship match have to deal
with a talented opponent but also strong,
gusty winds that had an impact on how the
game was played. Both Sockers FC
Chicago and the Chicago Fire Jrs. had to
make adjustments to Mother Nature in a
hard fought contest that was decided in
penalty kicks after 100-minutes of regulation and extra time.
After completing play at a 0-0 knot, the
State title would be decided by PK’s.
Fire captain Shannon Seymour led things
off but too much power behind his kick
sent the shot high and off the
crossbar. Mathew Swift followed to put the
Sockers up 1-0 sending his kick to the
back of the net. Another Fire shot off the
crossbar by Zachary Barangan followed by
a score from Agostino Lappo gave a 2-0
lead to the Sockers. A diving stop by Lionel
Perez-Lopez off an Eric Diaz shot, gave
Frank Bak the opportunity to seal a win for
Sockers FC, which he did finding the back
of the net and earning the State championship.
“When we went to penalty kicks, we were
prepared for it,” Ahmed Gad, Sockers FC
Coach said. “And we have a good
goalkeeper.”
To get to the shoot-out both teams played
a hard fought match both against each
other and the wind. Strong gusts caused a
sea-saw battle throughout regulation and
overtime giving the team with the wind at
its back an advantage when moving the
ball on the attack.
In the first half, the Sockers played with the
wind
advantage and were able to control on the
offensive side of the ball. Christopher
Mueller and John Freitag both had scoring
opportunities in the final 10-minutes of the
first half but Fire goalkeeper Sawyer Jackman made two exceptional diving stops.
With the wind at their back, the Fire turned
up the offensive pressure, lead by Collin
Fernandez. In the second half the Fire outshot the Sockers 5-0 with Perez-Lopez
stopping 4 of the shots and the fifth sailed
wide right.
“Leo (Perez-Lopez) did a great job in the
penalty box and with being ready,” said
Gad.
In overtime, the Fire continued their aggressive play with Diaz firing a shot to the
right of the goal in the first minute.
In the second 10-minutes of extra time,
Bak fired a shot on the Sockers first possession that was stopped by Jackman.
Both teams fought for an advantage over
the final 9-minutes but the final whistle was
blown with a 0-0 tie, sending the determination of the Illinois champion to kicks.
“The wind affected the game a lot,” Gad
said. “We played the first half with the wind
and we put a lot of energy and effort to
score because we knew that in the second
half we would play against the wind and
we missed three chances to score. In the
second half, the Chicago Fire had the wind
and played very physical and kept us in
our defensive half for most of the half
using long balls and free kicks in the air.
“It was a good effort from both teams,” said
Gad. “Both worked hard and there is a lot
of talent in this age group.”
FC Barrington Black
4-0
FC Barrington Black
FC Barrington Black
Lindenhurst Area United
4-0
Lemont Raiders U13
Lemont Raiders U13
3-0
Pegasus Lightning
Under-13
Boys
1-0
Rockford Raptors 96/97
FC Barrington Black
Rockford Raptors 96/97
4-0
Rockford Raptors 96/97
Chicago Fire Jrs U13 Green
2-0
Moline United 96 White
Chicago Magic North
0-4
Chicago Magic North
Windy City Pride 54
Semi Finals
4-2
0-2
Windy City Pride 54
Kickers United FC
Chicago Magic Pre Academy
1-5
Chicago Magic Pre Academy
Chicago Magic Pre Academy
5-1
St Louis Scott
Gallagher IL Green
Spartan FC Select
0-4
0-3
Chicago Wind/
Chicago Fire Jrs North National
Chicago Wind/
Chicago Fire Jrs North National
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
2-0
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
0-4
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
Finals
1-0
St Louis
Scott Gallagher IL Blue
Mundelein Strikers
3-2
Chicago Fire Jrs Red
Crystal Lake Force Elite
Mundelein Strikers
6-2
Mundelein Strikers
Crystal Lake Force Elite
4-3
Team Chicago
Academy Destroyers
NW United NUSC Blue
0-4
1-5
GLSA Libertyville Orange
GLSA Libertyville Orange
GLSA Libertyville Orange
GLSA Libertyville Orange
Trebol FC
3-2
Campton United Navy
0-1
Chicago Fire Jrs
Pre Academy
Semi Finals
Campton United Navy
DG Roadrunners
0-4
1-5
Orland Park Eagles Blue
Orland Park Eagles Blue
0-2
Chicago Fire Jrs
Palatine Celtic Select
Pre Academy
Chicago Fire Jrs
Pre Academy
0-4
Chicago Fire Jrs
Pre Academy
Arlington Aces Red
0-3
FC United Select
LTSC Select
3-2
Galaxy 96/97 Blue
4-0
FC United Select
3-2
LTSC Select
Chicago Fire Jrs
Pre Academy
FC United Select
Sockers FC
Chicago Cup
Under-13 Girls Championship
U13 Girls Champions: NSA Jaguars
U13 Girls Finalists: Midwest Regin Knockouts
Abbie Boswell, Lauren Ciesla, Madison Conroy, Shelby Danielson, Paige Filipek, Kelly Keckler,
Morgan Kemerling, Alison Kincaide, Alyssa Kovatchis, Jamie Kovatchis, Jessica Phillips, Jessica
Ridderhoff, Meredith Tunney, Dannah Williams, Emi Yamamoto; Coaches: Bonnie Young &
Malcom Boswell
Emily Davis, Natalie Freeman, Kelly Graves, Kate Halford, Mckayla Harder, Amber Helton,
Zoie Holloway, Maggie Juhlin, Whitney Learned, Blaire Marker,Claire Neibergall, Mayson Nelson,
Kate Olson, Carolyn Peters, Dusti Rogers, Keely Theobald, Marissa Villafuerte, Madison Volpert;
Coach: Jonathan Titzel
Full Team Effort Leads NSA To Under-13 Girls Title
By: Chris Jamrozy, Illinois Youth Soccer
Ridderhoff had an excellent game,”
A strong team effort and goals by Abbie
Boswell and Lauren Ciesla helped lead
NSA Jaguars to a 2-0 U13 Girls Illinois
State Cup title over the scrappy and tough
Midwest Reign Knockouts.
Boswell said. “They limited the time on the
ball, won the arial battle and were able to
keep possession with good movement off
the ball and accurate passing.”
“It was a good solid team performance,”
Malcolm Boswell, NSA Coach said. “We’ve
kept the same group together for four
years and we’ve been together long
enough that we’ve got really good chemistry.”
Reign keeper Natalie Freemen fought off
an early NSA attack which required her to
stop 2 shots by Abbie Boswell and make a
leaping punch that sent another NSA
potential score over the crossbar at the
25th minute to preserve the nill-nill tie.
That chemistry and years of playing was
very evident as the Jaguars continued to
stick to their style of play, which
consists of lots of passing and keeping the
ball moving on the ground, as the Reign
tried to impose their physical style to knock
the Jaguars off the ball.
Following the Freeman save, Marissa Villafuerte took an individual run into the NSA
box but strong defense by Williams and
Kelly Keckler slowed the Reign advancement and allowed Keckler to knock the ball
away.
“We often play physical teams,” said
Boswell. “When you move the ball around
and you avoid the 50/50 ball, you can
avoid that physicality. Dannah Williams
and Morgan Kemerling in the middle are
the glue that keep everything together and
they are physical too.
“The midfield of Alyssa Kovatchis, Emi Yamamoto, Jamie Kovatchis, Alison Kincaide,
Lauren Ciesla and Jessica
A perfectly placed ball by Paige Filipek to
the foot of Abbie Boswell gave the Jaguars
a 1-0 lead at the 20-minute mark of the
2nd half.
“Abbie did a good job after she missed a
couple shots,” Malcolm Boswell said.
“When she came to the bench she kept
saying, ‘I’m gonna score, I’m gonna score.’
When you are a forward you have to be
brave enough to keep shooting even if you
miss. She got a real good assist from
Paige, it was the key to the play, and it
gave Abbie an easy kick in.”
After the first score, both teams offensive
ferocity increased but strong defense by
Kate Halford and Dusti Rogers of the
Reign and Williams, Keckler, Kemerling
and Meredith Tunney for NSA kept both
teams from changing the score.
Rewarding the hard work done by the
defensive line in front of her, NSA
goalkeeper Jessica Phillips was there to
knock away any shot that made it past her
defensive mates.
“Jessica Phillips in goal has improved at a
rapid rate since joining the club and her
confidence has increased as well,” Boswell
said. “She was able to stop everything that
came her way.
NSA took a 2-0 lead in the 33rd minute
when a Ciesla knocked in a Boswell shot
that was stopped by Freemen then
ricocheted to the crashing wing.
“The forwards, (Boswell, Madison Conroy
and Filipek) were always looking to take
the ball to the goal and kept taking shots,”
said Boswell.
Chicago Fire Jrs Red 11
1-2
Ajax FC Chicago
Ajax FC Chicago
Warren United Blazers Blue
2-1
0-1
Windy City Pride 44
Windy City Pride 44
Windy City Pride 44
Windy City Pride 44
2-1
Palatine Celtic Select
Under-13
Girls
4-1
Panther Pride
Windy City Pride 44
1-0
Panther Pride
Bartlett Hawks Green
Campton United Navy
1-0
Panther Pride
Campton United Navy
3-2
Team Evanston Orange
Midwest Reign Knockouts
Team Chicago Academy Inter
2-1
Semi Finals
Team Chicago Academy Inter
Trevian SC Blue
Pegasus Warriors Red
2-1
0-2
Team Chicago Academy Inter
Plainfield Legends Elite
4-1
0-2
Plainfield Legends Elite
Stars SC
Midwest Reign Knockouts
St Louis Scott
Gallagher IL Blue
0-4
St Louis Scott
Gallagher IL Blue
Green White Strykers
1-2
Midwest Reign Knockouts
Midwest Reign Knockouts
Finals
0-4
0-2
Midwest Reign Knockouts
Mundelein Magic
Mundelein Magic
2-0
Rockford Dactyls 96/97
Lincoln Way Blue
0-3
Chicago Fire Jrs Red
Chicago Fire Jrs Red
0-1
0-4
Chicago Fire Jrs Red
Galaxy Blue
1-2
WC United Wildcats
0-4
NSA Jaguars
Naperville Jaguars
NSA Jaguars
NSA Jaguars
3-0
FC United Select
NSA Jaguars
FC United Select
4-1
Crystal Lake Force Elite
Chicago Magic North 96/97
0-2
Tri-Cities Premier
LTSC Select
Semi Finals
3-1
Tri-Cities Premier
5-3
NSA Jaguars
Tri-Cities Premier
St Louis Scott Gallagher IL Green
0-4
0-3
St Louis Scott Gallagher IL Green
Eclipse Select West 96-97
FC Barrington Black
0-2
Eclipse Select West 96-97
FC Panthers Gold
1-5
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
Eclipse Select West 96-97
Eclipse Select West 96-97
5-3
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
NSA Jaguars
Under-14 Boys Championship
U14 Boys Champions: Eclipse Select
U14 Boys Finalists: Sockers FC
Martin Alba, James Barkei, Santiago Beltran, Michael Catalano, Lloyd Chatfield, Thomas
Dieffenthaller, Luca Giovine, Troy Good, Michael Jimenez, Erick Karkut, Daniel Lott, Rafeal
Macias, John Moderwell, Carmelo Morales, Zach Peterson, Carlos Schultz, Brian Wercheck;
Coach: Marc McElligott
Cesar Alba, Michael Chang, Kyle Clancy, Tristan Conrad, Jack Cooney, Lee Gualano,
Alex Herrera, Eric Leonard, Ivan Mancilla, Spencer Moore, Jonah Muniz, Matthew Quick,
Noah Radwanski, Daniel Ramirez, Adrian Remeniuk, Liam Sampson, Kyle Thompson,
Nicholas Vogel; Coach: David Richardson
Early & Often Scoring Leads Eclipse To Boys U14 Win
By: Michael Garofola, Special To Illinois Youth Soccer
A late spectacular free-kick strike from
Brian Wercheck would highlight a terrific
effort from Eclipse Select in its 4-0 victory
over Sockers FC in the breakfast special of
June 13 at Sportscore 2 in Rockford.
After the frantic start usually seen at this
age group from both sides, the Eclipse
would step up the pace, testing Sockers
keeper Adrian Remeniuk with several balls
sent in near the spot off well-aimed freekicks, before Lloyd Chatfield fired home a
low shot at 22 minutes to give the Eclipse
the only goal it would need in this match.
"That first goal always sets the tone in a
match like this," said Eclipse head coach
Marc McElligott. "We started very well
today, particularly up top where our players
put a lot of pressure on the (Sockers) in its
own end, and after finally breaking through
with (that) first goal, we were able to add
one more late before the break to help
keep the pressure on."
Erick Karkut, Michael Catalano and Chatfield had far too much pace and energy in
the first quarter hour for the
Sockers to contend with, with Karkut
nearly finding the aforementioned Chatfield
at the back post at 10 minutes - and Chatfield missing in close with a flying half-volley just four minutes later from in close.
The quartet of Eric Leonard, Lee Gualano,
Alex Herrera and Kyle Clancy did its best
to weather the storm for the
Sockers along the back, but quick ball
movement from side-to-side allowed a
composed Chatfield to find the back of the
net in the 22nd minutes for what would be,
the eventual game-winner for the Eclipse.
"We did a good job playing the ball on the
outside today, and having our guys (there)
going up and down, to help create chances
for each other," offered Wercheck.
Wercheck would make it 2-0 with a goal in
first half extra-time when the outside MF
thumped a one-timer past Remeniuk after
the Sockers initial save on a Catalano freekick produced a rebound at his back post.
After the break, McElligott asked his backline, led by Troy Good and Michael
Jimenez to protect the always dangerous
2-goal lead, and with the help of its keeper
James Barkei, the Eclipse trio did just that.
Barkei would turn around consecutive
serves near the spot from Leonard, then
stayed composed to save a long-range
freekick Michael Chang strike near the
hour mark, until a bit of rough and chippy
play led to an unfortunate verbal
altercation from fans along the far touchline that would result in a 15-minute delay
when the center official banished a pair of
fans from the area.
Just after resuming play, John Moderwell
made it 3-0 with a header off the post and
into the back of the net when he elevated
to meet a ball from teammate Carmelo
Morales.
Wercheck would finish things off at 77
minutes when his guided missile from 30
yards exploded into the net.
"Scoring that goal was fun," admitted
Wercheck, "but what I also liked about this
game was how we did a much better job of
protecting a 2-0 lead after we gave away a
2-goal lead in our quarterfinal match with
the (Magic) and having to come back and
winning (it) 3-2 in overtime."
Eclipse Select 95-96
Eclipse Select 95-96
2-0
FC Cicero Mayas
FC Cicero Mayas
2-1
Chicago Wind/
Chicago Fire Jrs North
3-2
Eclipse Select 95-96
Chicago Magic Pre Academy
Chicago Magic Pre Academy
Chicago Fire Juniors Red
1-5
3-0
Team Chicago
Academy Explosion
Team Chicago
Academy Explosion
Eclipse Select 95-96
Semi Finals
0-2
Lemont Raiders Select
St Louis
Scott Gallagher IL Blue
4-0
St Louis
Scott Gallagher IL Blue
Lemont Raiders Select
1-0
0-2
Campton United White
Inter FC Select
Inter FC Select
Inter FC Select
4-0
FC Tokoto
Palatine Celtic Select
Finals
1-4
4-0
Palatine Celtic Select
Sockers FC Cup
2-0
FC Chicago
Sockers FC Cup
FC Chicago
4-0
2-1
Galaxy 95-96 Blue
Sockers FC Cup
Campton United Navy
Woodstock Crossfire
4-1
Campton United Navy
FCX North Black
1-3
FCX North Black
Semi Finals
1-0
FC United Select
4-0
NIFC Black
Sockers FC Cup
FC United Select
Raptors FC 95/96
1-3
Raptors FC 95/96
4-3
FC United Select
Chicago Fire Juniors Pre Academy
Chicago Fire Juniors Pre Academy
Aurora Fireballs
FORFEIT
Kickers SC U14 Blue
4-0
Kickers SC U14 Blue
Eclipse Select 95-96
Under-14 Girls Championship
U14 Girls Champions: Sockers FC
U14 Girls Finalists: Strikers Fox Valley Premier
Erin Bailey, Rosalia Baldo, Madeline Boutros, Kristen Dodson, Taylor Fuderer, Gina Giancola,
Lauren Gierman, Tori Iatarola, Allison Ingham,Catherine Kent, Jackie Mannion, Tatum Norton,
Natalia Pena, Maria Petrillo, Mary Rose Pettenuzzo, Jessica Schmidt, Grace Vitek, Emily
Zahrebelski; Coach: Ahmed Gad
Jennifer Barr, Catherine Coghlan, Rion Gaffney, Nicole Lombardo, Samantha Lombardo, Alexis
Maze, Madison Meiss, Anika Nims, Danielle Noverini, Hannah Nowling, Madison Parrino, Ally
Potterton, Alexandria Seaveu, Darcy Stoecklin, Beth Walton; Coach: David Parker
Sockers Control Game In U14 Girls Championship
By: Michael Garofola, Special to Illinois Youth Soccer
Sockers FC started fast and never let
down to capture the Under-14 state title
after its convincing 3-1 victory over Strikers
Fox Valley Premier, helping to ease the
pain of a heart-breaking loss in shoot-out
last season to Eclipse Select.
Once the action began, it became clear the
Sockers had come to play, as its trio of
front-runners, Rosalia Baldo,
Kristen Dodsen and Lauren Gierman each
appeared eager and ready to up the
tempo, which in turn would give the eventual state champs plenty of chances on
Strikers keeper Abby Zacker in the early
stages.
"In the first 10 minutes of this match, we
were unable to keep up with the pace of
the Sockers, and we never really settled in
until after (their) first goal," offered Strikers
head coach David Parker.
"The really great thing about this team
during the (three) years that they have
been together, is that they come out and
play hard, and with a lot of energy, and
today that's exactly what they did," said
Sockers head coach Ahmed Gad.
Baldo and Gierman would each have a go
in the first 3 minutes, while Gina Giancola,
a constant threat all throughout the match
with her driving flip-throws, forced Zacker
to make a glove-save at 5 minutes.
While Zacker was called upon on a handful
of other
opportunities from the Sockers in the first
quarter hour, her counterpart, Madeline
Boutros had an easy time of it, thanks in
part to her mates in front of her, Maria
Petrillo, Natalia Pena, Tatum Norton and
Giancola, until Allison Ingham struck at 21
minutes, to help slow a Strikers club which
were dangerous when it countered, and
would find either Alyssa Brandt or Ashlyn
Walter.
Despite the 2-goal deficit, the Strikers did
not roll over, and just 60 seconds afterwards, Amanda Hilton shortened the lead
when she thumped in the rebound off her
own point-blank blast, in which Boutros
would stop
brilliantly.
Just moments after Ingham was brought
on by Gad, the Sockers striker would make
an immediate footprint on the match when
she collected a loose ball, and with terrific
composure, would chip Zacker who had
ventured too far off her line.
With a bit of its confidence restored
following the Hilton goal, the Strikers would
set its sights on finding the equalizer,
however Parkers' club would struggle to
find the run of play for the rest of the way,
as they were forced to defend several Giancola flip throws, and the energetic runs
of Bailey, Baldo, Gierman and Ingham in
its own end.
"I was really pleased with the way we got
ourselves back to playing the way we were
capable of after they went up 1-0," said
Parker, who would watch Savanah Uveges
have a good chance on frame in the closing minutes before intermission, causing
Boutros to make a stop.
"I am proud of the way we played, but the
fact is, the Sockers are very, very good,
and a team which just doesn't lose very
often with all of the talent that it has,"
began Parker. "We've come a long way in
just under one year, but we lost to the better side today."
After the break, both sides appeared content with playing the ball over the top, and
serving into the area with the hope of creating deep throws or set-piece
opportunities, but it was the 1-2 play from
Gierman and Erin Bailey that would lead to
the Sockers' second goal at 44 minutes,
when Bailey finished from the left side.
Taylor Fuderer and Dodson would be the
chief architects in the Sockers final goal of
the day, finished by Gierman at the end of
a zig-zag run which put her in close at 68
minutes.
"We really had good ball movement today,"
offered Norton, who had a great view all
match-long from her spot as the Sockers
defensive midfielder.
"Everyone on this team is always willing to
work hard, and to put the extra time in to
improve on all the little things it takes to
win a State Championship and more, and
that's why it's so much fun coaching these
girls," Gad said.
Eclipse Select 95-96
4-0
NW Renegades
Under-14
Girls
Eclipse Select 95-96
Heat United
1-3
0-2
Heat United
Academy United SC 95/96
NSA Premier Blaze
2-1
Green White Premier
0-4
Academy United SC 95/96
Academy United SC 95/96
Academy United SC 95/96
Academy United SC 95/96
4-0
NIFC U13 Black
LTSC Select
0-1
SFV 96 Premier Cup
Semi Finals
LTSC Select
SFV 96 Premier Cup
3-0
Kicks SC White
1-2
SFV 96 Premier Cup
OPRF Strikers
0-1
OPRF Strikers
2-1
SFV 96 Premier Cup
FCX North Black
GLSA Libertyville Orange
4-0
Oakbrook SC
1-2
FCX North Black
Finals
Dactyls 95/96
Oakbrook SC
1-2
1-3
Dactyls 95/96
Sockers FC Cup
4-0
Galaxy SC Blue
1-3
Elk Grove Strikers
Elk Grove Strikers
Sockers FC Cup
FC United Premier
1-3
1-0
FC United Premier
Sockers FC Cup
St Louis Scott
Gallagher IL Blue
SFV 96 Premier
0-1
SFV 96 Premier
4-0
Windy City Pride 45
Windy City Pride 45
DG Roadrunners
0-1
Windy City Pride 45
Windy City Pride 45
5-1
Semi Finals
Plainfield Legends Elite
2-0
FC United Select
3-0
Crystal Lake Force Elite
FC United Select
Arlington Aces Academy
0-2
Arlington Aces Academy Red
3-1
FC United Select
Tem Chicago
Academy ManU
Cary Defenders Premier
4-0
Chicago Fire Jrs. Red 11
2-1
Team Chicago
Chicago Fire Jrs. Red 11
Sockers FC Cup
Sockers FC Cup
Under-15 Boys Championship
U15 Boys Champions: Lemont Raiders
U15 Boys Finalists: Chicago Wind / Fire Jrs. North
Jack Alberts, Joshua Aldaba, Ricardo Aldape, Enrique Elias-Castaneda, Tony Estrad, Jose Garcia,
Romo Gonzalo, Abel Guzman, Javier Guzman, Kyle Hamann, Ulises Hernandez, Brandon Medina,
Conor Nitchoff, Luis Ortiz, Andrew Putna, Tony Rodriguez, Rodrigo Salgado, Roberto Torres;
Coach: Alex Nitchoff
Jesus Arenas, Noah Bloch, Keenan Busse, Gustavo Carmona, Devan Dailey, Rogelio Gonzalez,
Matthew Hayes, Yacir Herrera, Joseph Hugener, Jose LaBoy, Isidro Leon, Juandedios Recendez,
Frankie Rios, Jason Santos, Craig Scott, Kyle Skinner, Raul Soto, Charlie Versen;
Coach: Sole Antonijevic
Short-Sided Raiders Earn U15 Title
By: Michael Garofola, Special to Illinois Youth Soccer
It was truly a marathon. 10-man Lemont
defeated the Chicago Wind/Fire Juniors 21 with a herculean effort to capture its first
State Cup title, beating the odds and
stormy weather to earn its much deserved
trophy.
Ricardo Aldape would convert a pair of
PK's on either side of the halves, while
teammate and captain Jack Alberts helped
keep his club composed and organized all
throughout the nearly 73 minutes his club
played a man short to insure the victory.
"I guess the desire to win a championship
is what kept us going," said Aldape, who
would stun their opponent just 8 minutes
after co-captain Brandon Medina was banished with a straight red during a bizarre
sequence of events in which the Raiders
coaching staff argued forever that
Medina was unfairly recognized as the villain in a careless tackle near the top of its
box on a Wind/Fire player.
"We were playing for Brandon after all of
the stuff happened," admitted the soft
spoken Alberts.
The nationally ranked Raiders did not go
into a shell after the loss of Medina, as it
was the Wind/Fire which were put under
pressure from the opening minutes of the
controversial red card, and right on up
through intermission, as the Raiders
picked themselves up off the floor to
produce several dangerous situations, including Aldapes' carry into the box, and
subsequent foul, leading to his PK
conversion.
"We had never won a state title, and we
weren't going to let the dream of winning
(one) end because we were playing a man
down," said Aldape of his teams desire and
urgency in its first-half play.
Chicago's Juandedios Recendez would
block the combined efforts from Romo
Gonzalo, Tony Rodriguez and Javier Guzman at the line at 36 minutes, in one of
several quality chances the Raiders would
create, leading up to a superb first half of
play. Lemont would double its lead moments into the second half when Aldape
struck his spot kick just
inside the post.
"We went to five in the back, and three in
the midfield in the
second-half, and although we didn't get as
many chances as we did in the first half,
we were (still) able to keep them out of our
end for most of the second half," offered
Alberts.
Near the hour mark, both sides would
threaten, with Chicago's Charlie Versen
watching his attempt slowed by Raiders
keeper Andrew Putna challenging off his
line, while on the other end, Putna's counterpart, saving a sure goal of a point-blank
blast from Ulises Hernandez.
Chicago finally cut into the Raiders lead on
a sensational free-kick from Yacir Herrera
from the right side and 22 yards, which
bounced off the underside of the bar and
over in the 72nd minute.
Bursting with confidence now, Chicago
figured it was only a matter of time before
it found the equalizer, but Mother Nature
had other ideas, sending all the participants at Sportscore 2 indoors for the next
2+ hours to wait out one storm after another.
Once the all-clear was announced, play
would resume, and the frantic box-to-box
play from both sides would yield plenty of
yellow card bookings, and narrow escapes
for each club, including a free-kick chance
for Chicago for Raul Soto in the closing
moments of regulation.
"We lost here last year before even
reaching the finals, so we had that going
for us, as well as everything else that
happened in this game," echoed both
Aldape and Alberts.
Chicago Wind / Chicago Fire Jrs North
4-0
Crystal Lake Force
Under-15
Boys
Chicago Wind / Chicago Fire Jrs North
Crystal Lake Force
6-4
Chicago Makers U15 Boys
2-0
Chicago Wind / Chicago Fire Jrs North
Galaxy 94/95
Galaxy 94/95
2-0
OPSC Eagles 94/95 Blue Jaguars
OPSC Eagles 94/95 Blue Jaguars
3-0
FC Tokoto
Chicago Wind / Chicago Fire Jrs North
Semi Finals
Eclipse Select 94-95
6-3
Eclipse Select 94-95
4-0
Palatine Celtic Select
3-2
Eclipse Select 94-95
Chicago Magic Pre Academy
4-0
Quincy United Strikers
Chicago Magic Pre Academy
Quincy United Strikers
Lemont Raiders
Finals
2-1
1-2
Inter FC Select 94/95
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
3-0
Grand FC Mustangs
Eclipse Select North 94/95
0-3
2-0
Eclipse Select North 94/95
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
St Louis Scott Gallagher IL Blue
FC Chicago
FC Chicago
0-3
FC Chicago
4-0
Park Ridge Premier 15
Semi Finals
0-1
Lemont Raiders
FC United Select
4-1
Lemont Raiders
Lemont Raiders
LISC Premier
0-3
2-0
LISC Premier
Lemont Raiders
Chicago Fire Jrs Development Academy
4-1
Chicago Fire Jrs. Red
Chicago Fire Jrs Development Academy
Under-15 Girls Championship
U15 Girls Champions: Chicago Fire Jrs.
U15 Girls Finalists: Team Chicago Academy Botafogo
Jenna Ayers, Kaitlin Bucaro, Taylor Bucaro, Karina Casey, Sabrina Cisneros, Jenna DiTusa, Angelica Dziedzic, Veronica Ellis, Amanda Gaggioli, Holly Gregory, Ashley Handwork, Natalie Jensen,
Madeline Kennedy, Catherine Lamlech, Alyssa Mastroianni, Sara Stankoskey, Rachel Zampa;
Coach: Steve Berry
Brittany Brewer, Jorie Clawson, Olivia Cozzoni, Hope D'Addario, Julianna DePoister, Kiley
Dunning, Zoe Ekonomou, Zoey Goralski, Kaitlin Johnson, McKenna Kiple, Brooke Ksiazek, Kelly
Langlas, Dana Miller, Molly Piech, Danielle Pitaro, Jenna Romano, Erin Wren, Allie Zappia;
Coach: Phil Nielsen
Win In U15 Finale Give Fire First Girls’ Title
By: Michael Garofola, Special To Illinois Youth Soccer
Goals on either side of the half by Ashley
Handwork, along with water-tight defending gave the Chicago Fire Juniors its firstever State Cup championship from its girls
program with a 2-1 victory over Team
Chicago.
Handwork, who helped Plainfield North to
a 20-win season this past spring season
on the prep scene, as a freshmen, brought
the Fire to life at 16 minutes after Team
Chicago carried the run of play off the
opening whistle, then struck the eventual
game-winner in the 59th minute with an
explosive cracker from in close.
"It's fun playing against so many of my
teammates on the Fire during the high
school season, but it's been great to see
us all come together as (one) and win a
State Cup title and advance into the Regionals in two weeks," said
Handwork, who finished with a neat little
volley after
collecting an Amanda Gaggioli cross in the
first half.
"The key to our run in this tournament has
been our stingy defense, and the girls ability to play together so quickly so soon after
getting all the girls back from their high
school teams," said Fire head coach Steve
Berry.
"It's a real credit to all of them."
Although the Fire were unable to double its
lead before intermission, they clearly
looked crisper than their opponents in the
last 5-6 minutes of the first-half, with
Karina Casey, Catherine Lamiech and
Handwork creating plenty of trouble in the
Team Chicago end and forcing its backline
of Kaitlin Johnson, Kelly Langlas and
Jenna Romano to defend more than it
would have liked to.
Team Chicago awoke just minutes after
the break when Hope D'Addario cracked a
wicked blast just inside the post to bring
her club even, and instantly increase the
pace and intensity of the match for the
next quarter hour leading up Handwork's
second goal.
"That was the first goal of this tournament
that we had given up, but I knew this team
was a resilient side after we came back
from being down 3-1 in our PK shoot-out
with NSA to win our quarterfinal and stay
alive in this tournament," said Berry.
Handwork roared down the right side to
run down a ball from out of the back - then
unloaded her one-timer past keeper Kiley
Dunning, who had no time to react to the
go-ahead goal.
"I came in from a little bit of an angle, and
when I got to the ball I just saw a little
opening and went for it," smiled Handwork.
Just afterwards, Fire keeper Jenna DiTusa
nearly saw Zoey Goralski get through to
force a potentially dangerous 1 v 1 with the
talented Team Chicago striker, and
moments later, Handwork had a chance to
put this match out of reach from in close, if
she had not sprayed her hat-trick attempt
just wide of the near post.
DiTusa would pull back the equalizer in the
77th minute with Danielle Pitaro watching
her 20-yard missile grabbed out of the air
from the horizontal DiTusa, ending the
hopes of Team Chicago of sending this
match into overtime.
"Veronica (Ellis), Rachel Zampa, Sara
(Stankovsky) were solid all along the back,
and we kept Zoey (Goralski) away from
Jenna (DiTusa) for most of the match, and
we saw Ashley score her first 2 goals of
the tournament in the match that we
needed her to do so," began Berry.
"This is a wonderful group of 17 players
and their families, and we look forward to
representing the IYSA and our club when
regionals begin in Dayton on the 26th."
Eclipse Select 94-95
Celtic FC Chicago
4-2
Chicago International
Homer Glen Blue
Eclipse Select 94-95
4-0
Celtic FC Chicago
Celtic FC Chicago
2-1
Galaxy SC Blue
4-0
Ajax FC Chicago
0-1
St Louis Scott
Gallagher IL Blue
Ajax FC Chicago
Eclipse Select 94-95
St Louis Scott
Gallagher IL Blue
1-0
FCX North Black
FCX North Black
4-0
Team Chicago
Academy Botafogo
Dactyls 94/95
Team Chicago
Academy Botafogo
Darien Dynamo
Dynamites
4-2
FC United Premier
3-4
Under-15
Girls
Semi Final
0-1
Team Chicago
Academy Botafogo
Windy City Pride 42
FC United Premier
0-4
Windy City Pride 42
Panthers SC Ice
4-0
Team Chicago
Academy Botafogo
FC United Select
0-4
4-0
Oak Brook SC
Chicago Inter Homer Glen
3-4
Lincolnshire Lightning
Chicago Fire
Jrs. Red 11
FC United Select
Oak Brook SC
Final
1-2
Chicago Inter Homer Glen
1-5
Chicago Inter Homer Glen
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
3-0
Tri-Cities Lady Bulldogs
Tri-Cities Lady Bulldogs
4-1
Renegade FC Strikers
0-1
Eclipse Select South 94-95
Eclipse Select South 94-95
Chicago Fire Jrs. Red
Eclipse Select South 94-95
4-0
Kopion FC
0-1
Kopion FC
Semi Final
NSA Premier Fireballs
Strikers FV 95 Premier
1-0
Chicago Fire Jrs. Red 11
0-1
NSA Premier Fireballs
Strikers FV 95 Premier
5-1
0-1
Crystal Lake Force Elite
Chicago Fire Jrs. Red 11
Chicago Fire Jrs. Red 11
Chicago Magic North 94/95
5-3
FCX South U15 Black
4-0
Chicago Fire Jrs. Red 11
Chicago Magic North 94/95
Under-16 Boys Championship
U16 Boys Champions: Chicago Fire Jrs.
U16 Boys Finalists: Chicago Wind / Fire Jrs. Black
Daniel Burns, Jonathan Clark, Ben Cochran, Luke Cogan, Michael Frasca, Jr, Greg Healy, Hunter
Hollingshead, William Huesing, Austin Jackman, Anthony Jeffries, Maxwell Jones, Nico Lappo,
Chidozie Nwagbara, Richard Paret, Tanner Planck, Joshua Rosenbaum, Fransisco Sajuan,
Matthew Thomas, Michael Winhoffer, Cody Witkowski; Coach: Victor Fernendez
Joseph Calistri, Emmanuel Chavez, Taylor Click, Ruben Flores, Ryan Foster, Asa Goldsmith, Kevin
Grube, Ramon Gutierrez, Brian Hindle,Marshall Hollingsworth, Paras Kaushal, Richard Lekakh,
Christian Lomeli, Endy Marban, Connor Mulhern, Ricardo Rodriguez, Michael Shipp, Joseph
Soldan, Niko Svigos, Joseph Tarkington, Jonathon Trout, Brady Walsh; Coach: Santiago Rubio
Clark & Witkowski Lead Fire To U16 State Title
By: Michael Garofola, Special to Illinois Youth Soccer
Cody Witkowski and Jonathan Clark were
at the hub of a ferocious Chicago Fire Juniors attack as the defending state champs
easily went past fellow club mates
Wind/Juniors North 4-1 to win the Under16 championship, and qualify for the Regional tournament.
The dynamic duo would have a hand in 3
of the 4 goals in this match, including the
opener at 14 minutes to provide the inspiration the Fire would need which would
sustain long periods of pressure on its opponents, who fought a valiant 80 minute
fight, and giving a scare when it drew even
in the 37th minute, only to concede a damaging goal by Witkowski as the Fire would
finish the half in the
ascendancy.
“The last two weeks of training, we've been
working on getting sharper and cleaner in
all parts of our game, and today you saw
the fruits of labor with a terrific effort from
start to finish," said coach Victor Fernendez, moments after getting a Gatorade
shower from his lads. "Our guys in the
back stayed organized for most of the
match, and we never panicked on the
other end, because we knew the goals
would come sooner than later, and when
we did, the game finally opened up for us."
Both sides would bypass their midfielders
in the early going, playing balls out of the
back (instead) making for little
possession - but plenty of whistle's from
the center official who did well to curtail
chippy play and careless tackles on 50-50
balls either in the air or on the floor.
Witkowski would give Clark a
splendid early ball on the right side, and
the Palatine High School star broke upfield
into space before unloading a 25-yard
cracker that buried itself into the back of
the net and past Wind keeper Christian
Lomeli who had little chance of reaching
the Clark strike to his left.
The Fire Juniors attack was rampant after
taking the lead, with Clark, Witkowski and
Chidozie Nwagbara each putting together
a series of passes for each other, or its
mates in the middle of the park, forcing
Lomeli to be alert in and around the area
for prowlers, including the Juniors angular
defender, Joshua Rosenbaum, who would
come forward on nearly every set-piece of
dead-ball chance.
Fernandez would later praise the work of
keeper Luke Cogan, who on consecutive
close range shots, kept the Wind out of the
back of the net, with Marshall
Hollingsworth's left-footed strike turned
away at 24 minutes.
"Luke kept us (alive) with two big saves
when we needed them," said Fernandez,
of Cogan, who was between the sticks in
place of the injured William Huesing.
Michael Shipp, who was superb all
throughout, even in defeat, created the
equalizer for Joseph Calistri from in close
with a well-timed tackle, but the 1-1 score
did not last for long, when the Fire Juniors
went back on top less than a minute later
with Clark finding Witkowski at the tail end
of his center channel run.
"Clarky gave me a great ball in the middle
and I was able to finish easily," said the
Batavia High School standout, who came
over from the Eclipse during the offseason.
Calistri would turn the corner at the near
endline before sending a dangerous cross
to the spot, to start the second half for the
Wind, but the pendulum quickly swung
back in favor the the Fire Juniors, when
Witkowski finished in style by going up and
over Lomeli with a deft touch from in close.
Cogan would challenge off his line to send
a Calistri volley the other way at 56 minutes, which would then trigger several yellow card bookings on both sides.
A bit of trickery from AJ Jeffries brought the
Fire Juniors' MF into the box, where he
would locate Calistri who would finish the
scoring on the day in the 63rd minute.
Both clubs would begin to bring on fresh
legs for their respective first-11, with Fernendez relieving Cogan with Hunter
Hollingshead, who in his first three minutes
of action, would stop Shipp in close.
"This team wants to have a good run
through the Regionals and hopefully into
the National tournament, and today was a
good start for all of us," Witkowski would
say.
Chicago Fire Juniors Development Academy
Chicago Fire Juniors Development Academy
FCX South U16 Black
1-3
4-0
SASA Spirits
SASA Spirits
SASA Spirits
3-2
4-0
LISC
Under-16
Boys
Chicago Fire Juniors Development Academy
FC Tokoto Select
FC Tokoto Select
3-1
O'Fallon Kix
Chicago Fire Dev Academy Pool
0-3
Lindenhurst United
Chicago Fire Dev Academy Pool
0-2
Chicago Fire Juniors Development Academy
Chicago Fire Dev Academy Pool
Semi Finals
3-2
FC United Select
4-0
NIFC U16 Black
FC United Select
Kickers SC Premier
1-3
Kickers SC Premier
4-0
FC United Select
Galaxy SC 93/94 Blue
Park Ridge Premier
3-0
Chicago Fire Juniors Development Academy
Galaxy SC 93/94 Blue
FC Panthers Gold
Finals
FORFEIT
4-1
FC Panthers Gold
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
Illinois Fusion Black
4-0
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
Illinois Fusion Black
1-0
FC Chicago
1-3
Rockford Raptors 93/94
Rockford Raptors 93/94
Rockford Raptors 93/94
4-0
Eclipse Select East 93-94
Eclipse Select East 93-94
1-0
Chicago Fire Jrs Red
Semi Finals
Chicago Wind/Chicago Fire Jrs Black
1-2
Ajax FC Select 94
Ajax FC Select 94
ELA Elite
2-1
ELA Elite
Campton United Navy
Inter FC Select
4-0
2-1
ELA Elite
1-0
0-1
Inter FC Select
Spartan FC Select
Chicago Wind/Chicago Fire Jrs Black
Chicago Wind/Chicago Fire Jrs Black
St Louis Scott Gallagher IL Blue
4-0
Chicago Wind/Chicago Fire Jrs Black
St Louis Scott Gallagher IL Blue
3-0
Quincy United Strikers
Under-16 Girls Championship
U16 Girls Champions: Sockers FC
U16 Girls Finalists: NSA Premiery Fury
Alison Cottrell, Teagan Eberle, Megan Graf, Austin Gregorcy, Natalia Grodzki, Katelyn
Hammarlund, Kelli Hubly, Chloe Juergensen, Rhianna Krutz, Ann Marie Lynch, Megan McCabe,
Katie Naughton, Jenny Paddack, Tonia Parisi, Courtney Raetzman, Christina Rosales, Alison
Schmalz, Olivia Stasiuk, Christine Straka, Crystal Thomas; Coach: Oleg Vatchev
Mogbaola Agboola, Kelsey Allen, Floriana Beshiri, Jessica Bronke, Catherine Caniglia, Allison
Farkos, Jordan Ginther, Corinne Harris, Lauren Kelly, Jennifer Korn, Courtney McHugh, Rachel
Miller, Autumn Muckenhirn, Christina Ordonez, Lexi Peterson, Moriah Pinto, Zoe Swift, Amy Tadla;
Coach: Radosav Martinovic
Sockers Out-Shoot Fury For State Cup Win
By: Michael Garofola, Special to Illinois Youth Soccer
Sockers FC Chicago captured the Under-16 Championship after
outscoring NSA Premier Fury 7-6 in a PK shoot-out on the steaming pitch at Sportscore 2.
After it was nearly impossible to decide the champion after 110
minutes, Sockers keeper Megan McCabe thrilled her teammates
and its faithful with a superb save to her right on Courtney
McHugh to begin the 7th round, before Katie Naughton steadied
herself and drew a deep breathe to convert her attempt from the
spot to kick-off a frenzied celebration in the center of the park.
"Defending PK's is all about guessing most of the time, and on
that (final) kick, I was watching her (so) closely before her attempt," said McCabe, who suggested, that at least on this day,
she judged McHugh's spot-kick correctly to seal the deal for her
club.
"I wasn't really sure which way I was going to go as I was running
up to take my PK, but I did know that I was going to hit it hard,
and hopefully, out of reach of their keeper," offered Naughton,
who blasted the winner up and under the roof, leaving little
chance for any heroics from NSA keeper Jordan Ginther.
Naughton's finish completed a perfect 7 for 7 for the Sockers, who
were so clean on 5 of its attempts at Ginther (Kelli Hubly, Crystal
Thomas, Rhianna Krutz, Tonia Parisi, Jenny Paddock) the superb
keeper was literally frozen in her tracks, without an attempt to
save.
"Shoot-outs are a tough way to decide a winner when there are
two very good teams out there playing for so long, and not always
very fair for the goalies to have to go through," admitted Sockers
head coach Oleg Vatchev, who in the fall would watch his club
pounded 5-1 by this same NSA club, who had already qualified
into the National tournament after its brilliant run in US Youth Soccer National League play.
"During the last 3 years, (NSA) has been nearly unbeatable. They
are well-coached, have terrific players, and play a very good
brand of soccer," continued Vatchev. "For us to close the gap, and
(to) win today, says a lot about the girls on this team."
After a less than sparkling opening quarter hour of play, the Sockers’ Hubly would give teammate Courtney Raetzman a wonderful
ball to the spot, where the 2-time Conant High School All-State
sophomore would thump past Ginther.
Raetzman would later leave with an injury at 64 minutes, and not
return, after nearly bringing her club level following a sensational
run into the box.
NSA would respond in a hurry with Jessica Bronke finding the
equalizer at the half hour with a header in close, before her club
would stun the Sockers with the
go-ahead goal in extra time from Corinne Harris on a terrific individual effort.
"We had a couple of defensive break-downs in the first half that
led to both of their goals, one of them mine, but we got ourselves
better organized in the second half, and I really thought we had
the better run of things for the rest of the match," said Naughton.
The Sockers were rampant after the break, and despite the ever
growing heat and humidity, both sides played as if it were the
World Cup championship match, making for an exciting finish in
regulation, and plenty of dramatics during the two 15-minute overtime sessions.
Hubly found the back of the net at 68 minutes after both Thomas
and Krutz helped create the opportunity for the Sockers striker
along the left side before finding their mate.
An alert Ginther would challenge Hubly inside the area in the 80th
minute to stop the potential match-winner with Katelyn Hammerlund responsible for setting up Hubly.
Ginther saved an attempt from Thomas just moments into overtime, then watched a header from Christine Straka sail wide, while
on the other end, Harris had a go on frame in the 95th minute to
finish an action packed first overtime period, and set-up another
pulsating 15 minutes in which both clubs had its chance to win.
Hubly would require Ginther to save on her turn from 25 yards,
while McCabe had to do the same on Harris moments later.
McCabe made perhaps her best stop to guarantee the advancing shoot-out when the Prospect High School keeper snared a blast
from McHugh at 104 minutes, with both Lexi Peterson and Allison Farkos providing the inspiration on the McHugh shot.
NSA stayed with the Sockers through the first 6 rounds in shoot-out with Jennifer Korn, Harris, Mogbaola Agboola, Christina Ordonez,
Lauren Kelly and Farkos golden from the spot.
"We're starting to see this team really come together to play an exciting style of soccer, and they have (all) worked hard to get to this
level," said Vatchev.
"They are really one of the best group of players that I have been involved with, and I am very proud of all of them."
NSA Premier Fury
NSA Premier Fury
4-0
FC United Select
Under-16
Girls
Darien Dynamo Select
2-6
4-0
Darien Dynamo Select
NSA Premier Fury
Hoffman United SC Rockets
NSA Red Rebels 93/94
2-1
Hoffman United SC Rockets
Windy City Pride 41
1-3
Windy City Pride 41
NSA Premier Fury
Semi Final
Chicago Fire Jrs. Red 11
Cary Defenders
HTH ON 6/5
Manhattan Fire
4-0
Cary Defenders
Cary Defenders
4-0
Chicago Fire Jrs. Red 11
4-0
Lincoln-Way Blue
2-3
Stikers Fox Valley Premier
Stikers Fox Valley Premier
Palatine Celtic Select
1-0
Sockers FC
Chicago Cup
Stikers Fox Valley Premier
3-0
Final
Palatine Celtic Select
Crystal Lake Force Elite
2-3
Eclipse Select 93-94
Chicago Magic North 93/94
3-0
Eclipse Select 93-94
Chicago Magic North 93/94
3-1
3-0
Kickers SC U16 Premier
Eclipse Select 93-94
St. Louis Scott
Gallagher IL Blue
Chicago Fire Jrs. Red
2-5
Grove United Revolution Select
Grove United Revolution Select
1-2
Grove United Revolution Select
Semi Final
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
FCX South U16 Black
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
1-4
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
5-1
FCX South U16 Black
FORFEIT
3-1
Carol Stream Panthers
Sockers FC Chicago Cup
Chicago Internationals Homer Glen
Arlington Aces
Arlington Aces
Ajax FC
0-1
FCX North Black
4-0
1-0
Ajax FC
Chicago Internationals Homer Glen
Under-17 Boys Championship
U17 Boys Champions: Campton United Navy
U17 Boys Finalists: Chicago Fire Jrs.
Noah Anthony, Alexander Carpanzano, Trevor Cervenka, Garrett Creasor, Timothy Engel, Nate
Esler, Craig Hancock, Kevin Hilgart, Robert Johnson, Seamus Kaminski, Nicholas Lutsch, Zachary
Matuszak, Matthew Rasmussen, Kyle Reopelle, Eric Russell, Christopher Tomek, Andrew
Triantos, Dylan Tucker, Brady Wahl; Coach: Mark MacKinnon
Keegan Balle, Jonathan Beavis, Jacob Brindle, William Butler, Sean Elvert, Grant Fitzgerald,
Kelly Foran, Tyler Gill, Samuel Hadley, John Horvath, Patrick Kaindl, Sean Mogan, Eoin Moore,
Sean O'Hara, Jonathan Pachar, Omel Perchatsch, Michael Pizzello, Robert Rigg,
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Patryk Ruta, Horacio Sanchez, Maurice Watkins; Coach: Trey Bradberry
Campton United Navy Adds State Cup To Trophy Case
By: Chris Jamrozy, Illinois Youth Soccer
Campton United Navy has accomplished many things: Midwest
Regional League winners, US Youth Soccer Midwest Region
Champions and various other team victories. One thing they had
yet to win was an Illinois State Cup title. One of the reasons they
had not won a State Cup stood in their way again in 2010, the
Chicago Fire Jrs.
Both teams’ offenses went on the aggressive in the 2nd half but
strong defense on both sides kept the score from changing until
the 50th minute when Anthony was on the receiving end this time
of a Tucker pass to knot the score at two-all.
Five-minutes later Brady Wahl, who along with Seamus Kaminski
lead Campton on both sides of the field, fed a pass to Chris
Tomek to give last year’s Regional champions a 3-2 lead.
In what is becoming an annual event and a great rivalry, Campton
United Navy took on the Chicago Fire Jrs. in a rematch of the
2009 and 2008 State Cup title match and a 2007 State Cup preliminary match. It was another classic battle, with the championship decided by PK’s.
A red card on Kaminski left Campton a man down for the final 10minutes of regulation and in stoppage time the Fire found a way to
take advantage when Rigg tallied his second goal of the contest
when he headed in a Sean Mogan shot that had been deflected.
Campton United finally was able to hoist the Illinois champion
hardware outshooting the Fire in PK’s 4-2, to win the match 4-3.
After both overtimes failed to produce the winning goal, PK’s were
needed to declare a winner.
“For us we have been on the losing end of the past 3 years so you
just have to show our players the color red and the hairs on their
neck stand up,” Mark MacKinnon, Campton Head Coach said.
“Joking aside, I will say both sets of players are class acts and as
competitive as it get's. Add the fact you have two teams that on
their day can play with anyone in the country at their age and the
competition just breeds. From the team's perspective since our
first meeting back in 2007 you wait 365 days until your next
opportunity, then you lose again and wait again. Finally this year
something had to give and the only way to do it was in the fashion
that we did. It was truly gratifying and exhausting.”
“I was very proud of the players,” said MacKinnon. “It would have
been so easy to give up when we lost that goal 2 minutes from the
end of regulation. People would have just put it down to the fact
we had 10 men, tired legs and the Fire were just better. However,
the players rallied round, composed themselves and stuck to the
game plan. When you truly talk about a team you have to have
guy's that are willing to come off the bench and perform a role and
that's what happened for us. Everybody just pulled it together.”
Dylan Tucker gave Campton the early advantage sending a Noah
Anthony pass to the back of the net 2-minutes into the match. 12minutes later the game was even 1-1 when Will Butler found Chad
Riggs, who knocked a shot past Nate Esler.
The Fire took a 2-1 lead when Maurice Watkins scored off an assist from Rigs at the 21-minute mark.
Wahl converted the first shot attempt and was matched by Rigg.
Next at the point was Eric Russell of Campton who drove his shot
to the back of the net. A miss by Horacio Sanchez of the Fire followed by a Tomek conversion, gave Campton a 3-1 advantage.
Keegan Balle scored the Fire’s second point putting the pressure
back onto the shootout’s final two shooters, Anthony for Campton
and Will Butler for the Fire. Anthony calmly converted his shot,
making Campton a perfect 4-4. Butler’s hard liner was tipped and
deflected by Esler finally securing Campton the long sought after
State championship trophy.
Chicago Fire Jrs Development Academy
Hoffman United Hurricanes
FORFEIT
5-1
Under-17
Boys
Chicago Fire Jrs Development Academy
Hoffman United Hurricanes
Hoffman United Hurricanes
Black Thunder SC
3-1
2-1
Grove United Revolution
Chicago Fire Jrs Development Academy
Spartan Select
Galaxy SC Blue 92-93
4-0
1-2
Euro Premier
3-2
Bartlett Hawks
Spartan Select
Euro Premier
Euro Premier
1-0
Bartlett Hawks
Chicago Fire Jrs Development Academy
Chicago Magic Dev Academy
Semi Finals
2-0
Springfield Fire
3-4
LISC
LISC
LISC
FORFEIT
5-4
RMSC Vortex
LISC
DG Roadrunners
Quincy United Strikers
2-1
DG Roadrunners
Quincy United Strikers
4-1
Campton United White
1-2
Finals
Campton United Navy
3-4
Real Chicago FC White
Real Chicago FC White
Campton United Navy
FCX South U17 Black
1-2
Fury Futbol
Fury Futbol
6-2
Campton United Navy
Fury Futbol
2-0
1-0
Rockford Raptors
Campton United Navy
Inter FC Select 92/93
Inter FC Select 92/93
St Louis Scott Gallagher IL Blue
2-3
2-1
ELA Elite
FC Chicago
ELA Elite
1-5
FC Chicago
Semi Finals
Eclipse Select 92-93
Mundelein
4-0
Campton United Navy
4-0
Eclipse Select 92-93
FC Mustangs
4-5
FC Mustangs
3-2
Eclipse Select 92-93
FC United Select
SFV Premiere
FORFEIT
Chicago Fire Jrs Red
FC United Select
2-0
Chicago Fire Jrs Red
Under-17 Girls Championship
U17 Girls Champions: Eclipse Select
U17 Girls Finalists: Windy City Pride
Jaclyn Alyinovich, Nicole Amari, Muriel Battaglia, Michaela Berman, Haley Cooper, Lindsey Daly,
Kathleen Dunaway, Emily Friedl, Michele Giurovici, Sarah Gorden, Darcy Hargadon, Alexia
Krause, Gabriela McArtor, Sarah McClenahan, Kelly Price, Nicole Sebo, Georgia Waddle,
Georgiana Wagemann, Megan York; Coach: Mike Nesci
Molly Abromitis, Stephanie Berryman, Cara Doogan, Krissy Dorre, Elise Gordon, Victoria Gullo,
Kelsey Holbert, Daneille Inzinga, Emily Johnson, Victoria Kappel, Kelly Lewers, Lauren Moburg,
Carson Moesle, Samantha Neill, Lauren Noonan, Megan Oyster, Jenna Procter, Kim Reitveld,
Emily Scott, Rebecca Sutton, Katie Watt; Coach: Ko Thanadabouth
U17 Eclipse Wins 3rd Straight State Championship
By: Michael Garofola, Special to Illinois Youth Soccer
In yet another rematch from last year, it
was the Eclipse defeating long-time rival
Windy City Pride 1-0 for the State Cup title
at Under-17 for the third consecutive
season.
Georgiana Wagemann struck the gamewinner at the hour mark to help the Eclipse
hoist its 6th straight state trophy in a match
which saw both sides struggle to find its
pace during an unexpected rise in the heat
and humidity which appeared out of
nowhere midway through the first half of
play.
"It wasn't a particularly well-played half by
either team," admitted Wagemann."I don't
know if (it) was a mental thing (for) us, or
what, but I think we were happy to get to
the break and get ourselves together and
hopefully find our focus for the second
half."
The midfield outfit of the Pride were clearly
outworked in the first quarter hour of play,
with Wagemann, Georgia Waddle and
Muriel Battaglia active in their runs and on
the tackle, however it was the Pride who
fired a couple of scoring opportunities on
Eclipse keeper Darcy Hargadon during this
time.
Daneille Inzinga was sent through at the
back post forcing Hargadon to save, then
minutes later, the Eclipse keeper did well
to punch a well-aimed ball sent to the spot
by Kim Reitveld.
With neither side possessing, play at times
was chippy and without any flow, bringing
about plenty of whistle's and dead-ball
chances, most ending off the mark and
easily taken out of the air by both keepers.
UCLA-bound Megan Oyster would finally
shepherd a dangerous ball out of the area
after a Wagemann corner at 37 minutes to
keep the match goal-less, and start a 5-6
minute period in which the Eclipse would
have the better run of play leading into intermission.
"(Coach) Nesci told us at the break to just
find our pace and energy for the next 45
minutes and the match would end in our
favor," said Wagemann.
terrific tackle by Carson Moesle, whose
free-kick moments afterwards nearly allowed her mate, Kelly Lewers to beat Hargadon from inside the 6-yard box.
Pride coach Ko Thanadabouth would move
the all-everything Oyster into the middle at
70 minutes to help jumpstart his attack,
and along with Emily Scott, Kelsey Holbert,
Molly Abromitis and Inzinga, this group
would create enough trouble to make the
Eclipse defend with authority to help hold
its lead.
The best would come after a Holbert corner at 82 minutes, with fell to a ready and
willing Abromitis, who unloaded a cracker
in which Hargadon saved in full extension
to her left. Later on, with regulation time
running down, Oyster sent a nice crossfield serve to the back post in which Scott
was unable to catch up to.
After the break, Wagemann and teammate
Megan York would provide the much
needed energy in which Mike Nesci asked
for, and it wasn't long after a promising 15
minutes of play that Wagemann was rewarded for her work when her one-time
volley found its way into the back of the net
from in close.
Nesci would bring on Kelly Price to provide
fresh legs up top, and the Eclipse speedster did just that with hard runs and plenty
of determination to help keep the Pride
wary of pushing too far forward as it looked
to equalize.
"We really wanted to play as hard as we
could in that first 15 minutes, and to try
and break through with the first goal of the
match," Wagemann would say.
"It was a fairly creditable showing for us
today, and clearly we can play better, but
we've been together for such a short time,
and we'll look forward to a good week of
training before heading off to
Regionals," Nesci said.
The duo nearly doubled its lead if not for a
Eclipse Select 92-93
Eclipse Select 92-93
Galaxy SC 92/93 Blue
4-0
Galaxy SC 92/93 Blue
1-0
Ajax FC Chicago Capitols
5-1
Eclipse Select 92-93
Under-17
Girls
Strikers FV '93 Premier
Strikers FV '93 Premier
FCX South U16 Black
3-1
Euro Premier
0-4
Euro Premier
Eclipse Select 92-93
Semi Finals
2-1
FCX North Black
2-1
FCX North Black
Ela Elite
2-1
FCX North Black
FC United Select
3-1
FC United Select
Eclipse Select 92-93
Lou Fusz SC Voegele
Finals
1-0
Windy City Pride 39
3-2
Windy City Pride 39
Crystal Lake Force Elite 92/93
3-0
Windy City Pride 39
Eclipse Select East 92-93
Ela Red
0-2
Ela Red
Semi Finals
St Louis Scott Gallagher
Illinois Blue
1-0
Windy City Pride 39
3-2
St Louis Scott Gallagher
Illinois Blue
Rockford Dactyls
5-1
St Louis Scott Gallagher
Illinois Blue
Chicago Fire Jrs. Red 11
Chicago Fire Jrs Red
0-3
NSA Premier Storm
3-1
NSA Premier Storm
Chicago Fire Jrs. Red 11
Under-18 Boys Championship
U18 Boys Champions: Chicago Fire Jrs.
U18 Boys Finalists: Rockford Raptors
Andrew Bellmer, Enzo Berinni, Joshua Clark, Scott Davis, Mark Finan, Brian Heimerdinger,
Zachary Kovacevic, Josh Kremers, Matthew LaLonde, Robert LaRocque, Kel Markert, Richard
Marton, Michael Oleszkiewicz, Colin Rook, Cal Roselieb, Jason Saucedo, Logan Spidle, Sean
Totsch, Max Van Houten; Coach: Trey Bradberry
Noel Corral, Erol Erin, Andy Fahrenwald, Cole Geissel, James Howe, Nick Huftalin, Brian Klazura,
Mark Lada, Kevin Liskey, Tyler Lundquist, Hugo Martinez, Trent Miller, Oscar Ortega, Sam Poli,
Adam Schmitt, Drake Somers; Coach: Hugh Ward
Fire Check 2nd Goal Off To-Do List With State Cup Win
By: Chris Jamrozy, Illinois Youth Soccer
After a disappointing end to their US Youth
Soccer National Championship Series run
in 2009, the Chicago Fire Jrs. entered the
2010 season with some distinct goals.
“We lost in a shoot out in the Regional final
last year, so we have been working all year
to get back there to have another shot at
it,” Trey Bradberry, Fire Coach said. “Our
goal was to win MRL so we made it to
Regional’s regardless of what happened in
State Cup. Once we accomplished that we
wanted to put in a big push to win State
Cup. The boys have been working hard for
this.”
With their goal of winning MRL accomplished, the Fire now turned their attention
to the Under-18 State Cup championship
match and the Rockford Raptors. After a
hard fought 90-minutes, they were able to
check a second goal off their to do list with
a 5-1 win.
The defensive units controlled the game’s
first 15 minutes with the Fire’s Andrew
Bellmer, Josh Kremers, Colin Rook and
Cal Roselieb preventing the Raptors from
advancing the ball more than 5-yards past
midfield while Rockford’s James Howe,
Kevin Liskey and Trent Miller stifled the
Fire attack.
Scott Davis broke the defensive barrier at
the 27-minute mark to give the Fire a 1-0
advantage with a shot to the
bottom left of the goal.
The Raptors looked to even the score at
the start of the second half when Hugo
Martinez was able to line-up a solid look
and shot that lined off the crossbar.
In the 52nd minute Josh Clark started a
run that ended with a Davis find a streaking and unmanned Kel Market at the right
of the net for an easy score and a 2-0 Fire
advantage.
A nice pass across the box from Miller to
Drake Somers, narrowed the Raptors gap
to 2-1 11 minutes into the second half. Unfortunately, this would be the closest the
score would be for the remainder of the
match.
“The Raptors made a couple adjustments
at halftime that caused us some problems
in for the first 10-minutes or so,” said Bradberry. “It was a good move by their coach
and it forced our boys to make some on
field changes that should help us down the
road.”
Two minutes later Richard Marton took a
Sean Totsch feed to extend the Fire lead to
3-1.
Davis would add his second score of the
match to go along with his assist on the
Market goal to put the Fire up 4-1 with 22minutes to play.
“Scottie Davis was a handful all day long
up top,” Bradberry said.
Michael Oleszkiewicz notched the games
final score off a free kick at the 82-minute.
“Rockford did a good job defensively in the
first half,” said Bradberry. “We were able to
make a couple adjustments at halftime and
were fortunate enough to take advantage
of our chances in the second half.”
Chicago Fire Jrs. Development Academy
5-1
Chicago Fire Jrs. Development Academy
Lombard Firebirds SC
4-0
Under-18
Boys
Chicago Fire Jrs. Development Academy
Chicago Magic Developmental Academy
4-0
Chicago Magic Developmental Academy
Grove United Revolution Select
Chicago Fire Jrs. Development Academy
Semi Finals
3-1
Chicago Fire Development Academy Pool
1-0
Chicago Fire Development Academy Pool
Inter FC Select 91/92
6-5
Inter FC Select 91/92
Chicago Fire Jrs. Development Academy
AAC Eagles Chicago
Finals
5-1
Galaxy SC Blue
2-3
Kickers SC Premier
Kickers SC Premier
5-1
Kickers SC Premier
FC Chicago
Semi Finals
Rockford Raptors
2-3
FC United Select
2-4
Rockford Raptors
Rockford Raptors
1-0
NIFC U18 Black
Rockford Raptors
Under-18 Girls Championship
U18 Girls Champions: Eclipse Select
U18 Girls Finalists: Ela Elite
Nicole Aiello, Erin Dees, Lynn Froetscher, Chelsea Grant, Kelsie Harris, Alexandra Heller, Kelsey
Hough, Natalia Jovanovic, Ariana Kulinczenko,Vanessa Laxgang, Kecia Morway, Maggie
Murnane, Alexandria Neal, Kayla Paoulos, Christine Patterson, Erin Pekovitch, Samantha
Scofield, Lindsey Thut, Katie Uyenishi, Alexandra Yorke; Coach: Rory Dames
Amanda Brait, Kelly Brait, Kassidy Brown, Hailey Chmela, Margaret Eisenhuth, Jannelle Flaws,
Rycke Guiney, Taylor Heatherly, Amy Johnson, Nicole LaPetina, Deanna Libricz, Danielle
Romano, Alexa Rowe, Stacey Sanders, Hillary Scott, Charlotte Seidel, Sarah Stauner;
Coach: Tom Chmela
Eclipse Take 1st Step Towards Defending National Title
By: Michael Garofola, Special to Illinois Youth Soccer
In a rematch of the 2009 state final, it was
the Eclipse Select defeating long-time rival
Ela Elite 2-0 in the first match of the day on
June 20 in Rockford.
Unlike last season, where this match
provided plenty of offensive fireworks, this
match would never reach the level of
relentless pace fans would watch from a
year ago when the two clubs combined for
7 goals - including the game-winner at 110
minutes from the Eclipse.
"Both teams looked a little disinterested at
times today, but thankfully, (Ela) didn't cut
into our 2-goal lead, or we likely would
have seen the intensity and urgency
increase immediately if that had
happened," said Eclipse head coach Rory
Dames, who now takes his club on the
road in search for a second-straight Regional title.
With each club having already booked its
place in group play in Ohio for Regionals
where, unfortunately, these two superpowers will meet in opening round action, each
side was looking to come away from this
tournament healthy and ready for the grueling schedule ahead.
Ela, already undermanned with the loss of
its superb striker and 40-goal scorer from
state runner-up Glenbrook South, Jannelle
Flaws (ACL) and All-State defender
Danielle Romano (knee) found itself one
player short, when Alexa Rowe was forced
to leave with an ankle injury at 10
minutes.
Moments later, Eclipse captain Vanessa
Laxgang would head wide, before
teammate Maggie Murnane was able to
get enough of a touch to redirect her
header past Ela keeper Deanna
Libricz.
The Eclipse would start to assert themselves following the Murnane goal with
speed, quick touches and by knocking the
ball around with greater pace to gain width
to its game to earn the run of play, as Ela
tried to find Kassidy Brown, who was now
the lone striker up top for coach Tom
Chmela, who would go with four in the
middle, now that Rowe was gone for the
day.
Alexandria Neal had a go on frame after a
nice buildup from the Eclipse, and her
mates Natalia Jovanovic and Ariana
Kulinczenko, but the second goal would arrive just before the break when Neal finished the superb initial work from Lynn
Froetscher at the back post.
"We did not play a particularly good first
half, but we still came away with a 2-0
goal, which we talked at the break about
how important it was to protect that lead
and not allow (Ela) to get back into the
match," said Eclipse backline star Kecia
Morway.
"This was really only our second game
together as a group, and as (it) went on, I
thought we began to come together a little
more, after we lost some focus midway
through the first-half."
Ela looked at its offensive best as the two
best in the MRL Premier Division opened
play after the break, with Rycke Guiney
driving a blast off the gloves of Eclipse
keeper Erin Dees and Brown nearly onside
after being sent through- but that would be
it for the Elite, which were forced to defend
as the Eclipse put a series of challenges
together to help keep the pressure on until
the last 10 minutes of play.
Murmane nearly scored her second at the
hour mark, while Jovanovic crushed the
underside of the woodwork with her shotforcing Libricz to make a clearing save off
the endline off the rebound attempt from
Kelsey Hough.
"The core group from this team includes 8
players that began when we first put this
team together, and that's where we've built
from within ," offers Dames."This has been
a solid group, without spectacular players,
but players who pull together and find
ways to win when they have to."
Last season, the Eclipse lifted the National
Championship trophy as under-17's when
it defeated PDA Fire from New Jersey 4-0.
Eclipse Select 91-92
Under-18
Girls
Eclipse Select 91-92
Crystal Lake Force Elite 91/92
Eclipse Select 91-92
Chicago Fire Jrs Red 11
Eclipse Select 91-92
Semi Finals
4-0
FC United Select
FC United Select
7-3
Rockford Dactyls 91/92
0-4
Windy City Pride #26
Windy City Pride #26
2-1
Windy City Pride #26
Chicago Fire Jrs. U18 Red
Finals
2-0
ELA Elite
ELA Elite
5-1
KUFC Premier
4-0
ELA Elite
Strikers Fox Valley 92 Premier
3-0
Strikers Fox Valley 92 Premier
Kickers SC U18 Premier
Semi Finals
3-0
Eclipse Select East 91-92
3-2
ELA Elite
Eclipse Select East 91-92
St. Louis Scott Gallagher
Illinois Blue
2-0
Eclipse Select East 91-92
ASC U18 Eagles
0-2
Eclipse Select West 91-92
Eclipse Select West 91-92
Eclipse Select 91-92
Under-19 Boys Championship
U19 Boys Champions: Chicago Fire Jrs.
U19 Boys Finalists: Windy City Pride
Jarrett Baughman, Jaymie Bullard, Jacob Bushue, Felipe Carrasco, Ian Christianson, Ethan Finlay,
Ryan Foreman, Jordan Godsey, Shane Lyons, Jerry Maddi, Aaron Maund, Kyle McCrudden,
Danny O'Leary, Ata Ozbay, Brett Petricek, Chris Ritter, Drew Russell, Matthew Russo, Cyrus
Saydee, Luke Spencer, Milan Tica, Matt Weaver; Coach: John Dolinsky
Ayuba Adeniyi, Rafael Alvarado, Jonathan Avila, Nick Beavis, Jaons Beckus, Rene Chavolla, Matt
Crumb, Matt Danek, Robert Gacek, Yinka Ifaturati, Dashone Jackson, Mike Kipta, Michael Kowal,
Robert McGowen, Shaun McMillin, Mike Moburg, Fabian Muniz, Matt Nieciunski, Christian
Ontiveros, Peter Tamale, Victor Trujillo, Luke Zeiler; Coach: Ko Thanadabouth
Fire Win Physical 1-0 Battle For U19 Title
By: Chris Jamrozy, Illinois Youth Soccer
With the potential for blood to be drawn on every header, each
slide tackle followed thru with extra enthusiasm and every player
that was on the pitch leaving with some bumps and bruises, the
Boys Under-19 title match between the Chicago Fire Jrs. and the
Windy City Pride was the most physical championship game of
the 2010 Illinois State Cup.
“Games get physical,” John Dolinsky, Chicago Fire Coach said.
“The Pride are true battlers and those are difficult teams to beat.
Often against these types of teams, if you don’t battle equal to
them, they can get the result no matter how much better you may
be technically or skillfully. This was a total team effort down to the
subs”
It took 73 very hard fought minutes but the Fire finally broke thru
when Ethan Finlay fired a shot off the crossbar that redirected into
the top left of the net for the decisive 1-0 score of this championship battle.
Finaly’s score came after the Fire had ripped-off six shots
throughout the game that were denied by the great play of the
Pride
goalkeeper.
“Without a doubt the Pride keeper kept them in the game and us
from scoring 3 or 4 more times,” said Dolinsky. “They were pretty
much in a defensive shell. After we scored the main goal was to
keep our guys healthy and card free.”
Under-19
Boys
Inter FC Select 90/91
5-1
Inter FC Select 90/91
FV Aurora Warriors
FORFEIT
PSG Navy
PSG Navy
Chicago Fire Jrs.
Semi Finals
0-4
Chicago Fire Jrs.
3-2
Chicago Fire Jrs.
Rockford Raptors.
Chicago Fire Jrs.
Finals
1-0
FC Chicago
0-4
Windy City 35.
Windy City 35.
Semi Finals
Windy City 35.
1-0
Sockers / Magic Alliance
6/6 10am
Sockers / Magic Alliance
Eclipse Select East
Under-19 Girls Championship
U19 Girls Champions: Eclipse Select
U19 Girls Finalists: Chicago Fire Jrs.
Jessica Arabia, Lee Battaglia, Rachel Brown, Jenny Butler, Alexa Gaul, Kellie Gavigan, Kristen
Gierman, Ali Hall, Alexandra Holland, Emilie Huser, Stephanie Iantorno, Haley Krentz, Mary Kubiuk, Nicole Lipp, Heather Marik, Lauren Mathy, Karissa Miller, Shayla Mutz, Brianne Rodriguez,
Candace Ruff, Carly Smith; Coach: Mike Nesci
Rachel Adomshick, Stephanie Davison, Kristin Day, Luisa Desario, Megan Gitchell, Katie
Gratzianna, Claire Hanold, Kendall Hoekstra, Rachel Irwin, Jessica Janota, Brigette Kragie, Kaele
Leonard, Lauren Linvingston, Stefanie Matsas, Morgan Olsen, Mary Kate Reed, Anna RomanPleshko, Brittany Sova, Alison Stahlke, Molly Sutton, Jasmine Watkins; Coach: Trey Bradberry
Eclipse Select 90-91 Wins 4th Straight State Cup
A dominating 5-1 win over the Chicago Fire Jrs. earned Eclipse Select 90-91 their fourth consecutive Illinois State Cup title.
With only four teams in the Under-19 bracket, Eclipse Select certainly seemed to be the class of the age group outscoring their
opponents 9-1 in their final State Cup run.
The team now looks to end their youth careers with a win at the US Youth Soccer Regional Championship and then the US Youth
Soccer National Championship tournament.
Eclipse Select 90-91
Under 19
Girls
4-0
Eclipse Select 90-91
Arlington Aces Academy Red
Eclipse Select 90-91
Final
5-1
Windy City Pride 29
1-2
Chicago Fire Jrs
Chicago Fire Jrs