Rivalry fuels hotly contested
draw between Lane, Curie
Indians get brace from Mezyk for 2-2 tie, meet Solorio tonight
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Leon Kim spent eight years teaching and coaching at Curie. He directed the boys varsity program for the last six years until a coveted job assignment in Lane’s department of computer science proved too tempting to turn down.
His protégé, Jeff Mikula, took over the Condors program this season. Mikula had already taken over the girls program at Curie after Kim decided coaching both programs was too taxing. Curie always played at a higher level against Lane, even when the games were not terribly close.
“I was the head coach at Curie for six years with the boys, and it took us until the fifth year to even score a goal in a game against Lane,” Kim said. “Last year we beat them for the first time, 3-2.”
Curie is a big school with a deep and versatile pool of players who have extensive experience. Mikula was eager to put his stamp on the program.
Kim is now the top lieutenant to coach Andrew Ricks at Lane.
“I have the experience of being the varsity girls coach, but it’s a little different with the boys,” Mikula said. “It’s a different type of skill set. Having the opportunity to coach the boys is something I have always wanted to do.”
The past and present clashed like armies in the night as Curie played with intensity, discipline and resolve in twice taking leads on the Indians only for Lane junior forward Alex Mezyk to answer with two game-tying goals in the 2-2 draw Wednesday at Lane Stadium.
“From the beginning of the game, we were just pumped,” Mikula said. “We were pumped on the bus. We were pumped in the warm-up. This game is always special to us, and we always play with a little something extra. We feel like we have something to prove. With our former coach over on the other sideline, we were more amped up than usual.”
Lane played the long game. The Indians were in the middle of playing three games in three days. The Indians beat New Trier 2-0 in a PepsiCo Showdown game Tuesday night. Just before the start of the Curie game, Ricks learned the original plan of playing rival Young Thursday as part of the PepsiCo Showdown tournament was altered to play division rival Solorio.
The Solorio game had been twice scheduled and postponed because of scheduling and logistical complications. The game has dual purposes, completing Lane’s participation in the PepsiCo Showdown. More important, the game is now also a conference game.
Ricks responded by altering his lineup, starting just two regulars and going with his reserves. His best players were accorded only spot minutes or held out of the game completely.
“We knew we had three matches in a row, and Solorio is going to be a tough game,” Ricks said. “That’s the beauty of this team. (The reserves) want to win. Are they upset when they are not getting playing time? Absolutely. I was going to run with it a little bit. They have sat the bench and watched the other guys.
“So I put them out there and gave them more playing time.”
Lane (6-1-2, 1-0-1 Premier) experiences little drop-off in going to its bench. Midfielder Arnel Sinanagic drove hard down the left edge and unleashed a strong left-footed blast that hit off the crossbar in the seventh minute.
Curie (1-3-2, 0-1-1) responded and began to develop numbers and set the pace of play. Forward Didier Saucedo is one of the best players in the city. He has excellent ball skills, quickness and is superb at separation. He put tremendous pressure on the Indians’ backline.
Three times in the first half Saucedo broke through the Indians’ interior and collected strong attempts in the final third. “I play with a lot of strength,” Saucedo said. “That’s how I play, and I have to fight every ball just to give us a chance for us to score. We had to try and pressure as much as possible, because if we don’t and miss those opportunities, then they are going to score against us.”
Twice in the first half Lane was awarded free-kicks just outside the box. Neither attempt cleared the Condors’ wall, and Ricks addressed the point after the first half ended without either team punching in a score.
“I don’t know how to say it any less other than the free-kicks were awful,” Ricks said. “We had them in great spots, the [places] we take when we have a break in the practice. Tonight they had no pace, no swerve, and they were too low. I said to get some loft on them and finish.”
Curie twice took the lead.
The Condors broke through in the 52nd minute off a corner-kick. Joshua Jimenez served a ball from the right wing that the Lane keeper Fabian Venegas only partially deflected, allowing Saucedo a point-blank ball in front of the net he easily put away.
“It’s something we do every day in training and practice,” Mikula said. ‘We always have this play hard mentality, this idea of every touch counts. It definitely showed today.”
The goal certainly caught the Indians attention. Most of the team's starters played significant stretches of the second half.
“The game did not change that much honestly when the starters came in,” Mezyk said. “When they scored our energy rose, and we need to score. We felt hungry for the goal.”
In the 57th minute, Lane responded. The Indians took the advice of their coach off a free-kick. Defender Kamil Piotrowski lofted a vicious hard ball over the Condors’ wall that keeper Rick Montenegro deflected.
Mezyk alertly pounced on the ball and easily finished the rebound for the first equalizer.
“Kamil took the free-kick, and I knew to run up to the shot,” Mezyk said. “As I hoped the goalie hit the shot out, and I was there for an open goal.”
Curie refused to concede and again pushed numbers. Saucedo had a header inside the box that Venegas made a sharp stab on. In the 66th minute, midfielder Andy Barrera slotted a ball in the middle of the attack that midfielder Bryan Trigueros controlled and finished with a left-footed ball from about 14 yards out in the upper corner for the 2-1 lead.
“I don’t really like defending, I just play attacking,” Trigueros said. “That’s what I do every time, use my speed and attack right away. It was a great game to play in, an amazing game. We wanted it, and everybody gave everything they had. I learned something new today, play with your heart and never give up.”
Playing from behind did not rattle Lane. Senior midfielder Marcin Kieta is an offensive catalyst, the one who drives a lot of the offense. He only saw spot minutes against Curie. He made them count. In the 73rd minute, he broke down the middle and left a ball for Mezyk on the right wing.
Mezyk took two dribbles and fired from the right wing inside the near post for his second goal. He earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the match distinction for his brace.
“He’s scoring big goals, goals in important times, 2-1 wins or 2-2 ties,” Ricks said.
The Public League does not play overtime during the regular season. Both teams left encouraged and satisfied with their play.
“The game showed where the depth comes in,” Mezyk said. ‘We are a big school, a big team, and we are lucky enough to have some depth. We are going to use it as much as we can. We did not get the win like we wanted, but we will take the point.
“I don’t know if this was our best game, but we definitely left it all on the field.”
Starting lineups
Curie
GK: Rick Montenegro
D: Manuel Mendoza
D: Omar Gonzalez
D: Luis Gamez
D: Joshua Jimenez
M: Andy Barrera
M: Luis Gomez
M: Jonathan Flores
M: Bryan Trigueros
F: John Carchipulla Naula
F: Didier Saucedo
Lane
GK: Fabian Venegas
D: Dennis Deresevic
D: Jonathan Bahena
D: Jose Villa
D: Greg Golba
M: David de la Fuente
M: Alfredo Guzman
M: Alejandro Garcia
M: Tiago Franco
M: Arnel Sinanagic
F: Patrick Fejkiel
Man of the match: Alex Mezyk, F, Lane
draw between Lane, Curie
Indians get brace from Mezyk for 2-2 tie, meet Solorio tonight
By Patrick Z. McGavin
CHICAGO -- Leon Kim spent eight years teaching and coaching at Curie. He directed the boys varsity program for the last six years until a coveted job assignment in Lane’s department of computer science proved too tempting to turn down.
His protégé, Jeff Mikula, took over the Condors program this season. Mikula had already taken over the girls program at Curie after Kim decided coaching both programs was too taxing. Curie always played at a higher level against Lane, even when the games were not terribly close.
“I was the head coach at Curie for six years with the boys, and it took us until the fifth year to even score a goal in a game against Lane,” Kim said. “Last year we beat them for the first time, 3-2.”
Curie is a big school with a deep and versatile pool of players who have extensive experience. Mikula was eager to put his stamp on the program.
Kim is now the top lieutenant to coach Andrew Ricks at Lane.
“I have the experience of being the varsity girls coach, but it’s a little different with the boys,” Mikula said. “It’s a different type of skill set. Having the opportunity to coach the boys is something I have always wanted to do.”
The past and present clashed like armies in the night as Curie played with intensity, discipline and resolve in twice taking leads on the Indians only for Lane junior forward Alex Mezyk to answer with two game-tying goals in the 2-2 draw Wednesday at Lane Stadium.
“From the beginning of the game, we were just pumped,” Mikula said. “We were pumped on the bus. We were pumped in the warm-up. This game is always special to us, and we always play with a little something extra. We feel like we have something to prove. With our former coach over on the other sideline, we were more amped up than usual.”
Lane played the long game. The Indians were in the middle of playing three games in three days. The Indians beat New Trier 2-0 in a PepsiCo Showdown game Tuesday night. Just before the start of the Curie game, Ricks learned the original plan of playing rival Young Thursday as part of the PepsiCo Showdown tournament was altered to play division rival Solorio.
The Solorio game had been twice scheduled and postponed because of scheduling and logistical complications. The game has dual purposes, completing Lane’s participation in the PepsiCo Showdown. More important, the game is now also a conference game.
Ricks responded by altering his lineup, starting just two regulars and going with his reserves. His best players were accorded only spot minutes or held out of the game completely.
“We knew we had three matches in a row, and Solorio is going to be a tough game,” Ricks said. “That’s the beauty of this team. (The reserves) want to win. Are they upset when they are not getting playing time? Absolutely. I was going to run with it a little bit. They have sat the bench and watched the other guys.
“So I put them out there and gave them more playing time.”
Lane (6-1-2, 1-0-1 Premier) experiences little drop-off in going to its bench. Midfielder Arnel Sinanagic drove hard down the left edge and unleashed a strong left-footed blast that hit off the crossbar in the seventh minute.
Curie (1-3-2, 0-1-1) responded and began to develop numbers and set the pace of play. Forward Didier Saucedo is one of the best players in the city. He has excellent ball skills, quickness and is superb at separation. He put tremendous pressure on the Indians’ backline.
Three times in the first half Saucedo broke through the Indians’ interior and collected strong attempts in the final third. “I play with a lot of strength,” Saucedo said. “That’s how I play, and I have to fight every ball just to give us a chance for us to score. We had to try and pressure as much as possible, because if we don’t and miss those opportunities, then they are going to score against us.”
Twice in the first half Lane was awarded free-kicks just outside the box. Neither attempt cleared the Condors’ wall, and Ricks addressed the point after the first half ended without either team punching in a score.
“I don’t know how to say it any less other than the free-kicks were awful,” Ricks said. “We had them in great spots, the [places] we take when we have a break in the practice. Tonight they had no pace, no swerve, and they were too low. I said to get some loft on them and finish.”
Curie twice took the lead.
The Condors broke through in the 52nd minute off a corner-kick. Joshua Jimenez served a ball from the right wing that the Lane keeper Fabian Venegas only partially deflected, allowing Saucedo a point-blank ball in front of the net he easily put away.
“It’s something we do every day in training and practice,” Mikula said. ‘We always have this play hard mentality, this idea of every touch counts. It definitely showed today.”
The goal certainly caught the Indians attention. Most of the team's starters played significant stretches of the second half.
“The game did not change that much honestly when the starters came in,” Mezyk said. “When they scored our energy rose, and we need to score. We felt hungry for the goal.”
In the 57th minute, Lane responded. The Indians took the advice of their coach off a free-kick. Defender Kamil Piotrowski lofted a vicious hard ball over the Condors’ wall that keeper Rick Montenegro deflected.
Mezyk alertly pounced on the ball and easily finished the rebound for the first equalizer.
“Kamil took the free-kick, and I knew to run up to the shot,” Mezyk said. “As I hoped the goalie hit the shot out, and I was there for an open goal.”
Curie refused to concede and again pushed numbers. Saucedo had a header inside the box that Venegas made a sharp stab on. In the 66th minute, midfielder Andy Barrera slotted a ball in the middle of the attack that midfielder Bryan Trigueros controlled and finished with a left-footed ball from about 14 yards out in the upper corner for the 2-1 lead.
“I don’t really like defending, I just play attacking,” Trigueros said. “That’s what I do every time, use my speed and attack right away. It was a great game to play in, an amazing game. We wanted it, and everybody gave everything they had. I learned something new today, play with your heart and never give up.”
Playing from behind did not rattle Lane. Senior midfielder Marcin Kieta is an offensive catalyst, the one who drives a lot of the offense. He only saw spot minutes against Curie. He made them count. In the 73rd minute, he broke down the middle and left a ball for Mezyk on the right wing.
Mezyk took two dribbles and fired from the right wing inside the near post for his second goal. He earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the match distinction for his brace.
“He’s scoring big goals, goals in important times, 2-1 wins or 2-2 ties,” Ricks said.
The Public League does not play overtime during the regular season. Both teams left encouraged and satisfied with their play.
“The game showed where the depth comes in,” Mezyk said. ‘We are a big school, a big team, and we are lucky enough to have some depth. We are going to use it as much as we can. We did not get the win like we wanted, but we will take the point.
“I don’t know if this was our best game, but we definitely left it all on the field.”
Starting lineups
Curie
GK: Rick Montenegro
D: Manuel Mendoza
D: Omar Gonzalez
D: Luis Gamez
D: Joshua Jimenez
M: Andy Barrera
M: Luis Gomez
M: Jonathan Flores
M: Bryan Trigueros
F: John Carchipulla Naula
F: Didier Saucedo
Lane
GK: Fabian Venegas
D: Dennis Deresevic
D: Jonathan Bahena
D: Jose Villa
D: Greg Golba
M: David de la Fuente
M: Alfredo Guzman
M: Alejandro Garcia
M: Tiago Franco
M: Arnel Sinanagic
F: Patrick Fejkiel
Man of the match: Alex Mezyk, F, Lane
