Escape from Lake Park:
Naperville North takes OT thriller
Huskies bounce back from 2-0 halftime deficit
By Ken Keenan
ROSELLE -- Agonizing heartbreak on one side, pure elation on the other -- that was the scene after Naperville North's 3-2 win over host Lake Park on a golden goal Thursday night.
The host Lancers had the upper hand in the early going of this ultra-physical DuPage Valley Conference tilt, charging out to a 2-0 halftime lead. But the Huskies -- ranked no. 5 in the latest Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 -- roared back to even the score in the second half and force overtime.
Senior forward James Zhang tallied the winning goal, taking a pass from senior midfielder Chris Sullivan on the left side and shooting low from 15 yards to score inside the far post with 4:06 left in the 10-minute extra session.
"'Sully' did his magic -- a great pass -- and I was able to slide it in," Zhang said.
Sullivan -- Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match -- also assisted on Naperville North's first goal, setting up freshman forward Ty Konrad to cut the lead in half shortly after the break, and then scored the equalizer with 12:05 left in regulation.
"He means a lot to us," said Huskies' junior midfielder Jack Barry, a standout performer in the rough-and-tumble match as well. "What a great leader he is -- vocally and by action. Our (winning) culture here is very important, and 'Sully' represents that, being the toughest guy out there."
Perennial power Naperville North improved to 10-2-2 overall with the win, its fifth straight, and remained perfect in DVC play (4-0-0). After suffering its second 3-2 OT loss to the Huskies in as many years, gutty Lake Park fell to 2-6-2 (0-1-1).
"I'm not surprised at all that Lake Park came out strong," said Naperville North head coach Jim Konrad, whose squad also fought to a 0-0, double-overtime draw with the Lancers in 2014. "We know they're a hard-working, tough-nosed team. They play hard. It's the most physically dominant team we've played this year. They had us under pressure all game. We're fortunate to get out with the win."
The Lancers came out like gangbusters, setting the tone with relentless, no-holds-barred marking to thwart the Huskies' attack. Lake Park drew first blood in the 12th minute, when an innocent-looking header by sophomore midfielder Franco Presta slowly bounced in past Naperville North sophomore goalkeeper Tommy Welch. Lake Park sophomore mid Matteo Costa was credited with the assist.
Nine minutes later, a deep-throw-in by Lake Park senior defender Jack Fischer found speedy senior mid Lorenzo Costa, who cut to the middle and fired low-left to beat Welch for a 2-0 lead.
"That was our focus -- to come out hard and bring energy ... put pressure on," said first-year Lake Park head coach Sean Crosby. "We did a great job moving our feet, moving down the field. The guys fought for everything ... hustled their butts off and kept going."
Added Costa: "We tried to come out and attack the best we could. We wanted to get up early."
Faced with the 2-0 halftime deficit, the Huskies pulled up their bootstraps and answered the bell in the second half, denting the net for the first time when Konrad took a feed from Sullivan and sent a rising missile into the upper left corner with 37:54 to go. Less than two minutes later, Sullivan sent a 35-yard free-kick that was nabbed by Lake Park sophomore keeper Christian Lekki.
"Even before the first half ended, we said, 'This is nowhere near over,'" said Lake Park senior forward Ivaylo Paounov. "We knew it was gonna be a battle."
In the 47th minute, Barry fired over the crossbar from 30 yards, followed soon after by a shot from Huskies' senior mid Jack Bromagen that narrowly missed wide-right. With 32:25 to go, Konrad stole the ball before releasing a quick, 25-yard shot that Lekki grabbed.
"(Lake Park) hit us in the mouth early, and we had to start matching their intensity," coach Konrad said. "And the boys played harder in the second half."
Sullivan knotted things up in the 68th minute when he gathered a pass from Konrad on the right side and sent a roller that eluded Lekki and bounced in off the far post, eliciting a collective roar from the Naperville North bench.
"That second one woke us up," Sullivan said. "We said, "It's time to go to work and do what we can do.'"
With the comeback in full swing, Zhang said he could feel a buzz emanating from the Huskies' sideline.
"There was a lot of energy coming from the bench and the coaches," he said. "Coach (Konrad) said we have to put all of our effort out there."
Added Barry: "Being down 2-0 was a big character test for us. Lake Park is athletically tough, but we responded well and came out with a lot of heart. When we play with control and composure, we can beat anyone."
Lancers' skipper Crosby certainly wasn't startled by what he saw from the Huskies in the second half.
"We knew Naperville North would fight back," Crosby said. "(Down) 2-0 at the second half, we expected them to fight back hard. We had our chances, but they knew when to hit the press button and send runners up in transition. I think we did everything right, but with a good team like that, any little mistake can cost you."
Shortly before the Huskies tied the score, Costa bent a shot from a wide angle on the left side that Welch slapped away. In the 50th minute, Costa sent a corner-kick to Paounov, whose quick shot in tight quarters was stopped by Welch.
Naperville North's best chance to end things in regulation time came when Barry unloaded a rocket from 25 yards that smacked into Lekki's belly with just 1:27 showing.
Neither team managed much offensively in overtime, until Zhang delivered his dramatic game-winner.
"This was a really big win," said Sullivan, a team captain, along with Barry. "This should really kick off the rest of the season. I'm a senior, so this is my last shot."
Added Barry: "Our goal is the playoffs. Games like this one, a playoff atmosphere, it shows you how to be a contender."
Rather than hang their heads over the gut-wrenching defeat, the Lancers intend to approach the rest of the campaign with a similar attitude.
"We believe we can compete with the better teams in the state," Paounov said. "We're physically capable of it. We'll take from this game and move on -- play like we did tonight moving forward."
Added Crosby: "You don't flush a game like this. We hadn't put a whole game together, but tonight it was very much a team effort. You want the result, but the result doesn't show how hard our guys played against a darn good team. If we keep doing that, we'll be a darn good threat."
Starting lineups
Naperville North
G: Tommy Welch
D: Andrew Klaiber
D: Ethan Harvey
D: Mitch Konrad
D: Colin Iverson
M: Ali Khorfan
M: Chris Sullivan
M: Jack Bromagen
M: Will Ritzmann
M: Jack Barry
F: Ty Konrad
Lake Park
G: Christian Lekki
D: Yuriy Chernitsky
D: Max Ellenbecker
D: Jack Fischer
D: Sebastian Glodz
M: Lorenzo Costa
M: Matteo Costa
M: Andrew Eliopoulos
M: Alessandro Montes
M: Franco Presta
F: Jesus Juarez
Man of the Match: Chris Sullivan, M, Naperville North
Officials: Ed Joras, Jen Mayfield, Larry Higgs
Naperville North takes OT thriller
Huskies bounce back from 2-0 halftime deficit
By Ken Keenan
ROSELLE -- Agonizing heartbreak on one side, pure elation on the other -- that was the scene after Naperville North's 3-2 win over host Lake Park on a golden goal Thursday night.
The host Lancers had the upper hand in the early going of this ultra-physical DuPage Valley Conference tilt, charging out to a 2-0 halftime lead. But the Huskies -- ranked no. 5 in the latest Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 -- roared back to even the score in the second half and force overtime.
Senior forward James Zhang tallied the winning goal, taking a pass from senior midfielder Chris Sullivan on the left side and shooting low from 15 yards to score inside the far post with 4:06 left in the 10-minute extra session.
"'Sully' did his magic -- a great pass -- and I was able to slide it in," Zhang said.
Sullivan -- Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match -- also assisted on Naperville North's first goal, setting up freshman forward Ty Konrad to cut the lead in half shortly after the break, and then scored the equalizer with 12:05 left in regulation.
"He means a lot to us," said Huskies' junior midfielder Jack Barry, a standout performer in the rough-and-tumble match as well. "What a great leader he is -- vocally and by action. Our (winning) culture here is very important, and 'Sully' represents that, being the toughest guy out there."
Perennial power Naperville North improved to 10-2-2 overall with the win, its fifth straight, and remained perfect in DVC play (4-0-0). After suffering its second 3-2 OT loss to the Huskies in as many years, gutty Lake Park fell to 2-6-2 (0-1-1).
"I'm not surprised at all that Lake Park came out strong," said Naperville North head coach Jim Konrad, whose squad also fought to a 0-0, double-overtime draw with the Lancers in 2014. "We know they're a hard-working, tough-nosed team. They play hard. It's the most physically dominant team we've played this year. They had us under pressure all game. We're fortunate to get out with the win."
The Lancers came out like gangbusters, setting the tone with relentless, no-holds-barred marking to thwart the Huskies' attack. Lake Park drew first blood in the 12th minute, when an innocent-looking header by sophomore midfielder Franco Presta slowly bounced in past Naperville North sophomore goalkeeper Tommy Welch. Lake Park sophomore mid Matteo Costa was credited with the assist.
Nine minutes later, a deep-throw-in by Lake Park senior defender Jack Fischer found speedy senior mid Lorenzo Costa, who cut to the middle and fired low-left to beat Welch for a 2-0 lead.
"That was our focus -- to come out hard and bring energy ... put pressure on," said first-year Lake Park head coach Sean Crosby. "We did a great job moving our feet, moving down the field. The guys fought for everything ... hustled their butts off and kept going."
Added Costa: "We tried to come out and attack the best we could. We wanted to get up early."
Faced with the 2-0 halftime deficit, the Huskies pulled up their bootstraps and answered the bell in the second half, denting the net for the first time when Konrad took a feed from Sullivan and sent a rising missile into the upper left corner with 37:54 to go. Less than two minutes later, Sullivan sent a 35-yard free-kick that was nabbed by Lake Park sophomore keeper Christian Lekki.
"Even before the first half ended, we said, 'This is nowhere near over,'" said Lake Park senior forward Ivaylo Paounov. "We knew it was gonna be a battle."
In the 47th minute, Barry fired over the crossbar from 30 yards, followed soon after by a shot from Huskies' senior mid Jack Bromagen that narrowly missed wide-right. With 32:25 to go, Konrad stole the ball before releasing a quick, 25-yard shot that Lekki grabbed.
"(Lake Park) hit us in the mouth early, and we had to start matching their intensity," coach Konrad said. "And the boys played harder in the second half."
Sullivan knotted things up in the 68th minute when he gathered a pass from Konrad on the right side and sent a roller that eluded Lekki and bounced in off the far post, eliciting a collective roar from the Naperville North bench.
"That second one woke us up," Sullivan said. "We said, "It's time to go to work and do what we can do.'"
With the comeback in full swing, Zhang said he could feel a buzz emanating from the Huskies' sideline.
"There was a lot of energy coming from the bench and the coaches," he said. "Coach (Konrad) said we have to put all of our effort out there."
Added Barry: "Being down 2-0 was a big character test for us. Lake Park is athletically tough, but we responded well and came out with a lot of heart. When we play with control and composure, we can beat anyone."
Lancers' skipper Crosby certainly wasn't startled by what he saw from the Huskies in the second half.
"We knew Naperville North would fight back," Crosby said. "(Down) 2-0 at the second half, we expected them to fight back hard. We had our chances, but they knew when to hit the press button and send runners up in transition. I think we did everything right, but with a good team like that, any little mistake can cost you."
Shortly before the Huskies tied the score, Costa bent a shot from a wide angle on the left side that Welch slapped away. In the 50th minute, Costa sent a corner-kick to Paounov, whose quick shot in tight quarters was stopped by Welch.
Naperville North's best chance to end things in regulation time came when Barry unloaded a rocket from 25 yards that smacked into Lekki's belly with just 1:27 showing.
Neither team managed much offensively in overtime, until Zhang delivered his dramatic game-winner.
"This was a really big win," said Sullivan, a team captain, along with Barry. "This should really kick off the rest of the season. I'm a senior, so this is my last shot."
Added Barry: "Our goal is the playoffs. Games like this one, a playoff atmosphere, it shows you how to be a contender."
Rather than hang their heads over the gut-wrenching defeat, the Lancers intend to approach the rest of the campaign with a similar attitude.
"We believe we can compete with the better teams in the state," Paounov said. "We're physically capable of it. We'll take from this game and move on -- play like we did tonight moving forward."
Added Crosby: "You don't flush a game like this. We hadn't put a whole game together, but tonight it was very much a team effort. You want the result, but the result doesn't show how hard our guys played against a darn good team. If we keep doing that, we'll be a darn good threat."
Starting lineups
Naperville North
G: Tommy Welch
D: Andrew Klaiber
D: Ethan Harvey
D: Mitch Konrad
D: Colin Iverson
M: Ali Khorfan
M: Chris Sullivan
M: Jack Bromagen
M: Will Ritzmann
M: Jack Barry
F: Ty Konrad
Lake Park
G: Christian Lekki
D: Yuriy Chernitsky
D: Max Ellenbecker
D: Jack Fischer
D: Sebastian Glodz
M: Lorenzo Costa
M: Matteo Costa
M: Andrew Eliopoulos
M: Alessandro Montes
M: Franco Presta
F: Jesus Juarez
Man of the Match: Chris Sullivan, M, Naperville North
Officials: Ed Joras, Jen Mayfield, Larry Higgs
