WHEATON — Styles make the game, but sometimes a particular team just brings out something special from a player.

Every time Jay Carroll goes up against St. Francis, the possibilities expand before him, painting a picture of open movement and fluid play that perfectly aligns with his style.

“I would probably say my style and how I like to play is that I’m more of a direct player,” Carroll said. “I like to take people on, and have the ability to run off of my teammates. 

“My style is definitely being an attacker. Now that I’m a senior, I know I have to step it up and score even more goals.”

Carroll maintained his mastery of the Spartans with two goals in the Rams’ 4-0 victory Tuesday night in a Chicago Catholic League cross-over game.

He has already accumulated 10 goals and two assists for the Rams (6-0-1), who are ranked no. 4 in the Chicagoland Soccer Class AA Super 7 poll.

As a junior last year, Carroll scored 19 goals to lead the Rams to the Elite Eight.

His top individual performance in 2023 was a hat-trick in the Rams’ 3-1 home victory over St. Francis on Sept. 5, 2023.

Mobile and highly agile, Carroll is blessed with a great first step and a kinetic and almost invisible ballhandling style that allows him to put the defense under a state of constant duress.

He staked the Rams to the 1-0 lead with an explosive move in the 23rd minute, timing his run perfectly off a ball from midfielder Dom Scandariato and smashing it home from about 12 yards.

The frightening part for the rest of DePaul’s competition this season is Carroll seems to have made a distinct leap from a year ago. He is bigger, about 6-foot-1, stronger and faster.

“I would probably say playing club fully now, year-round in a very competitive environment, has really gotten me ready for high school soccer,” he said.

St. Francis (1-4-0) hung close by utilizing exceptional play from starting keeper Nathan Magnuszewski during the first half, and his replacement Carter Clark after the break.

Forwards John Coco and Nicolas Tisljar, who have been the most consistent offensive players for the Spartans, tried to counter the Rams’ superior time of possession.

“We have to find that final piece of putting the ball into the back of the net,” said defender Henry Florczak, a rare freshman captain. “This is a great group of guys, and we’re still trying to put all of the pieces together.

“The goals they scored weren’t really the fault of the keepers. Nathan, our starter, played lights out, and so did Carter. Offensively, we created some chances with Brady Hamman, Tisljar and Junior Diaz. I think we’re just growing into the game.”

By contrast, DePaul is a savvy, veteran team that has played together for three years. The only new part of the equation is first-year coach Kyle Kreider, who came over from the small program at Intrinsic charter school.

DePaul had five players repeat as starters from the 2023 match against St. Francis.

“We have a ton of returning guys, a bunch of seniors, and we've been waiting for a year like this to have the opportunity with all the upperclassmen,” Carroll said.

St. Francis stayed in the game thanks to Magnuszewski, who made a couple of spectacular saves, including a kick-stop off a short-range ball from Carroll in the 30th minute.

After the break, the play was more balanced at the start with Tisljar having a good look from about 16 yards that deflected off the back of a Rams’ defender.

Florczak had a couple of dangerous free kicks, including an on-target ball that challenged DePaul keeper Joe Phillips. Diaz made some deep runs, and the Spartans made the Rams’ backline work.

“I think we’ve grown game to game and gotten better,” Florczak said. “Obviously we haven’t gotten the results that we wanted yet, but I think in the future we’re going to start putting some wins together and compete for the conference championship.”

The play of the two Spartans keepers that kept an otherwise one-sided game competitive and pushed the Rams to find a solution.

“This was a cross-conference game, and we knew they were a good team. We had to get more goals up,” Carroll said. ‘We knew it was coming -- they were packed in. We just needed to stay composed and not freak out.

“We knew we were going to get more chances.”

DePaul broke the game open during a three-minute stretch of the second half. In the 61st minute, midfielder Henry Mellon caught a through-ball and advanced down the right edge.

Carroll found space in the box, and Mellon delivered the perfect cross that the high-scoring forward put away from a couple of yards.

Carroll earned the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor for his superb play.

“It’s really great to have someone who can finish like that,” Mellon said. “I feel like during the club season, I hadn’t really had someone who could do that. I’d play balls like that, and the shot would just get fluffed.

“A lot of us play together in the offseason, and we started our workouts and training early this year. We’ve built up a really nice chemistry.”

Mellon put the game away moments later. Positioned on the right edge, he took a ball from defender Nico Chavrria, made a quick stutter-step and blasted a left-footed ball from about 18 yards that curled inside the far post for this second goal of the year.

“I think we just wanted to stay hungry and keep putting Jay and some of the other players in positions where they could score one-on-one,” he said. “Anytime you get a result of more than a two-goal advantage is really good.

“I think we’re making a name for ourselves.”

Chavarria punctuated the dominant performance by following a ball by Paul Adams and cleaning up the rebound in the 76th minute.

“It’s nice having players that I can rely on to combine and switch the ball and create opportunities,” Chavarria said. “It’s great to not only combine but have players who can finish off those combinations.

“I say we're getting more confident. I’d say also we're learning all the qualities of every player with each game, and we’re seeing how our team plays well together. You see what’s bringing out the best in every single player on our team.”

Starting lineups

DePaul
GK: Joe Phillips
D: Max Galindo
D: Connor McLeod
D: Ryan Drayton
D: Nico Chavarria
MF: George Hanafee
MF: Louis Sharp
MF: Dom Scandariato
MF: Francesco Sessa
F: Jay Carroll
F: Will Marshall

St. Francis
GK: Nathan Magnuszewski
D: Ryan Callender
D: Luke Pounders
D: Jonathan Yarusso
D: Peter Williams
MF: Luke Argamasilla
MF: Brady Hamman
MF: Junior Diaz
MF: Peter Williams
F: John Coco
F: Nicolas Tisljar

Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Jay Carroll, sr., F, DePaul

Scoring summary

First half
DePaul—Jay Carroll (Dom Scandariato), 23’

Second half
DePaul—Carroll (Harrison Mellon), 61’
DePaul—Mellon (Nico Chavarria), 64’
DePaul—Paul Adams (Chavarria), 76’