INSIDE: Maine South’s Friedman performs well at state, page 15; Playoffs next up for football locals, page 15
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THE BUGLE OCTOBER 25, 2012
11
Maine South wins regional title By Mike Sandrolini Sports Reporter
After pulling out a victory on penalty kicks over 18th-seeded Schurz in its regional opener earlier last week, Maine South’s boys soccer team didn’t want to leave anything to chance facing Loyola Academy for the regional title last Friday afternoon. The No. 2-seeded Hawks jumped on the ninth-seeded Ramblers early, scoring just 31 seconds into the game and tallying two additional firsthalf goals. Maine South’s potent defense and goalkeeper Erik Wagner did the rest as the Hawks blanked Loyola, 4-0, to win their first regional crown since 2009. The Hawks’ victory set them up for a sectional semifinal matchup in the New Trier sectional opposite Glenbrook North, which took place Tuesday.. “We’ve played Glenbrook North to a 0-0 draw earlier in the season so we know they’ll be a tough squad,” said Maine South coach Dan States, whose team is 14-4-5 heading into its game versus the 5th-seeded Spartans. States and the Hawks were hoping to get on the board as quickly as possible, and sophomore forward Alex Koziol turned that hope into reality. Koziol took a pass from Mike Solberg and banged in a shot for a 1-0 lead. “That’s definitely what we were looking for,” States said. “We felt this was a team that, the longer they would hang around, they would be dangerous. We didn’t want to go into a long, drawn-out 0-0 affair like we had in the last contest where Schurz did a great job defensively and we just had a hard time finishing. This time we wanted to get up thoroughly and never look back.” Ryan Pattullo, one of the
team’s senior co-captains along with defender Calvin Miller, put the Hawks ahead 2-0 with 30:08 left in the half after he gained possession in front of the Loyola net, sidestepped a couple of defenders and put in a shot from around 20 yards out. “It was all my teammates’work,” Pattullo said. “Coach always told us to press the defensive line because anything can happen and that’s exactly what I did. I saw the ball pop loose and I went for it, got a lucky bounce off it and I took the shot that I had.” Miller and his colleagues in the back line put constant pressure on Loyola forwards throughout the contest. Wagner faced just four shots the entire day. “We knew they had a couple of good forwards that like to pass it around quickly,” Miller said. “Our defense is really good at shifting and covering so we figured we’d match up well against them.” “Our defense has been outstanding all season for us,” States added. “It begins in the pipes with Erik Wagner, and our back line of Kyle Gebavi, Jacob Szpernal, Kazuma Takizawa and his brother, Tatsuya. And Calvin Miller. The four of those guys have been rock solid all season for us and we just don’t give up a lot of shot opportunities. That continued to play itself out tonight.” Nearly five minutes after his brother’s goal, Chris Pattullo capitalized on a Loyola turnover and scored from the right side for a 3-0 Hawk lead. Henry Mierzwa, a sophomore, netted the Hawks’ final goal just before the game ended. The Hawks advanced to the regional championship game by outscoring Schurz 3-2 on penalty kicks Oct. 16. Koziol, Nick Malone and Michael Banas each scored for the Hawks, while Wagner
picked up the victory in goal. •Maine East, the area’s soccer Cinderella story a year ago when it advanced to the sectional championship game, suffered an early exit this year in a Class 3A Leyden Regional semifinal game vs. Glenbrook North Oct. 16. The Spartans, seeded fifth in the New Trier sectional, blanked the No. 10-seeded Demons, 1-0. Maine East goalkeeper David Patyk played well,but the Demons finally got to him late in the first half and scored the game’s only goal on a breakaway. Maine East, which finished 2012 with a 12-8-2 record, did generate some scoring chances from Wilson Noriega and Rami Dajani in the second half, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Dajani, who scored 31 goals this season despite missing several games early with injuries, finishes his stellar prep career with 88 career goals. He’s also been named to the first-team AllState squad. •Niles West, the 13th seed in the New Trier Sectional, put up a battle with Lane Tech on Oct. 16, but was ousted from further postseason play after bowing to the fourth-seeded Indians, 2-0. •Notre Dame, competing in the Class 2A Vernon Hills Regional, saw its 2012 campaign come to an end following a 5-1 loss to St. Viator in a semifinal game Oct. 17. Senior Brett Bartes, the Dons’ leading scorer each of the past two seasons, netted his team’s only goal in the first half, which made the score 3-1 at the time.
BOYS CROSS Class 3A Loyola Regional: Maine South senior Jon Vaccaro cruised to the individual regional championship with a time of See TITLE, page 13
Mike Sandrolini/Bugle Staff
Senior defender Kyle Gebavi attempts to clear the zone during Maine South’s 4-0 regional title victory over Loyola Academy last Friday.