Varsity The team looked to avenge a regular season loss to Glenbard South in our first regional playoff game. We came out of the game without enough energy and Glenbard South was able to take control of the game early. They played a ball across our defense and were able to finish on the net to take a 1-0 lead. Feras Alnass played well in goal throughout the half to keep us within reach. Matt Giadla put the ball in the back of the net from a great pass by AJ Metzger, but unfortunately he was called offside so the team went into half down 1-0. We made some adjustments at halftime and began to put more energy into the game hoping to continue our season. Kareem Chahin began to control the midfield and keep us in the game. Glenbard South was able to add to their lead after a shot bounced off the post and back to one of their players who was alone in front of the net for a tap in. The second goal was too much to overcome and our season ended with a 2-0 loss. We’re proud of the way that the team fought throughout the year and thank the seniors for all of their efforts throughout their four years with us!
Week of October 11th
Varsity The team ended their regular season with a game at Addison Trail. We came out a little flat to start the game and had a hard time keeping possession. Feras Alnass made some great saves throughout the first half to keep us in the game. We ultimately settled in and started to create some chances through Matt Giadla, but Addison Trail’s goalie kept the game 0-0. We gave up a goal late in the first half to head into halftime trailing 1-0. We continued to fight during the second half, but Addison Trail was able to keep the ball the majority of the half. Lukas Isberg played multiple positions throughout the game and played well throughout. We made a few mistakes defensively which led to AT goals and ended the regular season with a 3-0 loss.
Freshman To start our last week of the season we played Hinsdale Central away. It was raining and the field was very muddy but the team did their best to stay on their feet and not slide everywhere. Eric Perez, Jacob Gromadzki, and Johnny Flores Ruiz all stepped up in the game to help out at goalie. Angel Milososki played great as a lone striker, holding the ball and laying it off to his teammates who were running up the field. It was a very tough game for our team but they played until the very last minute. We scored our first and only goal of the game late in the second half on a PK that Simon Janakiev scored. Later that week we had our last game of the season against Proviso West. Our team was focused on winning that game. It was a very evenly matched game throughout the entire second half. Justas Gadisauskas played center back for our team because we needed extra speed in the back line. Zain Haq and Ben Bartninkas controlled the center of the field which allowed Johnny Flores Ruiz and Simon Janakiev to have more space on the wings. Faris Pena did a great job at forward and nearly scored multiple times. It took until the second half of the game for our team to earn a PK. Johnny scored the PK and then it was called back so he had to take it again. We couldn’t decide if he would pick the same corner or switch knowing the goalie had seen his first shot. He shot and scored it again to win the game for us 0 -1 and end our season on a win!
The Hornets finished the season 2 – 14 – 3. It was a tough schedule, but they played the best they could every game. Our leading scorer was Simon Janakiev with 6 goals and Johnny led in the assists category with 4 for the season.
Week of October 4th
Varsity The team honored the seniors on Tuesday at our Senior Night. Thanks to Matt Giadla, Lukas Isberg, Lucas Trush, Gustavo Botero, Yzan Almatarneh, Roberto Mendoza-Lopez, AJ Metzger, and Kareem Chahin for their commitment to the program over their four years! We took on Willowbrook and had a back and forth game. Matt Giadla gave us a 1-0 lead in the first half before Willowbrook tied it at 1-1. Owen Atkinson then gave us the lead again just before halftime. We dominated the second half of the game and created many chances. Willowbrook’s goalie made a ton of great saves throughout the game. Matt was able to add a second goal on the night to give us a 3-1 midway through the second half. Willowbrook scored in the final minutes to make it 3-2 and we picked up our second conference win of the year.
We lost a heartbreaking game to DGS on Wednesday night. Feras Alnass made a few saves early in the game to keep the score tied at 0-0. We played very well defensively with leadership from Jacob Charters and Roberto Mendoza Lopez. Davin Olsen and Gustavo Botero played well as outside backs and we were able to capitalize on an opportunity with 15 minutes left in the first half to take a 1-0 lead. We continued to stay organized in the back and did not give DGS any opportunities to score throughout the game. However, with 30 seconds left in the game, we had a miscommunication which led to a bouncing ball in the box and DGS was able to score to send it to overtime. The guys gave everything that they had throughout overtime. In the second overtime, DGS was able to force a turnover which led to a counterattack the other way and drew a penalty kick. Feras Alnass got his hand on the PK attempt, but wasn’t able to keep it out and the game ended in a 2-1 double OT loss. We are incredibly proud of the way the guys fought throughout the game. After giving everything against DGS, we did not have much steam when we played Timothy Christian over the weekend. We struggled defending corners and crosses which led to easy Timothy Christian goals. Thanks to Aryan Patel for stepping in goal while both of our goalies were gone. AJ Metzger was able to score for us in the second half, but we ended up losing the game 7-1.
Freshman The Hornets started this week with a home game against Proviso East. The team had a slow start that allowed Proviso East a few early goals. However, we stepped up our playing later in the first half. Edward Lau won the ball on the sidelines and passed to Faris Pena. Faris took the ball wide and crossed it to Eric Fournier who was in the box. He passed to Simon Janakiev who shot and scored our first and only goal of the game to bring the score at halftime to 1 – 2. In the second half, we continued our attack with a free kick that Ben Bartninkas shot and hit off of the cross bar. Unfortunately we couldn’t score anymore so the game ended in a 1 – 5 loss.
Later that week we played Addison Trail at home. It was a hard fought game on both sides and very evenly matched. We were able to play in our 4 – 4 – 2 formation that generated more offense for our team. The boys battled all game and we earned our first shutout of the year thanks to Brendan McPherson in goal, and Kelan Nicol, Braeden Atkinson, Ben Bartninkas, and Jacob Gromadzki on defense. The game ended in a 0 – 0 tie. Then on Saturday morning the team played against Timothy Christian away. Our team had a very hard time one on one defending especially due to the field conditions which allowed them many early goals. We regrouped for the second half and immediately were able to score a goal on a play from Justas Gadisauskas crossing the ball to Simon Janakiev who scored! Braeden Atkinson and Landon Schroeder both played awesome on defense throughout the entire game. The Hornets lost 1 – 7.
Week of September 27th
Varsity The team took on Leyden on Tuesday night in a conference game to start the week. We tried to take advantage of the wide field that Leyden has to play Matt Giadla and Lukas Isberg into space. Kareem Chahin, Diego Castellanos, and Owen Atkinson did their best to try to control the ball in the midfield. We made a couple of defensive mistakes in the middle of the first half which led to two Leyden goals. We continued to try to play our style of soccer, but weren’t able to convert any chances that we created. Leyden added another goal in the second half for a 3-0 result.
On Thursday, we took on our crosstown rivals Hinsdale Central. We struggled throughout the first half and did not create many opportunities. Hinsdale Central took advantage of our struggles which led to a 3-0 halftime deficit. The guys didn’t give up and continued to fight. Owen Atkinson was able to convert a penalty kick in the second half to give us some life and then Kareem Chahin scored to cut the lead to 3-2. We continued to try to create opportunities, but weren’t able to convert any of them. Feras Alnass played well in goal throughout the game and made some fantastic saves.
Freshman This week the Hornets continued conference play with a game on Monday against DGS. Our team was tired and suffered a tough 0-8 loss. We regrouped on Tuesday and addressed a few things at practice. Then on Wednesday we played York away. In the first half we created some chances and Justas Gadisauskas put great pressure on their defense. Ben Bartninkas played great as center back stepping up to win the ball and covering his teammates when they got beat. He won the ball cleanly from multiple players on York throughout the game and cleared the ball to relieve the pressure our team was facing. Faris Pena played great stepping to the ball to receive it and playing through balls to his teammates. Eli Langdon used his speed at forward to challenge their defense and make passes to his teammates. Edward Lau played great at outside mid stepping in to tackle and win the ball and then pass to his teammates. We had some mistakes from our defense and goalie that allows some goals. Unfortunately we lost 0-7 but will try to bounce back for our game the next day.
On Thursday the Hornets played Glenbard south. During the first half there was a nice through ball to Justas who shot it right at the goalie. Then we had a mishap in goal that allowed Glenbard south their first goal. Our team continued to have great passing starting from Ben our center back out wide to Simon our left mid abs in to Justas our forward that allowed Justas another shot. Similarly passing patterns were better Ben, Faris and Justas that gave Justas another opportunity to score, but missed. Then Johnny played a nice ball to Simon who took a long shot that went past their goalie to score our first goal of the game! Then Simon made a nice cross on the wing to Johnny who was in the box and scored our second goal of the game! Unfortunately 2 mistakes from our team allowed them two more goals in the first half. The half ended with us down 2-3. During the second half, our back line did a great job of pressuring their team and stepping up to win the ball. Kelan Nicol did a great job timing the ball in the air to head the ball and keep us on offense. Ben played a great pass to Justas that gave him a breakaway that he calmly scored our third goal of the game to tie it! Braeden won the ball numerous times as an outside back and connected passes to his teammates. He even dribbled down line to get a cross off. Johnny took a free kick near the end of the game that hit the cross bar and bounced out. Brendan McPherson made a huge save at the buzzer to prevent them from scoring. The game ended in a 3-3 tie.
Week of September 20th
Varsity The team had another busy week with four games. It started with a non-conference game at Nazareth. We struggled to maintain much possession throughout the first half as Nazareth was able to play into empty spaces and keep the ball well. Feras Alnass made outstanding saves throughout the half and kept us in the game. Nazareth was able to score in the half and take a 1-0 lead at halftime. During the second half, Gustavo Botero took a free kick from near midfield and was able to put it through the goalie’s hands and into the back of the net to tie the game 1-1. We kept battling, but unfortunately Nazareth was able to score a few times to win the game 3-1. The team then took on an incredibly tough game against Morton the next day. Morton was able to control the ball and find spaces in our defense. They took advantage of the opportunities that they created and beat us 7-0.
The team then battled with Glenbard South on Thursday. It was a hard-fought game throughout the first half with both teams creating chances. Feras Alnass was outstanding in goal and Jacob Charters and Roberto Mendoza Lopez kept us organized defensively and shut down any opportunities for Glenbard South to score. Joaquin Amaro played his best game of the year so far and completely shut down Glenbard South’s right side. We went into halftime tied 0-0. We were able to take a lead early in the second half from a great goal by Lukas Isberg. Glenbard South was able to tie the game with 15 minutes left. It remained a 1-1 game until Glenbard South was fouled in the box and converted their penalty kick with about a minute left. It was a crushing 2-1 loss for us after a game that we played very well in. We then ended the week with a tough game against DGN. We were able to take an early 1-0 lead thanks for a great flick by Matt Giadla from a corner kick. We had an excellent chance to make it 2-0 a few minutes later, but our shot went just wide of the post. DGN was able to battle back into the game and took a 3-1 lead at halftime. We ended up giving up another goal in the second half to end the week with a 4-1 loss.
Freshman The Hornets started a tough week with 3 games in a row. First up was a home game against Morton. It was a defensive game for us. Zain Haq did an excellent job at center mid, winning the ball and starting to connect passes. Jacob Gromadzki made his first save of the game in goal. Landon Schroeder made a save while defending our back post and stepped up to clear the ball. Edward Lau stepped up and blocked a shot just outside the box. Kelan Nicol and Braeden Atikinson worked hard all game trying to defend their forwards. Unfortunately the Hornets suffered a tough 0-8 loss.
The next day the Hornets played Nazareth at home. Nazareth scored first which forced us to try to equalize all of the first half. We had multiple chances but couldn’t finish any of them. We had trouble winning the ball out of the air so made a few switches at halftime to try and fix that problem. The Hornets entered the second half down by one goal and we made it our goal to score within the first five minutes to tie the game. Within 30 seconds of the half starting Simon Janakiev crossed the ball to Johnny Flores Ruiz who shot and scored our first goal of the game to tie us 1-1. A mishap in our box allowed Nazareth their second goal of the game and gave them the lead again. The Hornets kept the pressure on Nazareth and Ben Bartninkas did a great job of winning the ball in the center of the field to start our attack. We earned a free kick that Johnny took and crossed into the box perfectly and Ben headed the ball into the goal to tie the game 2-2. Justas Gadisauskas received many passes from his teammates that he attempted to dribble past their defense and was fouled multiple times. Great passing by Eric Perez and Johnny kept us on Nazareth’s half of the field. Johnny passed the ball to Simon in the box and Simon shot and scored our third goal of the game to give us the lead 3-2. Unfortunately the Hornets couldn’t hold onto the lead for the last 3 minutes and conceded a goal that ended the game in a 3-3 tie.
The next day the Hornets continued conference play with an away game at Leyden. We started off playing great. Eric Perez made an early pass to Justas Gadisauskas who shot just over the top of the goal. Simon Janakiev got a pass and dribbled down the sideline past their defense. The ball got deflected and Matas Grigonis took a chance shot over the top. We were connecting passes and creating good chances. Eric Perez played another through ball to Justas. Then Zain Haq took the first first shot of the game that was saved by their goalie. We earned a corner kick that Simon took but we couldn’t finish it. Jacob Gromadzki made a great save in goal and stepped up multiple times to clear the ball out. Our defense led by Landon Schroeder, Braeden Atkinson, Ben Bartninkas and Kelan Nicol held an impressive offsides trap that really frustrated Leyden. Edward Lau followed up on a rebounded shot in the box to try and score. The Hornets worked hard all game but couldn’t keep up with Leyden speed on offense and lost 0-8.
Week of September 13th
Varsity The Varsity team had a rough week with the remaining games of the Plainfield North Classic. The team fell 5-1 to host Plainfield North on Tuesday. Plainfield North was able to keep possession throughout the game and didn’t give us much time when we created turnovers.We also battled Bolingbrook on Thursday. The Raiders were able to score two quick goals to start the game and we weren’t able to do anything we wanted to. They added a few more before halftime to take a 5-0 lead. We continued to play hard throughout the rest of the game, but weren’t able to get much going offensively. The game ended with a 7-0 loss. We rounded out the tournament with a hard-fought battle against Plainfield South. We came out and played well throughout most of the first half. We were able to retain possession with Owen Atkinson and Kareem Chahin throughout the half. Diego Castellanos came on as a sub and was all over the field. Defensively we were organized and didn’t give Plainfield South many opportunities to score. They unfortunately were able to sneak one in just before halftime. We continued to play a similar style throughout the second half. We dominated early in the second half, but then began to run out of steam. Plainfield South scored a great free kick to take a 2-0 lead and added a third towards the end of the game.
Freshman This week the Hornets started with a game against Glenbard West at home. We had a few timing issues with our defensive line stepping to try and catch the team offsides and not all being together which allowed a few early goals. The Hornets didn’t give up and kept working hard to try and win the ball. Simon Janakiev made a pass to Johnny Flores Ruiz who shot and scored our first goal of the game! Kelan Nicol did a great job organizing the defense and stepping up to win the ball. In the second half we started with a goal by Justas Gadisauskas who dribbled past their entire defense up the middle of the field and shot to score our second goal of the game! Ben Bartninkas played goalie for us in the second half and saved a penalty kick! The Hornets lost the game 7-2.
Later in the week the Hornets continued conference play with a game against Willowbrook. A very early goal by Willowbrook allowed them the lead on a missed offsides call. So the team had to work hard the entire game to try and even the score. We had multiple corner kicks taken by Simon Janakiev but no one could get on the end of them to score a goal. Davin Olsen did a great job winning the ball in the midfield. Johnny Flores Ruiz took a free kick at the top of their box that he put on frame but was saved by their goalie. Joaquin Amaro took multiple free kicks that he tried to keep in play to start our offense. Braeden Atkinson and Jacob Gromadzki did great at outside back winning the ball and connecting passes. Unfortunately we couldn’t come back and ended up losing the game 0-2.
Week of September 6th
Varsity The team began conference play with a 2-0 win over Proviso East. We started the game strong and controlled possession throughout the first half through Kareem Chahin. We were able to take a 1-0 with a goal from Lukas Isberg. The team was anchored defensively with strong play from Davin Olsen and Roberto Mendoza Lopez. We were able to add a second goal from Matt Giadla before halftime and went into the locker room with a 2-0 lead. We continued to dominate the game throughout the second half and kept possession of the ball. Proviso East did not have many chances to score, but anything on frame was stopped by Dimitrije Gujanicic who helped keep the shutout.
On Saturday, the team began the Plainfield North Classic with a tough game against Shepard. The teams were deadlocked throughout most of the first half. Lukas Isberg and Matt Giadla did a great job for us working up and down the sidelines to get into the attack and then working back to defend. We made two mistakes in the last five minutes of the half which led to two Shepard goals and a 2-0 deficit. We battled back in the second half and were able to get a goal from a Diego Castellanos cross which AJ Metzger got a head on and put into the back of the net. We continued to push trying to even up the game at 2-2, but unfortunately we couldn’t find an equalizer. While we continued to push everyone forward, Shepard was able to go on a breakaway to score with 30 seconds left to end the game with a 3-1 defeat.
Freshman The Hornets played OPRF on Wednesday. An early goal by OPRF that got past our back line Landon Schroeder was our goalie and he made multiple saves after that. We had trouble holding an offsides line and continually kept their team on sides. Then we fouled a player in the box and gave up a PK. Landon made a great decision in goal and saved the PK!! Throughout the game Kelan Nicol did a great job defending at center back and was fouled multiple times which gave us free kicks. Unfortunately we had a few mistakes in the second half and lost the game 0-4.
Over the weekend we played in the Lockport tournament starting with a game on Friday against Lincoln way east. We had a great kick off to start the game and an early free kick near the box that was unfortunately shot over the top of the goal. Then we had a miscommunication with our goalie and defender that allowed LWE’s first goal. Our team decided we would try to hold a higher line on defense to try and catch them offsides but struggled to get all the players evenly in line. At halftime we were losing 0-2. Then during the second half we had a hand ball in the box which allowed them a PK. Brendan McPherson saved the PK!! Kelan Nicol and Braeden Atkinson did a great job defending and communicating to their teammates. Unfortunately a shortened warm up did not prepare us for our game and we lost 0-4.
Then on Saturday we continued tournament play against Plainfield South. We changed our formation to try and generate more offense in this game and the boys came out ready to play. Zain Haq had a great pass to Simon Janakiev who played to to Johnny Flores Ruiz who shot it just wide of the goal. Eric Perez played a great ball to Justas Gadisauskas who shot and scored our first goal! We continued attacking in the first half with great passing between Zain, Simon, and Eric Perez. Richie Pikula won the ball for us in the midfield. Then we got scored on to make the game 1-1 but they didn’t let down. Johnny dribbled past multiple players on the sideline and forced a handball on the other team in their box to earn a PK. Johnny took the PK and placed it perfectly to score our second goal of the game. At halftime we were tied 2-2. Plainfield South was trying to match our intensity. Then Richie played a through ball to Simon who passed their defender and shot and scored our third goal of the game. Then they scored again to tie 3-3. Braeden Atkinson, Kelan Nicol, Landon Schroeder, and Jacob Gromadzki played great at defense throughout the game. Zain Haq and Richie Pikula controlled our midfield play to help generate offense. We won the PK shootout to win the game! Simon, Richie, and Johnny all scored their PKs to help us win!
The Hornets then got to play in the 5th place game against Wheaton North. Kelan Nicol saved a goal by being by the front post of a corner kick. Then we earned a few corner kicks but couldn’t connect on any of them. Simon drew a foul in the box which earned our team a PK. But the other teams goalie made a great save and pret vented us from scoring. Johnny played a great through ball to Justas over the top of their defense but Justas’s shot missed wide. Our team started to get tired and we let down our energy which allowed them to take over the game despite all of our chances. We lost 0-4 so ended up in 6th place for the tournament. Overall the boys worked really hard all weekend with 3 games all with a short recovery time.
Week of August 30th
Varsity The team battled Lemont on Tuesday in our first home game of the year. The team came out and executed the game plan to perfection throughout the first half by sitting back to defend then launching counterattacks after turnovers. Owen Atkinson, Diego Castellanos, and Kareem Chahin kept everything organized in the midfield while Gustavo Botero and Jacob Charters organized the defense. The team went into halftime tied 0-0. Lemont was able to take a 1-0 lead early in the second half. The team stuck with the game plan and Gustavo Botero tied the game at 1-1 with a fantastic strike from a tough angle into the side netting. It was back and forth until the end, but ultimately ended 1-1.
Freshman The Hornets started their season with an away game against Downers Grove North. During the first half we had 2 corners early on that we couldn’t capitalize on. Then we had a nice cross to Simon Janakiev who was in the box but hit off his shin guard. Then we had a corner kick to Justas Gadisauskas who shot and scored but the goal was called back because of a handball. Then Justas Gadisauskas had another shot but it went over the cross bar. The Hornets ended the half 0-0. In the second half, Simon Janakiev was dribbling towards their box and was fouled. Joaquin Amaro stepped to take the free kick at the top of the box but shot over the goal. Great defensive play by Braeden Atkinson and Kelan Nicol all game. Johnny Flores Ruiz played great at center mid winning the ball out of the air. Unfortunately, a bad clear by the defense scored an own goal near the end of the game to put DGN up 1-0. DGN had two more shots at the end of the game but Brendan McPherson saved both goals!
The next day the Hornets had their home opener against Lemont. Two early goals from Lemont gave them the lead but the Hornets kept playing. Great defense was played by Braeden Atkinson all game. Ben Bartninkas and Danny Ciesla did a great job of winning the ball in the midfield and dropping back on defense to help block shots from the other teams forwards. Brendan McPherson made a few great saves in the second half to keep our shut out in the second half. Eli Langdon won the ball multiple times in the center midfield, completely stopping Lemont’s attack on our team. Landon Schroeder had to step up to be goalie in the last few minutes of the game and saved a corner kick cross that was nearing the cross bar. The Hornets ended the game with a 0-2 loss but played much better in the second half.
Week of August 23rd
Varsity The team began its season with a tough matchup against Lockport. We played well defensively throughout most of the first half led by Gustavo Botero and Jacob Charters. A couple of mistakes cost us goals which led to a 2-0 halftime deficit. Throughout the second half, Diego Castellanos tried to help get forward into the attack from his position. Johnny Ruiz and Richie Pikula made their varsity debuts as freshmen and played well. The team kept fighting and the game ended with a 4-0 loss.
The team picked up its first win of the season with a 3-2 win over Marian Catholic. Diego Castellnos forced a turnover on one of their defenders which led instantly to a goal from Owen Atkinson. We struggled to maintain possession throughout the first half and trailed 2-1 at halftime. The team evened the score at 2-2 after Aryan Patel’s throw-in bounced over the goalie’s head and into the back of the net. Diego Castellanos scored from a corner kick to give us a 3-2 lead. The team sat behind the ball to help defend the lead and Dimitrije Gujanicic made some great saves towards the end to help preserve the win.
We completed the week with a 4-2 win over Providence on Saturday. After falling behind 1-0, Owen Atkinson scored on an assist from AJ Metzger to tie the game at 1-1. We created many chances throughout the first half, but couldn’t capitalize on them and went into halftime tied 1-1. Lukas Isberg gave us a 2-1 lead midway through the second half after forcing a turnover by Providence’s goalie and putting the ball into an open net. Kareem Chahin positioned himself well during the second half and helped stop counterattacks by Providence. The game was tied 2-2 at the end of regulation. In the first overtime, Owen Atkinson converted a penalty kick to give us a 3-2 lead and Diego Castellanos put the game away with a nice left-footed finish in the second overtime to give us a 4-2 win.