Titans meet their match in state title game, settle for second
By Joe Pritchett
Clarion Editor
The game of soccer can be very cruel at times, and just imagine being the Glenwood High School boys soccer team charging forward
on a postseason run for the ages last weekend at Lincoln-Way North High School in Frankfort.
The Titans persevered and stayed focused in a 2-1 semifinal victory over Aurora Marmion Academy Friday, but staring them in the face
for the Class 2A state title game was a veritable international All-Star team in Chicago Mather.
And though Glenwood hung tough in the first half, trailing only 1-0 despite going against a stiff breeze, the floodgates opened quickly
in the second half and the Rangers cruised to a 6-0 victory.
Glenwood (17-6-2) settled for second place, while Mather (21-3-1) hoisted the state championship trophy.
Heading into the contest, Glenwood head coach Jay Lipe, his assistants and his team members analyzed how they would approach
such a daunting task.
"We could either pack it in, and only hope to lose 1-0 or 2-0, maybe hold on and get to penalty kicks, or we could just come out and
play," he explained. "Our kids wanted to play with them, and it's never been our style to sit back and pack it in. In the first half, we kept
them out for the most part. Brayton (Haack) made some big saves and our guys kept their shape defensively.
"But that took a toll on us I think," he continued. "In the second half, they capitalized on us giving the ball away. They scored that goal
early on, and after that, we just couldn't get our composure back for a few minutes. They are a very skilled and very experienced team."
Striker Qudos Lawal scored Mather's first goal midway through the first half, moving to the right and sending a grounder to the left
side of the goal past Haack.
The Rangers controlled play for the entire first half, but Haack and the Glenwood defenders kept them at bay. The skill sets and
speed of the entire Mather team was a sight to behold even for the most knowledgeable soccer fan.
"Overall, top to bottom, as far as technical ability, the speed of play and decision making, they were at a whole other level," Lipe
stated. "They are at a higher level than most high school teams."
In the second half, the Rangers scored four goals in the first seven minutes before tacking on the sixth and final goal with 26 minutes
to play. Lawal finished with four goals, while Juan Mendez and Steven Younus had one each.
Mather finished with 21 shots on goal, to six for Glenwood. The Rangers had nine corner kicks, to one for the Titans.
Haack appeared to be injured on a collision on the Rangers' fifth goal, and Lipe took him out as a precaution. Colton Schreyer
finished the game in net.
"Brayton got kicked pretty hard, and he could have gone back in, but we gave Colton an opportunity to play and he made some nice
saves," Lipe explained.
"The kids are disappointed," he continued. "But it's one thing if you lose to a team of equal ability or you feel they are better than
them. That team was just better than us. We're very proud of our team. As the year went along, we saw an opportunity to go deep in the
playoffs if we kept working hard. I don't think anyone would have thought we'd go this far but it's a credit to those guys. They worked hard
and pulled together."
•Friday's semifinal game against Marmion Academy (19-8-3) was a much different contest. The teams were evenly matched, play
was physical and there were a total of seven cards issued, including six on the Cadets (one red).
Glenwood showed its poise and focus throughout the match, while the private school Cadets had a red card issued to a player for an
obscene gesture to the officials and a yellow card issued to a coach in the second half.
Just over 15 minutes into the first half, Lipe subbed in freshman Brock Tober for senior Andrew Watters. At the time, Glenwood's
Connor Carnduff was preparing to send in a corner kick, which sailed right in front of the goal, where Tober leaped and headed it in the
top of the goal to give GHS a 1-0 lead.
"The substitution wasn't by design," Lipe explained. "We took Andrew out to see how he was feeling, and he has been battling some
injuries. Nobody picked up Brock, and Connor delivered a great cross and he finished it off. As a freshman in high school in a state
tournament, and your first touch is a goal, you can't beat that."
Marmion tied the game 11 minutes later, as on a throw-in from the side, a Glenwood defender headed the ball out. But the Cadets'
Mike Frasca one-timed the ball out of mid-air, sending a shot to the lower left corner of the goal past Haack.
In the second half, the Titans scored the winning goal just over seven minutes in. Watters, after taking a simple throw-in, made
several moves back and forth to clear space for a left-footed entry pass toward the goal, and senior Jordan Fields took the feed and
headed the ball into the goal on a bounce.
Later on in the half, the cards came fast and furious for Marmion, with Luke Elder earning a red card with less than eight minutes to
play. Nick Maley even earned a yellow card after the game was over.
"I thought we played really well," Lipe stated. "In the second half, we possessed the ball well, and they started getting frustrated with
the amount of cards they were getting. Our kids kept control, stayed focused, played their game and that was a big asset for us.
"We played some better teams this year," he continued. "Their style of play is to stay back defensively and try to counter-attack. The
key for us was to keep the ball and transition back so they couldn't counter-attack us."
Glenwood finished with seven shots on goal, to five for the Cadets.
This was the Titans' third state trophy in boys soccer. Glenwood won the Class AA state title in 2005 and the Titans took third place in
2003. Seniors on this year's team include: Carnduff, Watters, Jordan Fields, Ethan Fields, Schreyer, Tyler Brady, Brandon Ribble and
Dominic Bavetta. Glenwood graduated 18 seniors a season ago.
"It was a really crazy mix this year," Lipe summed up. "We had three guys (Pat Flahive, Carnduff, Watters) with varsity experience. It
was the unknown coming into the season. We thought we had some talented players, but would they come together? They did, and they
surpassed our expectations, and then some. It's a credit to all of the seniors. Their leadership and work ethic led the team and helped to
bring the younger kids along."
•Watters led Glenwood with 14 goals on the season, followed by: Carnduff (13), Jordan Fields (11), Luke Rectenwal (6), Tober (6),
Flahive (4), Alex Johnson (4), Joe Graves (2) and Alex Reljic (1).
Carnduff led the Titans with 16 assists, followed by: Flahive (7), Watters (5), Tober (3), Rectenwal (2), Johnson (2), Graves (2), Jordan
Fields (2), Nick Bolin (2), Nolan Mays (1) and Ethan Fields (1).
Haack and Schreyer split the goaltending duties during the regular season, before Haack took over for the most part in the playoffs.
By Joe Pritchett
Clarion Editor
The game of soccer can be very cruel at times, and just imagine being the Glenwood High School boys soccer team charging forward
on a postseason run for the ages last weekend at Lincoln-Way North High School in Frankfort.
The Titans persevered and stayed focused in a 2-1 semifinal victory over Aurora Marmion Academy Friday, but staring them in the face
for the Class 2A state title game was a veritable international All-Star team in Chicago Mather.
And though Glenwood hung tough in the first half, trailing only 1-0 despite going against a stiff breeze, the floodgates opened quickly
in the second half and the Rangers cruised to a 6-0 victory.
Glenwood (17-6-2) settled for second place, while Mather (21-3-1) hoisted the state championship trophy.
Heading into the contest, Glenwood head coach Jay Lipe, his assistants and his team members analyzed how they would approach
such a daunting task.
"We could either pack it in, and only hope to lose 1-0 or 2-0, maybe hold on and get to penalty kicks, or we could just come out and
play," he explained. "Our kids wanted to play with them, and it's never been our style to sit back and pack it in. In the first half, we kept
them out for the most part. Brayton (Haack) made some big saves and our guys kept their shape defensively.
"But that took a toll on us I think," he continued. "In the second half, they capitalized on us giving the ball away. They scored that goal
early on, and after that, we just couldn't get our composure back for a few minutes. They are a very skilled and very experienced team."
Striker Qudos Lawal scored Mather's first goal midway through the first half, moving to the right and sending a grounder to the left
side of the goal past Haack.
The Rangers controlled play for the entire first half, but Haack and the Glenwood defenders kept them at bay. The skill sets and
speed of the entire Mather team was a sight to behold even for the most knowledgeable soccer fan.
"Overall, top to bottom, as far as technical ability, the speed of play and decision making, they were at a whole other level," Lipe
stated. "They are at a higher level than most high school teams."
In the second half, the Rangers scored four goals in the first seven minutes before tacking on the sixth and final goal with 26 minutes
to play. Lawal finished with four goals, while Juan Mendez and Steven Younus had one each.
Mather finished with 21 shots on goal, to six for Glenwood. The Rangers had nine corner kicks, to one for the Titans.
Haack appeared to be injured on a collision on the Rangers' fifth goal, and Lipe took him out as a precaution. Colton Schreyer
finished the game in net.
"Brayton got kicked pretty hard, and he could have gone back in, but we gave Colton an opportunity to play and he made some nice
saves," Lipe explained.
"The kids are disappointed," he continued. "But it's one thing if you lose to a team of equal ability or you feel they are better than
them. That team was just better than us. We're very proud of our team. As the year went along, we saw an opportunity to go deep in the
playoffs if we kept working hard. I don't think anyone would have thought we'd go this far but it's a credit to those guys. They worked hard
and pulled together."
•Friday's semifinal game against Marmion Academy (19-8-3) was a much different contest. The teams were evenly matched, play
was physical and there were a total of seven cards issued, including six on the Cadets (one red).
Glenwood showed its poise and focus throughout the match, while the private school Cadets had a red card issued to a player for an
obscene gesture to the officials and a yellow card issued to a coach in the second half.
Just over 15 minutes into the first half, Lipe subbed in freshman Brock Tober for senior Andrew Watters. At the time, Glenwood's
Connor Carnduff was preparing to send in a corner kick, which sailed right in front of the goal, where Tober leaped and headed it in the
top of the goal to give GHS a 1-0 lead.
"The substitution wasn't by design," Lipe explained. "We took Andrew out to see how he was feeling, and he has been battling some
injuries. Nobody picked up Brock, and Connor delivered a great cross and he finished it off. As a freshman in high school in a state
tournament, and your first touch is a goal, you can't beat that."
Marmion tied the game 11 minutes later, as on a throw-in from the side, a Glenwood defender headed the ball out. But the Cadets'
Mike Frasca one-timed the ball out of mid-air, sending a shot to the lower left corner of the goal past Haack.
In the second half, the Titans scored the winning goal just over seven minutes in. Watters, after taking a simple throw-in, made
several moves back and forth to clear space for a left-footed entry pass toward the goal, and senior Jordan Fields took the feed and
headed the ball into the goal on a bounce.
Later on in the half, the cards came fast and furious for Marmion, with Luke Elder earning a red card with less than eight minutes to
play. Nick Maley even earned a yellow card after the game was over.
"I thought we played really well," Lipe stated. "In the second half, we possessed the ball well, and they started getting frustrated with
the amount of cards they were getting. Our kids kept control, stayed focused, played their game and that was a big asset for us.
"We played some better teams this year," he continued. "Their style of play is to stay back defensively and try to counter-attack. The
key for us was to keep the ball and transition back so they couldn't counter-attack us."
Glenwood finished with seven shots on goal, to five for the Cadets.
This was the Titans' third state trophy in boys soccer. Glenwood won the Class AA state title in 2005 and the Titans took third place in
2003. Seniors on this year's team include: Carnduff, Watters, Jordan Fields, Ethan Fields, Schreyer, Tyler Brady, Brandon Ribble and
Dominic Bavetta. Glenwood graduated 18 seniors a season ago.
"It was a really crazy mix this year," Lipe summed up. "We had three guys (Pat Flahive, Carnduff, Watters) with varsity experience. It
was the unknown coming into the season. We thought we had some talented players, but would they come together? They did, and they
surpassed our expectations, and then some. It's a credit to all of the seniors. Their leadership and work ethic led the team and helped to
bring the younger kids along."
•Watters led Glenwood with 14 goals on the season, followed by: Carnduff (13), Jordan Fields (11), Luke Rectenwal (6), Tober (6),
Flahive (4), Alex Johnson (4), Joe Graves (2) and Alex Reljic (1).
Carnduff led the Titans with 16 assists, followed by: Flahive (7), Watters (5), Tober (3), Rectenwal (2), Johnson (2), Graves (2), Jordan
Fields (2), Nick Bolin (2), Nolan Mays (1) and Ethan Fields (1).
Haack and Schreyer split the goaltending duties during the regular season, before Haack took over for the most part in the playoffs.
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Issue Date: Nov. 10, 2011
