Concon, Mendoza help power Viator at Palatine
Josh Concon netted the eventual game-winner, then paved the way later on for teammate Victor Mendoza to help clinch the victory as visiting St. Viator (1-0-1) defeated host Palatine 2-0 in boys soccer on a sunny Saturday morning.
Concon, a senior, proved to be a menace during most of this annual early season match between the two storied soccer programs. He beat Ben Calvopina to a ball sent through from Mendoza near the top of the box before neatly going under the Pirates' keeper at 48 minutes to break the goal-less draw.
"Victor gave me a great ball through two (defenders) and I continued my run and cut inside to get the ball before their keeper," said Concon, who Lions head coach Mike Taylor feels is capable of double-digit scoring this fall.
"We haven't really had a true, goal-scoring superstar here for awhile, but I believe Josh has the ability to be a force for us up top if he continues to work hard and play with the type of energy that he did today," said Taylor.
The home side pressed early and often and rattled the Lions in their own end, but a series of clear chances failed as keeper Jonathan Harris made a couple of key stops to stymie any hopes of a quick start by the Pirates (1-1-0).
Haris Haskovic, the Pirates' leading scorer from a year ago, had a go on frame just minutes into the match. Then, on the turn, the senior went wide with a blast at 8 minutes as both shots allowed Harris to take on the role of spectator.
The Northwestern-bound Harris stopped at the back post at 37 minutes, then moments later turned another Haskovic drive around the post to keep things even heading into intermission.
After the break, the Lions had the better run of things by playing through their midfield threesome of Trevor Wheeler, Shane Owens and Mendoza, whom Taylor asked at the break to step up and influence the play.
"Those (guys) for the first 20 minutes of the second half made their mark and allowed us to take control of this match today," Taylor said.
A wonderful cross-field serve to the left side by Ryan Cortese found Concon in a 1-on-1 situation with his marker, and his terrific move left and then right harried the Pirates' defender enough to cause a foul inside the box and subsequent award of a penalty kick.
Mendoza converted with a low ball on the ground at 52 minutes to make it 2-0.
Palatine coach Willie Filian moved all-conference sweeper Sean McLoraine up to an attacking midfield position in hopes of jump-starting a stagnant offense, but the move failed to help break the Lions' watertight defense.
"Our work rate and intensity didn't match what we had in our season opener (2-1 victory) earlier in the week against Elk Grove, and we just didn't possess the ball very well today," said McLoraine.