Warren gets to it, handles Marmion
Warren’s boys soccer team wasted little time getting to work Wednesday afternoon.
The Blue Devils (5-1-1) struck in the fifth minute, then threw all their firepower forward against Marmion Academy in a 3-0 victory as play continued at the 23rd annual Barrington Classic.
Warren, which dropped a 4-1 decision to reigning state champ Rockford Boylan on Monday in a tournament opener, finishes up pool play against state-ranked St. Charles North at 5 p.m. today.
“Thursday’s match with St. Charles (North) is a big one, but we’ve got to start finishing our chances if we want to compete against the best,” said Blue Devils coach Jason Ahonen, who figured his players missed far too many opportunities but gave credit to Marmion keeper Brad White for his effort in stopping at least 3 shots up close. “We’ve got to learn to stamp-out our opponents when we can, and not allow them to stay close, and we haven’t really done a very good job of doing that early in our season.”
Ryan Foster scored the game-winner when he ran freely into the area on the left side before bringing the ball down and going low with his shot past a diving White.
The match immediately opened up, with the Blue Devils playing through midfield with Daniel Sczcepanek and Alex Brunell, who connected with Warren front-runners or to their mates on the outside to begin a long afternoon of soccer for Cadets (2-2-1) and longtime coach Kevin O’Connor.
“We just were not very good in any phase of the game today — except for Brad, who saved us so many times,” O’Connor said. “We’ve been coming to this tournament forever, and I can say that I don’t ever remember us playing as poorly as we did today.”
White stopped Tony Severini when he came off the line at 28 minutes. Then, just before intermission, Brunnell sent Foster through, forcing White to make a superb kick save to turn away a sure goal.
“Maybe we’re trying to make that perfect pass (or shot) — but whatever the reason, we just haven’t finished as well as I know we can,” said Brunnell. “This team is playing really well together, and I think it’s only a matter of time before we begin to put some of those balls into the back of the net.”
The Blue Devils backline led by Patrick Schulz and Timmy Pieper made sure their keeper, Brady Walsh, had an easy 80 minutes.
In the second half, Warren’s Nick Wegrzynkowicz slipped a nice pass to Severini, and the striker finished past White at 55 minutes. Jon Trout ended the scoring two minutes until time with a long-range blast.
The Cadets complete pool play tonight with Boylan, also at 5 p.m.