Boys soccer: Carmel returns to action with a vengeance

It had been nine days since Carmel Catholic was able to play a boys soccer match, thanks to a combination of wet fields and stormy weather.

The Corsairs didn't seem to mind the time away all that much, judging by the way they played on Saturday afternoon. Carmel Catholic rolled past Marian Catholic 5-0 in its East Suburban Catholic Conference opener in Mundelein.

Shane Farrell scored twice and assisted on another goal, and Matt Grzesiak added a goal and picked up and assist. Aidan Day and Aidan Harrison scored the other 2 goals.

"It was good, and everything got a little bit easier once we put the first goal in," Carmel coach Ray Krawzak said. "It was a grueling process until we put the ball in the back of the net. Once we got the momentum . . . that's how we operate."

The Corsairs' previous game was a disappointing 4-0 loss to Grayslake North. But the subsequent recovery time allowed Carmel Catholic (3-2, 1-0) an opportunity to start fresh in the ESCC.

"We've had limited practices, but the last couple of days we've had some really good practices," Krawzak said. "We just focused on what we needed to do here on the turf."

Carmel scored a pair of goals in the first half. Day opened the scoring in the 26th minute off an assist from Grzesiak. Then Grzesiak broke free with his own opportunity, taking a through ball from Farrell in the 35th minute for a 2-0 advantage.

Farrell scored two of his own, in the 62nd and 75th minute, and Harrison finished the scoring in the 77th minute.

Marian Catholic (1-3, 0-3) is still searching for its first ESCC victory and had a tough time limiting Carmel's potent attack.

"It was tough, but this is not the level I expect from my kids," Marian Catholic coach Diego Herrera said. "I thought Carmel played well. I think they played the long ball a lot, and I think that's what hurt us a lot."