Boys soccer: Carmel scores early, often in beating St. Viator
A 4-goal first half explosion, plus an airtight defensive effort helped visiting Carmel Catholic claim a well-deserved 4-0 boys soccer victory over St. Viator Wednesday afternoon in Arlington Heights.
The Corsairs (6-3-0, 3-2-0) had the ball in the back of the net just 34 seconds into the East Suburban Catholic Conference contest when Roman Lynch sent a looping ball into the far inside netting to set the tone for the visitors, who have now won three straight league games.
"We beat Marian Central Catholic, and Marian Catholic, but perhaps the real turning point for this team was our 2-1 win over Marist when Sandro (Pineda) scored the game-winner in the final minute. (I've) seen us play with so much more confidence, and all of that has seen a big shift in the way we've been playing," said Corsairs coach Ray Krawzak, who starred on the same field for Viator when he played for Hall of Fame coach Mike Taylor, who stepped down last season.
"We came out right from the start, and played with a lot of energy and heart. We competed at a high level to get ourselves a very convincing win," added senior Ben LaMora, who provided the heartbeat of his club as the Corsairs' central defender.
Lamora would earn the helper when the Corsairs doubled their lead at 12 minutes when he played a wonderful ball to the back post, where an unmarked Augie Lombardo steered in his powerful header.
Pineda, along with Nolan Graham, teamed with Erik Miller to earn the visitors a PK when Miller was hauled down in the box.
Miller drove his spot kick past keeper Geovanny Andino, who had no chance on the Corsairs' third goal at the quarter hour.
"We've been playing well of late against some quality opponents, but (their) strong start got them going, and we never really recovered from it," admitted Lions (4-6-0, 2-2-0) coach Byron DeLeon, who came over from Maine East to take over for Taylor this fall.
With a strong wind at their back, the Corsairs continued their first-half assault when they added a fourth goal five minutes before intermission. Sammy Arroyo's deft touch with the outside of his right foot off would chip Andino, who came off his line to challenge.
Dorian Halimi would earn the assist with an inch-perfect ball to his teammate Arroyo.
Lions junior John Glasstetter would call Corsairs keeper Nick Magnone into action when his left-footed attempt was sent wide of the post just before the half and again later when his blast was stopped by Tommy Sulfridge, who shared the shutout with Magnone.
"We had some tough, hard-fought losses against St. Patrick, Stevenson, and recently Benet, but we've come back to play some good soccer, which we look to continue from here on out," said Krawzak, whose club will meet Warren at home on September 28.