Boys soccer: Glenbard North strikes fast to win Novy tourney over Fenton
The Glenbard North boys soccer team wanted to make a statement on Saturday afternoon.
With 19 seniors on the roster to go with a solid back line, a second-year starter at goalie and a number of skilled offensive players, the Panthers are hunting for trophies this season.
Saturday's championship game of the Joe Novy Tournament was the first shot at adding to the program's trophy case.
And the Panthers responded with an impressive performance.
Glenbard North ripped off three goals in the first half to cruise to a 5-0 triumph over Fenton in the title game of the Joe Novy Tournament, played at Addison Trail.
Geneva and Proviso West ended in a 0-0 draw in the third-place game.
"We've made it to the final, I believe, one other time in this tournament, so we've been there and experienced it," Glenbard North coach Spero Mandakas said, as his players celebrated with the tourney trophy at midfield.
"This is great to have this momentum and to win a title. We set our goals at the beginning of the season about getting to championship matches and putting ourselves into those situations before we get to the playoffs. This was a good test for them. We've been waiting for our offense to click. We've been grinding out games, but the offense came today and the back line played great."
The Panthers (3-1-1) recorded their third straight shutout victory, and have allowed just two goals this season. Senior goalie Stavros Veremis, a captain, collected 6 saves, including 5 in the first half.
"The guys in front of me made it easy for me," Veremis said. "It's nice not to have to dive around all the time. Most of my dives are in warmups."
On a sunny and steamy afternoon, the Panthers withstood a strong start by the Bison (2-1-2) in the first 10 minutes. Luis Roman scored the first goal, off a deflection, for a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute, then Colin Hernandez added a goal in the 25th minute. Less than two minutes later, Christian Escobedo padded the lead to 3-0.
"That was my first goal of the season," Escobedo said. "This win means a lot, a confidence booster heading into the middle of the season. Everyone is determined and showing up motivated in practices. We're trying to keep building momentum."
In the second half, Jorge Roman and Pablo De La Cruz closed out the goal-scoring party for the Panthers with tallies in the final 16-plus minutes.
The Bison failed to generate much of an offensive attack after their initial push to start the game to lose for the first time this season.
"It wasn't our best game," Fenton coach Victor Ruiz said. "They played better than we did today. They wanted it more than we did. We made a lot of mistakes offensively and defensively and (Glenbard North) capitalized."