Boys soccer: Warren blanks Lake Zurich

Warren's boys soccer team appears to be building a winning season already.

The Blue Devils opened their North Suburban Conference schedule with a 2-0 shutout over visiting Lake Zurich on Tuesday night in Gurnee.

Sophomore Miguel Garcia assisted on the first goal to Edward Luna in the 32nd minute and then Garcia had the second goal off an assist from Noe Martinez in the 69th minute.

Garcia is one of the hardworking players that works up top on offense for Warren (2-0, 1-0) and he found a couple of good opportunities that worked out on Tuesday.

"We do have a lot of chemistry and everybody works together," Garcia said. "We get good play with passing the ball between one another."

Senior goalkeeper Nic Diana had a clean sheet with 4 saves along with the defense of Chris Aldazaba, Cole Harris, Alex Senko and Bradley Strauss in front of him.

Warren's style of possession coming into the season has produced a pair of victories so far. The Devils beat Grayslake Central 1-0 last week in a nonconference match. It has shown that the Blue Devils can build from the back with a number of players and be dangerous up top.

"That's how we want to play and that's how the game should be played," Warren coach Jason Ahonen said. "We try to keep the ball and the longer you keep the ball, then it's less that the other team has the ball."

Getting the first game under its belt in the NSC was an important goal for Warren after it lost at Lake Zurich in the fall of 2019.

"It was huge to win the first one," Ahonen said. "This is what it's about. There's no state tournament this year. It's everyone shooting for a conference title. If we can take three points, we'll take three points. Three points and a shutout against a team that got us last year at their place. It's nice and we'll move on."

Lake Zurich opened with a nonconference victory over St. Viator and tied 2-2 at Glenbrook North last Saturday. The Bears (1-1-1, 0-1) have taken into account the start of a spring season as different, but they do have a number of seniors and experienced players that can compete with anybody.

"It's exciting to play and to be back out here competing," Lake Zurich coach Michael Schmitz said. "It was a long time off. I do see that we're learning. We do have a solid base, I like the effort they bring on a daily basis and how they work together. We have a high ceiling and we do have a lot of seniors."