Boys soccer: Marynevych's growth spurs Grayslake Central to new heights
Daniel Marynevych has seen his junior soccer season grow on so many different levels for the Grayslake Rams, and he's had his best season so far in three years.
The junior has played in the midfield and forward spots, leading the Rams with 20 goals and 3 assists this season. Over his three varsity seasons, he has compiled 41 goals.
He helped Grayslake Central share the Northern Lake County Conference title with Round Lake with a 6-1 record, and an overall record of 14-6-2 after the team started 0-4.
The Rams have now reached the Final Four of Class 2A for the first time in school history and Marynevych has scored 6 postseason goals in 5 games, while playing with a strained hamstring.
His postseason efforts have included a pair of goals against Prairie Ridge, with one on a vertical that he beat the keeper in midair. He scored two more in the sectional semifinal against Vernon Hills and had the eventual game-winner over highly regarded Notre Dame, also on a header, in the supersectional.
For his efforts this season, Marynevych has been named Captain of the 2021 Daily Herald All-Area Team for Lake County.
“Honestly, this makes me feel like I've proven myself,” Marynevych said. “All this hard work is paying off. It's been a while that we've had this much success with the high school. We've never gotten this far ever. It's amazing to be apart of all this.”
Being a versatile player has helped Marynevych, and his growth and ability has helped the Rams to take the next steps.
“I feel that I've always been the same player,” Marynevych said. “I always try to push the team forward to get us to the next level. My touch and calmness on the ball has improved a lot. I just let it go and just go with it.”
Being known as a game-changer with his ability on the field, the Rams were happy to see him on the right side of the field always making the runs and giving well over 100 percent.
“Daniel has been the catalyst of the team,” Grayslake Central coach Keith Andersson said. “His energy and passion for the game is infectious. He was born with natural talent and a level of speed that cannot be coached. He's the team's biggest fan. He lifts his teammates with encouragement on and off the field. He's always willing to work with all levels of the program to help with the most intricate details of the game. Daniel's soccer IQ is at a level beyond his years of experience.”
Marynevych's older brother, Marko, has had many years to see what Daniel can do, and they have helped each other over the years,
“He's a great player and we've been playing our whole lives together,” Marko Marynevych said, “His vision he has on the field as a forward is nothing I've ever seen before. We can connect easier when we're playing together. He's just a very smart player. I love him as a brother and as a player. We kind of built each other up throughout our lives. For us competing against each other made us rise up and be the best players that we are today.”
One of the other team captains for the Rams, Ben Berry, has noticed that Daniel's talents has taken the team to another level along with his ability.
“He's definitely a unique one-on-one talent and very happy to have him on our team,” Berry said. “His work ethic is great and he will do anything for our team. Our team loves to have him. He's just more energy you can see on the field. He's a great player and boosts everybody up. His work ethic in practice and in games has shown a lot more. He's definitely been an overall team leader this year.”
THE ALL-AREA TEAM
Name School Year Position
Edgar Arteaga Round Lake Jr. MF
Ben Berry Grayslake Central Sr. D/MF
Nathan Espinosa Mundelein Sr. GK
Ian Ferguson Lake Zurich Jr. MF/F
Austin Fink Wauconda Sr. F
Andre Glamocak Vernon Hills Sr. D
Adam Hamad Stevenson Sr. M
Cael Harris Warren Sr. D
Carson Kowalski Mundelein Sr. D
Alex LaRoi Libertyville Jr. D
*Daniel Marynevych Grayslake Central Jr. F
George McAtee Warren Sr. GK
Alexis Medina Warren Sr. MF/F
Erik Miller Carmel Catholic Sr. D
Kohei Mori Stevenson Jr. MF
Valde Nambo Vernon Hills Sr. MF/F
Jerry Perez Round Lake Jr. GK
Andrew Phillips Libertyville Jr. MF
Dalton Sperle Wauconda Sr. F
Tyler Wits Lake Zurich Jr. MF
* — Denotes Captain
Honorable Mention
Robert Barnshaw (Wauconda) Sr. MF, Michael Bucko (Lakes) Sr. D, John Chambers (Mundelein) Sr. MF, Dylan Clausen (Grayslake North) Sr. MF, Tony Cruz (Grant) Sr. MF, Aidan Fendal (Carmel) Jr. MF, Lafuntae Floyd (Grayslake Central) Sr. MF, Daxson Foote (Antioch) Sr. MF, Connor Furlong (Lake Zurich) Sr. MF, Miguel Garcia (Warren) Jr. F, Ryan Harper (Stevenson) Sr. GK, Christian Hernandez (Round Lake) Fr, F, Owen Holevas (Grayslake North) Sr. D, Raul Jasso (Vernon Hills) Sr. GK, Connor Johnson (Grayslake North) Sr. F, Franke Jiminez (Mundelein) So. MF, Brock Jurinek (Antioch) Sr. MF/F, Frank Kanski (Lake Zurich) Sr. D, Joel Kim (Vernon Hills) Sr. D/MF, Kevin Klimss (Lakes) Sr. D, Michael Krokonas (Libertyville) Sr. GK, Ben Lamora (Carmel) Sr. D, Nick Magnone (Carmel) Sr. GK, Omar Mangato (Mundelein) Jr. MF, Oscar Martinez (Round Lake) So. MF, Marko Marynevych (Grayslake Central) Sr. MF, John Melcher (Libertyville) Sr. D, Jorge Morales (Round Lake) Fr. MF, Steven Nyc (Stevenson) Jr. D, Milan Raval (Vernon Hills) Jr. MF, Matt Runyard (Lakes) Sr. MF, Dan Saltzman (Stevenson) Sr. D/MF, Ryan Stanciak (Warren) Jr. MF, Karsten Ternes (Wauconda) So. D, Colin Todd (Grant) Sr. D, Evan Vasquez (Antioch) Sr. D, Lucas Veenstra (Grayslake Central) Jr. D, Preston Waldron (Lake Zurich) Sr. D, Trevor Wentz (Grant) Sr. GK, Joey Yuerk (Libertyville) Sr. D.