Tigers' roll stops at Lake Park

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By Gary Larsen

Once the Lancers asserted themselves, the Tigers struggled to hold them off.

Lake Park’s 4-0 win over visiting Wheaton Warrenville South was a 1-0 game until the 70th minute, but Tigers coach Guy Callipari didn’t quite see the intensity that his boys needed against a quality Lancers team on Saturday.

“We’d been winning and playing well, but we knew Lake Park would pose a different level of play,” Callipari said. “We were able to apply some pressure early on today but once they felt us out, the game changed in their favor.”

Coach Norm Hillner’s scored three times in the game’s final 10 minutes to earn a 4-0 win, as keeper Pasquale Giovine and his back line posted its third consecutive shutout.

Lake Park (12-4-1) got a pair of goals from senior striker Joe Passarelli, and a goal apiece from Giovanni Ciaccio and Dillon Hock. Ryan Castello, Tom LaFontaine, Brian Fischer, Pasquale Maranto, and Tim Adelman rotated through the defense in shutting down the Tigers’ offense.

“Castello has been so solid in back while we’ve moved players in and out back there,” Hillner said. “He doesn’t misplay balls and he doesn’t ever seem to make bad decisions. He takes people on and he wins the ball.”

The game’s opening minutes saw the Lancers’ boys in back tested by a Tigers team that went into the game with a four-game winning streak under their belts, during which they outscored West Aurora, Addison Trail, Glenbard North, and Romeoville by a 16-1 margin.

“That first fifteen they were all over us,” Hillner said. “We were on our heels and we’ve done that with some of the other good teams we’ve played, where we’ve had to adjust. The kids kind of figured it out. But the first play of the game, the first fifteen seconds, that had a nice combination right down the field and I thought we were in for a long day. But our guys finally figured out that (WW South) is pretty good, and we kind of woke up.”

The Tigers (9-5-3) came away empty-handed from their opening spurt of pressure, as the Lancers answered the bell.

“We’re finding the way we like to do things, the way we like to move the ball around,” the Tigers’ Joe Holz said. “Today, the field didn’t really suit that style but it’s something we can definitely work on, and we like the way our offense and defense are working together through the midfield.”

Dan Burns and company have been sharing the scoring burden for South during their recent outburst of finishing.

“We’ve got four or five guys that are providing offense, and the variety going forward is starting to gel,” Callipari said. “We needed to rely less on Danny (Burns) and we had to have some support. That has taken some time to come to fruition, and it’s going to be four or five players that step up.

“Today was more about the desire and the passion to play through,” Callipari said. “You have to play through (adversity). They have to figure it out.”

That adversity came when Lake Park freshman Ciaccio took advantage of being in the right spot at the right time, locating a deflected save near the Tigers’ goalmouth and burying it.

Since being inserted as Passarelli’s running mate up top, Ciaccio has been making teams pay.

“He’s scoring for us,” Hillner said. “He’s such a smart, instinctive player and I think he has seven or eight goals right now. He’d been playing midfield and (assistant coach John) Erfort suggested that we try him up front. Part of it also helps get Nick (Zanghi) more room to run. He’s such a talented kid and we think he can do more for us at midfield.”

Zanghi slid from forward to midfielder when Ciaccio was moved into the attacking third. And with Oliver Huerta continuing to make his presence felt as a creative center mid, the Lancers may now have the pieces where they like them with the postseason looming.

Tigers tri-captains Burns, Will Huesing, and Alec Brazeau walked over to the Lancers’ bench and handed their sportsmanship pin to Huerta after the game, for the way he played on Saturday.

“Oliver is a nice player,” Hillner said. “He’s been playing terrific and he’s a great kid. He’s not boastful at all and he’s just a nice player.”

With Ciaccio’s 17th-minute goal on the board, the Lancers continued to press in the final third. Zanghi and Passarelli both had good shots on their feet and the Lancers kept the Tigers on their defensive heels.

“Unfortunately, a lot of put our heads down after that first goal,” Holz said. “It took us out of the swing of things and that’s something we have to work on. You have to bounce back after a goal and get right back at them.”

The 1-0 Lancers lead held for the next 53 minutes, when Passarelli converted a penalty kick at 70 minutes after Huerta earned a tripping call in the Tigers’ box. Castello served a ball at 75 minutes that saw Passarelli bury his 15th goal of the season, a doozy of a head shot taken from 16 yards out on the left side, that found the upper ninety at the far post.

Ed Landreth found Hock with less than two minutes remaining for the game’s final tally, capping three Lake Park goals in a 10-minute span to end the game.

“Against West Chicago, Larkin, and now Lake Park, we’ve allowed eight goals in the last seven minutes of play,” Callipari said. “It was 2-1 in those first two games and now 1-0 in this one when all of a sudden…

“Overall, Max Carey showed some moments of brilliance but everyone was kind of up and down today. It’s also our Homecoming tonight so I don’t know if that was part of the issue today.”

During the Tigers’ recent 4-game winning streak, it was Holz who was named the team’s player of the week. “He plays underneath in that holding mid position and he just runs miles and miles for us,” Callipari said.

Like all holding midfielders, Holz is well-aware that the role doesn’t come with a whole lot of glory.

“You’ve got to be willing to fight for fifty-fifty balls, go into any challenge, and be able to take the ball down and move it around,” Holz said. “But it’s not a place where you’re going to get a lot of goals or anything.”

The Lancers host East Aurora and Saint Ignatius on Tuesday and Thursday of the coming week, while South plays away at Glenbard East and St. Charles East before traveling to top-ranked and unbeaten Naperville North on Saturday.