Rams unbeaten on the week after a rocky season's start

By Gary Larsen

Play the likes of Downers Grove North, Conant, and Lake Park early in the season, and you’ll learn quickly where your team needs improvement.

Glenbard East learned some valuable lessons in early losses to those teams, and in applying what they’ve learned the Rams bounced back nicely in their last two games.

The Rams won 3-2 over York on Tuesday and tied 1-1 against DVC foe West Chicago on Friday night in Lombard.

“In the Lake Park tournament we gave up goals at the ends of games because we lost our focus, but guys are taking those previous mistakes and sorting them out on the field,” Rams coach Josh Adler said. “They’re starting to apply soccer knowledge to the game a little better now.”

West Chicago (2-2-3, 0-0-1 in DVC play) grabbed a 1-0 halftime lead on an Esteban Fernandez goal and came out hard in the second half, pushing for a second goal.

Glenbard East (2-5-1, 0-0-1) weathered the Wildcats’ 10-minute attacking storm, with goalkeeper Andres Guerrero shining in net.

“Andres did a great job in our last two games,” Adler said. “He’s positioning himself well, he’s reading the play, and really commanding the box right now. He did a good job of sustaining the organization and control that we need back there.”

The game turned on in the 57th minute. Rams midfielder Sam Dennis netted his sixth goal of the season, stepping onto a nice free kick feed from the corner, courtesy of Oscar Barraza. Dennis’ head shot blistered the back netting in what ultimately proved to be the goal that earned his side the tie.

The free kick was set up when the Wildcats fouled Dennis near the right corner of the field. “I was a little frustrated about the foul, because it hurt,” Dennis said. “I wanted to put it in the back of the net. I knew where (Barraza) was going to put the ball because we’ve worked on it so much.”

West Chicago still had its spurts of strong attacking play in its final third from there, but Dennis’ goal elevated the Rams’ attack as well.

East had a corner kick in the 71st minute, and Tyler Ford broke to the post on the dribble in the 75th minute and fired, only to see WEGO keeper Adrian Porcayo hit the ground and make the save.

The Rams have some quality pieces in the attack, and they see promise for a more dangerous team moving forward.

“We’ve been working a lot on trying to get ourselves better in the (offensive) half of the field. Early on tonight we were reluctant to possess, or find people, or get our forwards to step up on their last defenders and put more pressure on their backs,” Adler said.

“They took the initiative and started to figure out some things. We got the ball in behind their backs a little bit more, where we could make some things happen, so there was a lot of good things that started to happen as that game went on.”

In the Rams’ 3-2 win over York, Dennis scored twice and Brandon Patino netted a goal.

“We have to get more people to put balls in the back of the net, but our forwards are getting more confident in front of the net,” Dennis said. “Especially Gabe (Munoz). He’s got a lot of potential and he gets himself in the right position. He’s young, but hopefully he’ll find it this year.”

Center mid Dennis has scored 6 of his side’s 9 goals through 8 games played.

“Sam has been ridiculous,” Adler said. “He’s been absolutely sick this season and that’s great to see, because I told him in the off-season that he needs to be a finisher for us this year. He has really taken that role on.”

“He has a real knack for creating things and that’s been nice. He’s been very effective in the middle of the field for us.”

Friday’s game went to two, 10-minute overtime periods that saw no additional scoring. Guerrero stayed steady during the overtime frames and the Rams’ back line showed grit against a skilled WEGO attack.

“The one that’s really stepped up lately has been Stephen Plotke,” Adler said. “He’s really been applying himself and grasping things quickly back there. He’s not a flashy player. He just wins balls and gets them forward.

The other one is Gio Guerrero, an outside back. He’s figuring it out, and we’ve plugged Oscar (Barraza) in back there to give us a little more experience. But as a group, they’re starting to play well as a unit.”

Adler also liked what he got in the midfield from Brent Disterheft
 
“I thought Brent was pretty scrappy in the middle before he got tired in overtime and I had to pull him,” Adler said. “But he played really well in the middle of the field, along with Sam.”

“Our keeper had a good game and I thought overall we played a good game,” Dennis said. “West Chicago is an athletic team and holding them to one goal – I’m pleased with the result.”

“I see us learning things that we didn’t do during the Lake Park tournament. We made a lot of mental errors. We made little mistakes that led to big goals, and I think we’re starting to realize that we can’t make those mistakes.”