Pirates blank LFA in opening round of Glenbrook North Invite

By Dan Santaromita

Palatine got off to a fast start on the fast fields of Techny Park on Friday and that combination helped it cruise to another win.

The Pirates scored three first half goals in a 3-0 win over Lake Forest Academy in an opening round match of the Glenbrook North Invite in Northbrook.

It was clear from the opening kick that Palatine was determined to impose its will on the game.

Not even two minutes into the match Stephan Thabuteau launched a shot that found the side netting from a tight angle to give Palatine (7-3-1) the lead.

"Our coach was telling us about applying pressure," Thabuteau said. "It was just one of those things. Me and the other forward, Jorge (Caballero), we were both in the right spot at the right time.

"I just took a shot because I knew I had other guys in the box. Even if I just hit it towards the keeper and maybe he bobbles it someone else could get onto it."

Assistant coach Charlie Gries, who led the Pirates in the absence of Willie Filian, said his team simply outworked the Caxys.

Palatine doubled the lead in the 17th minute off a Kosta Risteski corner. Ulises Alcaraz redirected the incoming ball just under the crossbar.

That corner was one of several dangerous set pieces the Pirates created.

"We were excellent on set pieces in the first half," Gries said. "Second half, not that well, but we'll work on it and we'll talk about it a little bit."

Later in the half, Thabuteau set up Jack Reynolds, who made it 3-0 on a shot perfectly guided into the upper 90.

"We had some good opportunities in the first half and we were able to finish them," Gries said. "The second half was more of a battle of attrition."

The Pirates were unable to add to the lead despite a slew of opportunities that included a penalty by Jon Clark that was stopped and a laser from Jonathan Aburto that was forced away by a fantastic diving save.

The short turf and windy conditions at Techny made for unusual circumstances, but they didn't seem to bother the Pirates too much.

"The field was fast," Gries said. "I think the wind caused some problems for us, but we're used to playing on turf now so the guys did a nice job of adjusting to it."

"The turf is a little different, it's a little shorter, so the balls moves a little quicker," Thabuteau said. "I think it was something we had to get used to and settle into at the beginning.

"Someone played me a ball and it went straight out. When we use our field that's never happened before. I think we adjusted well."

Evan Held only had to make three saves for the Pirates' third shutout of the season, but LFA had some quality chances to score.

"I think we just need to tighten up a bit more on the defense," Thabuteau said. "I think this team didn't take advantage of some of the opportunities that they had against us."

Despite some defensive sloppiness, the offense moved the ball well up top.

Palatine has two matches Saturday to close out the tournament, beginning with a semifinal at 11 a.m. against the host team. The second match will be at 4 p.m.

"Tomorrow we've got to start winning balls in the air," Gries said. "We didn't do a good job with balls in the air.

"It might have been the wind, who knows, but we've got to do a better job of winning first and second balls tomorrow."