Tigers move to 3-0 with win over Marmion
By Gary Larsen

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With one menacing free kick, Max Carey continued his scoring rampage on Wednesday.

Okay, maybe an official rampage can’t be constructed in only three games, but the Wheaton Warrenville South senior now has five goals in that span. His latest goal gave his side a 1-0 win over Marmion in second-round play of this year’s Barrington Classic tournament.

Carey’s free kick from 23 yards out tore under the crossbar at the far post, a goal that came on the heels of three goals that the senior scored in Monday’s 4-2 win over New Trier.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” WW South coach Guy Callipari said. “I watched him hit three lasers (Monday). And the great thing about Max is that those things aren’t done by chance. He really has an idea what he wants to do with a ball and he’s not over-accentuating with power, to where he loses accuracy. He’s done a lot of work on that.”

For Carey, it was a decision that came in the final split second before he let it fly. “I saw the goalie going back and forth and just as I started to kick it I saw him move over to the near post,” Carey said. “So I went far.”

Carey’s was the lone goal in a game between a Class 2A power in Marmion that finished fourth in the state last year, and a 3A traditional power in WW South that is off to a 3-0 start with a promising team for 2012.

And it was a Marmion team that wanted to erase the memory of a somewhat listless 4-1 loss to Boylan in its previous contest. “We could tell getting off the bus that we were going to have a much better game today,” Marmion senior mid Matt Switzer said.

“We had much better organization today. Luke (DeSimone) kept things organized defensively, and that let us get comfortable in the back and then spring out of that.”

While Marmion’s record dipped under the .500 mark with Wednesday’s loss, at 2-3, the Cadets were anything but discouraged after battling WW South from whistle to whistle.

First-year head coach Ricky Del Toro donned the Marmion red-and-blue a decade ago while playing for long-time coach Kevin O’Connor. He was particularly happy to see his side rebound from Monday’s loss to Boylan.

“Today, it was a completely different team,” Del Toro said. “We were very organized on defense, we shut down probably one of the best teams in Illinois, and I’m proud of our boys.  It was a great goal for them and just unlucky for us. But today was twenty times of an improvement from Monday.”

Wednesday’s game featured a handful of quality scoring chances each way. The Tigers’ Luis Cruz Perez and Javier Rojas each had a good go early on at Marmion keeper Brian Hymel, who answered both challenges.

Marmion found a pair of head shots near the goalmouth before halftime, both sent wide by Switzer and Conor Morton, and fans had a scoreless draw on their hands through 40 minutes.

“We knew (Marmion) came in with an edge and we could have easily been drawn into a false sense of security, being 2-0 and playing against somebody that just got beat 4-1,” Callipari said. “But they played smart. They waited, played a little cat-and-mouse with us, gave us half of the field so they could maybe go in transition. They kept it compact and played very smart.”

Carey buried his free kick mid-way through the second half. Marmion’s Trevor Jones sent a shot wide while Carey did the same shortly thereafter. Marmon headed out a Tigers’ corner kick and Rojas got deep on the right side and sent a cross in that Hymel chased down past the far post.

Senior keeper Hymel was aggressive and vocal for 80 minutes, and Del Toro is happy to have him in the fold. “He wasn’t sure about playing this year, and the boys really convinced him to play,” Del Toro said. “So far, he’s been great.”

The game’s final minutes saw a frantic Marmion push for a tying goal, but Tigers keeper Tim Reinders kept the slate clean for the second time in three games. The Tigers have outscored opponents 11-2 through three games.

“Tim has been solid for a few years for us and we’re glad to have him back there,” Carey said. “We played well today. We haven’t played against a system that stays so far back but I thought we passed well, and just struggled on finishing. But overall we played well as a team and we’re happy for the win.

“We’ve got a great group of guys. We lost a lot of guys from last year but a lot of these guys have stepped it up. We’re enjoying every moment of it so far.”

Callipari is also cautiously optimistic over his side’s fast start, and likes what his boys in back have given him thus far.

“(Reinders) has  got a lot of experience, he sees the game very well, and he organizes very well,” Callipari said. “Michael (Stelletello) and Joey (Spera) are starting to gel centrally and read off each other, and we’re looking for another defender in Mitch (Cinn) to return in two weeks from injury, and that will give us a little bit more flexibility. That might allow us to move (Tom) Kerby up a little bit, because he does a nice job offensively.

“I think (Kerby) did a nice job defensively and getting into the fray offensively today, and Jose (Perez) does things centrally very quietly for us. He’s very gifted on the ball and he’s learning to play with vision and getting acclimated to the speed of play as a sophomore.”

The Tigers are now 3-0, having won 6-0 over Hinsdale South and 4-2 over New Trier heading into the tilt with Marmion.  A win on Thursday over Boylan would give South the edge in the tournament’s Red group and send the Tigers to Saturday’s title game in Barrington.

Marmion plays against New Trier on Thursday in tournament play and win or lose, the Cadets love playing in the Barrington Classic. “This tournament has been huge for us for the past three years,” Switzer said. “Last year we lost three games here and went on to take fourth in state.”

O’Connor stepped down after leading Marmion to its fourth-place finish last year, handing the reins to Del Toro. The transition has been smooth, and Del Toro applauded Switzer’s role in becoming a true team leader this year.

“From Day One when I got here, June 17, he made sure the entire team was there for training, every single time,” Del Toro said. “He’s not the vocal leader but he’ll show you what it means to work hard and give it your all. I don’t play on removing him from the field this year.

“We were missing our top attacker today, Flynn Collins. He’s on a trip to Ireland with his family, and he has four goals in four games for us. But I thought our other guys – Claudio (Jasso) and Trevor (Jones) – did a nice job today. Trevor played a heck of a game today.

“Today was more indicative of the way we can play. This tournament prepares us for late October and that’s really what this is about.”