Gators fall 1-0 in opening-round Barrington play
By Dan Santaromita


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St. Charles North has had plenty of talented teams help it win six regional titles in the past seven years. This year’s squad will have to succeed with other attributes.

The North Stars needed to work hard in a 1-0 victory over Crystal Lake South in the opening match of the Barrington Classic on Monday.

“I’m proud of the way that these guys played today,” North coach Eric Willson said. “They fought hard. That’s kind of what we’ve been saying all along. We have got to buy into being a blue-collar team.”

The match’s lone goal was a great example of the North Stars’ work ethic. Just a couple minutes after halftime Sebastian Gostynski cut inside of a defender in the box and drove a shot on goal. CL South goalkeeper Steve Follmer (4 saves) stopped Gostynski’s shot as well as Kyle Swanson’s rebound attempt, but Logan Dunne was there to tap the ball in on the third try.

Gators’ coach Brian Allen wasn’t happy his team left its keeper out to dry after a fantastic double save, but it was the kind of play that Willson has preached to his team this season.

“He’s been pushing blue-collar every single game,” Dunne said. “I think there’s a big difference between last year because everyone is expecting us not to do as well, but we’re trying to prove them wrong.”

The win improved the North Stars to 1-1-1 on the season. Dunne thinks the difference between the team’s two previous games was in its toughness.

“We tried to make sure that we blue-collared our way to the win,” Dunne said. “We try to go for physical tackles so basically we just tried to make the big tackles.”

6-foot-4 senior defender Justin Stanko made a number of those big tackles in front of keeper Billy Larsen (5 saves). Stanko appeared to score with a few minutes left, but his header was disallowed due to a foul on the keeper. His size, along with the 6-foot-5 Swanson, will make the North Stars a nightmare on set pieces.

The Gators (1-2) kept free kicks on the ground numerous times, attempting designed plays taken from training to create opportunities, but nothing materialized.

“We knew we weren’t going to be matching them height for height so we just wanted to do something a little bit different every time, keep them on their toes,” Allen said. “We’ve got to be a team that’s going to attack in a variety of ways and I think that’s probably in the run of play where we got a little complacent in the second half. We became a little bit too predictable in terms of what we were trying to do and going too forward instead of spraying wide.”

Junior Sam Murdock will be the Gators’ primary playmaker in central midfield. The three-year starter took a number of the free kicks and was the focal point of the attack. The North Stars did a good job of limiting his influence on the game.

Allen said the Gators will likely go as Murdock goes this season.

“He’s trying to put a little bit too much weight on his shoulders I think right now, but he has that ability,” Allen said. “He sees stuff, he’s able to do some stuff that a lot of players can’t and so we give him that free reign.

“He’s most impressive, though, defensively. When he’s working at a high pressure rate everybody seems to feed off of that so that’s where the last two games he’s been the catalyst on the defensive side. That in turn gives us better chances on the attacking side.”

Up top the Gators are tasked with replacing the prolific Charlie Oliver. Senior Michael Conley drew compliments from Allen for his improvement and technical ability. Sophomore Orlando Tapia has been a starter, but he picked up an injury against the North Stars.

In the midfield sophomore Charlie Ruff has moved inside alongside Murdock to make a dangerous pairing.

“I thought he played big time today,” Allen said of Ruff. “He played big time in the second half against Elk Grove. Him and Sam really, when they’re on, it’s tough to go through our midfield. I kind of look to those two on both sides of the ball to really spark us one way or the other.”

Senior captain Matt Alford will anchor the defense. He took it upon himself to straighten out the mistakes made on Monday.

“We had a couple mental lapses and that will change in recovery day tomorrow,” Alford said. “I’m focused on the ones in the back and that’s just keeping my back line together and we go from there.”

In goal, Follmer is a returning starter, but he picked up a knock on the goal, receiving a blow to the head amidst the chaos. Junior Gus Alvarez made three saves in his absence.

Group play in the eight-team tournament resumes Wednesday with South taking on host Barrington at 7 p.m. and the North Stars matching up with Lake Zurich at 5 p.m.

“There are no easy games in this tournament so it doesn’t get any easier for Wednesday,” Willson said.