By Bobby Narang
St. Charles East High School is playing at a high level.
For the second season in a row, the St. Charles East Saints managed to earn a quality victory over St. Charles North on the Annual Tri-Cities Night.
The Saints scored two goals in the first half to record a 2-0 win over the North Stars at Burgess Field.
The Saints evened the series with St. Charles East 3-3 in the past six matches between the two teams. St. Charles East defeated St. Charles North 3-2 last year to end a string of three-straight losses to the North Stars.
St. Charles East senior forward Brendan Szerlong had a goal and an assist. Aidan Richbell added another goal in the first half for a 2-0 lead and Sam Arville knocked in a penalty kick during the 66th minute to round out the scoring.
The Saints (10-3-0, 3-1-0) zoomed into double digit win territory and gained an important conference victory after losing to Wheaton North, 2-1.
“It was huge coming out strong of the gates,” Szerlong said. “It made such a big impact to shape the way the rest of the game went. We were coming off a tough loss to Wheaton North. We needed to come back. This is the biggest game of the season and we definitely showed up for it.”
St. Charles East coach Vince DiNuzzo said he was happy how his players responded after the Wheaton North defeat.
“Obviously, they have a great side and they provide a bunch of problems you have to worry about, but I thought our boys were excited and frustrated from Tuesday and used this opportunity to really show what they can do,” DiNuzzo said. “Brendan had a great finish on his goal. His work rate and his ability to hold the ball and compete for the ball in the air, plus his finish was great…I thought Huxley played well tonight.”
DiNuzzo heaped positive words to his backline, in particular senior defender Colten Pariso for his stellar job keeping St. Charles North senior forward Oliver Longosz, who is second on the team with five goals.
“Our goals against average is way too high for playoff success. We need to start defending before attacking. I thought that mindset was apparent tonight,” DiNuzzo said. “I thought we defended before we went forward and took our opportunities when they presented themselves. We got behind and blocked a lot of shots. Colten Pariso man-marked Oliver Longosz who has been a pain for three years of my life. Colten played awesome tonight and didn’t allow a shot on goal to him. He was fantastic.”
The North Stars (8-2-1, 2-1-1) lost their first game of the season to an in-state opponent, plus dropped down in the DuKane Conference standings after winning their last three straight games.
St. Charles North coach Eric Willson said the Saints were the better team on Thursday night, but he saw several positives in the defeat.
“We got outplayed in the first half,” Willson said. “That’s a pretty tough way to go behind the eight-ball against a really strong team and we were chasing the game after that. I thought we played pretty decently in the second half and had a lot of opportunities but just couldn’t find the back of the net, so it was a frustrating night for us.
“Part of it was they dropped some guys back and we moved some guys forward, so that’s inevitable to start getting some better looks in the second half. I thought we had more fight in the second half, so that certainly helps. When you are chasing a team like that, it is an uphill battle. I was proud of the guys. It’s a long season, so maybe this is something we needed right now at this point of the season. The goal is to be playing as good as you can at the end of the year. We will look at the film and try to get better.”
The North Stars came out aggressive in the opening minutes, showing no signs of having any issues finding the back of the net by the end of the game.
After a brief flurry by the North Stars in the first six minutes, the Saints nearly scored on Pariso’s header which sailed wide left in the 12th minute. Huxley Kapoor set up the first goal of the game, sending a pass to Szerlong in the 14th minute. Szerlong sailed in from the left side and booted a 14-yard grounder shot which hit the hands of St. Charles North goalie Davis Hester (five saves) in the hands, but the ball slipped through his fingers into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
“Huxley set me up perfectly and it was absolutely beautiful and all I needed to do was finish the ball,” Szerlong said.
Kapoor said he was happy to get involved in the action early in the game, starting the rally by stealing the ball and setting up his teammate.
“We had an unfortunate loss to Wheaton North and came out here showed what we can do and it showed how more we’ve been working,” Kapoor said. “The first goal was great by Brennan. I saw him on a breakaway and he took an amazing touch and placed it…Brennan is an amazing part of the team and does a lot of the dirty work.”