October 2008 Archives

Anyone ready for a little soccer this weekend?

On Friday, I'll be at St. Ignatius before heading to the Class A state finals in Naperville. Also covering the state finals for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (stltoday.com). On Saturday, I'll be at Naperville Central, Riverside-Brookfield, Lemont and then back to the Class A state finals.

On Sunday, I'll be in the office for the 2008 Sun-Times All-Area Boys Soccer Team photo. On Monday, you'll be able to read a nice little soccer feature in the paper. On Tuesday, I'll be at Loyola University.

Where will you be?

The new ESPN club and high school soccer site has been lauched at ESPNRISE.com. There you will be able to find national rankings, recruiting, notes, features and much more.

I covered Morton/Oak Park on Tuesday and Lyons/Hinsdale Central on Wednesday. Both games were at St. Ignatius, a campus which I think is one of the best in the state. Not only does the athletic department do a first-class job with all events, but it's a perfect setting for high school athletics.

With that said, however, wouldn't the IHSA and the sport be better off if some of the participating schools hosted games? Don't you think more students would've attended these playoffs games had they been closer?

In partnership with YourSeason.com, all men's and women's college soccer coaches from the Midwest have been invited to the Pepsi Showdown Showcase. On Friday, Nov. 28 at the Sports Zone in Melrose Park, 800 boys and girls soccer players from Illinois will be showcased. Have you signed up?

It seemed as though no matter where I went on Monday, someone was talking about the IHSA's decision not to let Joliet play on Monday.

I had coaches emailing and calling. I had parents emailing asking if there was more to the story. I spoke with IHSA assistant executive director Beth Sauser.

Outside of the story that ran in today's Chicago Sun-Times, here are more details...

Avi Stopper, former coach at the University of Chicago and founder of www.CaptainU.com - a Chicago-based company that makes recruiting software for high school athletes, their parents, and club and high school coaches - will be providing recruiting insight for coaches and players each Monday.

Even before Naperville Central coach Ed Watson made a comment to me last week, I will admit that I ask myself a question all the time.

I'm I too hard on the IHSA and CPS? They're very large organizations that require a lot of work, and there are times when something is bound to go wrong. There are good people working at these place that realize it's a political mess.

Believe it or not, I do credit the IHSA and CPS at times, too.

But after wondering if the IHSA could've helped the Kenwood and Kelly situations that I recently wrote about, this latest issue will make every person in Illinois look at the IHSA and ask...

"Are you serious IHSA?"

Here are this week's rankings. As is the case every year, postseason results only cause minor movement. One game doesn't make a season or ranking, especially when the state playoffs aren't balanced....

After watching two kids from Kelly sit in the stands for doing nothing wrong during Oak Park's 1-0 win over Kelly on Friday, and then standing in the cold and rain to watch Fenwick and Lyons game be suspended and rescheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday, I'm hoping next will bring the sun and better things from the IHSA state tournament.

Here are three key things to look out for next week:
*Avi Stopper, former coach at the University of Chicago and founder of CaptainU.com - a Chicago-based company that makes recruiting software for high school athletes, their parents, and club and high school coaches, will be writing a weekly blog for Cornerkicks focusing on recruiting and what soccer players can do to gain more exposure. His first blog will be Monday.

*ESPN.com's new high school soccer web site goes live on Monday. Yours truly is one of the national writers. Make sure to check it out, as it will focus on club and high school soccer.

*Spots for the Pepsi Showdown Showcase are filling up fast. The 12-hour, 800-player event, which is the only showcase to feature the top high school freshmen, sophomore, junior and senior boys and girls soccer players, will take place Friday, Nov. 28 at the Sports Zone in Melrose Park. Additional information may be obtained by visiting pepsishowdown.us.

Prior to Thursday, I was planning to cover Kelly vs. Oak Park and Fenwick vs. Lyons on Friday night. (See, there actually will be some soccer coverage).

But now there's an added twist to the Kelly/Oak Park game.

At least two Kelly boys soccer players will be forced to sit out of Friday's Class 3A regional final game against Oak Park after receiving questionable yellow cards during Tuesday's win over Argo.

Kelly coach Raul Magdaleno said two of his players received yellow cards for not being correctly listed on the roster. According to IHSA rules, this is not a cardable offense. Because the players were given yellow cards for this and also received a yellow card during the game, they will be forced to sit one game.

"The IHSA ruled it was a judgment call and they can't reverse it," Magdaleno said. "(IHSA assistant executive director Beth Sauser) said she can't reverse the call, because there is nothing in the by-laws that will allow it."

One of the greatest youth soccer coaches in U.S. history has resigned from the Chicago Magic.

Mike Matkovich, who turned the Frankfort-based club into Soccer America's No. 1 boys club in the country, said Thursday morning that he is done with the Chicago Magic.

"I resigned from the Magic," Matkovich said. "I enjoyed my time, and I had an impact on youth soccer in the whole country. The time has come for me to move on and pursue other things, and that's where I'm at in my life. I enjoyed it, and I hope I had a lasting impression as far as rising the bar, which I think I have."

Over the past two decades, countless players from high school state championship teams trained under Matkovich, who produced the likes of Brad Guzan, Jed Zayner, Ned Grabavoy, Tim Regan and a handful of others now playing in the MLS. In total, the Magic has 13 former players now playing professional soccer.

I wonder if there is any high school girls soccer program that has more former players than Sandburg that are now head coaches these days?

Erin Duncan (Oak Lawn), Marisa Czepka-Dobbertin (Riverside-Brookfield) and Jamie Bartkowiak (Oswego) are varsity head coaches. I covered each one of them since I began covering soccer in 1995.

Granted, I caught a break and started working for a newspaper when I was 17. But this makes me feel old. I can only imagine how old-timers like Downers South coach Barry Jacobson, Lincoln-Way East coach Brian Papa and St. Ignatius coach Jim Luzzi feel.

Mercy.

Here are Comcast Sports Weekly highlights from Larkin's 1-0 victory over Loyola in the the title game of the Pepsi Showdown powered by ComEd at Toyota Park. Click on the link below to view:

Pepsi Showdown

Parity, overlooking, not respecting, playing down to the competition, we dominated play for 70 minutes, they were horrible, we outshot them 100 to 1, the field was bad, the officials were the worst ever, they cheated...blah, blah, blah. Honestly, I get tired of listening to coaches put spin on this and that when the playoffs roll around.

I want to scream - I DON'T CARE - and neither does anyone else. What was the final score - that's all that matters. Get the job done or go home. That's what I love about the Pepsi Showdown, the IHSA State Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.

Remember - this is the IHSA playoffs. You know some fields are going to be horrible, some referees can't move and some teams pack it in. Thanks for playing and enjoy the holidays. I don't need a 25-minute recap of what happened. If you don't like it, do something about it. The IHSA says you control the tournament.

But let's move to another thought or two or 100...

There are many more people that know Gibault boys and girls soccer coach Jim Corsi than those that don't.

Every time I hear from Corsi, the guy never ceases to amaze me. While he wasn't the only, Corsi was the first high school coach to email me seeing if I needed help with the Pepsi Showdown Showcase on Friday, Nov. 28 at the Sports Zone in Melrose Park. That's when more than 800 freshmen, sophomore, junior and seniors boys and girls soccer players will take part in a four tourney, 12-hour showcase for college coaches.

Remember folks, Corsi lives close to St. Louis. But he'll be in attendance on Nov. 28. If there has ever been a person who gives back, put kids first and just enjoys helping out - it's Corsi. If he decided to run for President tomorrow, I would work for him for free.

And here's another thought: Corsi deserves a spot in the IHSSCA Hall of Fame. Not next year, not when he retires - but next month at the IHSSCA banquet.

I'll tell you why...

Why is soccer the only high school sport in Illinois that has a different overtime format for the postseason than it does for the regular season? It actually stunned me last year when I learned the IHSA said teams that use four overtimes during the regular season were breaking IHSA rules. But yet when the postseason rolls around, there is a new tie breaker - four overtimes.

For those that don't know, the IHSA used to break ties in the state playoffs with two, 10-minute golden goal overtimes followed by penalty kicks. Last year, it was changed to four, 10-minute overtimes followed by penalty kicks. But don't use four overtimes during the regular season, because we wouldn't want you to prepare.

Tell me one other sport that uses a different tie-breaking format for the postseason than what it does for the regular season?

I just don't get it sometimes and this is a perfect SNL "Are you serious IHSA?"

Let's get to some news and notes...

The Pepsi Showdown Showcase, which will feature freshmen, sophomore, junior and senior boys and girls high school soccer players from Illinois, will take place Friday, Nov. 28 at the Sports Zone - chicagosportszone.com - in Melrose Park.

In partnership with YourSeason.com, this 12-hour day will consist of four events showcasing more than 800 players from Illinois:

*Rising Star Classic boys
*Rising Star Classic girls
*Senior Star Classic boys
*Senior Star Classic girls

This is IHSA approved and is the ONLY high school showcase in Illinois that allows college coaches to see freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors at the same site on the same day.

B96 (96.3 FM) will be in attendance, along with Pepsi, ChicagoSoccer.net, CaptainU.com and other local partners. ESPN.com will feature the event in November.

Additional information may be obtained by visiting www.pepsishowdown.us.

Kenwood has elected to forfeit Monday's Class AA boys soccer regional semifinal against Little Village after a scheduling issue with regional host Riverside-Brookfield. According to Kenwood athletic director Sara Lee, Kenwood requested the game be pushed back from its 3 p.m. start time so coaches and players wouldn't have to leave school early.

"Our coach highly encourages academics over athletics," Lee said. "We were informed by Riverside-Brookfield that the change would not be possible, because they would have to pay workers overtime if there was a change. The fact is Riverside-Brookfield's soccer field happens to be one with lights, so a later scheduled game would still be possible. The administration here at Kenwood commends coach Pete Scheidler for his decision. This sends an important message of academics to our athletes, and even to the other schools."

Why is the IHSA allowing a host school WITH LIGHTS to host a 3 p.m. game? Honestly, it looks lazy and horrible for Riverside-Brookfield and the IHSA. It looks as though Riverside-Brookfield is crapping on the Public League teams, and the IHSA allowed them to do that.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that in today's edition of news and notes...

*At the start of the season, only a few actually believed Larkin was a team to watch this year. Two months later, the Royals are hoping to make a run to a state title. Raul Sandoval and Fernando Alvarez are the main reasons why,

"Raul has 20 goals and 11 assists, while being double and tripled teamed all year," Larkin coach Ken Hall said. "Fernando is simply the best defender in the state. I really believe that he should be the Player of the Year."

*Everyone knows Lake Zurich is on a roll. Taao Scarnato has record three straight shutouts thanks in part to the solid defensive play of Brady Rein and Matt Hussey. Tim Kreutz and Nick Janus have 20-plus goals this fall. Eric Pothast and Andy Lynch also deserve praise for their play in the midfield, combining for 11 goals and 16 assists.

Larkin and Lake Zurich won conference titles this week. Nothing new to the Bears, but a first for Larkin.

Speaking of "Lil 'ol Lake Zurich," seems the Bears are fired up at me. They beat No. 1 New Trier on Saturday and some felt they should've been No. 1. But that's not how it works folks. As many know, the minute you start worrying about rankings is when the clock strikes midnight. A year ago, Lake Zurich beat New Trier, too, but the Trevians were the ones that advanced to the state quarterfinals.

Will history repeat itself this year? Hopefully not for Lake Zurich. I have long been on the Lake Zurich bandwagon, as former coach Pete Ternes can tell you. They have advanced to the quarterfinals of the Pepsi Showdown every year - but never to the semis.

And now for some other news and notes...

A little bit of this and a little bit of that...

*Why doesn't the IHSA allow noisemakers to soccer games? I can understand banning whistles, but as some coaches said to me Sunday at the Chicago Fire game - why not let allow fans to create an atmosphere like in Europe or at any major soccer event? When you don't have anyone in the IHSA office with a soccer background, it's hard for them to understand.

*At Tuesday's Public League semifinals, a Lane student screamed at one of the referees - "Isn't that a yellow or red card? If not, at least give me your Mastercard."

*For the first time in the program's history - 17 years to be exact - Oak Lawn won its first outright conference crown Tuesday with a win over Bremen. The Spartans are now 15-4 overall with recent wins over Lemont, Marist and Bremen. Ray Martinez, Mostafa Abdelrahman, Matt Gorecki and Alex Vargas are the four stars for Oak Lawn.

The Public League semifinals are Tuesday at Winnemac Stadium. Kudos to the Public League for not forcing kids to play on dirt like it did last Monday as Lane Stadium and Winnemac Stadium stood empty.

The common sense train, however, didn't make it to the last stop, surprise, surprise. The semis are scheduled for 3 and 4:30 p.m. today. No warm up time on the field at all, and just imagine if that first game starts late or goes to overtime. That's right folks, there aren't lights at Winnemac Stadium. Maybe the game could've been played at a college site or maybe at Lane Stadium where they have lights. Better yet, one semifinal could've been played Monday and another on Tuesday to create excitement. But hey, the Public League has forced kids to play in the dark before in these situations - been there, seen it.

A number of Public League coaches talked about this last week and some are hoping the first game goes late to show once again that there needs to be a change in the leadership. One Public League athletic director is stunned there hasn't been a change after the referee embarrassment last week.

But enough about the Public League, because the sad adminstration story never changes. Let's talk rankings...

State checking to see if Public League has been using non-licensed referees

The IHSA is investigating whether the Public League has been assigning non-licensed referees to work its boys soccer games this fall and during the tenure of Chicago Public Schools soccer coordinator Juan Espinoza.

This latest inquiry comes on the heels of an athlete attacking a referee during the Public League Tournament on Monday. According to IHSA documents, referee Jose Luis Rivas, who was attacked by an out-of-uniform member of the Kelvyn Park team, should not have been allowed on the field at Amundsen.

''He was not licensed to work IHSA contests,'' IHSA assistant executive director Dave Gannaway said. ''We are waiting for an internal investigation from [Public League sports director] Calvin Davis, and we expect to receive that next week.''

Thanks to a loyal reader, I was given a tip that the official involved in Monday's incident with Kelvyn Park was a non-licensed IHSA official.

According to IHSA documents and assistant executive director Dave Gannaway, Jose Luis Rivas is not licensed to work IHSA contests.

Juan Espinoza, Public League soccer coordinator, assigns officials for Public League tournament games and has had a long history of assigning non-IHSA officials to work IHSA games according to Public League coaches.

"In most cases, whether a school uses an outside assigning person or not, it's the school's responsibility to make sure the officials are licensed," Gannaway said. "But in this case, it was the Public League Tournament and it came right out of the sports administration office. We'll wait to receive the Public League internal investigation before proceeding further. We have full confidence in (Public League sports director) Calvin Davis and know we will receive a complete report."

Prior to today, I had covered two Public League games this season - one last Saturday and one this past Monday.

On Saturday, the player that scored three goals for Senn turned out to be ineligible. Seeing he had just moved from Jamaica that week, I sort of had an idea right away that something wasn't right. But as I told Young coach Ian McCarthy after the game, I wasn't going to write about that. Public League soccer coordinator Juan Espinoza, who has been criticized on a yearly basis by Public League coaches for not providing proper leadership, was in attendance and let the player play.

On Monday, I was in attendance for the Lane/Kelvyn Park game when a Kelvyn Park student-athlete ran on the field, swung at and shoved a ref. From the quotes after the game - the ref said he was "shaken;" the Kelvyn Park coach thought he "got rid of all the violent players;" and the Lane coach shook his head and said "I've never seen an athlete attack a ref in any sport" - you know this was serious...no matter what type of spin or gift wrap the Public League office tries to put on the facts.

But what did the players involved think and see? I spoke to them Thursday after Lane's 3-1 victory over Lake View.

One coach asked me Monday - "Who is running the system in the Public League - the animals?" What's scary about this story is that you have an official now afraid to do the right thing, because of more backlash. I was there, and I saw it first hand. If this happens in the suburbs, the student-athlete is done and charges are filed. A number of Public League coaches agreed with me when we spoke Tuesday. Here's the latest update from Wednesday's Chicago Sun-Times:

A high school soccer referee was still deciding late Tuesday night whether to press charges against a Kelvyn Park High School student-athlete who physically assaulted him during a Public League tournament match Monday afternoon in Chicago.

Jose Luis Rivas was attacked by the teenage offender midway through the second half of a game between Lane Tech and Kelvyn Park at Amundsen High School. Chicago Police were called to the scene after the student-athlete ran on the field, swung at and shoved Rivas after a foul was called on Kelvyn Park.

"I'm scared right now that [if I pursue charges], some of the teenagers might do something to my family," Rivas said in a phone interview Tuesday night. "They know where some of the referees live, and I don't want anything to happen to my family. I will let the police know what I want to do on Wednesday."

In my 13 years covering prep soccer, I had never seen this happen until Monday night. Here is my story that appears in today's Chicago Sun-Times. Odds are Chicago Police will be visiting Kelvyn Park High School this morning.

A Kelvyn Park player ran onto the field Monday afternoon and physically assaulted a referee, forcing a Public League tournament match between Lane Tech and Kelvyn Park to be called midway through the second half.

Chicago police were called to the scene at Amundsen where the contest was held, but no arrests were made. The player left the scene before police arrived.

Kelvyn Park coach Jorge Ramirez confirmed the player -- who was not dressed for the game -- was a member of his team, but would not give the student's name.

I saw him play today, and I'll bet there isn't more than two coaches and a handful of people that have ever seen him play.

His name is Remone Gordon, a 6-4 junior from Senn. One of the officials during the game turned to me and said, "the big kid is really, really good isn't he?"

After playing his first half of the season, Gordon toyed with the Juarez defense and scored a hat trick in the 20 minutes in the second half during Senn's 4-2 victory in the Public League Tournament.

He is one of the best players I have seen this fall.

In today's communication era, why did the IHSA need to host seeding meetings this past Wednesday? The state tournament doesn't kick off for a few weeks, and football seeds are decided a week before the start of its state tournament.

Officials need to be assigned, but again - that's the only major problem. This is the 21st Century, and the IHSA still runs its state tournament like its the 19th Century. With a number of weeks still remaining in the 2008 season, there is a good chance these seeds won't be a true reflection of where teams should be seeded.

Agree?