Chicago tops Augustana 2–1

Chicago men’s soccer head coach Scott Wiercinski has his squad thinking offensively heading into the 2009 season, counting on more firepower after a plague of injuries limited the Maroons’ scoring a year ago.

He probably just hopes his team will focus their scoring on their opponents’ net.

Chicago (1–0) scored all three goals in Tuesday’s 2–1 victory over Augustana (0–1), setting themselves back with an own goal in the first half before knocking in two scores in the second to win the season opener.

“Whatever sort of fashion you win in, it’s a great way to start the season,” Wiercinski said.

A defensive miscue in the 10th minute had opening day looking much like last year, when the Maroons found themselves fighting back from a deficit too often for comfort.

“I didn’t think we had a whole lot of energy and whole lot of tempo to our game…. I was really expecting a little bit more in terms of the energy and just the excitement to play from the first whistle,” Wiercinski said. “But having that said, once we made a big mistake and went down a goal, I thought that the guys did a good job of finding that energy and playing really well in the second half and really forcing the tempo in a much better way in the second half.”

Chicago controlled the ball throughout the game, outshooting Augustana 26–5, and keeper Steve Baron had to defend his net just once throughout the afternoon. The Maroons, playing in a new 4–4–2 formation, a shift from last year’s 4–3–3, tallied nine shots on target along with an 11–0 advantage in corner kicks.

Chicago struggled to convert in the first half, with Augustana keeper Mike Dolan’s five first-half saves protecting the Vikings’ lead. Meanwhile, Wiercinski said his team moved the ball too slowly and didn’t make enough good passes on the attack.

“I think it was just a little bit of nerves, maybe a little caution in the sense that nobody wanted to make a mistake, all those types of things, but I felt like we just didn’t really force the tempo,” Wiercinski said. I thought we kept the ball pretty well but we didn’t really go anywhere with it.”

Trailing 1–0, the Maroons struck in the 65th minute, with midfielder Kenzo Manners assisting forward Edgar Friloux just to the right of Augustana’s net. Dolan got a hand on the ball, but Friloux’s shot had enough English to spin into the net.

Just two minutes later, Manners made a steal at midfield with plenty of breathing room, launching a deep pass to the right side, where forward Alex Clifford finished easily.

“Two fantastic assists. Edgar maybe got away with one and Alex’s finish was fantastic, but Kenzo really made it happen with his two passes,” Wiercinski said. “Kenzo’s very, very good on the ball. He’s technically very sharp and he can deliver balls pretty much where he wants them, and as long as we get guys anticipating that those balls are going to come, we can be pretty dangerous coming out of the midfield.

The Maroons have now won four consecutive home openers, and their positive start means a winning record for the South Siders for the first time since mid-September of last season. Chicago also had the pleasure of playing with a healthy roster, something that wasn’t true all of last season.

“Last year we had a lot of injuries and had some guys that we were missing…. I think it’s in many ways it’s the same personnel that we had last year, just new expectations and new energy to do more,” Wiercinski said. “We’re not satisfied with the way things went last year, and we’re excited to start things off on a good foot this year.”

Returning their top five players in points from a season ago, the Maroons also caught a glimpse of their younger players, with midfielders Steven Chase and Danny Hahn playing substantial minutes.

“Danny Hahn really was consistent and dangerous in getting forward,” Wiercinski said. “He was maybe the most consistent player top to bottom for his minutes because he was reliable with the ball, he got forward, and he provided some dangerous services to teammates.”

The Maroons head to Dominican (1–0) next, playing the Stars at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Notes: Defender Gabe Iatarola suffered an ankle injury in the first half. He was carried off the bench during halftime, but Wiercinski said the injury wasn’t serious and Iatarola might return this weekend…. Chicago superfan Top 50 was in attendance, part of a crowd of about 80 people…. GoMaroons commentators Sean Ahmed and Emerald Gao are back for another year of Maroons sports. Ahmed was reportedly heard to call the diving header defender Rashad Masri’s “specialty.”