Deerfield edges Broncos in season opener

By Curt Herron

Scott Steib doesn't like losing games but the veteran Barrington soccer coach also isn't going to get too upset by a close defeat.

Especially when his Broncos played well enough to win an early-season game, as was the case in Monday's season opener against Deerfield.

The Warriors used an unusual goal just 16 seconds into the second half and that was the difference in their 2-1 nonconference win in Barrington.

"It's August 24th and nothing that happens in August is critical," Steib said. "We did some good things tonight that we can build on.

"Getting off to a good start and getting some wins and confidence is worth something. But there's no panic over losing our first game."

The Broncos (0-1) looked like they might have grabbed the momentum after Will Farrell scored a goal with 1:26 left in the opening half.

But before most people got settled in following the halftime break, David Panter caught everyones' attention when he found the net.

Although Barrington performed well throughout most of the second half it wasn't able to get the equalizer against the Warriors (1-0).

The loss spoiled a good varsity debut in the net by Will Cotopolis, who made several nice saves on Deerfield's numerous scoring chances.

"We didn't play as well as we could in the first half but we definitely recovered in the second half and we started to communicate more," Cotopolis said.

"I think we're very together as a group. We went up to Michigan for a team-building thing and that really helped us a lot by getting to know each other."

Deerfield put the heat on Cotopolis during the early stages of the match and was able to grab the early advantage.

With 25:35 remaining in the opening half, Joey Calistri connected from close range to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.

The Broncos picked up their play after that and even managed to get a couple of good scoring chances a short time later.

David Pacheco gave the hosts a spark when he entered the game and had a close scoring try stopped by keeper James Jason.

"I thought we played great in the second half," Pacheco said. "If we had played like that in the first half then we would have had a chance to beat them.

"We lost some great players from last year's team but we believe that we can be a good team, too. We're going to fight in order to try to become better."

Barrington nearly knotted things up with 11:40 left in the first half when Farrell fired a line drive the deflected off of the crossbar.

But the senior made the most of his next chance when he put in a free kick from just beyond the top of the box shortly before the break.

Farrell was one of four Bronco seniors to start in the contest. The other seniors were Tony Shin, Greg Navitsky and Ryan Foley.

Freshmen Mike Moynahan and Craig Zahour also earned spots in the starting unit, as did five junior players, including Cotopolis.

After entering the season with plenty of question marks about his squad, Steib feels better about things following the first game.

"Our summer league was a struggle and that left me a little concerned that we might be a team in the middle of the pack or even worse than that," Steib said.

"But based on what I've seen in doubles, our first week of sessions, our scrimmage and tonight, we're going to be okay. This was one game and we'll be fine."

Barrington player of the match: Will Farrell

By Curt Herron

After utilizing Will Farrell in a defensive role, Barrington coach Scott Steib needs the senior to contribute more on offense this year.

Following his performance in the Broncos' 2-1 season-opening loss to visiting Deerfield on Monday, it looks like he might get his wish.

Farrell was accountable for Barrington's lone score against the Warriors and just missed connecting for another goal earlier in the game.

As the result of his performance against Deerfield, Farrell is our selection as westsuburbansoccer.com's Barrington player of the match.

The three-year varsity performer connected on a free kick with less than two minutes remaining in the first half to create a 1-1 tie.

That came nearly 10 minutes after the midfielder just missed forcing an earlier tie when he lined a shot that bounced off the crossbar.

Even though Deerfield got the go-ahead score on an unlikely goal just after halftime, Farrell was pretty pleased with his team's effort.

"Their second goal was kind of lucky but then we picked it up and had a lot of chances at the end," Farrell said. "If a few things had gone our way, we could have tied it.

"We have a good work ethic and a lot of young players with skill. This was only our first game and like coach said, after our first eight games we'll know where we're at."