Rosenfelder's late goal carries Marmion past Lakes

By Gary Larsen

Students are tested all the time, but on Wednesday Marmion’s soccer players were tested for something they don’t assess in a classroom.

Intestinal fortitude.

The Cadets fought back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 against Lakes, winning 4-3 in a game that launched them into Saturday’s sectional title game against Wheaton Academy on Saturday.

The top seed of the Hampshire sectional, Wheaton Academy (17-4-2) won a 5-4 barnburner over No. 2 Marmion (20-5-1) on September 21.

“That’s the game we’ve been waiting for,” Marmion’s Steve Anderson said. “It should be a great game and we can’t wait.”

To get to that game, all Marmion needed was a miraculous shot off the foot of Max Rosenfelder.

Rosenfelder hit a left-footed shot from an obscene angle that stretched the side netting at the far post. The goal came with less than two minutes to play to give the Cadets their first lead of the contest.

“Our coach (Kevin O’Connor) talked about shooting in the second half, so I just figured I’d put a shot on,” said Rosenfelder, who scored twice and also posted an assist. “And there was a little bit of luck involved there, but I’ll take it.”

Rosenfelder had a shot teed up with his right foot until Lakes goalkeeper Ben Goforth shut down the near post. The senior cut it back to his left and let fly to the far post.

“I was proud to see (Rosenfelder) was willing to use his non-dominant foot because that’s what the keeper gave him,” O’Connor said. “That’s the kind of player Max can be. I saw him looking at the near post, the keeper had it, and Max made that decision in a split second on the field. That’s an advanced play.”

Marmion fell behind 2-0 early on, allowing one of the best players on the field in Lakes’ Steven Korosis too much space to set up his teammates. Korosis created havoc early and often in the Cadets’ defensive third, for a Lakes team that countered well throughout the first half.

Lakes’ Joel De Grave cleaned up on a ball after a nice initial save by Marmion keeper Evan Lefelstein in the 7th minute, and Jonathan Stanley made it 2-0 in the 12th minute on a counterattack that found Lefelstein all alone.

Fans were still filing in at Hampshire, and the Cadets were already in a hole.

“We knew Lakes would be a good team. They tied New Trier, and (Korosis) is a very dangerous player,” O’Connor said. “We let him have some freedom in the first half and he made us pay.”

Marmion answered the deficit by setting up shop in the attacking third, possessing and pressuring well. Connor Lefelstein hit the crossbar with a shot in the 20th minute as Marmion kept the pressure on.

One minute later, Cadets' senior Sam Duffield centered a ball in the box to Rosenfelder, who finished from 14 yards out. Mike Frasca tied the game in the 37th minute with a nice drive up the gut and a finish from 18 yards out before halftime.

While he was happy with the possession his squad was enjoying, O’Connor pressed his squad at halftime to add some hunger in the final third. Frasca ripped a ball off the post from 20 yards out in the 46th minute, and showed the aggression his coach was looking for throughout.

“Mike Frasca is just a workhorse,” O’Connor said.

Marmion continued to apply steady pressure in the final third, but Korosis put Lakes up 3-2 on a counter, mid-way through the second half. The senior broke loose up the right side with a ball at his feet and delivered a sweet shot off the outside of his left foot.

“He’s a great player. One of the best we’ve seen all season,” Anderson said of Korosis. “He single-handedly changed the game.”

That goal was one of the few times in the second half that Korosis was given room to work.

“After (the first half) our backs really tightened up, and I thought (Mike) Maley really took some space away from (Korosis),” O’Connor said. “We went from a flat-back to a diamond-back, so we could get a little more footwork out of Maley on (Korosis).”
 
Down 3-2, it was gut-check time for Marmion, and the Cadets stayed composed, sending shots on net with increased frequency.

“We’ve got a good core of seniors who have been through this many, many times,” Anderson said. “We stepped up. We got some big performances from Mike Maley, and Mike Frasca in the middle, and Max and Sam really stepped up in the second half.”

Rosenfelder sent a corner kick beyond the far post in the 70th minute, where Anderson found space and tied the game with a head shot.

“Max and I have been playing together for a while, and we look for each other on some of those,” Anderson said. “I was unmarked and I just put it in.”

Duffield, Rosenfelder, Connor Lefelstein, and Frasca peppered Lakes with dangerous shots on net down the stretch, before Rosenfelder’s tremendous shot effectively gave Marmion the win.

“We figured out how to possess the ball against them and we started to connect. Once we got that first and second goal, we were back in it,” Rosenfelder said.

Starters Matt Switzer and Sam Soliz also keyed the win, while Tommy Cruger, Connor Lefelstein, and Casey White did the dirty work at midfield that kept the ball in Marmion’s attacking third.

Marmion's 2009 Schedule
Click on links for stories

Postseason play