Adam the apple of Shepard’s defensive eye
Senior defender Adam Critchett is the steady leader who helps Shepard settle down. On Monday night, he also was the one who ignited the Astros.
Critchett scored on a corner kick and Shepard made that goal hold up for a 1-0 South Suburban Red win over Argo in Summit.
“We want to stay undefeated,” Critchett said. “We want to win a third straight (conference) championship. We knew this was a big game. Our coaches always tell us to be urgent and play our game.”
Shepard and Argo shared the South Suburban Red championship a year ago, with the Astros winning at least a share of the title for the second straight year.
But on Monday, Shepard (5-0, 5-0) was on the verge of squandering a half ’s worth of opportunities with a strong wind working to its advantage.
Critchett, though, made sure that would not happen in the 36th minute. On a corner kick, he took matters into his own hands, curling a shot inside the far post for the lone goal of the game.
“I knew the wind was big,” Critchett said. “It was really strong. I figured I might as well put it on target. In practice, we’ve been working on doing different things on set pieces. I just figured I’d let it go.
“Once I saw it releasing from my foot, I kind of had a feeling. It was just kind of curling toward where I wanted it to go and I thought it had a chance to go in. It was exciting seeing it hit the back of the net.”
It was a big momentum boost for Shepard and a blow for Argo (4-1, 4-1), which had nearly gotten through the half without allowing a goal despite spending almost all of the opening 40 minutes on the defensive.
“You’re thinking whoever has to play against the wind in the first half, if you can keep it at a tie, you’re in great shape,” Argo coach Carlos Marquez said. “We did a good job, and we were almost there before they got that goal.
“On a day like this, neither team is going to get to play the game they want to play offensively. Defensively, we played well. They took advantage of our one mistake.”
Shepard had to hold on in the second half as Argo attacked relentlessly but struggled to put shots on goal.
Junior goalkeeper Gannon Marin made two saves to record the shutout for Shepard, including a nice stop on Gerard Kleczewski’s shot with 22 minutes left.
“This is my first year on varsity,” Marin said. “Getting to know the guys and seeing how they encourage each other and give support to each other, that really helps our team. It gives us that kick that we want.”
Argo goalkeeper Antonio Ramirez also made two saves.
Shepard’s back line of Critchett, Alejandro Ruiz, Abderrahmane Elhoumaidi and Carlos Audon limited Argo’s chances. Bryan Gonzalez also made big contributions defensively.
Critchett is one of the anchors in the middle.
“It’s huge the leadership that Adam brings,” Shepard coach Zeno Toscas said. “He really steps up. When things get hectic, he’s that calm voice that says, ‘Let’s slow it down, let’s play our game, let’s get connecting.’ He’s that voice that calms the team down.”
Critchett was proud of the way the Astros kept the shutout intact.
“It’s our team chemistry,” he said. “We communicate, we work together, and we make sure we stay composed. That lets us have success.”