River Forest, Ill. - Entering the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) 2023 Men's Soccer Tournament, the No.6 seeded Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks traveled to take on the No. 3 seeded Dominican University Stars a Quarterfinal match-up. Unfortunately for the Hawks (6-9-6, 5-6-1), their 2023 season came to an end as the Stars (13-3-2, 9-1-2) proved to be too much. After 90 minutes of action, the Hawks fell to the Stars by a final score of 6-1. 

How It Happened

• Eight minutes into the contest, the Stars took an early lead over the Hawks. John Cronnolly scored the opening goal of the contest off an Oscar Cerritos assist. After goalkeeper Cerritos gathered up a Hawk free quick, he quickly punted the ball down the field for a Star counter attack. Cerritos punt went directly down the middle of the field to where Cronnolly was running. With a Hawk defender on him, Cronnolly chested the ball down. Once inside the box, Cronnolly placed his shot into the lower left corner, putting the Stars ahead 1-0. 

• Cronnolly then netted his second and the Stars second goal of the game in the 21st minute off a Vicente Castro assist. Dribbling down the center of the field. Castro laid a ball off between three Hawk defenders to the top of the 18-yard box. Cronnolly was able to run onto the ball and turn his body to hit a one-touch shot into the same exact spot as his first goal, doubling the Stars lead over the Hawks. 

• The Hawks scored their lone goal of the game in the 38th minute off the foot of Anthony Paiotti. Paiotti was able to capitalize on a loose ball that the Stars were attempting to clear out of their defensive half. From about 35 yards out, Paiotti fired off a powerful shot, sending the ball into the left upper 90. Paiotti's shot would hit off the Stars goalkeeper fingertips, but still find its way into the back of the net, making the score 2-1 in favor of the Stars.

• Just before halftime in the 42 minute, the Stars were able to tally one more goal to take back a two score lead. Zachary Gamster scored off an Oscar Montejano assist. A Hawk foul led to a Stars free kick from about 30 yards out. Montejano took the kick for the Stars, sending the ball to the top of the 6-yard box where Gamster was able to jump and head the ball into the back of the net, putting the Stars up 3-1 at halftime. 

• Coming out of halftime, the goals continued to flow for the Stars. Castro joined in on the goal scoring in the 56th minute off a Montejano assist. Inside the 18-yard box, Montejano was able to toe-poke the ball out to a wide open Castro. Castro one-touched his shot into the back of the net, giving the Stars a 4-1 lead. 

• In the 62nd minute, Cronnolly found the back of the net for the third time, giving him a hat-trick and extending the Stars lead. Montejano assisted the goal after crossing a high ball from inside the box towards the far post. Running full speed, Cronnolly scored with a diving header, putting the Stars ahead 5-1. 

• The final goal of the contest came in the 82nd minute of action when Gamster scored for the second time, this time off a Lewis MacPherson assist. Macpherson, from a corner kick, sent the ball directly to where Gamster was awaiting. Gamster was able to flick a header from the near post side into the opposite side netting, sealing the Stars 6-1 victory over the Hawks. 

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Anthony Paiotti - 90 minutes, 1 goal, 4 shots, 2 shots on goal

• Christian Garcia - 57 minutes, 2 shots, 1 shot on goal

• Maciek Matusiak - 30 minutes, 2 shots, 1 shot on goal

• Devin Zakeri - 86 minutes, 1 shot, 1 shot on goal

Stars Standouts

• John Cronnolly - 61 minutes, 3 goals, 9 shots, 5 shots on goal

• Zachary Gamster - 47 minutes, 2 goals, 3 shots, 3 shots on goal

• Vicente Castro - 59 minutes, 1 goal, 1 assist 2 shots, 2 shot on goal

• Oscar Montejano - 76 minutes, 3 assists, 1 shot, 1 shot on goal

• Oscar Cerritos - 45 minutes, 1 assist

• Lewis MacPherson - 9 minutes, 1 assist

Inside the Box Score

• The Stars led the Hawks in shots 21-13 with 10 shots on goal versus the Hawks 5

• Both teams ended with 4 saves

• The Hawks tallied 9 corner kicks compared to the Stars 7

2023 Recap

The Hawks wrap up their 2023 season campaign with a 6-9-6 overall record and a 5-6-1 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference record. 

Throughout the season, the Scarlet Hawks recorded the following stats: 30 goals, 1.43 goals per game, 288 shots, 13.7 shots per game, 117 shots on goal, 19 assists, 94 saved, and 106 corner kicks. 

Maciek Matusiak led the Hawks goal scoring effort with 7 goals on the season, 3 of which were considered game winners. Michael Kaczowka followed with 6 goals. Anthony Paiotti led the team in assists, finishing the season with 5. Logan Garcia tabbed 4 assists.

Four different goalkeepers saw time in the net for the Hawks for the 2023 season.  Adam Falcigno tallied 1315:37 minutes played with 14 starts in 17 games played. Falcigno finished the season with 65 saves. Marko Brajkovic closed out the season with 484:23 minutes played with 6 starts in 8 games played and 28 saves. David Rodriguez tabbed one start and recorded 45 minutes of action, making one save. Colin Thomas appeared in one game for 45 minutes. 

Congratulations to the Hawks nine seniors for your careers as Scarlet Hawks: Javier Moreno Frutos, Marko Brajkovic, Keegan Helms, Adam Falcigno, Matthew Wareham, Eduardo Morales Cortazar, Telmo Lizundia, Michael Kaczowka, and Anthony Paiotti. Thank you for your contributions to Illinois Tech both on and off the field. 

Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks men's soccer will return in 2024.