Senior midfielder Brendan Adams felt St. Charles East learned a lesson Wednesday night against Metea Valley.
Missed opportunities and looking ahead can be dangerous.
Following three straight wins to open the season, the Saints dropped a 1-0 decision to Metea 1-0 in their home tournament.
“We thought we were the better team,” Adams said. “Maybe we thought we had a win, but you can’t underestimate any team. We’re a great team. We were 3-0. I wouldn’t take too much from this game. We’ll move on.”
St. Charles (3-1) dominated the pace of play in the first half. The Saints had four shots on goal while limiting Metea (1-0-3) to no shots on goal, but they couldn’t find the back of the net.
“We played good soccer, couldn’t finish, made a couple mistakes and you lose,” East coach Vince DiNuzzo said. “That’s how it goes. I thought we played a good brand of soccer. We played well.
“When you don’t finish a couple chances early and you let them hang around, you lose the game. It’s a good learning experience for these kids.”
The Saints still controlled play early in the second half before losing possession, leading to a transition opportunity for Metea.
With 22:19 left, Jacob Tune put in a rebound of Davis Quarles’ shot, suddenly giving the Mustangs the lead.
“We dominated for 75 of the 80 minutes,” Adams said. “They came down and got a transition goal. That’s how they were effective (Wednesday). They were good in transition. We’d have the ball on the attack, lose it, and they’d counter. That’s where we’re most vulnerable.
“Usually the defense is good and we clean things up. (Wednesday), one mistake is what cost us the game.”
Adams, one of the area’s top returnees from last season, also put some of the blame for the loss at his own feet.
“I think there are some things personally I can take ownership in,” Adams said. “I lacked leadership in the middle. I couldn’t keep possession of the ball. There are things with myself that I need to focus on.”
Even though it’s early in the season, the Saints are already battling the injury bug.
Starting goalkeeper Jack Settle, the biggest of those absences, is still out with an infection, although DiNuzzo said he could be back Saturday for the tournament finale.
DiNuzzo is looking forward to his team getting back on track the rest of the tourney leading into Monday’s nonconference home game against Elgin.
“The message is, they played good soccer, but remember this,” DiNuzzo said. “Remember how it feels to lose on your home field against a team that I thought we played pretty tough.
“We had a lot of chances on goal. They only had three or four chances on goal. When you limit their chances and you don’t finish, that’s how it goes.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
