Willowbrook to host Hinsdale
South in WSC crossover
Warriors guard against complacency
despite Hornets' winless record
By Ken Keenan
A well-rested Willowbrook squad will look to halt a two-game losing streak when it hosts Hinsdale South in a WSC crossover battle at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The Warriors' most recent match, a dramatic barn burner on Sept. 9, ended up as a 5-4 win for Marmion. That left Willowbrook, which also lost by a 3-1 count to Glenbard North in the third-place match of the Addison Trail Invite on Sept. 6, standing at 3-2-1 overall.
On the flip side, the Hornets will be seeking their initial victory of the 2014 campaign. Hinsdale South fell to 0-7-0 with Saturday's 4-2 road loss to Glenbard West, a day after being nipped 1-0 by host Downers Grove North.
After allowing only four goals combined in its undefeated start, Willowbrook surrendered eight in the pair of losses. Warriors head coach Pete Ginter pinned some of the blame on injuries to key defenders Mike Sommers, a junior, and senior Gideon Karasek.
"We don't have a lot of depth back there (on defense)," Ginter said. "Sommers is a hard-nosed player -- and a captain -- who provides stability and leadership at center back, and Karasek brings the ball out of the back. And his defensive play has improved tremendously at left fullback. In fact, Marmion attacked on his side, so we missed Gideon in that game."
In the loss to Marmion, Willowbrook trailed 4-1 before tying the score, and then lost on a last-second shot. Ginter's crew has tallied 13 goals in all this year for an average of 2.2 per match.
"Our players have bought into our new tactical system -- more of a total team attack," Ginter explained. "Our possession game is much better than in recent years -- we're switching the ball better -- and you have to have a guy to put the ball in the net. We have that with Saul Hernandez."
Hernandez, a sophomore forward, scored all eight of his team's goals during the 3-0-1 start.
"He roves and moves around and has some deceptive acceleration with the ball," Ginter said. "Plus we have a complement of other skilled players."
That includes senior midfielder Mike Rogalski, sophomore midfielder Benny Heredia and junior midfielder Arkadiusz Szlachta.
"Rogalski is the quarterback of our offense, and he and Saul are working well together," Ginter said. "Heredia brings good speed and positioning on the left side. Szlachta has a lot of speed and versatility on both the left and right side, and sets up a lot of goals off the wing. Plus our defensive midfielders (notably junior Aaron Johnson and senior Kristian Johansen) transition the ball to our attacking forwards."
Hinsdale South is having a much tougher time finding the back of the net. The Hornets dented the twine only twice all season prior to tallying the same number of goals on Saturday.
Juniors Zach Duffy and Mike Noble scored against Glenbard West, with seniors Alex Raatz and Danny Perez assisting. Freshman Karel Ondra (two assists) "has provided a bright spot looking to the future," Hornets head coach James VanDenburgh said.
"We're trying to build offense from the defense moving the ball up," VanDenburgh said. "We want to transition from good defense to offense."
Hinsdale South has been fairly solid defensively. The Hornets suffered three 1-0 defeats and a 2-1 loss prior to Saturday's match.
"Our defense is quite strong -- bending but not breaking until a critical part of the game," VanDenburgh said.
Goalkeeper Alex Carpenter and sweeper Lucas Carlson, both senior captains, have been vital on defense, as have senior Austin West and juniors Paul Figus and Mykolas Meilus.
"Carpenter and Carlson give us senior leadership," VanDenburgh said. "(West, Figus and Meilus) are solid, aggressive defenders. They allow us to keep our shape moving forward. And (junior) Mike Noble has been the heart of the midfield."
Despite the Hornets' record, Ginter warned his troops not to take the match for granted.
"It's our first home game, and we want to get back on the winning track," Ginter said. "But we have to fight and work hard regardless of the foe. You have to always bring your 'A' game whoever you play, and we certainly respect Hinsdale South."
VanDenburgh simply wants his club to keep holding its collective head high, regardless of the outcome.
"Winning and losing is one thing, but player development and building character are crucial," he said. "To be 0-7, we focus on how resilient these guys are. It's challenging, but we say play hard every game and keep improving every day. So we're looking for a good match (against Willowbrook) and we'd like to end it with a win."
South in WSC crossover
Warriors guard against complacency
despite Hornets' winless record
By Ken Keenan
A well-rested Willowbrook squad will look to halt a two-game losing streak when it hosts Hinsdale South in a WSC crossover battle at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The Warriors' most recent match, a dramatic barn burner on Sept. 9, ended up as a 5-4 win for Marmion. That left Willowbrook, which also lost by a 3-1 count to Glenbard North in the third-place match of the Addison Trail Invite on Sept. 6, standing at 3-2-1 overall.
On the flip side, the Hornets will be seeking their initial victory of the 2014 campaign. Hinsdale South fell to 0-7-0 with Saturday's 4-2 road loss to Glenbard West, a day after being nipped 1-0 by host Downers Grove North.
After allowing only four goals combined in its undefeated start, Willowbrook surrendered eight in the pair of losses. Warriors head coach Pete Ginter pinned some of the blame on injuries to key defenders Mike Sommers, a junior, and senior Gideon Karasek.
"We don't have a lot of depth back there (on defense)," Ginter said. "Sommers is a hard-nosed player -- and a captain -- who provides stability and leadership at center back, and Karasek brings the ball out of the back. And his defensive play has improved tremendously at left fullback. In fact, Marmion attacked on his side, so we missed Gideon in that game."
In the loss to Marmion, Willowbrook trailed 4-1 before tying the score, and then lost on a last-second shot. Ginter's crew has tallied 13 goals in all this year for an average of 2.2 per match.
"Our players have bought into our new tactical system -- more of a total team attack," Ginter explained. "Our possession game is much better than in recent years -- we're switching the ball better -- and you have to have a guy to put the ball in the net. We have that with Saul Hernandez."
Hernandez, a sophomore forward, scored all eight of his team's goals during the 3-0-1 start.
"He roves and moves around and has some deceptive acceleration with the ball," Ginter said. "Plus we have a complement of other skilled players."
That includes senior midfielder Mike Rogalski, sophomore midfielder Benny Heredia and junior midfielder Arkadiusz Szlachta.
"Rogalski is the quarterback of our offense, and he and Saul are working well together," Ginter said. "Heredia brings good speed and positioning on the left side. Szlachta has a lot of speed and versatility on both the left and right side, and sets up a lot of goals off the wing. Plus our defensive midfielders (notably junior Aaron Johnson and senior Kristian Johansen) transition the ball to our attacking forwards."
Hinsdale South is having a much tougher time finding the back of the net. The Hornets dented the twine only twice all season prior to tallying the same number of goals on Saturday.
Juniors Zach Duffy and Mike Noble scored against Glenbard West, with seniors Alex Raatz and Danny Perez assisting. Freshman Karel Ondra (two assists) "has provided a bright spot looking to the future," Hornets head coach James VanDenburgh said.
"We're trying to build offense from the defense moving the ball up," VanDenburgh said. "We want to transition from good defense to offense."
Hinsdale South has been fairly solid defensively. The Hornets suffered three 1-0 defeats and a 2-1 loss prior to Saturday's match.
"Our defense is quite strong -- bending but not breaking until a critical part of the game," VanDenburgh said.
Goalkeeper Alex Carpenter and sweeper Lucas Carlson, both senior captains, have been vital on defense, as have senior Austin West and juniors Paul Figus and Mykolas Meilus.
"Carpenter and Carlson give us senior leadership," VanDenburgh said. "(West, Figus and Meilus) are solid, aggressive defenders. They allow us to keep our shape moving forward. And (junior) Mike Noble has been the heart of the midfield."
Despite the Hornets' record, Ginter warned his troops not to take the match for granted.
"It's our first home game, and we want to get back on the winning track," Ginter said. "But we have to fight and work hard regardless of the foe. You have to always bring your 'A' game whoever you play, and we certainly respect Hinsdale South."
VanDenburgh simply wants his club to keep holding its collective head high, regardless of the outcome.
"Winning and losing is one thing, but player development and building character are crucial," he said. "To be 0-7, we focus on how resilient these guys are. It's challenging, but we say play hard every game and keep improving every day. So we're looking for a good match (against Willowbrook) and we'd like to end it with a win."