Oak Park and River Forest,
Hinsdale C. meet in key conference clash
Host Red Devils seek 3rd-straight WSC Silver crown
By Dave Owen
The last piece of the West Suburban Silver title race falls into place Tuesday at Hinsdale Central.
The Red Devils (9-3-3, 4-0 in conference) host Oak Park and River Forest (8-4-1, 2-1) at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in a showdown of streaking squads – the Red Devils are on a six-match unbeaten streak, while the Huskies’ 3-0 win over Fenwick on Thursday was their fifth victory in a row.
“It’s a great win going in to play Hinsdale Central on Tuesday,” Oak Park and River Forest coach Paul Wright said. “You talk about feeling confidence, high energy, scoring goals, moving off the ball, having chances – that’s a great game to have going in to play a top quality team and seeing where you stand in the sectional. We’re going there at the right time.”
Midfielder Noah Fluharty had a goal and an assist against Fenwick. Quentin Drane is a leader of the Oak Park and River Forest defense.
Both the Huskies and Red Devils coincidentally have outscored their opponents by identical 14-2 composite margins during their respective streaks.
The Red Devils began their surge with a tie against powerful Naperville Central. Hinsdale Central’s four wins during the streak include a 1-0 shutout of Lyons, the team which handed the Huskiues their lone conference loss by a 3-2 score in LaGrange last month.
Goalkeeper Wes Bergevin (shutout), Bryan Loebig (goal) and defender/free kick standout Evan Floersch were among the stars of Hinsdale Central’s 4-0 win last season in Oak Park.
Bergevin and the Hinsdale Central defense have produced four-consecutive shutouts in WSC Silver play this fall, but that defensive dominance pales in comparison to an even more impressive Red Devil run.
“Right now a 16-game unbeaten streak in the conference is what motivates us going into that (Oak Park and River Forest match),” Red Devils’ coach Mike Wiggins said. “A two-year run winning the conference is obviously on the line, so take all those things into it and Tuesday’s huge.
“It’s nice that you don’t have to say a lot to get a group of guys like this going, because they’re looking at those things and realizing it’s going to be a good game. So we’ll look forward to that for sure.”
Besides the challenge of a hot Huskies’ team, one potential cloud on the horizon for the Red Devils is the threat of a teachers’ strike. That could occur as early as Oct. 14, the day of Hinsdale Central’s scheduled conference finale with York.
But before that, two great conference rivals square off in the latest of a great series. While Hinsdale Central has won the last two matchups (including 2-1 in the previous meeting in Hinsdale), the Huskies eliminated the Red Devils from the 2011 postseason with a 2-0 sectional semifinal win.
Hinsdale C. meet in key conference clash
Host Red Devils seek 3rd-straight WSC Silver crown
By Dave Owen
The last piece of the West Suburban Silver title race falls into place Tuesday at Hinsdale Central.
The Red Devils (9-3-3, 4-0 in conference) host Oak Park and River Forest (8-4-1, 2-1) at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in a showdown of streaking squads – the Red Devils are on a six-match unbeaten streak, while the Huskies’ 3-0 win over Fenwick on Thursday was their fifth victory in a row.
“It’s a great win going in to play Hinsdale Central on Tuesday,” Oak Park and River Forest coach Paul Wright said. “You talk about feeling confidence, high energy, scoring goals, moving off the ball, having chances – that’s a great game to have going in to play a top quality team and seeing where you stand in the sectional. We’re going there at the right time.”
Midfielder Noah Fluharty had a goal and an assist against Fenwick. Quentin Drane is a leader of the Oak Park and River Forest defense.
Both the Huskies and Red Devils coincidentally have outscored their opponents by identical 14-2 composite margins during their respective streaks.
The Red Devils began their surge with a tie against powerful Naperville Central. Hinsdale Central’s four wins during the streak include a 1-0 shutout of Lyons, the team which handed the Huskiues their lone conference loss by a 3-2 score in LaGrange last month.
Goalkeeper Wes Bergevin (shutout), Bryan Loebig (goal) and defender/free kick standout Evan Floersch were among the stars of Hinsdale Central’s 4-0 win last season in Oak Park.
Bergevin and the Hinsdale Central defense have produced four-consecutive shutouts in WSC Silver play this fall, but that defensive dominance pales in comparison to an even more impressive Red Devil run.
“Right now a 16-game unbeaten streak in the conference is what motivates us going into that (Oak Park and River Forest match),” Red Devils’ coach Mike Wiggins said. “A two-year run winning the conference is obviously on the line, so take all those things into it and Tuesday’s huge.
“It’s nice that you don’t have to say a lot to get a group of guys like this going, because they’re looking at those things and realizing it’s going to be a good game. So we’ll look forward to that for sure.”
Besides the challenge of a hot Huskies’ team, one potential cloud on the horizon for the Red Devils is the threat of a teachers’ strike. That could occur as early as Oct. 14, the day of Hinsdale Central’s scheduled conference finale with York.
But before that, two great conference rivals square off in the latest of a great series. While Hinsdale Central has won the last two matchups (including 2-1 in the previous meeting in Hinsdale), the Huskies eliminated the Red Devils from the 2011 postseason with a 2-0 sectional semifinal win.