West, East Aurora draw
after 2nd half penalty kick
Blackhawks let victory slip away vs. crosstown rivals
By Derek Wolff
AURORA — As the old saying goes, the biggest regrets in life aren’t the mistakes you make, but the opportunities that you don’t take advantage of.
West Aurora will have to contemplate that axiom after letting victory slide through the cracks in a 1-1 draw against rival East Aurora on Tuesday night.
The host Blackhawks led for most of the game after a first half goal but failed to convert on a number of first-rate opportunities to increase the score.
Then, in the 61st minute East Aurora was awarded a penalty kick for a challenge inside the box.
Senior defender Jorge Sanchez stepped up and slotted the ball low on the right side underneath Blackhawks goalkeeper Robert Marquez to ensure the draw.
“It was a big game,” Sanchez said. “Obviously we were getting dominated in the first half on counterattacks, and basically that brought down the morale. (The goal) gives us a little more confidence.”
West Aurora coach Joe Sustersic said his team needs to learn to put away games.
“Maybe we learn from this, a learning lesson that when you have an opportunity to finish off somebody or we have the opportunity to score a goal and put a little buffer in between us and the other team, we have to do it,” Sustersic said. “It’s not just an offensive thing. Defensively there’s no reason for us to let them into that third on the penalty kick call.”
East Aurora spent most of the first half chasing in its defensive third after the back line routinely tried to play the offside trap, with little to no effect.
Instead West Aurora was able to get a number of through balls and quality chances on net on the counterattack with well-paced attacking runs.
After a number of close calls exacerbated by Tomcats goalkeeper Oscar Calzada routinely coming outside the box to play the ball, the Blackhawks finally broke the deadlock in the 24th minute.
Christian Martinez scored a no-doubter from inside the six after receiving a low cross from the corner from teammate Alejandro Espana to put the Blackhawks up 1-0.
“I just saw my teammate going and knew I had to be in the middle so I just went there and had a lucky shot and scored,” Martinez said.
Two minutes later, a Calzada miscue should have doubled West’s lead. Calzada came outside the box to challenge a 50-50 ball with Espana near the 20-yard line and missed his kick, enabling Espana to dribble around him and shoot toward the vacant net.
But Espana largely whiffed on the kick, which made it about 10 yards short of the goal before it was cleared by East centerback Edward Sandoval.
It was just one of a number of offensive miscues on the night for West.
In the dying throes of the second half, after Sanchez put the visitors on level, West pushed forward looking for the game winner.
They nearly got it.
West earned a free kick from the 20 yards out with just over two minutes remaining. Senior midfielder Oscar Gaytan stepped up and slotted a low cross for Martinez near the near post.
Martinez’s shot whizzed over the bar, striking the football goalpost right behind it.
A much-improved Calzada made a few big saves down the stretch and notably won a sliding challenge to keep the score level in the 62nd minute over West forward Jose Luis Munez on the counterattack.
“Oscar’s the reason why we didn’t lose this game,” said East coach Nathan Parry. “He definitely kept us in it. Even though he’s not a captain, he’s definitely one of the leaders on the team, and I’m happy to see us come away and tie this up after being down 1-0 at halftime.”
The play of Calzada, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match, emboldened his teammates in the second half, Sustersic said.
“Their goalie played phenomenally. He stopped three or four point-blank breakaways, and they fed off that enthusiasm. Unfortunately our lack of killer instinct allowed them to have confidence in themselves. When they scored that goal, it’s anyone’s game.”
East wasn’t able to generate many high-quality scoring opportunities on the night, thanks to a steadfast Blackhawks back line led by sweeper Riley Roos.
“We just tried to stay back as much as we could,” Roos said. “They kept trying to play the ball over the top and into the corners, so we tried to contain, punching off as much as we can and trying to play the offsides. That didn’t work as much in the first half; second half it was a little bit better. They had a few chances, and one was a PK.”
With a large crowd on hand and plenty of support for both sides, the teams were given a taste of what will await them with the postseason right around the corner.
UEC conference foes for the first time this season, West drew the 10 seed while East drew the 17 in their sectional.
Sustersic was disappointed that there was no overtime to be played, something that would be in play in the postseason.
“For the most part, this type of effort is what it should be like in the state tournament,” he said. “One goal can be the difference between winning and losing.”
Starting lineups
East Aurora
GK-Oscar Calzada
D-Edward Sandoval
D-Edgar Caballero
D-Jorge Sanchez
M-Carlos Gonzalez
M-Eric Simental
M-Marco Romero
F-Ricardo Sanchez
F-Edgar Caro
F-Edwin Herrera
F-Javier Rivera
West Aurora
GK-Robert Marquez
D-Riley Roos
D-Junior Espino
D-Oscar Gaytan
M-Jacob Sheldon
M-Luis Gallegos
M-Juan Pablo Morales
M-Jose Gallegos
F-Christian Martinez
F-Alexis Davilla
F-Damian Castaneda
Officials: Mike Mentani, Steve Baker, Dave Rubini
Man of the Match: Oscar Calzada, East Aurora
after 2nd half penalty kick
Blackhawks let victory slip away vs. crosstown rivals
By Derek Wolff
AURORA — As the old saying goes, the biggest regrets in life aren’t the mistakes you make, but the opportunities that you don’t take advantage of.
West Aurora will have to contemplate that axiom after letting victory slide through the cracks in a 1-1 draw against rival East Aurora on Tuesday night.
The host Blackhawks led for most of the game after a first half goal but failed to convert on a number of first-rate opportunities to increase the score.
Then, in the 61st minute East Aurora was awarded a penalty kick for a challenge inside the box.
Senior defender Jorge Sanchez stepped up and slotted the ball low on the right side underneath Blackhawks goalkeeper Robert Marquez to ensure the draw.
“It was a big game,” Sanchez said. “Obviously we were getting dominated in the first half on counterattacks, and basically that brought down the morale. (The goal) gives us a little more confidence.”
West Aurora coach Joe Sustersic said his team needs to learn to put away games.
“Maybe we learn from this, a learning lesson that when you have an opportunity to finish off somebody or we have the opportunity to score a goal and put a little buffer in between us and the other team, we have to do it,” Sustersic said. “It’s not just an offensive thing. Defensively there’s no reason for us to let them into that third on the penalty kick call.”
East Aurora spent most of the first half chasing in its defensive third after the back line routinely tried to play the offside trap, with little to no effect.
Instead West Aurora was able to get a number of through balls and quality chances on net on the counterattack with well-paced attacking runs.
After a number of close calls exacerbated by Tomcats goalkeeper Oscar Calzada routinely coming outside the box to play the ball, the Blackhawks finally broke the deadlock in the 24th minute.
Christian Martinez scored a no-doubter from inside the six after receiving a low cross from the corner from teammate Alejandro Espana to put the Blackhawks up 1-0.
“I just saw my teammate going and knew I had to be in the middle so I just went there and had a lucky shot and scored,” Martinez said.
Two minutes later, a Calzada miscue should have doubled West’s lead. Calzada came outside the box to challenge a 50-50 ball with Espana near the 20-yard line and missed his kick, enabling Espana to dribble around him and shoot toward the vacant net.
But Espana largely whiffed on the kick, which made it about 10 yards short of the goal before it was cleared by East centerback Edward Sandoval.
It was just one of a number of offensive miscues on the night for West.
In the dying throes of the second half, after Sanchez put the visitors on level, West pushed forward looking for the game winner.
They nearly got it.
West earned a free kick from the 20 yards out with just over two minutes remaining. Senior midfielder Oscar Gaytan stepped up and slotted a low cross for Martinez near the near post.
Martinez’s shot whizzed over the bar, striking the football goalpost right behind it.
A much-improved Calzada made a few big saves down the stretch and notably won a sliding challenge to keep the score level in the 62nd minute over West forward Jose Luis Munez on the counterattack.
“Oscar’s the reason why we didn’t lose this game,” said East coach Nathan Parry. “He definitely kept us in it. Even though he’s not a captain, he’s definitely one of the leaders on the team, and I’m happy to see us come away and tie this up after being down 1-0 at halftime.”
The play of Calzada, Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match, emboldened his teammates in the second half, Sustersic said.
“Their goalie played phenomenally. He stopped three or four point-blank breakaways, and they fed off that enthusiasm. Unfortunately our lack of killer instinct allowed them to have confidence in themselves. When they scored that goal, it’s anyone’s game.”
East wasn’t able to generate many high-quality scoring opportunities on the night, thanks to a steadfast Blackhawks back line led by sweeper Riley Roos.
“We just tried to stay back as much as we could,” Roos said. “They kept trying to play the ball over the top and into the corners, so we tried to contain, punching off as much as we can and trying to play the offsides. That didn’t work as much in the first half; second half it was a little bit better. They had a few chances, and one was a PK.”
With a large crowd on hand and plenty of support for both sides, the teams were given a taste of what will await them with the postseason right around the corner.
UEC conference foes for the first time this season, West drew the 10 seed while East drew the 17 in their sectional.
Sustersic was disappointed that there was no overtime to be played, something that would be in play in the postseason.
“For the most part, this type of effort is what it should be like in the state tournament,” he said. “One goal can be the difference between winning and losing.”
Starting lineups
East Aurora
GK-Oscar Calzada
D-Edward Sandoval
D-Edgar Caballero
D-Jorge Sanchez
M-Carlos Gonzalez
M-Eric Simental
M-Marco Romero
F-Ricardo Sanchez
F-Edgar Caro
F-Edwin Herrera
F-Javier Rivera
West Aurora
GK-Robert Marquez
D-Riley Roos
D-Junior Espino
D-Oscar Gaytan
M-Jacob Sheldon
M-Luis Gallegos
M-Juan Pablo Morales
M-Jose Gallegos
F-Christian Martinez
F-Alexis Davilla
F-Damian Castaneda
Officials: Mike Mentani, Steve Baker, Dave Rubini
Man of the Match: Oscar Calzada, East Aurora