Metea Valley steals page
and win from West Aurora
Blackhawks have stats edge, but Mustangs prevail on scoreboard
By Steve Nemeth
AURORA – Metea Valley stole West Aurora’s recent formula for success, and the visiting Mustangs ran away with a 2-1 road victory Tuesday.
The host Blackhawks came from behind in their 2-1 season-opening win over West Chicago and then erased a two-goal halftime deficit in posting a 4-2 triumph at Bartlett.
But when it came to the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division meeting between West and Metea, it was the Mustangs overcoming not only an early deficit, but also several statistical deficits to have both teams emerge with 2-1 season records and 1-1 ledgers for league play.
After earning the assist on the strike that produced a halftime draw, Metea Valley's Michael Adams scored the match winner with 14 minutes left in order to earn Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match status.
“Soccer is definitely one of those sports where the only stat that matters in the end is on the scoreboard,” veteran West Aurora coach Joe Susterstic said. “We outshot them in both halves, both in overall attempts and in shots on goal; 5-1 in the second half, but theirs went in.”
West Aurora was the aggressor from the outset, and its attack resulted in a penalty kick just 6:05 into the contest. Christian Martinez registered his second goal of the year by converting the try.
“I didn't really look at the keeper; I just made up my mind where to shoot,” Martinez said in regard to his rocket that sailed just under the crossbar. “In the previous games we didn't have good starts but then picked up our intensity. In this one we just didn't pick up the goals we needed.”
Midway through the opening half, Metea Valley's Jake Celinski had a pair of headers and Adams also knocked one on frame, but Blackhawks goalie Robert Marquez had no trouble catching those.
West’s offensive pressure off a cross didn’t pay off when a shot went wide left and another potential score off a breakaway was thwarted when Mustang keeper Joey Coryell won the race to a 50-50 ball.
With 7:29 left before intermission, Metea Valley knotted the contest as Adams’ corner kick became an eight-yard tally for Brandon Howard.
“With their keeper on the other side, I saw an opening and just headed it downward,” Howard said of his first goal of the season.
“Coach always tells us to drive the balls into the box, and I know Brandon is a menace in there,” Adams noted.
The second half began with more Blackhawks attacks. Jose Gallegos was on the right wing and had a laser miss the far left post. Alexis Davila and Gallegos worked a textbook give-and-go only to have the Mustang defense come up with a clear. With 25:59 remaining, Gallegos bent a direct kick around a Metea Valley wall but Coryell smothered the attempt.
With 14:13 showing on the clock, the visitors got that one attempt that Susterstic lamented. Max Graf’s cross to the middle became Adams’ decisive score.
“My goal was simply a great ball from Max (Graf), so it was just an easy tap-in,” Adams noted. “Bottom line, every win is great for the team, but road wins and conference road wins are special.”
Metea coach Josh Robinson praised Adams, stating, “Michael had a phenomenal match, and I'm extremely proud of him. Give tons of credit to Joe's team for how hard they played. We did battle, but we weren't sharp, so to come out of here with a win is big. We do seem to love playing from behind a little too much for my taste.”
Despite West Aurora's pressure and opportunities, another key for the Mustangs was Coryell's saves as well as defensive catches or clears.
“It was disappointing to see them score, but if you panic you can’t help your team. I stayed focused confident that we’d have our chances and my teammates would come through,” Coryell insisted.
“Their keeper had some nice saves, especially down the stretch,” Susterstic admitted.
With 3:08 remaining, Coryell snared a header from Arturo Mejia, but his most notable save occurred with 28 seconds left on a well-struck boot from Gallegos. The Blackhawks’ desperation through ball for a breakaway also saw Coryell race out to fall on that ball.
“Joey was solid for us, as was Brandon, Estaban (Castillo) and Devon (Wardell) off the bench,” Robinson added.
“Losing is never one person’s fault,” Jose Gallegos said. “One lesson for everyone is that we lost as a team and we can only win as a team.”
Susterstic was also counting on the setback serving as a teaching opportunity.
"We still have some newcomers to the varsity level, and one of the growing pains is learning to finish,” the Blackhawks boss added. “We'd have the ball at the top of the 18 and instead of taking a shot, we'd look to pass to the corner.
“Coach Robinson’s team came in here ready to play and they stole one in the sense that we have to defend our home field,” Susterstic said.
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
G Joey Coryell
D Jonathan Ramos
D Ryan Donovan
D Brandon Howard
M Matt Stigler
M Estaben Castillo
M Brian Diebold
M Max Graf
F Jake Celinski
F Michael Adams
F Ryan Barry
West Aurora
G Robert Marquez
D Luis Gallegos
D Sam Perez
D Juan Pablo Morales
D Damian Castaneda
M Paul Cerda
M Oscar Gaytan
M Junior Espino
M Jose Gallegos
F Christian Martinez
F Julio Mejia
Man of the Match: Michael Adams, Metea Valley
Referees: Andy Maratto, Gene Mroz, Victor Herrera
and win from West Aurora
Blackhawks have stats edge, but Mustangs prevail on scoreboard
By Steve Nemeth
AURORA – Metea Valley stole West Aurora’s recent formula for success, and the visiting Mustangs ran away with a 2-1 road victory Tuesday.
The host Blackhawks came from behind in their 2-1 season-opening win over West Chicago and then erased a two-goal halftime deficit in posting a 4-2 triumph at Bartlett.
But when it came to the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division meeting between West and Metea, it was the Mustangs overcoming not only an early deficit, but also several statistical deficits to have both teams emerge with 2-1 season records and 1-1 ledgers for league play.
After earning the assist on the strike that produced a halftime draw, Metea Valley's Michael Adams scored the match winner with 14 minutes left in order to earn Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match status.
“Soccer is definitely one of those sports where the only stat that matters in the end is on the scoreboard,” veteran West Aurora coach Joe Susterstic said. “We outshot them in both halves, both in overall attempts and in shots on goal; 5-1 in the second half, but theirs went in.”
West Aurora was the aggressor from the outset, and its attack resulted in a penalty kick just 6:05 into the contest. Christian Martinez registered his second goal of the year by converting the try.
“I didn't really look at the keeper; I just made up my mind where to shoot,” Martinez said in regard to his rocket that sailed just under the crossbar. “In the previous games we didn't have good starts but then picked up our intensity. In this one we just didn't pick up the goals we needed.”
Midway through the opening half, Metea Valley's Jake Celinski had a pair of headers and Adams also knocked one on frame, but Blackhawks goalie Robert Marquez had no trouble catching those.
West’s offensive pressure off a cross didn’t pay off when a shot went wide left and another potential score off a breakaway was thwarted when Mustang keeper Joey Coryell won the race to a 50-50 ball.
With 7:29 left before intermission, Metea Valley knotted the contest as Adams’ corner kick became an eight-yard tally for Brandon Howard.
“With their keeper on the other side, I saw an opening and just headed it downward,” Howard said of his first goal of the season.
“Coach always tells us to drive the balls into the box, and I know Brandon is a menace in there,” Adams noted.
The second half began with more Blackhawks attacks. Jose Gallegos was on the right wing and had a laser miss the far left post. Alexis Davila and Gallegos worked a textbook give-and-go only to have the Mustang defense come up with a clear. With 25:59 remaining, Gallegos bent a direct kick around a Metea Valley wall but Coryell smothered the attempt.
With 14:13 showing on the clock, the visitors got that one attempt that Susterstic lamented. Max Graf’s cross to the middle became Adams’ decisive score.
“My goal was simply a great ball from Max (Graf), so it was just an easy tap-in,” Adams noted. “Bottom line, every win is great for the team, but road wins and conference road wins are special.”
Metea coach Josh Robinson praised Adams, stating, “Michael had a phenomenal match, and I'm extremely proud of him. Give tons of credit to Joe's team for how hard they played. We did battle, but we weren't sharp, so to come out of here with a win is big. We do seem to love playing from behind a little too much for my taste.”
Despite West Aurora's pressure and opportunities, another key for the Mustangs was Coryell's saves as well as defensive catches or clears.
“It was disappointing to see them score, but if you panic you can’t help your team. I stayed focused confident that we’d have our chances and my teammates would come through,” Coryell insisted.
“Their keeper had some nice saves, especially down the stretch,” Susterstic admitted.
With 3:08 remaining, Coryell snared a header from Arturo Mejia, but his most notable save occurred with 28 seconds left on a well-struck boot from Gallegos. The Blackhawks’ desperation through ball for a breakaway also saw Coryell race out to fall on that ball.
“Joey was solid for us, as was Brandon, Estaban (Castillo) and Devon (Wardell) off the bench,” Robinson added.
“Losing is never one person’s fault,” Jose Gallegos said. “One lesson for everyone is that we lost as a team and we can only win as a team.”
Susterstic was also counting on the setback serving as a teaching opportunity.
"We still have some newcomers to the varsity level, and one of the growing pains is learning to finish,” the Blackhawks boss added. “We'd have the ball at the top of the 18 and instead of taking a shot, we'd look to pass to the corner.
“Coach Robinson’s team came in here ready to play and they stole one in the sense that we have to defend our home field,” Susterstic said.
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
G Joey Coryell
D Jonathan Ramos
D Ryan Donovan
D Brandon Howard
M Matt Stigler
M Estaben Castillo
M Brian Diebold
M Max Graf
F Jake Celinski
F Michael Adams
F Ryan Barry
West Aurora
G Robert Marquez
D Luis Gallegos
D Sam Perez
D Juan Pablo Morales
D Damian Castaneda
M Paul Cerda
M Oscar Gaytan
M Junior Espino
M Jose Gallegos
F Christian Martinez
F Julio Mejia
Man of the Match: Michael Adams, Metea Valley
Referees: Andy Maratto, Gene Mroz, Victor Herrera