Willowbrook can't stop DGS
Host Warriors see 7-match win streak snapped in 3-1 loss
By Curt Herron
VILLA PARK --- Two long winning streaks were on the line on Tuesday when Willowbrook hosted Downers Grove South in a West Suburban Conference Gold Division match.
While the undefeated Mustangs had already wrapped up the division title, the Warriors had an incentive -- to avenge a 2-0 defeat in the teams' first meeting on April 29 in Downers Grove.
But thanks to a late score in the first half and two quick goals in the final half, the longer winning streak increased to 13 as Downers Grove South jumped out to a three-goal advantage and went on to capture a 3-1 victory for a perfect dozen wins in a blemish-free conference season. Meanwhile, Willowbrook's run of consecutive wins stopped at seven.
Coach Chris Hernandez's Mustangs have a home match against Oak Park and River Forest on Friday when they hope to complete a perfect regular-season slate. Then it's on to the rugged Class 3A Morton Sectional, where they're the third-seed behind two other unbeaten and untied squads, no. 1 seed Benet and no. 2 Lyons.
"I like their energy, enthusiasm and will to get better," Hernandez said of his team. "It's easy when you have talented players, but it's something completely different when you have young players who want to develop and get better.
“Our starting lineup has been five sophomores and a freshman almost the entire year, so for that young core to learn from veteran juniors and seniors, it's something special. We talk about culture a lot and how the details always matter, no matter what you do.
"I think one of the biggest characteristics that we have is that we're young. A lot of people think of that as a negative thing. But we embrace it as a positive, because it is so new and you have to work hard because you don't know what to expect. We're a young team that's figuring things out as we go. But that's part of the puzzle, figuring out how to win."
Meanwhile, coach Julio Del Real's Warriors (9-3, 8-3) close out regular play with matches against Proviso West and Proviso East before beginning postseason play next Wednesday in the Morton Sectional when they will take the short trip to Lombard to play Glenbard East.
While, Willowbrook and Glenbard East are in different conferences, the schools are only a little more than two miles apart. Many of their players compete together with the Firebirds Soccer Club. So there should be a little extra motivation to see which team will move on and get the opportunity to face Benet in the regional finals.
"Our girls have a lot of pride, and they know what they're capable of doing. They're beginning to believe a lot of the things that coach (Pete Montgomery), and I have been instilling in them as far as how good they are," Del Real said. "I'm very proud of the effort that the girls put forth. We knew that it was going to be a tough game and wanted to use that as a stepping stone for the playoffs.
"As soon as our girls found out (about the regional) they were ecstatic. They hang around with each other, so there's going to be bragging rights. Yes, they've beaten us in the past, but we have a very strong team. As we told the girls, this is an opportunity to show what we're made of and Willowbrook has become, so hopefully they'll take advantage."
Downers Grove South had most of the good scoring opportunities in the opening half. Maya Wilson provided the first threat that Warriors keeper Maddie Aderholt turned away. The sophomore later made a pair of stops on Emily Petring.
Downers Grove South's defense, featuring Riley Vondrasek, Julia Grippo, Grace Rappel and Teyani Sharkey, entered the match with three-consecutive shutouts and a total of nine for the season. The unit effectively prevented the Warriors from having many serious threats during the opening half.
"With our team being as young as it is and not having a season last year and having so many new players, it's really impressive how much everyone has stepped up this season," Vondrasek said. "We definitely have a lot of drive and competition between each other, and we're striving to beat what we did two years ago when we last played.
"A lot of it's about the traditions that we've had in the past and as seniors, we've talked to each other about what we wished to pass along to the younger players. We've had a good run the last couple of years so knowing what we want to do and have done in the past, the younger kids are really picking up what we're passing on to them."
As the first half was winding down, Petring sent a liner toward the net that curved just inside the post to put the Mustangs ahead for good in the 38th minute.
The early part of the final half featured several good scoring opportunities for Willowbrook. Brooke Vandergrift sent in corner kicks – one before and one after two threatening free kicks from Grace Tumilty.
Downers Grove South took control of the match when it scored twice in a 90-second span to build up a 3-0 lead. Marley Davis assisted on each goal: she sent a pass inside to Mallory Qualizza for a short conversion in the 55th minute; then she found Maya Wilson for a close-range score in the 56th minute.
Even though they were down by three goals, the Willowbrook continued to battle. They were finally rewarded for their efforts by becoming just the fourth team to score a goal against the Mustangs.
Not surprisingly, the player who finally connected for the Warriors was Tumilty, who fired in a free kick from about 20 yards in the 58th minute for her 24th goal of the season. The goal was only the seventh Downers Grove South has allowed this seaon.
For the second-straight match, Willowbrook had a different look on defense. As the result of Izzy Manning's injury early in their 1-0 win over Morton on May 20, Abbey Spada, Ali Vittorio and Layla Elgamal needed assistance along the backline. Rachael Klamecki stepped up and performed well in that role.
"We all work together as a team and in practice we're always trying our best," Spada said. "We were really excited to play this game since it was one of our last conference games. We tried to do our best, but Downers Grove South is a great team, and we knew what we were up against.
"We definitely talk a lot (on defense) and Rachael stepped up and did exactly what she needed to do. Everybody on the defense put their best effort forward to stop them. We worked really well together and had good passes and connections but on some of them we just couldn't finish. Overall we all played really well and played hard."
Despite the setback, Wilowbrook's players are proud of their many accomplishments thus far this season, including their second place conference finish, losing just three matches, putting together a seven-match winning streak and also recording five shutouts.
Now they're looking forward to a special regional matchup where they'll go up against friends from club ball to find out which group will advance to the regional finals.
"A lot of people were nervous going in since we weren't sure what to expect from teams because of COVID and where we were at since we lost a lot of seniors last year," Erin Fitzgibbon said. "But I think everyone's really proud of each other. Our team chemistry has been a lot better this year, because a lot of us play club together.
"It's amazing to see Gracie play, especially since she's going on to college and will do amazing things. I like the friendships, honestly. In the past there's been separate groups but we're all like one big group. It's really cool to just go to practice and be friends with everybody there."
Starting lineups
Downers Grove South
G - Hannah Fedinec
D - Julia Grippo
D - Riley Vondrasek
D - Grace Rappel
D - Teyani Sharkey
M - Maya Wilson
M - Gabi Galvez
M - Krystal Flores
F - Marley Davis
F - Mallory Qualizza
F - Emily Petring
Willowbrook
G - Maddie Aderholt
D - Abbey Spada
D - Ali Vittorio
D - Layla Elgamal
D - Rachael Klamecki
M - Grace Tumilty
M - Brooke Vandergrift
M - Molly Brennan
M - Mackenzie Parente
F - Erin Fitzgibbon
F - Grace Soltys
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Marley Davis, jr., F, Downers Grove South
Scoring summary
First half
D - Petring, 38
Second half
D - Qualizza (Davis), 55
D - Wilson (Davis), 56
W - Tumilty, 58
Host Warriors see 7-match win streak snapped in 3-1 loss
By Curt Herron
VILLA PARK --- Two long winning streaks were on the line on Tuesday when Willowbrook hosted Downers Grove South in a West Suburban Conference Gold Division match.
While the undefeated Mustangs had already wrapped up the division title, the Warriors had an incentive -- to avenge a 2-0 defeat in the teams' first meeting on April 29 in Downers Grove.
But thanks to a late score in the first half and two quick goals in the final half, the longer winning streak increased to 13 as Downers Grove South jumped out to a three-goal advantage and went on to capture a 3-1 victory for a perfect dozen wins in a blemish-free conference season. Meanwhile, Willowbrook's run of consecutive wins stopped at seven.
Coach Chris Hernandez's Mustangs have a home match against Oak Park and River Forest on Friday when they hope to complete a perfect regular-season slate. Then it's on to the rugged Class 3A Morton Sectional, where they're the third-seed behind two other unbeaten and untied squads, no. 1 seed Benet and no. 2 Lyons.
"I like their energy, enthusiasm and will to get better," Hernandez said of his team. "It's easy when you have talented players, but it's something completely different when you have young players who want to develop and get better.
“Our starting lineup has been five sophomores and a freshman almost the entire year, so for that young core to learn from veteran juniors and seniors, it's something special. We talk about culture a lot and how the details always matter, no matter what you do.
"I think one of the biggest characteristics that we have is that we're young. A lot of people think of that as a negative thing. But we embrace it as a positive, because it is so new and you have to work hard because you don't know what to expect. We're a young team that's figuring things out as we go. But that's part of the puzzle, figuring out how to win."
Meanwhile, coach Julio Del Real's Warriors (9-3, 8-3) close out regular play with matches against Proviso West and Proviso East before beginning postseason play next Wednesday in the Morton Sectional when they will take the short trip to Lombard to play Glenbard East.
While, Willowbrook and Glenbard East are in different conferences, the schools are only a little more than two miles apart. Many of their players compete together with the Firebirds Soccer Club. So there should be a little extra motivation to see which team will move on and get the opportunity to face Benet in the regional finals.
"Our girls have a lot of pride, and they know what they're capable of doing. They're beginning to believe a lot of the things that coach (Pete Montgomery), and I have been instilling in them as far as how good they are," Del Real said. "I'm very proud of the effort that the girls put forth. We knew that it was going to be a tough game and wanted to use that as a stepping stone for the playoffs.
"As soon as our girls found out (about the regional) they were ecstatic. They hang around with each other, so there's going to be bragging rights. Yes, they've beaten us in the past, but we have a very strong team. As we told the girls, this is an opportunity to show what we're made of and Willowbrook has become, so hopefully they'll take advantage."
Downers Grove South had most of the good scoring opportunities in the opening half. Maya Wilson provided the first threat that Warriors keeper Maddie Aderholt turned away. The sophomore later made a pair of stops on Emily Petring.
Downers Grove South's defense, featuring Riley Vondrasek, Julia Grippo, Grace Rappel and Teyani Sharkey, entered the match with three-consecutive shutouts and a total of nine for the season. The unit effectively prevented the Warriors from having many serious threats during the opening half.
"With our team being as young as it is and not having a season last year and having so many new players, it's really impressive how much everyone has stepped up this season," Vondrasek said. "We definitely have a lot of drive and competition between each other, and we're striving to beat what we did two years ago when we last played.
"A lot of it's about the traditions that we've had in the past and as seniors, we've talked to each other about what we wished to pass along to the younger players. We've had a good run the last couple of years so knowing what we want to do and have done in the past, the younger kids are really picking up what we're passing on to them."
As the first half was winding down, Petring sent a liner toward the net that curved just inside the post to put the Mustangs ahead for good in the 38th minute.
The early part of the final half featured several good scoring opportunities for Willowbrook. Brooke Vandergrift sent in corner kicks – one before and one after two threatening free kicks from Grace Tumilty.
Downers Grove South took control of the match when it scored twice in a 90-second span to build up a 3-0 lead. Marley Davis assisted on each goal: she sent a pass inside to Mallory Qualizza for a short conversion in the 55th minute; then she found Maya Wilson for a close-range score in the 56th minute.
Even though they were down by three goals, the Willowbrook continued to battle. They were finally rewarded for their efforts by becoming just the fourth team to score a goal against the Mustangs.
Not surprisingly, the player who finally connected for the Warriors was Tumilty, who fired in a free kick from about 20 yards in the 58th minute for her 24th goal of the season. The goal was only the seventh Downers Grove South has allowed this seaon.
For the second-straight match, Willowbrook had a different look on defense. As the result of Izzy Manning's injury early in their 1-0 win over Morton on May 20, Abbey Spada, Ali Vittorio and Layla Elgamal needed assistance along the backline. Rachael Klamecki stepped up and performed well in that role.
"We all work together as a team and in practice we're always trying our best," Spada said. "We were really excited to play this game since it was one of our last conference games. We tried to do our best, but Downers Grove South is a great team, and we knew what we were up against.
"We definitely talk a lot (on defense) and Rachael stepped up and did exactly what she needed to do. Everybody on the defense put their best effort forward to stop them. We worked really well together and had good passes and connections but on some of them we just couldn't finish. Overall we all played really well and played hard."
Despite the setback, Wilowbrook's players are proud of their many accomplishments thus far this season, including their second place conference finish, losing just three matches, putting together a seven-match winning streak and also recording five shutouts.
Now they're looking forward to a special regional matchup where they'll go up against friends from club ball to find out which group will advance to the regional finals.
"A lot of people were nervous going in since we weren't sure what to expect from teams because of COVID and where we were at since we lost a lot of seniors last year," Erin Fitzgibbon said. "But I think everyone's really proud of each other. Our team chemistry has been a lot better this year, because a lot of us play club together.
"It's amazing to see Gracie play, especially since she's going on to college and will do amazing things. I like the friendships, honestly. In the past there's been separate groups but we're all like one big group. It's really cool to just go to practice and be friends with everybody there."
Starting lineups
Downers Grove South
G - Hannah Fedinec
D - Julia Grippo
D - Riley Vondrasek
D - Grace Rappel
D - Teyani Sharkey
M - Maya Wilson
M - Gabi Galvez
M - Krystal Flores
F - Marley Davis
F - Mallory Qualizza
F - Emily Petring
Willowbrook
G - Maddie Aderholt
D - Abbey Spada
D - Ali Vittorio
D - Layla Elgamal
D - Rachael Klamecki
M - Grace Tumilty
M - Brooke Vandergrift
M - Molly Brennan
M - Mackenzie Parente
F - Erin Fitzgibbon
F - Grace Soltys
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: Marley Davis, jr., F, Downers Grove South
Scoring summary
First half
D - Petring, 38
Second half
D - Qualizza (Davis), 55
D - Wilson (Davis), 56
W - Tumilty, 58