Downers Grove South upset bid falls short
Mustangs 1-0 lead falls to Morton freshman phenom's brace
By Matt Le Cren
SUMMIT -- No one gave Downers Grove South much of a chance at upsetting top-seeded Morton on Saturday.
That was understandable considering the Mustangs had lost to Morton 6-3 during the regular season and hadn’t won two games in a row all season.
Then sophomore Enrique Gonzalez gave his team hope when he scored with 32:42 left in regulation to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead in the Class 3A Argo Regional championship game.
“It felt good,” Gonzalez said.
Alas, the feeling, and the lead, didn’t last.
Freshman sensation Jesus Perez tied the game for Morton (20-1-2) just three minutes later, the first of two goals in a three-minute span for the rookie, and the favorites held on for a 2-1 victory.
Morton, ranked sixth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, has eliminated Downers Grove South from the playoffs in each of the past three seasons.
“You take that five minutes out of the game, and it’s a different result,” Mustangs' coach Jon Stapleton said. “But that’s also Morton.
“They will get their couple chances, and they are pretty good at putting them away. So you have to be pretty close to perfect a lot of times.”
Downers Grove South (7-11-3) edged Argo 3-1 on penalty kicks in the semifinals Tuesday as goalkeeper Parker Smith stopped two shots in the shootout.
Smith, a junior, was at his best again in the first half against Morton, making four quality saves, including two stops of Perez on breakaways as the Mustangs kept the game scoreless despite playing against a strong wind.
Downers South nearly took the lead twice in the final minute before intermission when it mustered its only shots of the opening period. Morton goalkeeper Andrew Martinez made a leaping effort to tip James David’s 31-yard free kick over the crossbar with 40 seconds left, giving the Mustangs the first of two corner kicks.
Gonzalez’s second serve found the head of Mauricio Becerra on the back post, but the nod went wide left as time expired.
Even so, the Mustangs were encouraged by their first half showing.
“I think the team just took a little bit of time to jell together really well (this season) and really find that fighting spirit to play against teams that maybe outmatched us talent-wise,” Smith said. "I think the really big thing is we came out strong in the first half.
“First half last game (against Morton) we were down a couple goals and feeling out of it already, but this game we were fighting until the end.
“We got to the first half 0-0 and we just wanted to come out and win the second half. We scored early on, but it just wasn’t quite enough to hold them off.”
The Mustangs broke through on a nice build-up that began when Jack Daly dribbled into the right side of the Morton penalty area and crossed in front to Alex Flores, whose header landed in no-man’s land between a defender and Martinez.
Gonzalez punched it out of the scrum and inside the left post.
Ironically, the goal seemed to wake up Morton, which immediately responded by raising its intensity level, winning balls in the midfield and initiating quick attacks.
Morton looked for -- and found -- the dangerous Perez for both goals. The first came at the 29:44 mark when Yobany Esparza took the ball to the left endline and sent the ball on the ground into space in front. Smith came out but Perez beat him to it and finished inside the left post.
Perez then put Morton ahead with 27:03 to go when he got behind the defense just as Adrian Barrera served a ball through the defense. Another quick finish by Perez had Morton fans on their feet.
“That typically happens with us,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said. “When they get scored on, they take it personally so all of a sudden you see another notch up on the speed of the game. I’m glad it woke us up because we were playing a little too flat there.
“We had a few chances but we were just going through the motions. It wasn’t the exciting style that we’re trying to play.”
Ironically, Bageanis thought his team played better against the wind than with it.
“It helped us going against the wind because we kept the ball on the ground and then we play better to our strengths,” Bageanis said. “We play better with our feet than in the air.”
Bageanis termed Downers Grove South “a much improved team,” one which caught Morton by surprise at first.
“I guess (the Gonzalez) goal did wake us up,” Perez said. “I think we realized that this was the most important game. I just had to go in hard so I guess (his first goal) was hustle.”
But unlike some prior games, the Mustangs didn’t collapse after Morton took the lead. Morton had only one more shot, though it did control much of the action.
“They just possessed the ball,” Gonzalez said. “We had to do a lot of defending.”
That wears a team down and eventually the cream rises to the top.
“They are just very individually talented,” Smith said. “As a unit they work pretty well but what makes them such a dangerous team is that they can individually beat players 1-on-1.
“We had our work cut out for us when they really started pushing it.”
Even so, the Mustangs fought to the end and had a great chance to tie it with 3:00 left when Adam Chaplin got free inside the top of the box. Chaplin fired but his shot was stopped by the charging Martinez.
Downers Grove South almost produced another thrilling late finish like Chaplin's goal at 99:59 on Tuesday that led to the Mustangs' eventual PK win over Argo. But a goal with 20 seconds left in regulation was disallowed on an offsides call.
“I thought our kids played tremendously hard,” Stapleton said. “We had one in on the keeper and he made a nice save (on Chaplin) or we might have won.
“But we wouldn’t be here without Adam and the one he finished on Tuesday night.”
Stapleton likes to tell his players that the purpose of the regular season is to prepare for the playoffs, which require a different level of focus and intensity. The Mustangs brought their best effort in their last game, which is something Smith, one of 15 juniors on the roster, thinks bodes well for the future.
“I think the way this program is and the way the lower levels are run we’re always going to be looking up for something,” Smith said. “We’re just going to come out next year and be better.”
Starting lineups
Downers South
GK Parker Smith
D Max Schmidt-Bailey
D Michael Beube
D Adam Chaplin
D Peter Pierropoulos
M Kurt Bennett
M Jack Daly
M Alex Flores
M James David
F Hristijan Veceski
F Enrique Gonzalez
Morton
GK Andrew Martinez
D Israel Carranza
D Jose Arrellano
D Jonathon Perez
M Andre Olvera
M Jaime Gaytan
M Droyvin Lara
M Alex Sery
F Adrian Barrera
F Jesus Perez
F German Tinoco
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Jesus Perez, fr., F, Morton
Scoring summary
2nd Half
Downers South – Enrique Gonzalez (Alex Flores, Jack Daly) 32:42
Morton – Jesus Perez (Yobany Esparza) 29:44
Morton – Perez (Adrian Barrera) 27:03
Mustangs 1-0 lead falls to Morton freshman phenom's brace
By Matt Le Cren
SUMMIT -- No one gave Downers Grove South much of a chance at upsetting top-seeded Morton on Saturday.
That was understandable considering the Mustangs had lost to Morton 6-3 during the regular season and hadn’t won two games in a row all season.
Then sophomore Enrique Gonzalez gave his team hope when he scored with 32:42 left in regulation to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead in the Class 3A Argo Regional championship game.
“It felt good,” Gonzalez said.
Alas, the feeling, and the lead, didn’t last.
Freshman sensation Jesus Perez tied the game for Morton (20-1-2) just three minutes later, the first of two goals in a three-minute span for the rookie, and the favorites held on for a 2-1 victory.
Morton, ranked sixth in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, has eliminated Downers Grove South from the playoffs in each of the past three seasons.
“You take that five minutes out of the game, and it’s a different result,” Mustangs' coach Jon Stapleton said. “But that’s also Morton.
“They will get their couple chances, and they are pretty good at putting them away. So you have to be pretty close to perfect a lot of times.”
Downers Grove South (7-11-3) edged Argo 3-1 on penalty kicks in the semifinals Tuesday as goalkeeper Parker Smith stopped two shots in the shootout.
Smith, a junior, was at his best again in the first half against Morton, making four quality saves, including two stops of Perez on breakaways as the Mustangs kept the game scoreless despite playing against a strong wind.
Downers South nearly took the lead twice in the final minute before intermission when it mustered its only shots of the opening period. Morton goalkeeper Andrew Martinez made a leaping effort to tip James David’s 31-yard free kick over the crossbar with 40 seconds left, giving the Mustangs the first of two corner kicks.
Gonzalez’s second serve found the head of Mauricio Becerra on the back post, but the nod went wide left as time expired.
Even so, the Mustangs were encouraged by their first half showing.
“I think the team just took a little bit of time to jell together really well (this season) and really find that fighting spirit to play against teams that maybe outmatched us talent-wise,” Smith said. "I think the really big thing is we came out strong in the first half.
“First half last game (against Morton) we were down a couple goals and feeling out of it already, but this game we were fighting until the end.
“We got to the first half 0-0 and we just wanted to come out and win the second half. We scored early on, but it just wasn’t quite enough to hold them off.”
The Mustangs broke through on a nice build-up that began when Jack Daly dribbled into the right side of the Morton penalty area and crossed in front to Alex Flores, whose header landed in no-man’s land between a defender and Martinez.
Gonzalez punched it out of the scrum and inside the left post.
Ironically, the goal seemed to wake up Morton, which immediately responded by raising its intensity level, winning balls in the midfield and initiating quick attacks.
Morton looked for -- and found -- the dangerous Perez for both goals. The first came at the 29:44 mark when Yobany Esparza took the ball to the left endline and sent the ball on the ground into space in front. Smith came out but Perez beat him to it and finished inside the left post.
Perez then put Morton ahead with 27:03 to go when he got behind the defense just as Adrian Barrera served a ball through the defense. Another quick finish by Perez had Morton fans on their feet.
“That typically happens with us,” Morton coach Jim Bageanis said. “When they get scored on, they take it personally so all of a sudden you see another notch up on the speed of the game. I’m glad it woke us up because we were playing a little too flat there.
“We had a few chances but we were just going through the motions. It wasn’t the exciting style that we’re trying to play.”
Ironically, Bageanis thought his team played better against the wind than with it.
“It helped us going against the wind because we kept the ball on the ground and then we play better to our strengths,” Bageanis said. “We play better with our feet than in the air.”
Bageanis termed Downers Grove South “a much improved team,” one which caught Morton by surprise at first.
“I guess (the Gonzalez) goal did wake us up,” Perez said. “I think we realized that this was the most important game. I just had to go in hard so I guess (his first goal) was hustle.”
But unlike some prior games, the Mustangs didn’t collapse after Morton took the lead. Morton had only one more shot, though it did control much of the action.
“They just possessed the ball,” Gonzalez said. “We had to do a lot of defending.”
That wears a team down and eventually the cream rises to the top.
“They are just very individually talented,” Smith said. “As a unit they work pretty well but what makes them such a dangerous team is that they can individually beat players 1-on-1.
“We had our work cut out for us when they really started pushing it.”
Even so, the Mustangs fought to the end and had a great chance to tie it with 3:00 left when Adam Chaplin got free inside the top of the box. Chaplin fired but his shot was stopped by the charging Martinez.
Downers Grove South almost produced another thrilling late finish like Chaplin's goal at 99:59 on Tuesday that led to the Mustangs' eventual PK win over Argo. But a goal with 20 seconds left in regulation was disallowed on an offsides call.
“I thought our kids played tremendously hard,” Stapleton said. “We had one in on the keeper and he made a nice save (on Chaplin) or we might have won.
“But we wouldn’t be here without Adam and the one he finished on Tuesday night.”
Stapleton likes to tell his players that the purpose of the regular season is to prepare for the playoffs, which require a different level of focus and intensity. The Mustangs brought their best effort in their last game, which is something Smith, one of 15 juniors on the roster, thinks bodes well for the future.
“I think the way this program is and the way the lower levels are run we’re always going to be looking up for something,” Smith said. “We’re just going to come out next year and be better.”
Starting lineups
Downers South
GK Parker Smith
D Max Schmidt-Bailey
D Michael Beube
D Adam Chaplin
D Peter Pierropoulos
M Kurt Bennett
M Jack Daly
M Alex Flores
M James David
F Hristijan Veceski
F Enrique Gonzalez
Morton
GK Andrew Martinez
D Israel Carranza
D Jose Arrellano
D Jonathon Perez
M Andre Olvera
M Jaime Gaytan
M Droyvin Lara
M Alex Sery
F Adrian Barrera
F Jesus Perez
F German Tinoco
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – Jesus Perez, fr., F, Morton
Scoring summary
2nd Half
Downers South – Enrique Gonzalez (Alex Flores, Jack Daly) 32:42
Morton – Jesus Perez (Yobany Esparza) 29:44
Morton – Perez (Adrian Barrera) 27:03