DGN feels alright against Glenbard West
Trojans start quickly in 4-1 win, end fine season on high note
By Bob Narang
DOWNERS GROVE -- Downers Grove North senior defender Samuel Bull sensed things were different prior to the Trojans season finale against Glenbard West on Thursday.
Bull was used to the natural pre-game varsity rhythm. The four-year varsity player had experienced them since he started his career on the 2017 team with his brother Chris, then a senior goalkeeper.
There were extra emotions before the final home game of his career and the lingering oddness of a season without a state playoff.
Even the pregame was off.
“Our warmups were half the time they usually are,” Bull said. “That made me start a little slow. I didn’t feel stretched out, felt a little tensed up.”
But once the whistle sounded to start the game, all was right for Bull and his teammates. Classmate Trygve Hansen scored two goals in the second minute on Bull assists and the Trojans went out winners with a 4-1 victory over Glenbard West (6-6-0, 2-4).
Downers Grove North coach Mike Schmitt experienced a different vibe before the West Suburban Conference Silver Division match. The Trojans, who have 14 seniors on their roster, had been building toward a strong finish after bouncing back from a disappointing 7-1 defeat to Lyons on April 6. Since that loss, they posted impressive wins over Leyden and Proviso East.
“I kind of felt something good was going to happen tonight,” Schmitt said. “The last week or so the energy in the group was really good. Every training session was really lively. They were upbeat, high energy and had a lot of smiles. I had an idea we were going to do something special and fun.”
Schmitt didn’t have long to wait to see his feeling realized.
Hansen flew out of the gate at Carstens Field against the Trojans West Suburban Conference Silver Division foe. Later, the midfielder added a second half goal to finish with his second hat-trick in the last three games. He scored each goals in the 3-1 win over Leyden.
The Trojans (8-2-1, 5-1) built a 3-0 first half lead en route to the win.
Seconds after the victory, Bull started waving his teammates toward his direction. As Bull slowly started walked to the main grandstand, his teammates followed and roundly applauded the fans for showing up and supporting the team.
“This is the perfect cap-off,” Bull said. “The playoffs are amazing, but unless you’re the state champions, the season ends in a loss, so there’s heartbreak and tears. I think this kind of ending for the seniors was great. Everybody got to play. Glenbard West was a tough opponent, but we ran away with it at the end. Everybody got chances, and we ended with a win. We got to reflect a bit, too.
“It meant a lot more this time afterwards, just because most of the parents and a few friends were here. We wanted to say thank you for the whole season. It’s been the furthest thing from a normal season, but having the parents stick with us through everything was special.”
After scoring the first two goals to help the Trojans seize a 2-0 lead, Hansen said it was very uplifting to give his team an early advantage on such a big night. Hansen said it was the first time in his career that he netted two goals so early in a game.
The opening goal came off a corner kick just 67 seconds into the match. Forty seconds later, Hansen’s header from eight yards slipped inside the far post for a 2-0 lead.
“The first goal, the ball was just bouncing around, and I got my foot on it, and it went it,” Hansen said. “On the second one, Sam played a free kick near the post, and I flicked it inside the back post.
“I just wanted to keep scoring and keep the tempo high to make sure that we would have an awesome end to the season. I just wanted the win and then to get a hat-trick.”
With 28 minutes until halfime, Bull added to his impressive day with a header to pad the lead to 3-0.
Bull, an award-winning high school journalist, said the fast start caught him by surprise.
“We started flying around,” he said. “I think everybody started thinking about playing for the seniors, and that it was our last time. It just seemed that motivation was internal.”
Schmitt said the team starting playing with more conviction following the six-goal loss to the Lions. He said the defeat was a valuable learning lesson for the seniors.
“I would like to say it’s a one-off scenario where we kind of had one of those off days and nothing went right for us against Lyons,” Schmidt said. “I knew we were a better team than we showed that night.
“The resolve and heart and determination to bounce back after that loss was evident in this group. I don’t think in previous years we could do that. This group of seniors had it in them, and they really pushed the program forward this year.”
Down 3-0, Glenbard West fought back behind an aggressive attack. The Hilltoppers’ speed was evident on several long runs, with Danny Mejia ending the scoreless drought with a goal with 25:26 left in the opening half. Mejia, a senior midfielder, made a nifty move to find an opening in the box, dribbled left to right, stopped for a brief second, then drilled a shot into the back of the net to cut the deficit to 3-1.
In the second half, Hansen notched his third goal of the game and 13th of the season by sailing a shot inside the far-left post with 15:42 left in regulation.
“That last one was my favorite, because it helped close it out, plus it was fun celebrating with the team,” Hansen said. “The ball was scrambling up there, and I was able to get a touch away from the defender and saw the goalie coming in and guarding the near post, so I knew to slot it into the back post.”
The three-goal lead allowed Schmitt to play his entire team, and several other seniors nearly scored late in the match.
“We were able to get 11 seniors on the field tonight,” Schmitt said. “It was really a good feeling. They looked really good. It was good to have them run around together and get a win in their last game.
“I’m really pleased with how this season went. This is a really special group of seniors. It’s really unfortunate we didn’t get a postseason with them. They didn’t get a true season. With the way we were playing, we could’ve done something special in the playoffs.
“They are such a tight-knit group with a lot of chemistry, and it really showed on the field this year. That group really pushed us forward. We had a great start and a great finish to the season.”
Downers Grove North senior defender Brian Benton said the Trojans made the best out of the shortened season.
“This is not the season we imagined, because we were hoping for a postseason,” Benton said. “When it came down to the time, I was just happy to play. We gave it our all every game, because we knew it was a short season. We worked really well as a unit.”
Glenbard West coach Maciej Kusmierz expressed frustration over the conference loss, electing to keep his post-game talk with his players very brief.
“We’ve been in similar situations during the season, but we were able to get ourselves together and come back and get ourselves on the winning side,” he said. “Today, when you play against a good competition and find yourself down so much early, it’s hard to come back.
“Downers Grove North turned out to be the better team today.”
Starting lineups
Glenbard West
GK Olivier Holowinski
D Lukas Breunig
D Tyler Faris
D Trevor DuVair
D John Hughes
MF Jason Quinteros
MF Ishan Malhan
MF Danny Mejia
MF Johan Vargas
MF Alex Wozniak
F Dominic Renzulli
Downers Grove North
GK Gavin Crowson
D Sam Bull
D Brian Benton
D Bradley Szydlowski
D Owen Lesley
M Jesus Alejandro Jimenez
M Lucas Turk
M Ryan Wilson
M Franklin Griffin
F Andrew Janowiak
F Trygve Hansen
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Trygve Hansen, sr. M, Downers Grove North
Scoring summary
First half
Downers Grove North — Trygve Hansen (Samuel Bull) 2’
Downers Grove North — Trygve Hansen (Samuel Bull) 2’
Downers Grove North — Samuel Bull (Andrew Janowaik) 12’
Glenbard West — Danny Mejia (unassisted) 15’
Second half
Downers Grove North — Trygve Hansen (unassisted), 65’
Trojans start quickly in 4-1 win, end fine season on high note
By Bob Narang
DOWNERS GROVE -- Downers Grove North senior defender Samuel Bull sensed things were different prior to the Trojans season finale against Glenbard West on Thursday.
Bull was used to the natural pre-game varsity rhythm. The four-year varsity player had experienced them since he started his career on the 2017 team with his brother Chris, then a senior goalkeeper.
There were extra emotions before the final home game of his career and the lingering oddness of a season without a state playoff.
Even the pregame was off.
“Our warmups were half the time they usually are,” Bull said. “That made me start a little slow. I didn’t feel stretched out, felt a little tensed up.”
But once the whistle sounded to start the game, all was right for Bull and his teammates. Classmate Trygve Hansen scored two goals in the second minute on Bull assists and the Trojans went out winners with a 4-1 victory over Glenbard West (6-6-0, 2-4).
Downers Grove North coach Mike Schmitt experienced a different vibe before the West Suburban Conference Silver Division match. The Trojans, who have 14 seniors on their roster, had been building toward a strong finish after bouncing back from a disappointing 7-1 defeat to Lyons on April 6. Since that loss, they posted impressive wins over Leyden and Proviso East.
“I kind of felt something good was going to happen tonight,” Schmitt said. “The last week or so the energy in the group was really good. Every training session was really lively. They were upbeat, high energy and had a lot of smiles. I had an idea we were going to do something special and fun.”
Schmitt didn’t have long to wait to see his feeling realized.
Hansen flew out of the gate at Carstens Field against the Trojans West Suburban Conference Silver Division foe. Later, the midfielder added a second half goal to finish with his second hat-trick in the last three games. He scored each goals in the 3-1 win over Leyden.
The Trojans (8-2-1, 5-1) built a 3-0 first half lead en route to the win.
Seconds after the victory, Bull started waving his teammates toward his direction. As Bull slowly started walked to the main grandstand, his teammates followed and roundly applauded the fans for showing up and supporting the team.
“This is the perfect cap-off,” Bull said. “The playoffs are amazing, but unless you’re the state champions, the season ends in a loss, so there’s heartbreak and tears. I think this kind of ending for the seniors was great. Everybody got to play. Glenbard West was a tough opponent, but we ran away with it at the end. Everybody got chances, and we ended with a win. We got to reflect a bit, too.
“It meant a lot more this time afterwards, just because most of the parents and a few friends were here. We wanted to say thank you for the whole season. It’s been the furthest thing from a normal season, but having the parents stick with us through everything was special.”
After scoring the first two goals to help the Trojans seize a 2-0 lead, Hansen said it was very uplifting to give his team an early advantage on such a big night. Hansen said it was the first time in his career that he netted two goals so early in a game.
The opening goal came off a corner kick just 67 seconds into the match. Forty seconds later, Hansen’s header from eight yards slipped inside the far post for a 2-0 lead.
“The first goal, the ball was just bouncing around, and I got my foot on it, and it went it,” Hansen said. “On the second one, Sam played a free kick near the post, and I flicked it inside the back post.
“I just wanted to keep scoring and keep the tempo high to make sure that we would have an awesome end to the season. I just wanted the win and then to get a hat-trick.”
With 28 minutes until halfime, Bull added to his impressive day with a header to pad the lead to 3-0.
Bull, an award-winning high school journalist, said the fast start caught him by surprise.
“We started flying around,” he said. “I think everybody started thinking about playing for the seniors, and that it was our last time. It just seemed that motivation was internal.”
Schmitt said the team starting playing with more conviction following the six-goal loss to the Lions. He said the defeat was a valuable learning lesson for the seniors.
“I would like to say it’s a one-off scenario where we kind of had one of those off days and nothing went right for us against Lyons,” Schmidt said. “I knew we were a better team than we showed that night.
“The resolve and heart and determination to bounce back after that loss was evident in this group. I don’t think in previous years we could do that. This group of seniors had it in them, and they really pushed the program forward this year.”
Down 3-0, Glenbard West fought back behind an aggressive attack. The Hilltoppers’ speed was evident on several long runs, with Danny Mejia ending the scoreless drought with a goal with 25:26 left in the opening half. Mejia, a senior midfielder, made a nifty move to find an opening in the box, dribbled left to right, stopped for a brief second, then drilled a shot into the back of the net to cut the deficit to 3-1.
In the second half, Hansen notched his third goal of the game and 13th of the season by sailing a shot inside the far-left post with 15:42 left in regulation.
“That last one was my favorite, because it helped close it out, plus it was fun celebrating with the team,” Hansen said. “The ball was scrambling up there, and I was able to get a touch away from the defender and saw the goalie coming in and guarding the near post, so I knew to slot it into the back post.”
The three-goal lead allowed Schmitt to play his entire team, and several other seniors nearly scored late in the match.
“We were able to get 11 seniors on the field tonight,” Schmitt said. “It was really a good feeling. They looked really good. It was good to have them run around together and get a win in their last game.
“I’m really pleased with how this season went. This is a really special group of seniors. It’s really unfortunate we didn’t get a postseason with them. They didn’t get a true season. With the way we were playing, we could’ve done something special in the playoffs.
“They are such a tight-knit group with a lot of chemistry, and it really showed on the field this year. That group really pushed us forward. We had a great start and a great finish to the season.”
Downers Grove North senior defender Brian Benton said the Trojans made the best out of the shortened season.
“This is not the season we imagined, because we were hoping for a postseason,” Benton said. “When it came down to the time, I was just happy to play. We gave it our all every game, because we knew it was a short season. We worked really well as a unit.”
Glenbard West coach Maciej Kusmierz expressed frustration over the conference loss, electing to keep his post-game talk with his players very brief.
“We’ve been in similar situations during the season, but we were able to get ourselves together and come back and get ourselves on the winning side,” he said. “Today, when you play against a good competition and find yourself down so much early, it’s hard to come back.
“Downers Grove North turned out to be the better team today.”
Starting lineups
Glenbard West
GK Olivier Holowinski
D Lukas Breunig
D Tyler Faris
D Trevor DuVair
D John Hughes
MF Jason Quinteros
MF Ishan Malhan
MF Danny Mejia
MF Johan Vargas
MF Alex Wozniak
F Dominic Renzulli
Downers Grove North
GK Gavin Crowson
D Sam Bull
D Brian Benton
D Bradley Szydlowski
D Owen Lesley
M Jesus Alejandro Jimenez
M Lucas Turk
M Ryan Wilson
M Franklin Griffin
F Andrew Janowiak
F Trygve Hansen
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Trygve Hansen, sr. M, Downers Grove North
Scoring summary
First half
Downers Grove North — Trygve Hansen (Samuel Bull) 2’
Downers Grove North — Trygve Hansen (Samuel Bull) 2’
Downers Grove North — Samuel Bull (Andrew Janowaik) 12’
Glenbard West — Danny Mejia (unassisted) 15’
Second half
Downers Grove North — Trygve Hansen (unassisted), 65’