DGS caught napping
by hustling Hinsdale Central
Solid play of Flores, Gory not enough for Mustangs in 4-1 loss
By Matt Le Cren
DOWNERS GROVE – Downers Grove South and Hinsdale Central meet regularly every year at Central’s Red Devil Cup.
Not only does it provide each program a stern test against a quality opponent, it gives their respective coaches time to catch up.
Downers South coach Jon Stapleton and Hinsdale Central boss Mike Wiggins are both Downers South grads, though they didn’t attend school together. Both have coached their respective sides to a state championship.
The Red Devil Cup has been discontinued but the rivalry goes on.
On Tuesday, Wiggins returned to coach at Mustang Stadium for the first time in 14 years. In his last appearance, the Mustangs upset the Red Devils 3-0 in a sectional final en route to winning the state title.
Things were different this time.
John-Paul Lteif scored twice, including the final goal just seconds before lightning ended the match with 15:49 remaining in the second half, and Hinsdale Central hung a rare lopsided home loss on the Mustangs, who were a step too slow defensively in falling 4-1.
“We definitely as a group did not play our best tonight,” Stapleton said. “You have to credit them as a part of as to why.
“I think they were quicker to everything in the first half for sure. They were faster to every ball like they wanted it more. Winning balls in the air, pouncing on the second ball, just putting pressure on us.
“We didn’t handle it very well in the first half. I thought we improved a little bit in the second half.”
But the improvement came too late to prevent the Red Devils from improving to 4-1-0. The visitors led 3-0 after Konstantine Kinnas scored on a penalty kick with 32:18 left in the second half.
Alex Flores scored only 33 seconds later to get the Mustangs (0-1-1) on the board, but the Red Devils allowed only two shots the rest of the way. Flores had the better of the two chances, sending a 12-yard drive over the crossbar at the 29:00 mark.
Lteif, a senior forward, didn’t have many good looks at the goal but created two of his own chances seemingly out of thin air and doubled his goal total to four.
The second goal came after teammate Gavin Schwarz headed a throw-in from Downers South into space behind the backline. Lteif alertly broke to the ball, beat a defender to it and then raced into the box and chipped it over the head of charging Downers South goalie Christopher Gory.
“I just kind of saw the ball coming over both of us,” Lteif said. “I was like, ‘I’m going to beat him to the ball.
“I was the first guy there. I ran onto it, saw the goalie come out and just put it over him.”
It wasn’t the first time Lteif got the drop on Downers South’s defense. The Red Devils already led 1-0 when Lteif stole the ball from a defender and scored on a breakaway 11 minutes before halftime.
“I just kind of saw him take a heavy touch and went full at it,” Lteif said. “He was kind of slow on the ball, and I just picked it up and went in and finished it.”
That’s the kind of mentality Lteif and the Red Devils, who have lost only to Metea Valley thus far, have regularly displayed in the early going.
“I would say one of my qualities is being aggressive off and on the ball,” Lteif said. “I kind of see the play early and go after it.”
That’s a lesson the Mustangs learned the hard way against a team that had played three more games than they had so far.
“We were a little exposed in some areas tonight that maybe we necessarily didn’t have on Saturday (in a draw with Oswego East),” Stapleton said. “They seemed a little bit more organized and polished, so maybe having those earlier games helped them.
“But you can turn it around and argue that we should be a little bit fresher. They just outplayed us tonight.”
One bright spot for the Mustangs was Gory, who along with fellow junior Kenny Rosales is a varsity rookie.
Gory made six saves, including two leaping efforts on long free kicks. He could not be faulted for the penalty kick or Lteif’s brace, and he was unlucky on Hinsdale Central’s first goal, which came with 32:15 to go in the first half.
Ian Becker launched a 50-yard free kick into the middle of the box, where Gory came out and punched the ball down like he was spiking a volleyball.
The ball went out of the box but the Red Devils held the ball in, and it skipped into the box to an unmarked Aidan White, whose first shot was knocked away by Gory.
White, however, tracked down the ball on the left side of the box and, still unguarded, beat Gory with a shot from a tough angle.
“One thing Central provides for our keepers is an opportunity to grow up in terms of (defending) set pieces, challenging balls in the air, when to come off your line,” Stapleton said. “They put him in that environment, so hopefully he will take from that and learn from it going forward.”
Gory’s goals-against-average went up, but so did his experience level.
“Today he was forced to do his job a lot more than he was on Saturday,” Stapleton said.
“It’s our second game so you hope that experience helps him going forward. He will only get better.”
Starting lineups
Hinsdale Central
GK Nathan Goliak
D Gavin Sanchez
D Maxwell Ewing
D Ethan Valeo
D Konstantine Kinnas
M Kareem Touleimat
M Nicolas Maritz
M Ryan Counts
M Ian Becker
F Aidan White
F John-Paul Lteif
Downers Grove South
GK Christopher Gory
D Michael Beube
D Alexander Wielgosz
D Steven Mucha
D Ethan Kelly
M Peter Pieropoulos
M Enrique Gonzalez
M Alexander Flores
M Jack Daly
M Blazo Jovicevic
F Kurt Bennett
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: John-Paul Lteif, sr., F, Hinsdale Central.
Scoring summary
First half
HC - Aidan White. 32:15
HC - John-Paul Lteif 11:00
Second half
HC - Konstantine Kinnas (PK) 32:18
DGS - Alex Flores 31:45
HC - Lteif (Gavin Schwarz) 15:49
by hustling Hinsdale Central
Solid play of Flores, Gory not enough for Mustangs in 4-1 loss
By Matt Le Cren
DOWNERS GROVE – Downers Grove South and Hinsdale Central meet regularly every year at Central’s Red Devil Cup.
Not only does it provide each program a stern test against a quality opponent, it gives their respective coaches time to catch up.
Downers South coach Jon Stapleton and Hinsdale Central boss Mike Wiggins are both Downers South grads, though they didn’t attend school together. Both have coached their respective sides to a state championship.
The Red Devil Cup has been discontinued but the rivalry goes on.
On Tuesday, Wiggins returned to coach at Mustang Stadium for the first time in 14 years. In his last appearance, the Mustangs upset the Red Devils 3-0 in a sectional final en route to winning the state title.
Things were different this time.
John-Paul Lteif scored twice, including the final goal just seconds before lightning ended the match with 15:49 remaining in the second half, and Hinsdale Central hung a rare lopsided home loss on the Mustangs, who were a step too slow defensively in falling 4-1.
“We definitely as a group did not play our best tonight,” Stapleton said. “You have to credit them as a part of as to why.
“I think they were quicker to everything in the first half for sure. They were faster to every ball like they wanted it more. Winning balls in the air, pouncing on the second ball, just putting pressure on us.
“We didn’t handle it very well in the first half. I thought we improved a little bit in the second half.”
But the improvement came too late to prevent the Red Devils from improving to 4-1-0. The visitors led 3-0 after Konstantine Kinnas scored on a penalty kick with 32:18 left in the second half.
Alex Flores scored only 33 seconds later to get the Mustangs (0-1-1) on the board, but the Red Devils allowed only two shots the rest of the way. Flores had the better of the two chances, sending a 12-yard drive over the crossbar at the 29:00 mark.
Lteif, a senior forward, didn’t have many good looks at the goal but created two of his own chances seemingly out of thin air and doubled his goal total to four.
The second goal came after teammate Gavin Schwarz headed a throw-in from Downers South into space behind the backline. Lteif alertly broke to the ball, beat a defender to it and then raced into the box and chipped it over the head of charging Downers South goalie Christopher Gory.
“I just kind of saw the ball coming over both of us,” Lteif said. “I was like, ‘I’m going to beat him to the ball.
“I was the first guy there. I ran onto it, saw the goalie come out and just put it over him.”
It wasn’t the first time Lteif got the drop on Downers South’s defense. The Red Devils already led 1-0 when Lteif stole the ball from a defender and scored on a breakaway 11 minutes before halftime.
“I just kind of saw him take a heavy touch and went full at it,” Lteif said. “He was kind of slow on the ball, and I just picked it up and went in and finished it.”
That’s the kind of mentality Lteif and the Red Devils, who have lost only to Metea Valley thus far, have regularly displayed in the early going.
“I would say one of my qualities is being aggressive off and on the ball,” Lteif said. “I kind of see the play early and go after it.”
That’s a lesson the Mustangs learned the hard way against a team that had played three more games than they had so far.
“We were a little exposed in some areas tonight that maybe we necessarily didn’t have on Saturday (in a draw with Oswego East),” Stapleton said. “They seemed a little bit more organized and polished, so maybe having those earlier games helped them.
“But you can turn it around and argue that we should be a little bit fresher. They just outplayed us tonight.”
One bright spot for the Mustangs was Gory, who along with fellow junior Kenny Rosales is a varsity rookie.
Gory made six saves, including two leaping efforts on long free kicks. He could not be faulted for the penalty kick or Lteif’s brace, and he was unlucky on Hinsdale Central’s first goal, which came with 32:15 to go in the first half.
Ian Becker launched a 50-yard free kick into the middle of the box, where Gory came out and punched the ball down like he was spiking a volleyball.
The ball went out of the box but the Red Devils held the ball in, and it skipped into the box to an unmarked Aidan White, whose first shot was knocked away by Gory.
White, however, tracked down the ball on the left side of the box and, still unguarded, beat Gory with a shot from a tough angle.
“One thing Central provides for our keepers is an opportunity to grow up in terms of (defending) set pieces, challenging balls in the air, when to come off your line,” Stapleton said. “They put him in that environment, so hopefully he will take from that and learn from it going forward.”
Gory’s goals-against-average went up, but so did his experience level.
“Today he was forced to do his job a lot more than he was on Saturday,” Stapleton said.
“It’s our second game so you hope that experience helps him going forward. He will only get better.”
Starting lineups
Hinsdale Central
GK Nathan Goliak
D Gavin Sanchez
D Maxwell Ewing
D Ethan Valeo
D Konstantine Kinnas
M Kareem Touleimat
M Nicolas Maritz
M Ryan Counts
M Ian Becker
F Aidan White
F John-Paul Lteif
Downers Grove South
GK Christopher Gory
D Michael Beube
D Alexander Wielgosz
D Steven Mucha
D Ethan Kelly
M Peter Pieropoulos
M Enrique Gonzalez
M Alexander Flores
M Jack Daly
M Blazo Jovicevic
F Kurt Bennett
Chicagoland Soccer MVP of the Match: John-Paul Lteif, sr., F, Hinsdale Central.
Scoring summary
First half
HC - Aidan White. 32:15
HC - John-Paul Lteif 11:00
Second half
HC - Konstantine Kinnas (PK) 32:18
DGS - Alex Flores 31:45
HC - Lteif (Gavin Schwarz) 15:49