Hinsdale Central tops
Downers Grove South on history-filled night
Legendary DGS coach Novotny returns to see former player Wlggins lead Hinsdale Central to 3-0 win
By Dave Owen
DOWNERS GROVE -- A night to celebrate a great moment in Downers Grove South’s rich soccer history was a trip down memory lane on both benches.
Orginal Mustangs coach Chuck Novotny, ex-assistant coach/head basketball coach Dick Flaiz and about 15 former players were at Tuesday’s nonconference match vs. Hinsdale Central to commemorate the 40th-anniversary season of the Mustangs’ 1982 state quarterfinal trip.
Current Downers Grove South coach Jon Stapleton was a bit too young to have played for Novotny when he coached the varsity from 1976 to 1985. During his run, Novotny posted a 118-46-20 mark for the newly formed squad.
But Red Devils mentor Mike Wiggins was a member of Novotny’s final state quarterfinal team (1985) and later coached the Mustangs to a 97-67-27 record and two state trips of his own before moving to Hinsdale Central (where he steered the Red Devils to the 2014 Class 3A title).
“Mike said to me ‘You're the reason I'm where I'm at (teaching and coaching soccer),’ Novotny said. “He said I wrote him a letter in eighth grade, when he didn't know whether to go out for football or soccer.”
Said Wiggins: “He got me to play soccer. I was going to play football (at Downers Grove South). He's a classic example of how teachers have an opportunity to make an impact on their students, and he certainly was great for me.
“And playing for a great run through high school and going on to play in college (at Illinois State) and beyond, it was nice. It's great to see him and his family, and certainly nice too to see a lot of old teammates here I grew up playing with.”
Novotny was quick to note that the benefits of Wiggins choosing soccer were mutual.
“I think he was a junior, and we were playing I think Naperville North in the state tournament,” Novotny said. “The first half we were down 1-0, and I had a boy who transferred from Italy who was 6-foot-5. Mike Wiggins was our throw-in man. I had him practice with a medicine ball. (Because of that) he could throw the (soccer) ball from the sideline to the far post.
“We got two goals on headers off throw-ins and won 2-1. So I told Mike ‘I owe you a lot too, because you got us to the state tournament (quarterfinals) the last year I coached.’”
Stapleton has his own fond youthful memories of the first glory days of Downers Grove South soccer, which he took to new levels by guiding the Mustangs to the 2004 Class 3A state title.
“Mike played for him, and I was a ball boy for the games,” Stapleton said. “My dad worked here and knew coach Novotny. It was a neat time.”
Fast forwarding a number of decades, both teams entered play Tuesday in the midst of more good times: the Mustangs had defeated North Central (Ind.) 2-0 on Saturday en route to a 2-1 record at the Great Midwest Classic in Indianapolis, while the Red Devils beat Wisconsin power Marquette 2-0 at their Red & White Classic the same day.
With equal parts momentum and nostalgia at center stage Tuesday, the Red Devils (3-0-1) scored just over 12 minutes in and added two late goals to earn a 3-0 win over the Mustangs (2-3-0).
“Coming off of a win over a nationally ranked team (Marquette) obviously gives you a lot of confidence,” Wiggins said. “And we've got some high-energy players who are not only very good at getting into the attack, but we feel good about the way our guys defend as a team.”
The Red Devils’ 9-0 scoring advantage over its last three foes reinforces those facts. Although Downers Grove South provided a big early test.
The Mustangs’ Karol Niziolek’s long send up the left sideline sprung Paul Kruszewski (team-high three goals this season) in on the wing. His shot deflected to the box, where Jorge Alcantara rocketed a 15-yarder just wide of the left post.
Dodging that threat, the Red Devils were soon on a relentless attack themselves.
A trio of quality chances in the next seven minutes were denied on saves by Mustangs goalkeeper Zach Johnson on a Martin Montoya header (off Kevin Gottschalk’s strong 50-yard free kick send), a Cody Jurgenson right-side shot and a Dayton DiTomasso header to the left post (off another long Gottschalk free kick).
With 27:58 left in the first half, the increasingly swarming Red Devils made good on their threats.
Off Austen Szurgot’s corner kick from the right side, Johnson made the initial save on Luca Davies’ header. But Dayton DiTomasso was at the doorstep for the rebound put away and a 1-0 Red Devils lead.
“We try to get it on the flanks and serve balls in,” DiTomasso said. “I was there to tap it in for a nice goal.
“The offense has been very effective: our chemistry is very good. We move the ball very well and find a lot of penetrating passes. That’s really key to breaking the lines and playing off of people.
“Our wingers have been doing a great job of getting down the line, and our set pieces have been fantastic. We have a couple of plays that we run. All around the team has been fantastic.”
After Davies scored in the Red Devils’ first three games of 2022, DiTomasso picked up the scoring load Tuesday to match his teammate’s four-goal total this fall.
“Dayton brings another gear,” Wiggins said. “He goes box to box and covers a lot of ground and is positive with his teammates. He keeps everybody connected.
“We talk about what it means to compete, and meeting and exceeding the level of intensity a game brings. He certainly does that every time he takes the field and in a very controlled manner. He's been doing really well.”
DiTomasso and his teammates wanted to do something else well Tuesday: keep from letting the win over Marquette deter their focus.
“We tried to make sure and keep it at a normal level, because we all got pretty excited after that big win,” he said. “We had to come out and assert ourselves tonight at that normal level. I was really pleased with the team and how they handled that.”
DiTomasso and Davies each scored goals versus Marquette.
“Marquette gave us good competition,” DiTomasso said, “but we went up 2-0 early then had to hold it down at the end there. It was a huge win. They're the third-ranked team in the country in preseason rankings.”
Added Gottschalk: “They're a very solid team, and they gave us a run for our money. They (Marquette) were really tough.”
Downers Grove South’s 2-0 win over North Central featured goals by Kruszewski and Alcantara. A 6-0 victory a day earlier over Shortridge (Ind.) came on two Kruszewski goals and one each by Jaden Palmer, Redion Neritani, Danny Smazil and Nate Gulden.
“We were 2-1 (record) down in Indianapolis and played really well,” Stapleton said, “with a big win over North Central.
“(Saturday) we had a 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. game, and it was the other team’s only game of the day (at 2 p.m.). So, we didn't have much left in the tank. But it was 0-0 at the half, and I was really pleased with the effort and how we competed. We just didn't have enough at the end of the day and lost 2-0.
“It's been two years since we were down there (at Indy) so it was good to be back,” Stapleton added. “As far as tonight, I thought we played well at moments.”
Trailing 1-0 early Tuesday, the Mustangs stood tall for the next 54 minutes to keep that narrow difference.
Andrew Cimbalista’s header block away from trouble of a Szurgot 38-yard free kick in the 16th minute repelled one threat against Downers Grove South. Hinsdale Central came back with another powerful Gottschalk 55-yard free kick cannonball 20 minutes in that was headed just wide of the left post by Owen Peterson.
“We know Central is going to be very dangerous on free kicks,” Stapleton said. “We gave up one (goal) in the first half, then in the second I thought we possessed the ball better and had some chances.”
Late in the first half, the Mustangs’ Palmer had his cross to the front cleared nicely by Nolan Spence.
Downers Grove South then came inches from an equalizer with 33:20 left in the second half when Kaczmarek had his 12-yard shot denied on a great save by Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Martin Contreras. The subsequent rebound try went wide.
The Red Devils answered that scare six minutes later and forced Johnson to make a left-post catch of a DiTomasso shot.
“The way i saw it, it was a game of ping pong,” Niziolek said. “There were very good on long balls, but it was a lot of back and forth and whose legs could hold up the longest.”
A wave of illnesses on the Mustangs that included captain Julian Lopez, who was out all weekend and limited to 20 minutes on Tuesday, added to their challenge.
“This last weekend, sickness caught a bunch of guys and put out a lot of the team yesterday (from practice),” Niziolek said. “So, it's definitely been an on the fly sort of thing to get everyone together and on the same page.
“Not having many players on the bench was sort of an issue, but we worked through it. It was 1-0 most of the night.”
The two sides traded quality chances later in the half: Hinsdale Central’s Contreras making a catch in traffic of Niziolek’s corner kick with 19:50 to go, followed by a Red Devils corner kick that resulted in a Braden Henry header that goalkeeper Johnson deflected wide left.
But the play had a major downside for Downers Grove South --- Johnson exited the game with a shoulder injury.
Andrik Vidaurri entered and had no time to get comfortable. On the ensuing corner kick, DiTomasso drew a foul from behind in the box. DiTomasso deposited the ensuing corner kick lower left and the Red Devils lead was 2-0.
“I had missed my last PK,” DiTomasso said, “so it was really nice to bury that one.”
Said Stapleton: “That PK, I thought he (DiTomasso) did a good job selling that. He's a very good player, and credit to him for drawing the call. He's a handful. He's tough. But that kind of took the wind out of our sails.”
More air came out with 9:46 left when a yellow card on a foul was the Mustangs player’s second of the night, meaning a soft red card and playing a man down the rest of the way.
Hinsdale Central cashed in with 6:34 to go as senior Dray Glashin fielded a deflection to the front of the box and sent a 20-yard shot just inside the lower left post.
Glashin had also provided a first half boost off the bench with a nice run and shot denied on a diving Johnson save in the 37th minute.
“Every game that Drey plays he builds his confidence,” Wiggins said, “and he was super excited to get his goal.
“Luca obviously is quickly establishing himself as someone who's dangerous up in the attack, and Martin Montoya gives us a great player who works really well with him.
“I could go on and on. I’m really pleased with everyone. Tonight we played our sophomore goalkeeper (Contreras), Austen (Szurgot) is a sophomore in the midfield, as is Enzo (Cinque) at an outside back. We have younger guys and older guys alike who are coming together really well.”
Hinsdale Central is in its own year-long celebration of the 50th season of the school’s soccer program. So far, it looks like the anniversary could be very special.
“Our confidence is through the roof right now,” Gottschalk said. “We're doing really good. We have good communication and good chemistry between us. Everything is just clicking right now.”
For Downers Grove South, August has been a yo-yo month. Two impressive wins, sandwiched among a trio of shutout losses.
“Unfortunately, we didn't really test their keeper too often (Tuesday),” Stapleton said. “We had opportunities to get there and didn't quite do it. That’s a credit to them defensively, but I don't think the (3-0) score was an indicator of the game.”
Niziolek sees one area of focus going forward.
“Just making sure we're more confident possessing the ball,” he said. “There were moments in this game we possessed and were able to break them down. I think focusing on getting more confident doing that will be key to our success this season.”
Next up for Downers Grove South is another special day on Saturday, when Oswego East coach Steve Szymanski (Stapleton’s assistant on the 2004 state title team) brings his squad to town.
On Tuesday, the presence of two ex-coaching pillars of the school certainly made for a special atmosphere.
“What coach Stapleton did tonight is what builds programs,” Wiggins said. “To have all those guys I played with here tonight, and to see coach Flaiz and recognize coach Novotny like this.
"When you have that kind of connection within a program ... it was an honor to be included, because Flaiz and Novotny had an impact on us when we were younger. It was nice to see them recognized for what they did.”
Starting lineups
Hinsdale Central
GK: Martin Contreras
D: Kevin Gottschalk
D: Cody Jurgenson
D: Oliver Pohlenz
D: Greg Theotikos
M: Martin Montoya
M: Austen Szurgot
M: Dayton DeTomasso
M: Braden Henry
F: Owen Peterson
F: Luca Davies
Downers Grove South
GK: Zach Johnson
D: Kevin Davy
D: Michael Mendoza
D: Victor Carrasco
D: Andrew Cimbalista
M: Jonathan Venouziou
M: Karol Niziolek
M: Aleck Galvez
M: Jorge Alcantara
F: Paul Kruszewski
F: Alex Benkart
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Dayton DiTomasso, sr. M, Hinsdale Central
Scoring summary
First half
HC- Dayton DiTomasso (rebound), 13’
Second half
HC- DiTomasso (PK), 66’
HC- Dray Glashin (unassisted), 74’
Downers Grove South on history-filled night
Legendary DGS coach Novotny returns to see former player Wlggins lead Hinsdale Central to 3-0 win
By Dave Owen
DOWNERS GROVE -- A night to celebrate a great moment in Downers Grove South’s rich soccer history was a trip down memory lane on both benches.
Orginal Mustangs coach Chuck Novotny, ex-assistant coach/head basketball coach Dick Flaiz and about 15 former players were at Tuesday’s nonconference match vs. Hinsdale Central to commemorate the 40th-anniversary season of the Mustangs’ 1982 state quarterfinal trip.
Current Downers Grove South coach Jon Stapleton was a bit too young to have played for Novotny when he coached the varsity from 1976 to 1985. During his run, Novotny posted a 118-46-20 mark for the newly formed squad.
But Red Devils mentor Mike Wiggins was a member of Novotny’s final state quarterfinal team (1985) and later coached the Mustangs to a 97-67-27 record and two state trips of his own before moving to Hinsdale Central (where he steered the Red Devils to the 2014 Class 3A title).
“Mike said to me ‘You're the reason I'm where I'm at (teaching and coaching soccer),’ Novotny said. “He said I wrote him a letter in eighth grade, when he didn't know whether to go out for football or soccer.”
Said Wiggins: “He got me to play soccer. I was going to play football (at Downers Grove South). He's a classic example of how teachers have an opportunity to make an impact on their students, and he certainly was great for me.
“And playing for a great run through high school and going on to play in college (at Illinois State) and beyond, it was nice. It's great to see him and his family, and certainly nice too to see a lot of old teammates here I grew up playing with.”
Novotny was quick to note that the benefits of Wiggins choosing soccer were mutual.
“I think he was a junior, and we were playing I think Naperville North in the state tournament,” Novotny said. “The first half we were down 1-0, and I had a boy who transferred from Italy who was 6-foot-5. Mike Wiggins was our throw-in man. I had him practice with a medicine ball. (Because of that) he could throw the (soccer) ball from the sideline to the far post.
“We got two goals on headers off throw-ins and won 2-1. So I told Mike ‘I owe you a lot too, because you got us to the state tournament (quarterfinals) the last year I coached.’”
Stapleton has his own fond youthful memories of the first glory days of Downers Grove South soccer, which he took to new levels by guiding the Mustangs to the 2004 Class 3A state title.
“Mike played for him, and I was a ball boy for the games,” Stapleton said. “My dad worked here and knew coach Novotny. It was a neat time.”
Fast forwarding a number of decades, both teams entered play Tuesday in the midst of more good times: the Mustangs had defeated North Central (Ind.) 2-0 on Saturday en route to a 2-1 record at the Great Midwest Classic in Indianapolis, while the Red Devils beat Wisconsin power Marquette 2-0 at their Red & White Classic the same day.
With equal parts momentum and nostalgia at center stage Tuesday, the Red Devils (3-0-1) scored just over 12 minutes in and added two late goals to earn a 3-0 win over the Mustangs (2-3-0).
“Coming off of a win over a nationally ranked team (Marquette) obviously gives you a lot of confidence,” Wiggins said. “And we've got some high-energy players who are not only very good at getting into the attack, but we feel good about the way our guys defend as a team.”
The Red Devils’ 9-0 scoring advantage over its last three foes reinforces those facts. Although Downers Grove South provided a big early test.
The Mustangs’ Karol Niziolek’s long send up the left sideline sprung Paul Kruszewski (team-high three goals this season) in on the wing. His shot deflected to the box, where Jorge Alcantara rocketed a 15-yarder just wide of the left post.
Dodging that threat, the Red Devils were soon on a relentless attack themselves.
A trio of quality chances in the next seven minutes were denied on saves by Mustangs goalkeeper Zach Johnson on a Martin Montoya header (off Kevin Gottschalk’s strong 50-yard free kick send), a Cody Jurgenson right-side shot and a Dayton DiTomasso header to the left post (off another long Gottschalk free kick).
With 27:58 left in the first half, the increasingly swarming Red Devils made good on their threats.
Off Austen Szurgot’s corner kick from the right side, Johnson made the initial save on Luca Davies’ header. But Dayton DiTomasso was at the doorstep for the rebound put away and a 1-0 Red Devils lead.
“We try to get it on the flanks and serve balls in,” DiTomasso said. “I was there to tap it in for a nice goal.
“The offense has been very effective: our chemistry is very good. We move the ball very well and find a lot of penetrating passes. That’s really key to breaking the lines and playing off of people.
“Our wingers have been doing a great job of getting down the line, and our set pieces have been fantastic. We have a couple of plays that we run. All around the team has been fantastic.”
After Davies scored in the Red Devils’ first three games of 2022, DiTomasso picked up the scoring load Tuesday to match his teammate’s four-goal total this fall.
“Dayton brings another gear,” Wiggins said. “He goes box to box and covers a lot of ground and is positive with his teammates. He keeps everybody connected.
“We talk about what it means to compete, and meeting and exceeding the level of intensity a game brings. He certainly does that every time he takes the field and in a very controlled manner. He's been doing really well.”
DiTomasso and his teammates wanted to do something else well Tuesday: keep from letting the win over Marquette deter their focus.
“We tried to make sure and keep it at a normal level, because we all got pretty excited after that big win,” he said. “We had to come out and assert ourselves tonight at that normal level. I was really pleased with the team and how they handled that.”
DiTomasso and Davies each scored goals versus Marquette.
“Marquette gave us good competition,” DiTomasso said, “but we went up 2-0 early then had to hold it down at the end there. It was a huge win. They're the third-ranked team in the country in preseason rankings.”
Added Gottschalk: “They're a very solid team, and they gave us a run for our money. They (Marquette) were really tough.”
Downers Grove South’s 2-0 win over North Central featured goals by Kruszewski and Alcantara. A 6-0 victory a day earlier over Shortridge (Ind.) came on two Kruszewski goals and one each by Jaden Palmer, Redion Neritani, Danny Smazil and Nate Gulden.
“We were 2-1 (record) down in Indianapolis and played really well,” Stapleton said, “with a big win over North Central.
“(Saturday) we had a 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. game, and it was the other team’s only game of the day (at 2 p.m.). So, we didn't have much left in the tank. But it was 0-0 at the half, and I was really pleased with the effort and how we competed. We just didn't have enough at the end of the day and lost 2-0.
“It's been two years since we were down there (at Indy) so it was good to be back,” Stapleton added. “As far as tonight, I thought we played well at moments.”
Trailing 1-0 early Tuesday, the Mustangs stood tall for the next 54 minutes to keep that narrow difference.
Andrew Cimbalista’s header block away from trouble of a Szurgot 38-yard free kick in the 16th minute repelled one threat against Downers Grove South. Hinsdale Central came back with another powerful Gottschalk 55-yard free kick cannonball 20 minutes in that was headed just wide of the left post by Owen Peterson.
“We know Central is going to be very dangerous on free kicks,” Stapleton said. “We gave up one (goal) in the first half, then in the second I thought we possessed the ball better and had some chances.”
Late in the first half, the Mustangs’ Palmer had his cross to the front cleared nicely by Nolan Spence.
Downers Grove South then came inches from an equalizer with 33:20 left in the second half when Kaczmarek had his 12-yard shot denied on a great save by Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Martin Contreras. The subsequent rebound try went wide.
The Red Devils answered that scare six minutes later and forced Johnson to make a left-post catch of a DiTomasso shot.
“The way i saw it, it was a game of ping pong,” Niziolek said. “There were very good on long balls, but it was a lot of back and forth and whose legs could hold up the longest.”
A wave of illnesses on the Mustangs that included captain Julian Lopez, who was out all weekend and limited to 20 minutes on Tuesday, added to their challenge.
“This last weekend, sickness caught a bunch of guys and put out a lot of the team yesterday (from practice),” Niziolek said. “So, it's definitely been an on the fly sort of thing to get everyone together and on the same page.
“Not having many players on the bench was sort of an issue, but we worked through it. It was 1-0 most of the night.”
The two sides traded quality chances later in the half: Hinsdale Central’s Contreras making a catch in traffic of Niziolek’s corner kick with 19:50 to go, followed by a Red Devils corner kick that resulted in a Braden Henry header that goalkeeper Johnson deflected wide left.
But the play had a major downside for Downers Grove South --- Johnson exited the game with a shoulder injury.
Andrik Vidaurri entered and had no time to get comfortable. On the ensuing corner kick, DiTomasso drew a foul from behind in the box. DiTomasso deposited the ensuing corner kick lower left and the Red Devils lead was 2-0.
“I had missed my last PK,” DiTomasso said, “so it was really nice to bury that one.”
Said Stapleton: “That PK, I thought he (DiTomasso) did a good job selling that. He's a very good player, and credit to him for drawing the call. He's a handful. He's tough. But that kind of took the wind out of our sails.”
More air came out with 9:46 left when a yellow card on a foul was the Mustangs player’s second of the night, meaning a soft red card and playing a man down the rest of the way.
Hinsdale Central cashed in with 6:34 to go as senior Dray Glashin fielded a deflection to the front of the box and sent a 20-yard shot just inside the lower left post.
Glashin had also provided a first half boost off the bench with a nice run and shot denied on a diving Johnson save in the 37th minute.
“Every game that Drey plays he builds his confidence,” Wiggins said, “and he was super excited to get his goal.
“Luca obviously is quickly establishing himself as someone who's dangerous up in the attack, and Martin Montoya gives us a great player who works really well with him.
“I could go on and on. I’m really pleased with everyone. Tonight we played our sophomore goalkeeper (Contreras), Austen (Szurgot) is a sophomore in the midfield, as is Enzo (Cinque) at an outside back. We have younger guys and older guys alike who are coming together really well.”
Hinsdale Central is in its own year-long celebration of the 50th season of the school’s soccer program. So far, it looks like the anniversary could be very special.
“Our confidence is through the roof right now,” Gottschalk said. “We're doing really good. We have good communication and good chemistry between us. Everything is just clicking right now.”
For Downers Grove South, August has been a yo-yo month. Two impressive wins, sandwiched among a trio of shutout losses.
“Unfortunately, we didn't really test their keeper too often (Tuesday),” Stapleton said. “We had opportunities to get there and didn't quite do it. That’s a credit to them defensively, but I don't think the (3-0) score was an indicator of the game.”
Niziolek sees one area of focus going forward.
“Just making sure we're more confident possessing the ball,” he said. “There were moments in this game we possessed and were able to break them down. I think focusing on getting more confident doing that will be key to our success this season.”
Next up for Downers Grove South is another special day on Saturday, when Oswego East coach Steve Szymanski (Stapleton’s assistant on the 2004 state title team) brings his squad to town.
On Tuesday, the presence of two ex-coaching pillars of the school certainly made for a special atmosphere.
“What coach Stapleton did tonight is what builds programs,” Wiggins said. “To have all those guys I played with here tonight, and to see coach Flaiz and recognize coach Novotny like this.
"When you have that kind of connection within a program ... it was an honor to be included, because Flaiz and Novotny had an impact on us when we were younger. It was nice to see them recognized for what they did.”
Starting lineups
Hinsdale Central
GK: Martin Contreras
D: Kevin Gottschalk
D: Cody Jurgenson
D: Oliver Pohlenz
D: Greg Theotikos
M: Martin Montoya
M: Austen Szurgot
M: Dayton DeTomasso
M: Braden Henry
F: Owen Peterson
F: Luca Davies
Downers Grove South
GK: Zach Johnson
D: Kevin Davy
D: Michael Mendoza
D: Victor Carrasco
D: Andrew Cimbalista
M: Jonathan Venouziou
M: Karol Niziolek
M: Aleck Galvez
M: Jorge Alcantara
F: Paul Kruszewski
F: Alex Benkart
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match:
Dayton DiTomasso, sr. M, Hinsdale Central
Scoring summary
First half
HC- Dayton DiTomasso (rebound), 13’
Second half
HC- DiTomasso (PK), 66’
HC- Dray Glashin (unassisted), 74’