Addison Trail holds off Hinsdale South
Blazers' Mora strikes twice, Rodriguez nets game-winner
By Gary Larsen
ADDISON -- For 40 minutes on Thursday, Addison Trail flashed its potential in a big way against visiting Hinsdale South, pushing hard and controlling play in building a 2-0 halftime lead.
Hinsdale South fairly returned the favor in the second half and scored twice, but Addison Trail hung on for a 3-2 win to remain unbeaten in West Suburban Gold play.
Addison Trail (3-5-2, 2-0-0) got two goals from Melvin Mora and the game-winner from Lukas Rodriguez. The Blazers have struggled with consistency this year but Mora sees promise in a young team.
“We have beginners that never played varsity so they’re getting used to the pace of the game and everything else,” Mora said. “We’ve gotten better with our passing, and with taking simple touches. At the beginning of the year we had too much ball-hogging.”
Addison Trail coach Ryan Dini agreed, and simply wants to see his boys bring their ‘A’ game on a more regular basis.
“This team has been so up and down all season,” Dini said. “We’ve played some tough teams so they know what level they have to get to, and it’s all mental at this point.
“We controlled the ball in the first half in terms of possession, and we got some shots, but we’ve got to be better. We had a huge win against Willowbrook on Tuesday and that’s our district rival, and today our guys just didn’t have the same energy.”
The Blazers won 2-1 over Willowbrook and looked solid against Hinsdale South (0-13-0, 0-2-1) from the opening whistle.
Addison Trail camped out on Hinsdale South’s half of midfield, creating scoring chances with variety and consistency. Mora scored the game’s first goal roughly four minutes into play when he took a ball on the left side, 40 yards from goal, took a few touches on a diagonal path to the middle of the field, and beat Hinsdale South keeper Eryk Klimaszewski from 23 yards out.
The Blazers continued to bring the attacking heat to the 34th minute, when Addison Trail senior mid Christian Garcia sent a low corner kick towards the top of the box. Mora stepped onto it and let it fly, stretching the back netting from 18 yards out.
His performance earned Mora Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match honors. Dini was particularly pleased with Mora's second goal.
“It was nice to see us score on a set piece. That was huge,” Dini said. “We’ve talked to the guys about how we need to score on set pieces. Melvin had a good day and scored a couple goals for us, and Lukas played well up top as far kind of being that holding forward for us.”
Not to be overlooked in the first half was a tremendous save by Addison Trail junior keeper Sam Sandoval. Late in the half, Hinsdale South midfielder Luka Grubic launched a shot with furious pace from 25 yards out that appeared destined to whistle under the crossbar until Sandoval leapt to tip it over.
Sandoval made another exceptional diving stop near the post in the second half.
“He’s an amazing goalkeeper,” Mora said of Sandoval. “He played with the Chicago Fire (Juniors) so he knows everything in the back. He’s a real good goalkeeper and we’re lucky to have him this year.”
After halftime, Hinsdale South played far better soccer than its winless record suggests. The Hornets’ senior midfielder Karel Ondra and senior forward Ryan Kuhlman helped cause fits in Addison Trail’s defensive third after the break.
At 47 minutes, Garcia headed a Hinsdale South shot off the Addison Trail goal line that led to a corner kick. On the ensuing play, Addison Trail was whistled for a foul in the box and Kuhlman buried the penalty kick to cut the Blazers’ lead in half.
Rodriguez returned Addison Trail to a two-goal cushion at 68 minutes. The play was set up when Rodriguez broke in on net only to see his shot smothered by a charging Klimaszewski. Addison Trail didn’t allow the Hornets to clear the ball, and less than a minute later Rodriguez scored from the left side to give his side a 3-1 lead.
Kuhlman provided a terrific hustle play and finish with less than 10 minutes remaining, first winning a ball from an Addison Trail defender near the top of the box. Kuhlman took a few touches to his right towards the endline on the right side before burying his shot from a tough angle inside the far post.
The Hornets pressed hard for a tying goal down the stretch.
“That’s the best game we’ve played in a while,” Kuhlman said. “Once we got a goal back we were pushing them and they didn’t have it as much as they did in the first half. It boosted everybody and gave us all the idea that we could win it.
“We were getting it forward a little bit more. In the first half we were playing it in the back and not getting it forward enough. We got it forward more and let our midfielders and forwards do what we can do, and give us a chance.”
Dini was happy with the win despite a slight lack of intensity from his side in the face of Hinsdale South’s second-half charge.
“The energy level just wasn’t there,” Dini said.“They scored and we were on our heels a little bit, but we did get up 3-1 and that was big. For the next ten minutes we were kind of in control and at the end there, they were able to come close. That’s high school soccer. Whoever brings the energy and enthusiasm usually wins.”
Dini applauded the effort that senior defender Axel Bibiano put forth in helping the Blazers hold down the fort.
“It’s his speed, and he’s relentless and fearless," Dini said of Bibiano. "He dominates fifty-fifty balls and he’s one of the fastest guys on the field. When he makes runs we just let him go and somebody fills for him. He’s been huge for us this year and he kind of roams on the field.”
Addison Trail plays at Glenbard West on Saturday before traveling to Leyden on Tuesday for another conference showdown game. The Blazers' wins over Willowbrook and Hinsdale South followed a brutally tough four-game stretch of this year’s PepsiCo tournament.
“We were in the top bracket of the PepsiCo and we saw a lot of good teams,” Dini said. “We saw four of the top eight seeds.
“I think we learned what it takes to be at that level. We only have four guys back from last year so, especially that early in the season, we got to see what the elite teams are built like and we can kind of build towards that.”
The Blazers played St. Charles North, Plainfield Central, Lyons, and Metea Valley and even though they went 0-4 in the tournament, Mora saw one chief benefit in the experience.
“Mostly we learned that you have to play physical,” Mora said. “Those teams are very strong so you can’t go out there weak. So we learned that we have to go out there stronger to compete with teams at that level.”
Starting lineups
Addison Trail
GK Sam Sandoval
D Axel Bibiano
D Matthew Ryan Moran
D Joseph Macedo
D Klaus Taci
M Osbaldo Murillo
M Christian Garcia
M Melvin Mora
M Luis Silva
F Brian Hernandez
F Lukas Rodriguez
Hinsdale South
GK Eryk Kilmaszewski
D Benny Metzger
D Adam Krupa
D Jack Metcalf
D Jake Hospes
M Dylan Chen
M Karel Ondra
M Chris Wayman
M Adam Amaro
F Ryan Kuhlman
F Luka Grubic
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Melvin Mora, jr., M, Addison Trail
Scoring Summary
First half
Addison Trail -- Mora (UA), Mora (Garcia)
Second Half
Addison Trail -- Rodriguez (UA)
Hinsdale South -- Kuhlman (PK), Kuhlman (UA)
Blazers' Mora strikes twice, Rodriguez nets game-winner
By Gary Larsen
ADDISON -- For 40 minutes on Thursday, Addison Trail flashed its potential in a big way against visiting Hinsdale South, pushing hard and controlling play in building a 2-0 halftime lead.
Hinsdale South fairly returned the favor in the second half and scored twice, but Addison Trail hung on for a 3-2 win to remain unbeaten in West Suburban Gold play.
Addison Trail (3-5-2, 2-0-0) got two goals from Melvin Mora and the game-winner from Lukas Rodriguez. The Blazers have struggled with consistency this year but Mora sees promise in a young team.
“We have beginners that never played varsity so they’re getting used to the pace of the game and everything else,” Mora said. “We’ve gotten better with our passing, and with taking simple touches. At the beginning of the year we had too much ball-hogging.”
Addison Trail coach Ryan Dini agreed, and simply wants to see his boys bring their ‘A’ game on a more regular basis.
“This team has been so up and down all season,” Dini said. “We’ve played some tough teams so they know what level they have to get to, and it’s all mental at this point.
“We controlled the ball in the first half in terms of possession, and we got some shots, but we’ve got to be better. We had a huge win against Willowbrook on Tuesday and that’s our district rival, and today our guys just didn’t have the same energy.”
The Blazers won 2-1 over Willowbrook and looked solid against Hinsdale South (0-13-0, 0-2-1) from the opening whistle.
Addison Trail camped out on Hinsdale South’s half of midfield, creating scoring chances with variety and consistency. Mora scored the game’s first goal roughly four minutes into play when he took a ball on the left side, 40 yards from goal, took a few touches on a diagonal path to the middle of the field, and beat Hinsdale South keeper Eryk Klimaszewski from 23 yards out.
The Blazers continued to bring the attacking heat to the 34th minute, when Addison Trail senior mid Christian Garcia sent a low corner kick towards the top of the box. Mora stepped onto it and let it fly, stretching the back netting from 18 yards out.
His performance earned Mora Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match honors. Dini was particularly pleased with Mora's second goal.
“It was nice to see us score on a set piece. That was huge,” Dini said. “We’ve talked to the guys about how we need to score on set pieces. Melvin had a good day and scored a couple goals for us, and Lukas played well up top as far kind of being that holding forward for us.”
Not to be overlooked in the first half was a tremendous save by Addison Trail junior keeper Sam Sandoval. Late in the half, Hinsdale South midfielder Luka Grubic launched a shot with furious pace from 25 yards out that appeared destined to whistle under the crossbar until Sandoval leapt to tip it over.
Sandoval made another exceptional diving stop near the post in the second half.
“He’s an amazing goalkeeper,” Mora said of Sandoval. “He played with the Chicago Fire (Juniors) so he knows everything in the back. He’s a real good goalkeeper and we’re lucky to have him this year.”
After halftime, Hinsdale South played far better soccer than its winless record suggests. The Hornets’ senior midfielder Karel Ondra and senior forward Ryan Kuhlman helped cause fits in Addison Trail’s defensive third after the break.
At 47 minutes, Garcia headed a Hinsdale South shot off the Addison Trail goal line that led to a corner kick. On the ensuing play, Addison Trail was whistled for a foul in the box and Kuhlman buried the penalty kick to cut the Blazers’ lead in half.
Rodriguez returned Addison Trail to a two-goal cushion at 68 minutes. The play was set up when Rodriguez broke in on net only to see his shot smothered by a charging Klimaszewski. Addison Trail didn’t allow the Hornets to clear the ball, and less than a minute later Rodriguez scored from the left side to give his side a 3-1 lead.
Kuhlman provided a terrific hustle play and finish with less than 10 minutes remaining, first winning a ball from an Addison Trail defender near the top of the box. Kuhlman took a few touches to his right towards the endline on the right side before burying his shot from a tough angle inside the far post.
The Hornets pressed hard for a tying goal down the stretch.
“That’s the best game we’ve played in a while,” Kuhlman said. “Once we got a goal back we were pushing them and they didn’t have it as much as they did in the first half. It boosted everybody and gave us all the idea that we could win it.
“We were getting it forward a little bit more. In the first half we were playing it in the back and not getting it forward enough. We got it forward more and let our midfielders and forwards do what we can do, and give us a chance.”
Dini was happy with the win despite a slight lack of intensity from his side in the face of Hinsdale South’s second-half charge.
“The energy level just wasn’t there,” Dini said.“They scored and we were on our heels a little bit, but we did get up 3-1 and that was big. For the next ten minutes we were kind of in control and at the end there, they were able to come close. That’s high school soccer. Whoever brings the energy and enthusiasm usually wins.”
Dini applauded the effort that senior defender Axel Bibiano put forth in helping the Blazers hold down the fort.
“It’s his speed, and he’s relentless and fearless," Dini said of Bibiano. "He dominates fifty-fifty balls and he’s one of the fastest guys on the field. When he makes runs we just let him go and somebody fills for him. He’s been huge for us this year and he kind of roams on the field.”
Addison Trail plays at Glenbard West on Saturday before traveling to Leyden on Tuesday for another conference showdown game. The Blazers' wins over Willowbrook and Hinsdale South followed a brutally tough four-game stretch of this year’s PepsiCo tournament.
“We were in the top bracket of the PepsiCo and we saw a lot of good teams,” Dini said. “We saw four of the top eight seeds.
“I think we learned what it takes to be at that level. We only have four guys back from last year so, especially that early in the season, we got to see what the elite teams are built like and we can kind of build towards that.”
The Blazers played St. Charles North, Plainfield Central, Lyons, and Metea Valley and even though they went 0-4 in the tournament, Mora saw one chief benefit in the experience.
“Mostly we learned that you have to play physical,” Mora said. “Those teams are very strong so you can’t go out there weak. So we learned that we have to go out there stronger to compete with teams at that level.”
Starting lineups
Addison Trail
GK Sam Sandoval
D Axel Bibiano
D Matthew Ryan Moran
D Joseph Macedo
D Klaus Taci
M Osbaldo Murillo
M Christian Garcia
M Melvin Mora
M Luis Silva
F Brian Hernandez
F Lukas Rodriguez
Hinsdale South
GK Eryk Kilmaszewski
D Benny Metzger
D Adam Krupa
D Jack Metcalf
D Jake Hospes
M Dylan Chen
M Karel Ondra
M Chris Wayman
M Adam Amaro
F Ryan Kuhlman
F Luka Grubic
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Melvin Mora, jr., M, Addison Trail
Scoring Summary
First half
Addison Trail -- Mora (UA), Mora (Garcia)
Second Half
Addison Trail -- Rodriguez (UA)
Hinsdale South -- Kuhlman (PK), Kuhlman (UA)