Downers Grove South blanks
Kelly to reach regional finals
Hosts Benet Friday in search of first regional title since 2016
By Curt Herron
DOWNERS GROVE -- With 14 players back from a team that saw its season end in disappointing fashion in a regional semifinal loss to its rivals, it was a good bet that Downers Grove South was going to come out strong when it met Kelly in its own IHSA Class 3A regional semi on Tuesday.
And that's just what the Mustangs did. They got their first goal in the third minute, added two more scores in the 18th minute and then scored twice in just over a minute in the 27th and 28th minutes to grab a 5-0 halftime lead over Kelly.
Coach Jon Stapleton's squad connected again in the 42nd minute and reduced the remaining time with another goal in the 59th minute before finalizing a 7-0 victory that advances them to Friday's 5 p.m. regional finals against Benet. The Redwings beat Proviso West 8-0 earlier.
The winner of the matchup between the third-seeded Redwings and sixth-seeded Mustangs advances to the Hinsdale Central Sectional where they'll play the winner of the Morton Regional, which features the second-seeded hosts and seventh-seed Downers Grove North on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Downers Grove South (9-9-1) seeks its first regional title since 2016 against Benet (13-4-1), which hopes to capture its fourth-straight. Coach Sean Wesley's Redwings, who are ranked 17th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, went 7-1-0 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference and shared the title with Notre Dame and St. Patrick.
Senior Jorge Alcantara, who scored a brace in the 18th minute, and classmate Julian Lopez, who scored in the third minute and then collected two assists, shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor.
Junior Redion Neritani and sophomore Jonathan Venouziou both contributed a goal and an assist. Senior Paul Kruszewski and junior Nate Gulden also each scored a goal; senior Emiliano Lagunas and sophomore Ryan Deacy both contributed an assist.
Senior Andrik Vidaurri played in goal in the first half and senior Xavier Gonzalez stepped in for him in the second half. Each faced one threatening shot by the Trojans (11-7-1), who were the unbeaten champions in the Chicago Public League First Central Division.
Last season's 2-1 loss to Downers Grove North in the Morton Regional semifinals was a tough pill to swallow for the Mustangs, who had beaten their crosstown rivals 2-0 during the regular-season.
None of this year's players were rostered on the 2019 squad that fell 2-1 to Hinsdale Central at the Red Devils' field in the regional semifinals. But that setback wasn't so disappointing since former Mustangs coach Mike Wiggins led his team to the sectional finals, where they lost 2-1 to Morton, who were the Class 3A runnerup.
The regional semifinals win was a return to form for a program that's won 14 regionals, seven sectionals, qualified for state six times and captured two trophies. The highlight was Stapleton's 2004 Class AA champions, who went 26-2-1 in his third season. In the last 27 years of IHSA playoffs, the Mustangs program under Stapleton and Wiggins has only failed to win a postseason match three times, with the other time being in 2009.
Downers Grove South got off to a 4-6-1 start as the result of missing players due to both injury and illness. The squad had a nice run where it went 4-1-0 to move over the .500 mark for the first time since its opening week. The Mustangs closed the regular-season with losses to no. 4 Morton and no. 7 Naperville North.
"We definitely have our work cut out for us. They're a very good team, and the kids recognize that," Stapleton said of Benet. "We're excited about the opportunity, and it will be on our home field.
“I think last year losing in the first game, for many of the guys, it left a sour taste in their mouths. This gives us the opportunity to continue on and playing at home will hopefully be a bit of an advantage for us. We're playing well and hope to continue to do that, but we know that it's going to be tough.
"The whole season has been a process. We talked about trying to be the best team that we could be at this time of the year. You want to use the experiences over the course of the season because a lot of the times those experiences mirror what happens in a match, where you have the ups and downs and the ebbs and flows. I give credit to the group to kind of stick with it. I think that we're playing some of our best soccer right now, which is what we want to be doing."
After being a veteran of the west suburban postseason grind for so many years, the Mustangs coach realizes all too well that every team that reaches this point is very capable and previous successes during a season doesn't necessarily guarantee anything.
"The way that we look at it is that Benet and Downers South are both 1-0 at this point," Stapleton said. "Nothing else really matters, it's the next 80 minutes. Obviously you play to earn certain seeds, but that's all behind us now. We respect them as an opponent, because we know that they are a very good team. But we're ready for the challenge and will prepare ourselves for the challenge.
"I think we've shown some perseverance and resiliency in terms of the ups and downs over the course of the season. And staying together, and we've talked about that. We had certain moments of the season where it could have gone in either direction. But I think their willingness to stay together and compete and play for each other has made a big difference for us."
The seven goals that Downers Grove South scored was its high for the season, one better than the six that it collected in its second match when it beat Shortridge (Ind,) at the Great Midwest Classic in Indianapolis. This was also the squad's sixth shutout. Two came in the opening week and three in four matches from September 26 to October 7, which included consecutive 3-0 wins over Downers Grove North and Hinsdale South.
Lopez was dangerous all night with his restarts and the team's co-captain, who shares those duties along with senior Karol Niziolek, set the tone right away when he lined a free kick from 45 yards that went over sophomore goalkeeper Hector Perez in the third minute to put the hosts up for good.
"Obviously with the tough loss last year in the playoffs with the first-round exit, this is new to everybody," Lopez said. "This is new to many of the guys from last year's team and also some of the guys who were brought up from the JV. So, it's going to be a little nervous on Friday, but when we start playing, I know that we can definitely do well against Benet.
"We've obviously dealt with a lot of injuries and some individual illnesses at the beginning of the year but we've really turned it around. Even though we lost to Morton and Naperville North in our last two games, we were still happy with our results.
“We're always going to keep fighting. Our defense has been solid the whole year and we've gotten more comfortable in front of the goal and that obviously was proved today, but we have to prove it on Friday, too. I like our chemistry and how we never give up and how we've always been honest with each other the whole time."
While Kelly hung tough despite yielding the early goal to Lopez, its hopes diminished significantly after Alcantara delivered his one-two punch, scoring a pair of goals within 21 seconds to give the Mustangs a commanding 3-0 advantage.
Alcantara's initial goal was set up by a pass from Lopez and came from close range. The follow-up score also was a short attempt that followed a breakaway which featured an assist from Deacy.
"These past few games have been good tests, and our last two against Morton and Naperville North, were really good tests even though they were upsetting scores," Alcantara said. "There's been a lot of progression. We've all grown with each other, and it's gotten a lot better, especially our defense. And we also have good chemistry.
"Injuries have been a big problem for us, just as they were last year. Things have progressed during the season, and it's gotten way better for us with better outcomes. I feel like we've been a lot better toward the end because of how we're playing together. We're all really good with each other so that makes us play better."
Downers Grove South was back on the attack a bit later in the opening half, and they again struck twice in short order. Kruszewski connected on a header following a pass from Lagunas in the 27th minute; then 63 seconds later, Neritani scored from close range after receiving an assist from Venouziou.
Kelly looked to get a goal as the first half wound down and its best chance came on a free kick from 40 yards by sophomore Julian Plascencia in the 31st minute that was on the mark but was hauled in by Vidaurri.
Downers Grove South wasted little time to score its sixth goal. Lopez placed a corner kick in front of the net, and Venouziou was there to put in the close-range attempt just 70 seconds into the final half.
Not long after the Trojans threatened for the final time with an attempt that was blocked by Gonzalez, Downers Grove South cut the remaining time in half after recording their seventh goal in the 59th minute. Gulden put one in from close range following a pass from Neritani.
Downers Grove South's starting defense of seniors Victor Carrasco, Matt Crowley and Lagunas, and junior Michael Mendoza limited chances for Kelly. It was the team's fourth shutout in their last seven matches.
In the regional finals, the Mustangs go up against a Benet program that is trying to win its eighth regional title in the last 10 seasons that the IHSA has held a tournament. This is the Mustangs' first regional final since 2018, when they lost 4-0 to host Morton.
The last time that they won a regional title was in 2016 when they beat host Saint Ignatius 1-0 in the final. Stapleton's teams won five regionals from 2004 to 2008 and two more in 2015 and 2016.
The Mustangs are planning on a big effort.
"It's really exciting and I think it will be a really good game." Mendoza said. "It should be very competitive, and I think we'll give our all and we're going to try to get that win. I think our chemistry over the season has increased by a lot. We're doing very well with touch-and-goes. Players like Paul and Jorge are finishing on top, and we also have Ryan, our new striker, and he's also doing really well. And possession-wise I think we're doing a good job.
"We struggled with our lineup, and we made a lot of switches. I think we figured it out and now we're doing very well. My teammates are all amazing. We have very good chemistry, and we all play very well together."
Starting lineups
Kelly
GK: Hector Perez
D: Gerardo Muniz-Roman
D: Reynaldo Bustamante
D: Angel Guzman
D: Sergio Tornez
MF: Carlos Ochoa
MF: Martin Torres
MF: Julian Plascencia
MF: Jesus De La Torre
F: Shabdy Jimenez Salais
F: Allan Marroquin Lopez
Downers Grove South
GK: Andrik Vidaurri
D: Michael Mendoza
D: Emiliano Lagunas
D: Victor Carrasco
D: Matt Crowley
MF: Karol Niziolek
MF: Julian Lopez
MF: Jorge Alcantara
MF: Jonathan Venouziou
F: Paul Kruszewski
F: Ryan Deacy
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Jorge Alcantara, sr., MF, Downers Grove South;
Julian Lopez, sr., MF, Downers Grove South
Scoring summary
First half
DGS: Julian Lopez [FK], 3'
DGS: Jorge Alcantara (Lopez), 18'
DGS: Alcantara (Ryan Deacy), 18'
DGS: Paul Kruszewski (Emiliano Lagunas), 27'
DGS: Redion Neritani (Jonathan Venouziou), 28'
Second half
DGS: Venouziou (Lopez), 42'
DGS: Nate Gulden (Neritani), 59'
Kelly to reach regional finals
Hosts Benet Friday in search of first regional title since 2016
By Curt Herron
DOWNERS GROVE -- With 14 players back from a team that saw its season end in disappointing fashion in a regional semifinal loss to its rivals, it was a good bet that Downers Grove South was going to come out strong when it met Kelly in its own IHSA Class 3A regional semi on Tuesday.
And that's just what the Mustangs did. They got their first goal in the third minute, added two more scores in the 18th minute and then scored twice in just over a minute in the 27th and 28th minutes to grab a 5-0 halftime lead over Kelly.
Coach Jon Stapleton's squad connected again in the 42nd minute and reduced the remaining time with another goal in the 59th minute before finalizing a 7-0 victory that advances them to Friday's 5 p.m. regional finals against Benet. The Redwings beat Proviso West 8-0 earlier.
The winner of the matchup between the third-seeded Redwings and sixth-seeded Mustangs advances to the Hinsdale Central Sectional where they'll play the winner of the Morton Regional, which features the second-seeded hosts and seventh-seed Downers Grove North on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Downers Grove South (9-9-1) seeks its first regional title since 2016 against Benet (13-4-1), which hopes to capture its fourth-straight. Coach Sean Wesley's Redwings, who are ranked 17th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, went 7-1-0 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference and shared the title with Notre Dame and St. Patrick.
Senior Jorge Alcantara, who scored a brace in the 18th minute, and classmate Julian Lopez, who scored in the third minute and then collected two assists, shared the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honor.
Junior Redion Neritani and sophomore Jonathan Venouziou both contributed a goal and an assist. Senior Paul Kruszewski and junior Nate Gulden also each scored a goal; senior Emiliano Lagunas and sophomore Ryan Deacy both contributed an assist.
Senior Andrik Vidaurri played in goal in the first half and senior Xavier Gonzalez stepped in for him in the second half. Each faced one threatening shot by the Trojans (11-7-1), who were the unbeaten champions in the Chicago Public League First Central Division.
Last season's 2-1 loss to Downers Grove North in the Morton Regional semifinals was a tough pill to swallow for the Mustangs, who had beaten their crosstown rivals 2-0 during the regular-season.
None of this year's players were rostered on the 2019 squad that fell 2-1 to Hinsdale Central at the Red Devils' field in the regional semifinals. But that setback wasn't so disappointing since former Mustangs coach Mike Wiggins led his team to the sectional finals, where they lost 2-1 to Morton, who were the Class 3A runnerup.
The regional semifinals win was a return to form for a program that's won 14 regionals, seven sectionals, qualified for state six times and captured two trophies. The highlight was Stapleton's 2004 Class AA champions, who went 26-2-1 in his third season. In the last 27 years of IHSA playoffs, the Mustangs program under Stapleton and Wiggins has only failed to win a postseason match three times, with the other time being in 2009.
Downers Grove South got off to a 4-6-1 start as the result of missing players due to both injury and illness. The squad had a nice run where it went 4-1-0 to move over the .500 mark for the first time since its opening week. The Mustangs closed the regular-season with losses to no. 4 Morton and no. 7 Naperville North.
"We definitely have our work cut out for us. They're a very good team, and the kids recognize that," Stapleton said of Benet. "We're excited about the opportunity, and it will be on our home field.
“I think last year losing in the first game, for many of the guys, it left a sour taste in their mouths. This gives us the opportunity to continue on and playing at home will hopefully be a bit of an advantage for us. We're playing well and hope to continue to do that, but we know that it's going to be tough.
"The whole season has been a process. We talked about trying to be the best team that we could be at this time of the year. You want to use the experiences over the course of the season because a lot of the times those experiences mirror what happens in a match, where you have the ups and downs and the ebbs and flows. I give credit to the group to kind of stick with it. I think that we're playing some of our best soccer right now, which is what we want to be doing."
After being a veteran of the west suburban postseason grind for so many years, the Mustangs coach realizes all too well that every team that reaches this point is very capable and previous successes during a season doesn't necessarily guarantee anything.
"The way that we look at it is that Benet and Downers South are both 1-0 at this point," Stapleton said. "Nothing else really matters, it's the next 80 minutes. Obviously you play to earn certain seeds, but that's all behind us now. We respect them as an opponent, because we know that they are a very good team. But we're ready for the challenge and will prepare ourselves for the challenge.
"I think we've shown some perseverance and resiliency in terms of the ups and downs over the course of the season. And staying together, and we've talked about that. We had certain moments of the season where it could have gone in either direction. But I think their willingness to stay together and compete and play for each other has made a big difference for us."
The seven goals that Downers Grove South scored was its high for the season, one better than the six that it collected in its second match when it beat Shortridge (Ind,) at the Great Midwest Classic in Indianapolis. This was also the squad's sixth shutout. Two came in the opening week and three in four matches from September 26 to October 7, which included consecutive 3-0 wins over Downers Grove North and Hinsdale South.
Lopez was dangerous all night with his restarts and the team's co-captain, who shares those duties along with senior Karol Niziolek, set the tone right away when he lined a free kick from 45 yards that went over sophomore goalkeeper Hector Perez in the third minute to put the hosts up for good.
"Obviously with the tough loss last year in the playoffs with the first-round exit, this is new to everybody," Lopez said. "This is new to many of the guys from last year's team and also some of the guys who were brought up from the JV. So, it's going to be a little nervous on Friday, but when we start playing, I know that we can definitely do well against Benet.
"We've obviously dealt with a lot of injuries and some individual illnesses at the beginning of the year but we've really turned it around. Even though we lost to Morton and Naperville North in our last two games, we were still happy with our results.
“We're always going to keep fighting. Our defense has been solid the whole year and we've gotten more comfortable in front of the goal and that obviously was proved today, but we have to prove it on Friday, too. I like our chemistry and how we never give up and how we've always been honest with each other the whole time."
While Kelly hung tough despite yielding the early goal to Lopez, its hopes diminished significantly after Alcantara delivered his one-two punch, scoring a pair of goals within 21 seconds to give the Mustangs a commanding 3-0 advantage.
Alcantara's initial goal was set up by a pass from Lopez and came from close range. The follow-up score also was a short attempt that followed a breakaway which featured an assist from Deacy.
"These past few games have been good tests, and our last two against Morton and Naperville North, were really good tests even though they were upsetting scores," Alcantara said. "There's been a lot of progression. We've all grown with each other, and it's gotten a lot better, especially our defense. And we also have good chemistry.
"Injuries have been a big problem for us, just as they were last year. Things have progressed during the season, and it's gotten way better for us with better outcomes. I feel like we've been a lot better toward the end because of how we're playing together. We're all really good with each other so that makes us play better."
Downers Grove South was back on the attack a bit later in the opening half, and they again struck twice in short order. Kruszewski connected on a header following a pass from Lagunas in the 27th minute; then 63 seconds later, Neritani scored from close range after receiving an assist from Venouziou.
Kelly looked to get a goal as the first half wound down and its best chance came on a free kick from 40 yards by sophomore Julian Plascencia in the 31st minute that was on the mark but was hauled in by Vidaurri.
Downers Grove South wasted little time to score its sixth goal. Lopez placed a corner kick in front of the net, and Venouziou was there to put in the close-range attempt just 70 seconds into the final half.
Not long after the Trojans threatened for the final time with an attempt that was blocked by Gonzalez, Downers Grove South cut the remaining time in half after recording their seventh goal in the 59th minute. Gulden put one in from close range following a pass from Neritani.
Downers Grove South's starting defense of seniors Victor Carrasco, Matt Crowley and Lagunas, and junior Michael Mendoza limited chances for Kelly. It was the team's fourth shutout in their last seven matches.
In the regional finals, the Mustangs go up against a Benet program that is trying to win its eighth regional title in the last 10 seasons that the IHSA has held a tournament. This is the Mustangs' first regional final since 2018, when they lost 4-0 to host Morton.
The last time that they won a regional title was in 2016 when they beat host Saint Ignatius 1-0 in the final. Stapleton's teams won five regionals from 2004 to 2008 and two more in 2015 and 2016.
The Mustangs are planning on a big effort.
"It's really exciting and I think it will be a really good game." Mendoza said. "It should be very competitive, and I think we'll give our all and we're going to try to get that win. I think our chemistry over the season has increased by a lot. We're doing very well with touch-and-goes. Players like Paul and Jorge are finishing on top, and we also have Ryan, our new striker, and he's also doing really well. And possession-wise I think we're doing a good job.
"We struggled with our lineup, and we made a lot of switches. I think we figured it out and now we're doing very well. My teammates are all amazing. We have very good chemistry, and we all play very well together."
Starting lineups
Kelly
GK: Hector Perez
D: Gerardo Muniz-Roman
D: Reynaldo Bustamante
D: Angel Guzman
D: Sergio Tornez
MF: Carlos Ochoa
MF: Martin Torres
MF: Julian Plascencia
MF: Jesus De La Torre
F: Shabdy Jimenez Salais
F: Allan Marroquin Lopez
Downers Grove South
GK: Andrik Vidaurri
D: Michael Mendoza
D: Emiliano Lagunas
D: Victor Carrasco
D: Matt Crowley
MF: Karol Niziolek
MF: Julian Lopez
MF: Jorge Alcantara
MF: Jonathan Venouziou
F: Paul Kruszewski
F: Ryan Deacy
Chicagoland Soccer Men of the Match:
Jorge Alcantara, sr., MF, Downers Grove South;
Julian Lopez, sr., MF, Downers Grove South
Scoring summary
First half
DGS: Julian Lopez [FK], 3'
DGS: Jorge Alcantara (Lopez), 18'
DGS: Alcantara (Ryan Deacy), 18'
DGS: Paul Kruszewski (Emiliano Lagunas), 27'
DGS: Redion Neritani (Jonathan Venouziou), 28'
Second half
DGS: Venouziou (Lopez), 42'
DGS: Nate Gulden (Neritani), 59'