Metea Valley prevails on late Lynch goal
Senior’s 76th-minute tally hands Oswego East’s 1st shutout loss
By Matt Le Cren
AURORA – Metea Valley has the best team it has fielded in years.
Oswego East has its best team, period.
The battle they engaged in Saturday morning was one of the best games of the year.
In a playoff-like atmosphere, the host Mustangs and visiting Wolves put on a show, combining for 28 shots, 13 saves and many great plays.
The match was even until Metea Valley senior James Lynch scored on a picture-perfect finish with 4:37 left in the second half and the Mustangs held on for a 1-0 win.
“That was the most enjoyable game I’ve coached in all year, regardless of the result,” Metea Valley coach Josh Robinson said. “The result makes it better, obviously, but credit to (Oswego East).
“This isn’t disparaging any team we’ve beaten or lost to, but that was the most talented team we’ve seen all year against us. That is the last team, (among those) that I’ve seen so far, that I’d want to see in playoffs. Don’t even want to mess with them.”
The win over the Wolves was a signature victory for the Mustangs (8-4-2), who are seeded sixth at the Class 3A Geneva Sectional, two spots below Oswego East.
“It was fun,” Robinson said. “It was as playoff as playoff could get. Both teams were good for each other.”
The margin of victory was not surprising but the final score was. It was only the second defeat in the last 14 games for the Wolves (11-3-2), who were shut out for the first time.
That’s an encouraging sign for the Mustangs, who like the Wolves possess plenty of firepower but were questionable in the back. Metea now has shut out four of its last five opponents.
“We’re starting to sort ourselves out a little defensively,” Robinson said. “We’re starting to put together the necessities and things we need to do defensively to win playoff games.
“That was the most important thing for us right now. You don’t win playoff games 6-4.”
This match could easily have ended 6-4 or even higher given the sheer number of quality forays mustered by both teams. But Metea Valley goalkeeper Gandhi Cruz made seven saves and his Oswego East counterpart, Nathan Huerter, made six saves as both put on a clinic.
But the backlines were as solid as they were busy.
“I think it was really important for us just so that we can grow and show that we can stick around with anybody as a defense,” Metea defender Spencer Collins said. “It shows a lot of growth from the beginning of the season until now, how we are able to shut out good teams like Oswego East.
“We just work on blocking shots and staying in front of guys, just trying to prevent Gandhi from having to do anything.”
Cruz, of course, is one of the best goalies in the state and provides a security blanket for the Mustangs. But his defenders don’t want him to shoulder all of the responsibility.
“(Cruz) can (take the pressure off) but you can’t think like that,” Collins said. “You have to know that any goal you give up could lose the game, and you have to think like that throughout the entire game.”
Of the two goalies, Cruz had the easier time in relative terms. His toughest saves came in the fourth minute when he smothered an open shot from Ford Frazer and in the 70th minute, when he made a diving stop on Ethan Klosterman’s shot in the box.
Huerter was spectacular, especially in the second half as the Mustangs got the better of the end-to-end action.
The senior made two reflex saves on Evan Lang from point-blank range in the 42nd minute, deflecting the second shot wide of the left post.
The Mustangs nearly broke the ice midway through the second half when Matthew Berry fired a runner from 25 yards that struck the left post.
Seven minutes later, David Quarles chipped a shot over Huerter’s head, but the keeper raced back and snatched the ball out of the air and somehow stopped himself right on the goal line.
“He’s been great for us,” Oswego East coach Steve Szymanski said. “He doesn’t necessarily get the recognition that he deserves but, man, he makes point-blank saves. Just the way he reads the ball is pretty incredible.”
Huerter was pleased with his backline, which played without injured left back Juan Manrique.
“We were solid,” Huerter said. “Right now, I’m feeling confident. I’ve been playing a lot better than I normally have been.”
But Huerter didn’t have a chance on Lynch’s goal, which came from Metea’s left wing. Evan Lang sent a long pass up the middle to Lynch, who accelerated around a defender and rolled a left-footed shot inside the far post.
“He hit it on the ground,” Huerter said. “I couldn’t get to it.”
That was exactly what Lynch, who has a team-leading 11 goals, had planned.
“Evan played me the through-ball and then the defender kind of sagged off,” Lynch said. “So I touched it to my left, and I’ve hit that shot so many times I can do it with my eyes closed. It was muscle memory.
“It feels great to win and it’s even better when you get the late game-winner.”
The Wolves last chance to get the equalizer, but Kyle Blasingame’s drive from distance sailed high with 1:35 remaining.
While both teams still have business to take care of in their respective conferences, this match gave each a taste of what might be to come in the playoffs.
Both teams are hoping for a long postseason run and could meet again in the sectional final, though that seems unlikely.
Oswego East, which has never won a regional, is seeded fourth, its highest ranking ever, but opens regional play against host Batavia. The Bulldogs are the 16th seed but have never lost to the Wolves.
Oswego East then would probably play fifth seed Lockport in the regional final and two-time defending state champion and currently unbeaten Naperville North, the top seed, in the sectional semifinal.
“This is my third full year on varsity and the past two years we’ve come short in regionals,” Huerter said. “We have lost in the regional final, one to Waubonsie and one to Naperville Central. This year it should be our easiest run for getting that regional championship.”
True, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy since parity has reigned for most of the season. A regional championship would be a huge accomplishment for the Wolves in particular and the school in general. Oswego East has won only one regional title in a boys sport, that coming in boys basketball in 2010.
“In our sectional, obviously Naperville North is the goliath and the team everyone needs to take down, but I think everyone else in our sectional can compete and win on any given day,” Szymanski said. “It’s great that we’ve got the fourth seed, but we want to do something with it.”
The Mustangs, who have won two regional titles but never a sectional, also want to do something great, and Saturday’s win was a step in that direction.
“I think it was really important for us just so that we can grow and show that we can stick around with anybody as a defense,” Collins said. “It shows a lot of growth from the beginning of the season until now, how we are able to shut out good teams like Oswego East.
“It really helps the confidence of the team because we’ve played some good teams, and the result hasn’t always gone our way so getting a win against a really good team boosts our confidence.”
Starting lineups
Oswego East
GK Nathan Huerter
D Joey Bavol
D David Bombrys
D Zach Lass
D Eric Montano
M Kellen Klosterman
M Kyle Blasingame
M Dimitri Huitron
F Ford Frazer
F Dacarlos Parodis-Yu
F Andre Casas
Metea Valley
GK Gandhi Cruz
D Tony Sanchez
D Erik Severson
D Spencer Collins
D Owen Anderson
M Matthew Berry
M Evan Lang
M Matthew Dovalovksy
F Shareef Amore
F Jaylen Brooks
F James Lynch
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – James Lynch, sr., F, Metea Valley
Scoring summary
First half
None
Second half
Metea Valley – James Lynch (Evan Lang) 4:37
Senior’s 76th-minute tally hands Oswego East’s 1st shutout loss
By Matt Le Cren
AURORA – Metea Valley has the best team it has fielded in years.
Oswego East has its best team, period.
The battle they engaged in Saturday morning was one of the best games of the year.
In a playoff-like atmosphere, the host Mustangs and visiting Wolves put on a show, combining for 28 shots, 13 saves and many great plays.
The match was even until Metea Valley senior James Lynch scored on a picture-perfect finish with 4:37 left in the second half and the Mustangs held on for a 1-0 win.
“That was the most enjoyable game I’ve coached in all year, regardless of the result,” Metea Valley coach Josh Robinson said. “The result makes it better, obviously, but credit to (Oswego East).
“This isn’t disparaging any team we’ve beaten or lost to, but that was the most talented team we’ve seen all year against us. That is the last team, (among those) that I’ve seen so far, that I’d want to see in playoffs. Don’t even want to mess with them.”
The win over the Wolves was a signature victory for the Mustangs (8-4-2), who are seeded sixth at the Class 3A Geneva Sectional, two spots below Oswego East.
“It was fun,” Robinson said. “It was as playoff as playoff could get. Both teams were good for each other.”
The margin of victory was not surprising but the final score was. It was only the second defeat in the last 14 games for the Wolves (11-3-2), who were shut out for the first time.
That’s an encouraging sign for the Mustangs, who like the Wolves possess plenty of firepower but were questionable in the back. Metea now has shut out four of its last five opponents.
“We’re starting to sort ourselves out a little defensively,” Robinson said. “We’re starting to put together the necessities and things we need to do defensively to win playoff games.
“That was the most important thing for us right now. You don’t win playoff games 6-4.”
This match could easily have ended 6-4 or even higher given the sheer number of quality forays mustered by both teams. But Metea Valley goalkeeper Gandhi Cruz made seven saves and his Oswego East counterpart, Nathan Huerter, made six saves as both put on a clinic.
But the backlines were as solid as they were busy.
“I think it was really important for us just so that we can grow and show that we can stick around with anybody as a defense,” Metea defender Spencer Collins said. “It shows a lot of growth from the beginning of the season until now, how we are able to shut out good teams like Oswego East.
“We just work on blocking shots and staying in front of guys, just trying to prevent Gandhi from having to do anything.”
Cruz, of course, is one of the best goalies in the state and provides a security blanket for the Mustangs. But his defenders don’t want him to shoulder all of the responsibility.
“(Cruz) can (take the pressure off) but you can’t think like that,” Collins said. “You have to know that any goal you give up could lose the game, and you have to think like that throughout the entire game.”
Of the two goalies, Cruz had the easier time in relative terms. His toughest saves came in the fourth minute when he smothered an open shot from Ford Frazer and in the 70th minute, when he made a diving stop on Ethan Klosterman’s shot in the box.
Huerter was spectacular, especially in the second half as the Mustangs got the better of the end-to-end action.
The senior made two reflex saves on Evan Lang from point-blank range in the 42nd minute, deflecting the second shot wide of the left post.
The Mustangs nearly broke the ice midway through the second half when Matthew Berry fired a runner from 25 yards that struck the left post.
Seven minutes later, David Quarles chipped a shot over Huerter’s head, but the keeper raced back and snatched the ball out of the air and somehow stopped himself right on the goal line.
“He’s been great for us,” Oswego East coach Steve Szymanski said. “He doesn’t necessarily get the recognition that he deserves but, man, he makes point-blank saves. Just the way he reads the ball is pretty incredible.”
Huerter was pleased with his backline, which played without injured left back Juan Manrique.
“We were solid,” Huerter said. “Right now, I’m feeling confident. I’ve been playing a lot better than I normally have been.”
But Huerter didn’t have a chance on Lynch’s goal, which came from Metea’s left wing. Evan Lang sent a long pass up the middle to Lynch, who accelerated around a defender and rolled a left-footed shot inside the far post.
“He hit it on the ground,” Huerter said. “I couldn’t get to it.”
That was exactly what Lynch, who has a team-leading 11 goals, had planned.
“Evan played me the through-ball and then the defender kind of sagged off,” Lynch said. “So I touched it to my left, and I’ve hit that shot so many times I can do it with my eyes closed. It was muscle memory.
“It feels great to win and it’s even better when you get the late game-winner.”
The Wolves last chance to get the equalizer, but Kyle Blasingame’s drive from distance sailed high with 1:35 remaining.
While both teams still have business to take care of in their respective conferences, this match gave each a taste of what might be to come in the playoffs.
Both teams are hoping for a long postseason run and could meet again in the sectional final, though that seems unlikely.
Oswego East, which has never won a regional, is seeded fourth, its highest ranking ever, but opens regional play against host Batavia. The Bulldogs are the 16th seed but have never lost to the Wolves.
Oswego East then would probably play fifth seed Lockport in the regional final and two-time defending state champion and currently unbeaten Naperville North, the top seed, in the sectional semifinal.
“This is my third full year on varsity and the past two years we’ve come short in regionals,” Huerter said. “We have lost in the regional final, one to Waubonsie and one to Naperville Central. This year it should be our easiest run for getting that regional championship.”
True, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy since parity has reigned for most of the season. A regional championship would be a huge accomplishment for the Wolves in particular and the school in general. Oswego East has won only one regional title in a boys sport, that coming in boys basketball in 2010.
“In our sectional, obviously Naperville North is the goliath and the team everyone needs to take down, but I think everyone else in our sectional can compete and win on any given day,” Szymanski said. “It’s great that we’ve got the fourth seed, but we want to do something with it.”
The Mustangs, who have won two regional titles but never a sectional, also want to do something great, and Saturday’s win was a step in that direction.
“I think it was really important for us just so that we can grow and show that we can stick around with anybody as a defense,” Collins said. “It shows a lot of growth from the beginning of the season until now, how we are able to shut out good teams like Oswego East.
“It really helps the confidence of the team because we’ve played some good teams, and the result hasn’t always gone our way so getting a win against a really good team boosts our confidence.”
Starting lineups
Oswego East
GK Nathan Huerter
D Joey Bavol
D David Bombrys
D Zach Lass
D Eric Montano
M Kellen Klosterman
M Kyle Blasingame
M Dimitri Huitron
F Ford Frazer
F Dacarlos Parodis-Yu
F Andre Casas
Metea Valley
GK Gandhi Cruz
D Tony Sanchez
D Erik Severson
D Spencer Collins
D Owen Anderson
M Matthew Berry
M Evan Lang
M Matthew Dovalovksy
F Shareef Amore
F Jaylen Brooks
F James Lynch
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match – James Lynch, sr., F, Metea Valley
Scoring summary
First half
None
Second half
Metea Valley – James Lynch (Evan Lang) 4:37