Willowbrook heats up, beats Hinsdale S.
Gomez goals spark 4-2 win, 3rd-straight Warriors victory
DARIEN -- Willowbrook is suddenly turning gray skies into rainbows.
After a 2-0-0 start to 2017 dissipated into midseason struggles against a wave of injuries, the Warriors are finding their health and footing again just in time for the postseason.
Tuesday’s match at Hinsdale South (1-17-1, 0-6-0 in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division) was marred by steady rains, but Willowbrook (6-10-0, 2-4-0) produced its own offensive downpour. Three goals in a 22-minute span of the first half powered the Warriors to a 3-0 lead and an eventual 4-2 victory that extended their regular-season winning streak to three.
“What’s really been helping us a lot is that now we’re scoring goals,” Willowbrook senior co-captain Tomas Hernandez said. “Up-top we’ve improved a lot these last few games. The game against Proviso West really helped a lot. We scored like eight goals, and that really got us going.
“The next game we won as well (4-3 over Downers Grove South), and now we have a lot of momentum going.”
The Warriors took awhile to continue that momentum Tuesday – their only top quality chance of the first 18 minutes was a David Rizzo left-side attack in the 4th minute that was denied on a diving save by Hinsdale South goalkeeper Bryan Alcantara.
But later in the half, the slick field and steady rains were matched by Willowbrook’s saturation of the scoreboard.
“We just tried to keep the energy and momentum up,” Willowbrook senior co-captain Patrick Florey said. “It’s rainy and cold, but we didn’t want that to be a factor in the game. We said ‘No excuses, just keep the energy up and keep it flowing. Just keep the possession under control and keep moving up. Don’t play in the back a lot, but keep moving up the field.’”
A Florey throw-in from 20 yards produced the first breakthrough.
Jeff Wolski’s initial touch in the box spun free to Efren Gomez, who stepped to open space and calmly rolled a 10-yard shot inside the left post with 20:07 left in the half.
“I just found the ball on the ground, controlled it and everything slowed down,” said Gomez, whose two-goal night earned him Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.
“To control the ball was kind of difficult -- it was slippery. But it went to our advantage because the defenders couldn’t really stop the ball. I was looking for rebounds and stuff.”
Gomez didn’t have to wait long for his next big chance.
After a threat in the 25th minute (a Roman corner kick redirection cleared off the line by Hinsdale South’s Karel Ondra), Gomez put the Warriors up 2-0 with 14:39 left in the half.
Aaron Guallpa drove the left side and sent a cross to Gomez in front, whose 10-yard shot again found netting inside the low left corner.
“Efren has been a goal-scoring machine. I think he has five or six goals in the last three games,” Willowbrook coach Eddie DeLaCruz said. “He’s been playing very well.
“We’re getting it from all angles. Patrick Florey on the right side, and we had some players move around today – Miguel Correa was out today, and Izzy Roman took care of that center mid spot pretty well. Even though he didn’t have the assists, Izzy was part of those first two goals. He was the pass before the assist. He did a phenomenal job.”
The Warriors produced two more huge chances within a 30-second span later in the half. With 12:45 until halftime, Gomez just missed a hat-trick when his 15-yard right side shot off a Casey Rosas pass was deflected just wide by a diving Alcantara.
Then off the ensuing corner kick, Hernandez lined up a 20-yard straight-on rocket destined for just inside the right post. But it was blocked near the goal line by defender Abbas Asharif.
With 2:11 left in the half, Willowbrook turned a defensive stand into a huge turnaround.
Off a 30-yard free kick by Hinsdale South’s Ondra, Rosas cleared the ball upfield to ignite a counterattack by Florey. After a run into the offensive zone, Florey found sophomore Eric Hoda bursting up the middle for an 18-yard low drive inside the right post and a 3-0 lead.
That quick reversal of fortune summed up the first half for Hinsdale South.
“We started with a very good game,” Hornets coach Danny Makaric said. “The first 10-15 minutes I thought we played very well.
“But when we don’t score then our kids think ‘Oh no, we’re going to lose again.’ After those first 15-20 minutes they dominated. We were dropping, dribbling around, no more passing, nothing.
“It’s a psychological block we have that if we don’t get the first goal, we’re going to lose. We lose so many games, but honestly we probably deserve to lose four or five games. We’re in every game, but a basic mistake we make in the back, we have a hard time correcting.”
Hinsdale South began to show life 1:05 before the break, when a dangerous Asharif cross to the crease was nicely headed away by Willowbrook’s Thomas Waldorf.
Then coming out of the half down 3-0 but with the wind, Hinsdale South was a different team.
On a 1-v.-1 right side burst, Amaro lined a shot just wide of the right post with 36:50 left. Then on a throw-in, Willowbrook goalkeeper Mario Giase grabbed a Amaro cross to the crease with 27:30 to go.
Then after withstanding a Roman right wing dash and shot just wide of the near post, Hinsdale South’s offense found the mark on its next chance.
With 25:03 to go, Jake Hospes’ send to the box from the right side found Ryan Kuhlman, whose 10-yard shot drew the Hornets within 3-1.
“At the half we said we have to stick it out – 40 minutes is a long time,” Makaric said. “That’s exactly what happened. We stuck with our plan, played a great game and scored two goals. Probably if we had another 10 minutes, we tie the game.”
The Hinsdale South surge continued with 20:55 left, when Giase batted away a 39-yard line drive Luke Grubic free kick and then grabbed the ensuing 20-yard rebound shot.
Willowbrook nearly put the game away with 19 minutes to go, but Alcantara came off his line and came up big with a point-blank smothering of a Gomez 15-yard shot.
The next 12 minutes brought back-and-forth chances (a nice Giase save of a high Hospes right side shot, then two Willowbrook shots inches wide of the net by Hoda with 9:30 to play and Roman with 6:05 left).
Giase's diving deflection wide of a Kuhlman shot with 5:35 and two-consecutive ensuing Hornets corner kicks that were thwarted (the second headed away by Hernandez) kept the 3-1 Willowbrook edge.
But with rain pouring and time drying up, a wild finish ensued.
Hinsdale South drew within 3-2 with 3:35 left as a well-struck Grubic corner kick to the back post was headed in by Kuhlman.
“Downers Grove South last week was almost the same thing – up 4-1, and then they scored two goals in the last like six minutes,” DeLaCruz said. “So finishing games is definitely something before (the regional opener) Saturday that we have to talk about.”
But it was the resurgent Willowbrook offense that had the last word Tuesday, from an unlikely distance and source.
On a play initiated by a throw-in with 2:04 left, junior defender Wolski lofted a high 30-yard shot that deflected off a leaping Alcantara’s hands and under the crossbar.
The goal was Wolski’s first of 2017, and slammed the door on the Hornets’ comeback.
“The ball came out, and Casey (Rosas) just headed it back to me,” Wolski said. “I didn’t really know what to do with the shot, so I just trapped it and took a nice volley. I thought he (Alcantara) was going to block it and I was going to be really depressed, and it went in.
“We just really wanted to close it out and get off the field. We had a strong enough defense the whole game, with just a couple errors. But we really capitalized on chances.”
“We wanted to win and end strong in our final conference game,” Wolski added. “Hinsdale South, we always play them good, they always play us good. It’s nice to come out on top.”
The Warriors also refused to let weather conditions rain on their parade.
“These kinds of games you can’t use as an excuse because both teams are playing in the same conditions,” Hernandez said. “Playing in this is more mental. You need a lot of mental strength; you have to keep your composure. And you have to be a little better because with the skip (on wet turf) you have to time the ball a little better. It’s really just mental toughness.”
For the most part, the defense met the challenge.
“Our team is pretty good at taking the pressure,” Hernandez said. “We’ve been through a lot of pressure this season, and our back four is really used to it.
“We know how to defend and play with pressure on us, and we did pretty well. We had a few mistakes that cost us like on the couple goals, but I think we did really well.”
The Warriors have become more polished at both ends of the field.
Said Wolski: “Goals (have been the biggest difference). We’ve been passing more, with a lot better communication, and our defense has been solid. Mario has been a great goalkeeper.
“Hopefully we just keep playing how we’re playing, solid all around, and take it into the playoffs.”
Willowbrook now heads into Saturday’s regional matchup with Hoffman Estates playing its best soccer of the season.
“Now that we have most of our guys pretty healthy, we’ve won our last three games,” DeLaCruz said. “So we have momentum going into the playoffs Saturday.
“It’s nice to see the team that you had on paper actually on the field and playing. This was supposed to be Willowbrook soccer all year, but almost half of my guys have been out. But no excuses. I’m just really happy.”
Said Hernandez: “We’re going into the playoffs really well. The game on Saturday against Hoffman Estates, I think we have really good momentum. The team’s feeling really good, we’re really into our practices and are working hard and practicing hard. The playoffs could be really good.”
From the depths of a midseason losing streak, optimism is soaring.
“I just feel like we finally connected and started playing well together,” Florey said. “We didn’t connect well in the middle of the season because there were so many injuries, and we hadn’t played the whole season together.
“Towards the end I’m happy we have a play-in game (Saturday), because the more we play the better we’ve become. I just feel like we’re going to keep becoming better and better, because we’re learning how to play with each other. We’re super excited.”
Starting lineups
Willowbrook
GK Mario Giase
D Jeff Wolski
D Ismael Roman
D Tomas Hernandez
D Thomas Waldorf
M David Rizzo
M Steven Cerda
M Aaron Guallpa
M Izzy Roman
F Efren Gomez
F Patrick Florey
Hinsdale South
GK Bryan Alcantara
D Abbas Asharif
D Adan Amaro
D Alexander Tsui
D Adam Krupa
M Jake Hospes
M Jack Metcalf
M Chris Wayman
M Karel Ondra
F Ryan Kuhlman
F Luka Grubic
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Efren Gomez, sr. F, Willowbrook.
Scoring summary
1st HALF
W – Gomez (Wolski)
W – Gomez (Guallpa)
W – Hoda (Florey)
2nd HALF
HS – Kuhlman (Hospes)
HS – Kuhlman (Grubic)
W – Wolski (Rosas)
Gomez goals spark 4-2 win, 3rd-straight Warriors victory
DARIEN -- Willowbrook is suddenly turning gray skies into rainbows.
After a 2-0-0 start to 2017 dissipated into midseason struggles against a wave of injuries, the Warriors are finding their health and footing again just in time for the postseason.
Tuesday’s match at Hinsdale South (1-17-1, 0-6-0 in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division) was marred by steady rains, but Willowbrook (6-10-0, 2-4-0) produced its own offensive downpour. Three goals in a 22-minute span of the first half powered the Warriors to a 3-0 lead and an eventual 4-2 victory that extended their regular-season winning streak to three.
“What’s really been helping us a lot is that now we’re scoring goals,” Willowbrook senior co-captain Tomas Hernandez said. “Up-top we’ve improved a lot these last few games. The game against Proviso West really helped a lot. We scored like eight goals, and that really got us going.
“The next game we won as well (4-3 over Downers Grove South), and now we have a lot of momentum going.”
The Warriors took awhile to continue that momentum Tuesday – their only top quality chance of the first 18 minutes was a David Rizzo left-side attack in the 4th minute that was denied on a diving save by Hinsdale South goalkeeper Bryan Alcantara.
But later in the half, the slick field and steady rains were matched by Willowbrook’s saturation of the scoreboard.
“We just tried to keep the energy and momentum up,” Willowbrook senior co-captain Patrick Florey said. “It’s rainy and cold, but we didn’t want that to be a factor in the game. We said ‘No excuses, just keep the energy up and keep it flowing. Just keep the possession under control and keep moving up. Don’t play in the back a lot, but keep moving up the field.’”
A Florey throw-in from 20 yards produced the first breakthrough.
Jeff Wolski’s initial touch in the box spun free to Efren Gomez, who stepped to open space and calmly rolled a 10-yard shot inside the left post with 20:07 left in the half.
“I just found the ball on the ground, controlled it and everything slowed down,” said Gomez, whose two-goal night earned him Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.
“To control the ball was kind of difficult -- it was slippery. But it went to our advantage because the defenders couldn’t really stop the ball. I was looking for rebounds and stuff.”
Gomez didn’t have to wait long for his next big chance.
After a threat in the 25th minute (a Roman corner kick redirection cleared off the line by Hinsdale South’s Karel Ondra), Gomez put the Warriors up 2-0 with 14:39 left in the half.
Aaron Guallpa drove the left side and sent a cross to Gomez in front, whose 10-yard shot again found netting inside the low left corner.
“Efren has been a goal-scoring machine. I think he has five or six goals in the last three games,” Willowbrook coach Eddie DeLaCruz said. “He’s been playing very well.
“We’re getting it from all angles. Patrick Florey on the right side, and we had some players move around today – Miguel Correa was out today, and Izzy Roman took care of that center mid spot pretty well. Even though he didn’t have the assists, Izzy was part of those first two goals. He was the pass before the assist. He did a phenomenal job.”
The Warriors produced two more huge chances within a 30-second span later in the half. With 12:45 until halftime, Gomez just missed a hat-trick when his 15-yard right side shot off a Casey Rosas pass was deflected just wide by a diving Alcantara.
Then off the ensuing corner kick, Hernandez lined up a 20-yard straight-on rocket destined for just inside the right post. But it was blocked near the goal line by defender Abbas Asharif.
With 2:11 left in the half, Willowbrook turned a defensive stand into a huge turnaround.
Off a 30-yard free kick by Hinsdale South’s Ondra, Rosas cleared the ball upfield to ignite a counterattack by Florey. After a run into the offensive zone, Florey found sophomore Eric Hoda bursting up the middle for an 18-yard low drive inside the right post and a 3-0 lead.
That quick reversal of fortune summed up the first half for Hinsdale South.
“We started with a very good game,” Hornets coach Danny Makaric said. “The first 10-15 minutes I thought we played very well.
“But when we don’t score then our kids think ‘Oh no, we’re going to lose again.’ After those first 15-20 minutes they dominated. We were dropping, dribbling around, no more passing, nothing.
“It’s a psychological block we have that if we don’t get the first goal, we’re going to lose. We lose so many games, but honestly we probably deserve to lose four or five games. We’re in every game, but a basic mistake we make in the back, we have a hard time correcting.”
Hinsdale South began to show life 1:05 before the break, when a dangerous Asharif cross to the crease was nicely headed away by Willowbrook’s Thomas Waldorf.
Then coming out of the half down 3-0 but with the wind, Hinsdale South was a different team.
On a 1-v.-1 right side burst, Amaro lined a shot just wide of the right post with 36:50 left. Then on a throw-in, Willowbrook goalkeeper Mario Giase grabbed a Amaro cross to the crease with 27:30 to go.
Then after withstanding a Roman right wing dash and shot just wide of the near post, Hinsdale South’s offense found the mark on its next chance.
With 25:03 to go, Jake Hospes’ send to the box from the right side found Ryan Kuhlman, whose 10-yard shot drew the Hornets within 3-1.
“At the half we said we have to stick it out – 40 minutes is a long time,” Makaric said. “That’s exactly what happened. We stuck with our plan, played a great game and scored two goals. Probably if we had another 10 minutes, we tie the game.”
The Hinsdale South surge continued with 20:55 left, when Giase batted away a 39-yard line drive Luke Grubic free kick and then grabbed the ensuing 20-yard rebound shot.
Willowbrook nearly put the game away with 19 minutes to go, but Alcantara came off his line and came up big with a point-blank smothering of a Gomez 15-yard shot.
The next 12 minutes brought back-and-forth chances (a nice Giase save of a high Hospes right side shot, then two Willowbrook shots inches wide of the net by Hoda with 9:30 to play and Roman with 6:05 left).
Giase's diving deflection wide of a Kuhlman shot with 5:35 and two-consecutive ensuing Hornets corner kicks that were thwarted (the second headed away by Hernandez) kept the 3-1 Willowbrook edge.
But with rain pouring and time drying up, a wild finish ensued.
Hinsdale South drew within 3-2 with 3:35 left as a well-struck Grubic corner kick to the back post was headed in by Kuhlman.
“Downers Grove South last week was almost the same thing – up 4-1, and then they scored two goals in the last like six minutes,” DeLaCruz said. “So finishing games is definitely something before (the regional opener) Saturday that we have to talk about.”
But it was the resurgent Willowbrook offense that had the last word Tuesday, from an unlikely distance and source.
On a play initiated by a throw-in with 2:04 left, junior defender Wolski lofted a high 30-yard shot that deflected off a leaping Alcantara’s hands and under the crossbar.
The goal was Wolski’s first of 2017, and slammed the door on the Hornets’ comeback.
“The ball came out, and Casey (Rosas) just headed it back to me,” Wolski said. “I didn’t really know what to do with the shot, so I just trapped it and took a nice volley. I thought he (Alcantara) was going to block it and I was going to be really depressed, and it went in.
“We just really wanted to close it out and get off the field. We had a strong enough defense the whole game, with just a couple errors. But we really capitalized on chances.”
“We wanted to win and end strong in our final conference game,” Wolski added. “Hinsdale South, we always play them good, they always play us good. It’s nice to come out on top.”
The Warriors also refused to let weather conditions rain on their parade.
“These kinds of games you can’t use as an excuse because both teams are playing in the same conditions,” Hernandez said. “Playing in this is more mental. You need a lot of mental strength; you have to keep your composure. And you have to be a little better because with the skip (on wet turf) you have to time the ball a little better. It’s really just mental toughness.”
For the most part, the defense met the challenge.
“Our team is pretty good at taking the pressure,” Hernandez said. “We’ve been through a lot of pressure this season, and our back four is really used to it.
“We know how to defend and play with pressure on us, and we did pretty well. We had a few mistakes that cost us like on the couple goals, but I think we did really well.”
The Warriors have become more polished at both ends of the field.
Said Wolski: “Goals (have been the biggest difference). We’ve been passing more, with a lot better communication, and our defense has been solid. Mario has been a great goalkeeper.
“Hopefully we just keep playing how we’re playing, solid all around, and take it into the playoffs.”
Willowbrook now heads into Saturday’s regional matchup with Hoffman Estates playing its best soccer of the season.
“Now that we have most of our guys pretty healthy, we’ve won our last three games,” DeLaCruz said. “So we have momentum going into the playoffs Saturday.
“It’s nice to see the team that you had on paper actually on the field and playing. This was supposed to be Willowbrook soccer all year, but almost half of my guys have been out. But no excuses. I’m just really happy.”
Said Hernandez: “We’re going into the playoffs really well. The game on Saturday against Hoffman Estates, I think we have really good momentum. The team’s feeling really good, we’re really into our practices and are working hard and practicing hard. The playoffs could be really good.”
From the depths of a midseason losing streak, optimism is soaring.
“I just feel like we finally connected and started playing well together,” Florey said. “We didn’t connect well in the middle of the season because there were so many injuries, and we hadn’t played the whole season together.
“Towards the end I’m happy we have a play-in game (Saturday), because the more we play the better we’ve become. I just feel like we’re going to keep becoming better and better, because we’re learning how to play with each other. We’re super excited.”
Starting lineups
Willowbrook
GK Mario Giase
D Jeff Wolski
D Ismael Roman
D Tomas Hernandez
D Thomas Waldorf
M David Rizzo
M Steven Cerda
M Aaron Guallpa
M Izzy Roman
F Efren Gomez
F Patrick Florey
Hinsdale South
GK Bryan Alcantara
D Abbas Asharif
D Adan Amaro
D Alexander Tsui
D Adam Krupa
M Jake Hospes
M Jack Metcalf
M Chris Wayman
M Karel Ondra
F Ryan Kuhlman
F Luka Grubic
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Efren Gomez, sr. F, Willowbrook.
Scoring summary
1st HALF
W – Gomez (Wolski)
W – Gomez (Guallpa)
W – Hoda (Florey)
2nd HALF
HS – Kuhlman (Hospes)
HS – Kuhlman (Grubic)
W – Wolski (Rosas)