Willowbrook continues shootout
mastery, outduels Eisenhower
Warriors win second-straight PK battle
By Dave Owen
VILLA PARK - Willowbrook is learning to respond to adversity in very dramatic and clutch ways.
After seeing their 2-1 lead late in Thursday’s PepsiCo Showdown third-round game vanish on an Eisenhower rebound goal with just 5:03 left, the Warriors struck back with their second-straight excellent performance in an overtime penalty kick session to produce another victory.
Having defeated Little Village in a PK session by a 4-2 count Saturday, Willowbrook (4-5-1) produced identical marksmanship and clutch goalkeeping by Isai Aparicio to top Eisenhower (0-5-2) by the same 4-2 PK margin.
“We have a good keeper, and we pick the best five guys (to shoot PKs) and roll the dice with them,” Willowbrook coach Dan Riskind said.
“They’re resilient,” Riskind added about his squad. “We practice that and talk about it, that it’s the next play. You can’t do anything about the past, move forward.”
Devin Guallpa, Francisco Perez, Alvaro Gaspar and Dorian Mahone all converted PK’s for the Warriors on Thursday, with Mahone’s shot clinching the win.
As for Aparicio, his diving save on second Eisenhower PK shooter Sebastian Frausto was not only huge, but a symbolic stand of sorts – Frausto had scored both Cardinals goals in regulation during his exceptional offensive performance.
“I did feel the pressure on me,” Aparicio said of the PK session, which also included the ourth Eisenhower shooter sending his try over the net. “Thinking back to last week against Little Village when I made two saves (in PKs), I just try to do my best.
“That one save (Frausto) was big, but I’m just glad we got the win in penalties.”
The way Eisenhower executed at the start and end of regulation, a Warriors win wasn’t easy.
After withstanding an early rush by Willowbrook’s Alejandro Perez (a left-side rush and cross that just missed a back post connection in the 9th minute), Eisenhower struck.
Taking a pass from Gael Arriaga, Frausto raced in right and lined a 20-yard shot upper left corner for a 1-0 Cardinals lead 29:41 before halftime.
Showing that growing resiliency their coach mentioned, the Warriors endured two more Eisenhower threats in the 12th minute (an Aparicio catch of a screened Roberto Sanchez 25-yarder, then a Kalep Martinez defensive-end steal) before providing an impressive series of counterpunches late in the half.
The first came in the 21st minute. Off a Eisenhower 40-yard free kick send, Martinez won the 50-50 ball and passed ahead to Ahmed Amro to ignite a counterattack.
That Warriors bid ended with a Guallpa 22-yard shot saved by Eisenhower keeper Hector Mendez. But that play would foretell an imminent momentum change on the scoreboard.
“We’re building up team chemistry and improving a lot since the beginning,” said Aparicio, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
“That’s what we’ve tried to do every single day in practice and games. We communicate with each other and try our best to improve as a team.”
The Warriors offense began to send a message in the 24th minute, when a Guallpa midfield win and Mahone and Luka Daszkiewicz counterattack led to a Norman Deci 20-yard shot just wide right.
Francisco Perez added more fuel to the offensive uprising in the 25th minute, lining a 22-yarder just over the net off an Amro throw-in.
Then came a strong set piece send by Mahone, a rebound chance, and a 1-1 score.
With 12:06 until halftime, Mahone's well-struck 30-yard free kick was initially denied on an arm save by Mendez. But Deci hustled in to power home the point-blank rebound.
The score was tied, and Willowbrook had the momentum.
“Once we started scoring, like with any team, once you score your confidence builds up,” Martinez said. “You get that second wind, and you’re thirsty for another goal.”
Martinez nearly delivered that follow-up in the 30th minute. After a Perez 20-yard free kick into a crowd in-front, Martinez lined a 15-yard shot wide left.
After diving saves at opposite ends of the field on Amro (22-yarder in the 31st minute) and Alan Arriaga (liner deflected wide by Aparicio in the 33rd minute), Willowbrook’s knack for the counterattack produced a 2-1 Warriors lead.
Off an Eisenhower corner kick, Martinez cleared the crease with a long send. Perez’s pass from the midfield to the left side found Deci, whose 12-yard liner gave him nine goals in 2019.
“We capitalized on their mistakes and finished,” Deci said. “It’s proper communication – I’ve been getting good balls and capitalizing on the chances that I have.
“I think we got our confidence back after that first goal, and we just went up from there.”
A Kevin Kapica blocked shot in the box denied a Frausto scoring bid in the 37th minute, as the Warriors went into the half up 2-1.
Then came an Eisenhower second half offensive resurgence.
Pedro Flores’ 8-yard shot just wide left with 36:30 left was the first Cardinals chance after the half.
Willowbrook’s Mahone answered by lining a 35-yard free kick just over the net with 30:05 left. But Eisenhower was back in attack mode quickly.
With 28:40 to play, Gael Arriaga’s 28-yard shot skimmed the upper right post and over the end line.
Six minutes later, Flores deflected a cross in front just wide. Then a Cardinals threat with 19:50 to go was denied by a Ruben Valle sliding clear 15 yards out. Next came a nice Cesar Guzman 50-50 win at the 30.
“I felt very good,” Eisenhower coach Iran Rodriguez said of his team’s play. “It was a new formation we tried today, and it looked great.
“We were defending very well, and we had a lot of opportunities to win this game in regulation. But we just couldn’t put it away.”
The Cardinals defense needed to come up big with 18:40 left, when Alejandro Perez capped his run up the middle with a 10-yard liner blocked by goalkeeper Mendez.
Martinez followed with a shot wide 35 seconds later, and his strong play continued with nine minutes left when he won a 50-50 ball near midfield, was fouled and launched an ensuing 45-yard free kick that required a Mendez catch.
“Our team, since the beginning of the season we’ve improved with little tweaks here and there," Martinez said. "But I think we have more potential.”
Unfortunately for the Warriors, Eisenhower kept showing its scoring potential until it finally produced a game-tying finish.
A nice defensive combination effort by Kapica and Gaspar with 14:05 left denied an Alan Arriaga bid in the box, which Brian Fuentes capped with a long clear upfield.
Then after Eisenhower sent a 22-yard free kick wide left with 6:50 to go, the next shot from similar distance would produce trouble – and a 2-2 tie.
Gael Arriaga’s 25-yard initial shot was denied by Aparicio’s leaping deflection off the crossbar, but Fausto raced in to power home the rebound.
“I tipped it off (the bar),” Aparicio said, “but he followed as a striker should do.”
Said Rodriguez: “He (Fausto) has been struggling to score. The last game he missed two or three breakaways, but he finished two today. So it’s getting better.”
The PK session would provide Willowbrook a happy ending for the second time in the last three games. But the late goal and roller coaster ride in regulation left a more shaky feeling.
“Their second goal, we shouldn’t have conceded,” Deci said. “That shouldn’t happen. We should have kept that 2-1 lead.
“It’s getting there for us, but we have to stop going to penalties. It’s too risky. You want to win the game in regular time and no need to go to penalties. We just have to finish games off. We have to start strong and finish strong.
“We’ve had problems with first half good, second half bad and vice versa,” Deci added. “We just have to play all 80 minutes like we did today. But the last five minutes – that (Eisenhower goal) shouldn’t happen.”
Despite that goal, the Warriors’ defense has made nice progress in recent games.
“We’ve been working on team defense,” Riskind said, “and this was a better effort for us team defense-wise.
“We were under pressure a lot, so it’s a new concept for them that we’re trying to delay (attackers), force them wide and be more compact. I thought that was a good result, in the sense that as a team we really tried to do that.”
Eisenhower kept up the heat on after the goal.
A corner kick with 3:40 left was denied by Aparicio’s initial block of a header deflection, then Gaspar’s clear of the crease.
Aparicio then saved Alan Arriaga’s 18-yarder with 1:20 to go.
Guallpa ended regulation with a long send up the sideline as time expired – then his putaway of the first PK began Willowbrook’s claim of the extra session and the victory.
“All that pressure even from the (late) goal they scored, we tried to keep our heads up,” Aparicio said. “And look what happened. We won.”
Success and lack of it can equally build upon itself. After a six-game stretch of allowing 34 goals and winning just once, the Warriors have answered with stronger defense the last three matches – and two wins.
“Our team chemistry is improving,” Aparicio said, “and how we focus on improvement, stay focused, keep the positivity.
“Whenever we make a mistake, nowadays we tell each other to keep our heads up. And that’s what is improving us I would say.”
Pressure finishes have led to increased smiles for the Warriors.
“It’s fun for the boys,” Riskind said. “The program is trying to improve, and we’re taking baby steps to improvement.”
Starting lineups
Willowbrook
GK Isai Aparicio
D Kevin Kapica
D Alvaro Gaspar
D Kalep Martinez
D Brian Fuentes
M Devin Guallpa
M Francisco Perez
M Alejandro Perez
M Ruben Valle
F Dorian Mahone
F Norman Deci
Eisenhower
GK Hector Mendez
D Carlos Villanueva
D Julian Rojas
D Imanol Mercado
M Joshua Solis
M Jesus Verduzco
M Frank Antonio
M Gael Arriaga
M Alan Arriaga
F Sebastian Frausto
F Roberto Sanchez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Isai Aparicio, sr. GK, Willowbrook
Scoring summary
First half
Eis- Sebastian Frausto (Gael Arriaga assist), 11’
Will- Norman Deci (free kick rebound), 28’
Will- Deci (Francisco Perez), 34’
Second half
Eis- Frausto (rebound), 75’
PKs:
Willowbrook (4)- Devin Guallpa, Francisco Perez, Alvaro Gaspar, Dorian Mahone
Eisenhower (2)- Carlos Villanueva, Jesus Verduzco
mastery, outduels Eisenhower
Warriors win second-straight PK battle
By Dave Owen
VILLA PARK - Willowbrook is learning to respond to adversity in very dramatic and clutch ways.
After seeing their 2-1 lead late in Thursday’s PepsiCo Showdown third-round game vanish on an Eisenhower rebound goal with just 5:03 left, the Warriors struck back with their second-straight excellent performance in an overtime penalty kick session to produce another victory.
Having defeated Little Village in a PK session by a 4-2 count Saturday, Willowbrook (4-5-1) produced identical marksmanship and clutch goalkeeping by Isai Aparicio to top Eisenhower (0-5-2) by the same 4-2 PK margin.
“We have a good keeper, and we pick the best five guys (to shoot PKs) and roll the dice with them,” Willowbrook coach Dan Riskind said.
“They’re resilient,” Riskind added about his squad. “We practice that and talk about it, that it’s the next play. You can’t do anything about the past, move forward.”
Devin Guallpa, Francisco Perez, Alvaro Gaspar and Dorian Mahone all converted PK’s for the Warriors on Thursday, with Mahone’s shot clinching the win.
As for Aparicio, his diving save on second Eisenhower PK shooter Sebastian Frausto was not only huge, but a symbolic stand of sorts – Frausto had scored both Cardinals goals in regulation during his exceptional offensive performance.
“I did feel the pressure on me,” Aparicio said of the PK session, which also included the ourth Eisenhower shooter sending his try over the net. “Thinking back to last week against Little Village when I made two saves (in PKs), I just try to do my best.
“That one save (Frausto) was big, but I’m just glad we got the win in penalties.”
The way Eisenhower executed at the start and end of regulation, a Warriors win wasn’t easy.
After withstanding an early rush by Willowbrook’s Alejandro Perez (a left-side rush and cross that just missed a back post connection in the 9th minute), Eisenhower struck.
Taking a pass from Gael Arriaga, Frausto raced in right and lined a 20-yard shot upper left corner for a 1-0 Cardinals lead 29:41 before halftime.
Showing that growing resiliency their coach mentioned, the Warriors endured two more Eisenhower threats in the 12th minute (an Aparicio catch of a screened Roberto Sanchez 25-yarder, then a Kalep Martinez defensive-end steal) before providing an impressive series of counterpunches late in the half.
The first came in the 21st minute. Off a Eisenhower 40-yard free kick send, Martinez won the 50-50 ball and passed ahead to Ahmed Amro to ignite a counterattack.
That Warriors bid ended with a Guallpa 22-yard shot saved by Eisenhower keeper Hector Mendez. But that play would foretell an imminent momentum change on the scoreboard.
“We’re building up team chemistry and improving a lot since the beginning,” said Aparicio, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match.
“That’s what we’ve tried to do every single day in practice and games. We communicate with each other and try our best to improve as a team.”
The Warriors offense began to send a message in the 24th minute, when a Guallpa midfield win and Mahone and Luka Daszkiewicz counterattack led to a Norman Deci 20-yard shot just wide right.
Francisco Perez added more fuel to the offensive uprising in the 25th minute, lining a 22-yarder just over the net off an Amro throw-in.
Then came a strong set piece send by Mahone, a rebound chance, and a 1-1 score.
With 12:06 until halftime, Mahone's well-struck 30-yard free kick was initially denied on an arm save by Mendez. But Deci hustled in to power home the point-blank rebound.
The score was tied, and Willowbrook had the momentum.
“Once we started scoring, like with any team, once you score your confidence builds up,” Martinez said. “You get that second wind, and you’re thirsty for another goal.”
Martinez nearly delivered that follow-up in the 30th minute. After a Perez 20-yard free kick into a crowd in-front, Martinez lined a 15-yard shot wide left.
After diving saves at opposite ends of the field on Amro (22-yarder in the 31st minute) and Alan Arriaga (liner deflected wide by Aparicio in the 33rd minute), Willowbrook’s knack for the counterattack produced a 2-1 Warriors lead.
Off an Eisenhower corner kick, Martinez cleared the crease with a long send. Perez’s pass from the midfield to the left side found Deci, whose 12-yard liner gave him nine goals in 2019.
“We capitalized on their mistakes and finished,” Deci said. “It’s proper communication – I’ve been getting good balls and capitalizing on the chances that I have.
“I think we got our confidence back after that first goal, and we just went up from there.”
A Kevin Kapica blocked shot in the box denied a Frausto scoring bid in the 37th minute, as the Warriors went into the half up 2-1.
Then came an Eisenhower second half offensive resurgence.
Pedro Flores’ 8-yard shot just wide left with 36:30 left was the first Cardinals chance after the half.
Willowbrook’s Mahone answered by lining a 35-yard free kick just over the net with 30:05 left. But Eisenhower was back in attack mode quickly.
With 28:40 to play, Gael Arriaga’s 28-yard shot skimmed the upper right post and over the end line.
Six minutes later, Flores deflected a cross in front just wide. Then a Cardinals threat with 19:50 to go was denied by a Ruben Valle sliding clear 15 yards out. Next came a nice Cesar Guzman 50-50 win at the 30.
“I felt very good,” Eisenhower coach Iran Rodriguez said of his team’s play. “It was a new formation we tried today, and it looked great.
“We were defending very well, and we had a lot of opportunities to win this game in regulation. But we just couldn’t put it away.”
The Cardinals defense needed to come up big with 18:40 left, when Alejandro Perez capped his run up the middle with a 10-yard liner blocked by goalkeeper Mendez.
Martinez followed with a shot wide 35 seconds later, and his strong play continued with nine minutes left when he won a 50-50 ball near midfield, was fouled and launched an ensuing 45-yard free kick that required a Mendez catch.
“Our team, since the beginning of the season we’ve improved with little tweaks here and there," Martinez said. "But I think we have more potential.”
Unfortunately for the Warriors, Eisenhower kept showing its scoring potential until it finally produced a game-tying finish.
A nice defensive combination effort by Kapica and Gaspar with 14:05 left denied an Alan Arriaga bid in the box, which Brian Fuentes capped with a long clear upfield.
Then after Eisenhower sent a 22-yard free kick wide left with 6:50 to go, the next shot from similar distance would produce trouble – and a 2-2 tie.
Gael Arriaga’s 25-yard initial shot was denied by Aparicio’s leaping deflection off the crossbar, but Fausto raced in to power home the rebound.
“I tipped it off (the bar),” Aparicio said, “but he followed as a striker should do.”
Said Rodriguez: “He (Fausto) has been struggling to score. The last game he missed two or three breakaways, but he finished two today. So it’s getting better.”
The PK session would provide Willowbrook a happy ending for the second time in the last three games. But the late goal and roller coaster ride in regulation left a more shaky feeling.
“Their second goal, we shouldn’t have conceded,” Deci said. “That shouldn’t happen. We should have kept that 2-1 lead.
“It’s getting there for us, but we have to stop going to penalties. It’s too risky. You want to win the game in regular time and no need to go to penalties. We just have to finish games off. We have to start strong and finish strong.
“We’ve had problems with first half good, second half bad and vice versa,” Deci added. “We just have to play all 80 minutes like we did today. But the last five minutes – that (Eisenhower goal) shouldn’t happen.”
Despite that goal, the Warriors’ defense has made nice progress in recent games.
“We’ve been working on team defense,” Riskind said, “and this was a better effort for us team defense-wise.
“We were under pressure a lot, so it’s a new concept for them that we’re trying to delay (attackers), force them wide and be more compact. I thought that was a good result, in the sense that as a team we really tried to do that.”
Eisenhower kept up the heat on after the goal.
A corner kick with 3:40 left was denied by Aparicio’s initial block of a header deflection, then Gaspar’s clear of the crease.
Aparicio then saved Alan Arriaga’s 18-yarder with 1:20 to go.
Guallpa ended regulation with a long send up the sideline as time expired – then his putaway of the first PK began Willowbrook’s claim of the extra session and the victory.
“All that pressure even from the (late) goal they scored, we tried to keep our heads up,” Aparicio said. “And look what happened. We won.”
Success and lack of it can equally build upon itself. After a six-game stretch of allowing 34 goals and winning just once, the Warriors have answered with stronger defense the last three matches – and two wins.
“Our team chemistry is improving,” Aparicio said, “and how we focus on improvement, stay focused, keep the positivity.
“Whenever we make a mistake, nowadays we tell each other to keep our heads up. And that’s what is improving us I would say.”
Pressure finishes have led to increased smiles for the Warriors.
“It’s fun for the boys,” Riskind said. “The program is trying to improve, and we’re taking baby steps to improvement.”
Starting lineups
Willowbrook
GK Isai Aparicio
D Kevin Kapica
D Alvaro Gaspar
D Kalep Martinez
D Brian Fuentes
M Devin Guallpa
M Francisco Perez
M Alejandro Perez
M Ruben Valle
F Dorian Mahone
F Norman Deci
Eisenhower
GK Hector Mendez
D Carlos Villanueva
D Julian Rojas
D Imanol Mercado
M Joshua Solis
M Jesus Verduzco
M Frank Antonio
M Gael Arriaga
M Alan Arriaga
F Sebastian Frausto
F Roberto Sanchez
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Isai Aparicio, sr. GK, Willowbrook
Scoring summary
First half
Eis- Sebastian Frausto (Gael Arriaga assist), 11’
Will- Norman Deci (free kick rebound), 28’
Will- Deci (Francisco Perez), 34’
Second half
Eis- Frausto (rebound), 75’
PKs:
Willowbrook (4)- Devin Guallpa, Francisco Perez, Alvaro Gaspar, Dorian Mahone
Eisenhower (2)- Carlos Villanueva, Jesus Verduzco