Metea Valley gets goal happy
against Waubonsie Valley
May need to consider redesigning score sheet after 6-3 win
By Matt Le Cren
AURORA – Metea Valley coach Josh Robinson walked off the field looking slightly dazed.
He wasn’t the only one.
The visiting Mustangs knocked off Waubonsie Valley 6-3 in a Tuesday night DuPage Valley Conference clash that might have been the most bizarre clash ever between the Eola Road rivals.
“It was weird,” Robinson said. “That’s my quote, It was weird.
“All joking aside, at Metea Valley we never score goals. On our stat sheet, I only have places for four.
“Today the kids were like, ‘Where do I put them?’ That happened earlier this year. We got four against Leyden and they go, ‘What do we do with the next one?’ I go, ‘Guys, that just doesn’t happen around here.’”
Oh, but it did in this game. The Mustangs, in fact, scored four in the second half alone to rally back in impressive fashion after Waubonsie Valley tallied three-consecutive goals late in the first half.
Missouri State-bound senior forward Colin Bastianoni continued his sterling play by scoring the first two goals of the game, but it was his less-renowned teammate, Erick Mena, who keyed the comeback. The forward scored two goals and recorded two assists to earn Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.
Both of Mena’s goals and his second assist came in the second half. That included what turned out to be the game-winning strike with 33:36 remaining that gave Metea Valley (5-3-1, 2-0-0) a 4-3 lead.
“Erick Mena has been unbelievable,” Robinson said. “We brought him and Adrian Gonzalez up last year in that weird season. They started the season coming off the bench, and they usually came on the field together.
“Now we have them doing different roles and different things. Now Erick is starting, and he’s taken over that role and been dynamic in what he does. He works so hard and he’s in the right place at the right time.”
The junior was certainly that on his first goal, which came just 1:44 after the Mustangs had tied the game at 3-3 on an own goal. Riley McCann ripped a liner from 28 yards that was stopped on the left post by Waubonsie Valley goalkeeper Jason Michalek.
But the shot was too hot to handle and Mena was there to quickly poke the rebound home.
“The fourth goal, the goal to go up, that’s a gritty goal,” Robinson said. “It’s getting a rebound, turning and making sure he’s calm and composed and finishing the ball. He was awesome today and a bunch of other kids did great stuff in the second half.”
Indeed, Mena was far from done, but the Warriors soon were.
Nine minutes later, Bastianoni’s cross from the right wing hit the crossbar and Mena knocked the ball back to Henry Moreno at the top of the box. Moreno tucked his shot under the crossbar for a 5-3 lead.
The Mustangs kept attacking in droves. Michalek, who despite the massive hit to his goals-against average had a terrific outing with seven saves, stopped Mena’s volley from point-blank range with a reflex save with 4:55 to go.
But Mena beat him with a similar volley 19 seconds later to finish the scoring.
“I feel amazing, because it’s like I’m finally getting out of my shell,” Mena said. “I’m starting to play well and getting happier.”
Indeed, this was the second time Mena has recorded at least five points in a match, and he now has five goals.
Michalek barely stopped him from getting a hat-trick or more, coming up with a diving save on a shot from the top of the box with 1:50 left.
“He’s great,” Bastianoni said. “He’s crafty out on the wing.
“He’s very quick on his feet and definitely a strong player. Next year after a lot of our seniors leave, he’s going to be a star. He always steps up.”
Mena assisted on Bastianoni’s first goal, which opened the scoring just 1:42 after the opening kickoff. Bastianoni then converted a penalty kick 20 minutes later after Michalek took him down in the box on a breakaway.
But Waubonsie (1-6-2, 0-2-0) answered with a stunning three-goal streak in a span of 10 minutes to take a 3-2 lead at halftime.
Metea Valley had conceded the first goal in seven of their nine matches, but this time they scored first and still found themselves down at halftime.
“We’ve unfortunately done it all year long,” Robinson said. “The other day we scored first against Addison Trail, and they ended up doing it to us (in a 3-1 loss Saturday).
“It’s frustrating. At halftime I have to make decisions about how composed or angry I’m going to be about my attitude.
“But it’s been an awesome group to coach this year. Today we had a great second half. That’s the awesome thing about our guys. They fight so hard, and they don’t quit.”
Metea Valley responded with a dominant effort. After Waubonsie Valley outshot them 15-3 in the first half, the Mustangs enjoyed a 12-3 advantage after the break.
“First, we were all struggling because we’re not used to grass, but we got through it,” Mena said. “We were struggling the first half. Then coach gave us a nice talk, and we got our heads up. I did my best to keep everybody’s heads up, and I did my work.”
That’s what endears Mena to his teammates. He’s helped take some of the load off Bastianoni, who understandably is drawing plenty of interest, not to mention fouls, from opponents.
“He teaches me to keep my head up when I get upset and that’s what I love about him,” Bastianoni said. “I had a little bit of an off game, and I love my team because we’re a bunch of hard workers.
“We recognized second half that they want to win, because this is their home field. They got all their fans out here.
“When we put in those two quick goals, then they put in three because they want to win.
“So we knew had to come out strong and if we caught them off guard, we knew we would win. We had success with that.”
Waubonsie Valley, which got its first win of the season Monday when they beat St. Francis in the Plainfield Classic, has played a tough schedule this season. It looked like their success would continue after the final 15 minutes of the first half.
Freshman midfielder Lachlan Ladd bagged the first two goals of his varsity career and senior forward Zach Stanley added a goal and an assist.
Kadin Feese instigated the first goal, heaving a throw-in from the left side to Stanley, who flicked a header from the left side of the box across the six to Ladd, who scored on a short shot at the 15:27 mark.
Stanley then tied it with 8:46 to go by burying a rebound of his own shot after Michalek made a diving denial of a header off Cade Valek’s long free kick.
Another throw-in eventually led to Ladd’s second goal, this one from five yards, that put Waubonsie up 3-2 three minutes later.
“I was just kind of in the right place at the right time,” Ladd said. “It felt like scoring any other goal, for the most part.
“I’m pretty used to it from club. We play pretty big kids, so it’s nothing different.”
Ladd is one of three freshmen on the Waubonsie Valley roster along with Valek and Amiel Nichani. All of them have made significant contributions.
“Hopefully this is the start of many, many more goals for Lachlan,” Waubonsie Valley coach Jose Garcia said. “He’s a scrappy little player, and he’s quick and good on the ball.
“The future is looking bright for him.”
The present, however, is cloudy for the Warriors, who have been giving up goals in bunches. Of the 24 goals they’ve allowed on the season, 18 have come in their last four losses.
“That’s the ongoing story with our season,” Garcia said. “The first half is brilliant, and for some reason our second half falls apart.
“The boys are still trying to figure it out, and I’m still trying to figure it out. I don’t know what the solution is, but there has to be something there and we’re determined to do that. We just have to figure something out.
“The defense seems to fall apart in the second half. We have to go back to the drawing board and see what we need to do, because it’s not just one game. There’s been a lot of games where this situation happened.”
The players know it.
“We got some momentum going, and then in the second half we came out and got a little too ahead of ourselves,” Ladd said. “We just have to keep it up in the second half.”
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
GK Ravi Shah
D Aiden Pufundt
D Julian Ordaz
D Joseph Fitzgerald
D Luka Strepacki
M Bartosz Chmielewski
M Riley McCann
F Erick Mena
F Henry Morena
F Ethan Danehl
F Colin Bastianoni
Waubonsie Valley
GK Jason Michalek
D Callum Keller
D Kadin Feese
D Cade Valek
D Amiel Nichani
M Joseph Haddad
M Alan Sanchez
M Owen Cousins
F Daniel Gallardo
F Anuj Buch
F Zach Stanley
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Erick Mena, jr., F, Metea Valley
Scoring summary
First half
MV: Colin Bastianoni (Erick Mena) 38:18 remaining
MV: Bastianoni (PK) 18:43 remaining
WV: Lachlan Ladd (Zach Stanley) 15:27 remaining
WV: Zach Stanley (unassisted) 8:46 remaining
WV: Ladd (unassisted) 5:39 remaining
Second half
MV: own goal 35:08 remaining
MV: Mena (unassisted) 33:36 remaining
MV: Henry Moreno (Mena) 24:03 remaining
against Waubonsie Valley
May need to consider redesigning score sheet after 6-3 win
By Matt Le Cren
AURORA – Metea Valley coach Josh Robinson walked off the field looking slightly dazed.
He wasn’t the only one.
The visiting Mustangs knocked off Waubonsie Valley 6-3 in a Tuesday night DuPage Valley Conference clash that might have been the most bizarre clash ever between the Eola Road rivals.
“It was weird,” Robinson said. “That’s my quote, It was weird.
“All joking aside, at Metea Valley we never score goals. On our stat sheet, I only have places for four.
“Today the kids were like, ‘Where do I put them?’ That happened earlier this year. We got four against Leyden and they go, ‘What do we do with the next one?’ I go, ‘Guys, that just doesn’t happen around here.’”
Oh, but it did in this game. The Mustangs, in fact, scored four in the second half alone to rally back in impressive fashion after Waubonsie Valley tallied three-consecutive goals late in the first half.
Missouri State-bound senior forward Colin Bastianoni continued his sterling play by scoring the first two goals of the game, but it was his less-renowned teammate, Erick Mena, who keyed the comeback. The forward scored two goals and recorded two assists to earn Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match honors.
Both of Mena’s goals and his second assist came in the second half. That included what turned out to be the game-winning strike with 33:36 remaining that gave Metea Valley (5-3-1, 2-0-0) a 4-3 lead.
“Erick Mena has been unbelievable,” Robinson said. “We brought him and Adrian Gonzalez up last year in that weird season. They started the season coming off the bench, and they usually came on the field together.
“Now we have them doing different roles and different things. Now Erick is starting, and he’s taken over that role and been dynamic in what he does. He works so hard and he’s in the right place at the right time.”
The junior was certainly that on his first goal, which came just 1:44 after the Mustangs had tied the game at 3-3 on an own goal. Riley McCann ripped a liner from 28 yards that was stopped on the left post by Waubonsie Valley goalkeeper Jason Michalek.
But the shot was too hot to handle and Mena was there to quickly poke the rebound home.
“The fourth goal, the goal to go up, that’s a gritty goal,” Robinson said. “It’s getting a rebound, turning and making sure he’s calm and composed and finishing the ball. He was awesome today and a bunch of other kids did great stuff in the second half.”
Indeed, Mena was far from done, but the Warriors soon were.
Nine minutes later, Bastianoni’s cross from the right wing hit the crossbar and Mena knocked the ball back to Henry Moreno at the top of the box. Moreno tucked his shot under the crossbar for a 5-3 lead.
The Mustangs kept attacking in droves. Michalek, who despite the massive hit to his goals-against average had a terrific outing with seven saves, stopped Mena’s volley from point-blank range with a reflex save with 4:55 to go.
But Mena beat him with a similar volley 19 seconds later to finish the scoring.
“I feel amazing, because it’s like I’m finally getting out of my shell,” Mena said. “I’m starting to play well and getting happier.”
Indeed, this was the second time Mena has recorded at least five points in a match, and he now has five goals.
Michalek barely stopped him from getting a hat-trick or more, coming up with a diving save on a shot from the top of the box with 1:50 left.
“He’s great,” Bastianoni said. “He’s crafty out on the wing.
“He’s very quick on his feet and definitely a strong player. Next year after a lot of our seniors leave, he’s going to be a star. He always steps up.”
Mena assisted on Bastianoni’s first goal, which opened the scoring just 1:42 after the opening kickoff. Bastianoni then converted a penalty kick 20 minutes later after Michalek took him down in the box on a breakaway.
But Waubonsie (1-6-2, 0-2-0) answered with a stunning three-goal streak in a span of 10 minutes to take a 3-2 lead at halftime.
Metea Valley had conceded the first goal in seven of their nine matches, but this time they scored first and still found themselves down at halftime.
“We’ve unfortunately done it all year long,” Robinson said. “The other day we scored first against Addison Trail, and they ended up doing it to us (in a 3-1 loss Saturday).
“It’s frustrating. At halftime I have to make decisions about how composed or angry I’m going to be about my attitude.
“But it’s been an awesome group to coach this year. Today we had a great second half. That’s the awesome thing about our guys. They fight so hard, and they don’t quit.”
Metea Valley responded with a dominant effort. After Waubonsie Valley outshot them 15-3 in the first half, the Mustangs enjoyed a 12-3 advantage after the break.
“First, we were all struggling because we’re not used to grass, but we got through it,” Mena said. “We were struggling the first half. Then coach gave us a nice talk, and we got our heads up. I did my best to keep everybody’s heads up, and I did my work.”
That’s what endears Mena to his teammates. He’s helped take some of the load off Bastianoni, who understandably is drawing plenty of interest, not to mention fouls, from opponents.
“He teaches me to keep my head up when I get upset and that’s what I love about him,” Bastianoni said. “I had a little bit of an off game, and I love my team because we’re a bunch of hard workers.
“We recognized second half that they want to win, because this is their home field. They got all their fans out here.
“When we put in those two quick goals, then they put in three because they want to win.
“So we knew had to come out strong and if we caught them off guard, we knew we would win. We had success with that.”
Waubonsie Valley, which got its first win of the season Monday when they beat St. Francis in the Plainfield Classic, has played a tough schedule this season. It looked like their success would continue after the final 15 minutes of the first half.
Freshman midfielder Lachlan Ladd bagged the first two goals of his varsity career and senior forward Zach Stanley added a goal and an assist.
Kadin Feese instigated the first goal, heaving a throw-in from the left side to Stanley, who flicked a header from the left side of the box across the six to Ladd, who scored on a short shot at the 15:27 mark.
Stanley then tied it with 8:46 to go by burying a rebound of his own shot after Michalek made a diving denial of a header off Cade Valek’s long free kick.
Another throw-in eventually led to Ladd’s second goal, this one from five yards, that put Waubonsie up 3-2 three minutes later.
“I was just kind of in the right place at the right time,” Ladd said. “It felt like scoring any other goal, for the most part.
“I’m pretty used to it from club. We play pretty big kids, so it’s nothing different.”
Ladd is one of three freshmen on the Waubonsie Valley roster along with Valek and Amiel Nichani. All of them have made significant contributions.
“Hopefully this is the start of many, many more goals for Lachlan,” Waubonsie Valley coach Jose Garcia said. “He’s a scrappy little player, and he’s quick and good on the ball.
“The future is looking bright for him.”
The present, however, is cloudy for the Warriors, who have been giving up goals in bunches. Of the 24 goals they’ve allowed on the season, 18 have come in their last four losses.
“That’s the ongoing story with our season,” Garcia said. “The first half is brilliant, and for some reason our second half falls apart.
“The boys are still trying to figure it out, and I’m still trying to figure it out. I don’t know what the solution is, but there has to be something there and we’re determined to do that. We just have to figure something out.
“The defense seems to fall apart in the second half. We have to go back to the drawing board and see what we need to do, because it’s not just one game. There’s been a lot of games where this situation happened.”
The players know it.
“We got some momentum going, and then in the second half we came out and got a little too ahead of ourselves,” Ladd said. “We just have to keep it up in the second half.”
Starting lineups
Metea Valley
GK Ravi Shah
D Aiden Pufundt
D Julian Ordaz
D Joseph Fitzgerald
D Luka Strepacki
M Bartosz Chmielewski
M Riley McCann
F Erick Mena
F Henry Morena
F Ethan Danehl
F Colin Bastianoni
Waubonsie Valley
GK Jason Michalek
D Callum Keller
D Kadin Feese
D Cade Valek
D Amiel Nichani
M Joseph Haddad
M Alan Sanchez
M Owen Cousins
F Daniel Gallardo
F Anuj Buch
F Zach Stanley
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Erick Mena, jr., F, Metea Valley
Scoring summary
First half
MV: Colin Bastianoni (Erick Mena) 38:18 remaining
MV: Bastianoni (PK) 18:43 remaining
WV: Lachlan Ladd (Zach Stanley) 15:27 remaining
WV: Zach Stanley (unassisted) 8:46 remaining
WV: Ladd (unassisted) 5:39 remaining
Second half
MV: own goal 35:08 remaining
MV: Mena (unassisted) 33:36 remaining
MV: Henry Moreno (Mena) 24:03 remaining