WW South finds reward against Glenbard N
Tigers' collective effort earns maiden DuKane Conference win
By Gary Larsen
CAROL STREAM — Goals have been hard to come by for Wheaton Warrenville South this season, and Tigers striker Sumani Husseini has been particularly hard on himself for his own perceived lack of high-level scoring.
Husseini isn’t even a forward by trade, but that doesn’t keep him from feeling like he’s letting his team down if he isn’t finishing.
“I don’t even know what to say," Husseini said, shaking his head. "I have to score."
The good news for Husseini is that his teammates and his coach value the effort and presence he provides apart from finishing. Even though Husseini didn’t score against Glenbard North on Tuesday, he was pivotally responsible for helping to create the game’s lone goal and a 1-0 win for the Tigers.
“He worked extremely hard today, and he played great,” Tigers keeper Joe Adamek said. “Maybe he didn’t score today, but they’ll come eventually. And he does a great job of creating opportunities for other people.”
In a game that largely pitted Glenbard North’s attacking pressure against Wheaton Warrenville South’s counterattack, Husseini first flashed how dangerous he can be at 13 minutes. The Tigers sent a through-ball into the heart of North’s penalty area and Husseini split two defenders and streaked behind the defense before sending a shot just wide from 14 yards, past charging North keeper Martin Argirov.
Two minutes later, Husseini was instrumental in setting up the Tigers’ goal. From deep on the left side, he took a touch up the endline and fired at the near post, where Argirov deflected it over the endline.
The ensuing corner kick sent in by the Tigers’ Paul Thalmann hit the carpet at the goalmouth, and teammate Ryan Dufty was there to tap it over the goal line at 15 minutes.
Husseini remained a dangerous target in the counterattack all night while Adamek and his defense kept the slate clean to earn their third shutout of the year. And in a season in which wins have been hard to come by, Wheaton Warrenville South (4-7-2, 1-2-0) coach Guy Callipari was particularly happy to see his boys get rewarded with a DuKane Conference victory.
“It’s nice to see them have an opportunity to see a result, given the effort,” Callipari said. “A lot of the little details we’ve been trying to work on and talk about are starting to pay off, and it’s nice to see dividends of that, like tonight.
“At the end of the day it’s also a little history in the making — it’s our first DuKane (conference) win. So it’s a good night.”
Glenbard North (4-8-2, 1-4-1) applied solid pressure for much of the night but couldn’t solve Adamek and his backline of Declin Ermer, Jackson Moran, Jordy Moralez, and Sam Schlegal.
North never managed to find dangerous space behind South’s defense, and Adamek handled a second half flurry of shots from distance to collect the clean-sheet.
“(Adamek) played well. He kept them in the game,” Glenbard North coach Spero Mandakas said. “We saw early on that he was good and not going to let anything easy by.
“We needed to be a little more dynamic in the final third and not kind of settle. We’ve been playing really well in two-thirds of the field and that final third is where we’ve lacked. It looked a little better today. But we’ve scored eight goals all season, so we can’t say ‘the soccer looked pretty’ every game. We have to start putting goals together.”
North’s Ode Emena and Ben Solano were prominent attacking pieces throughout, and players like Nestor Dominguez sent in dangerous balls in the second half. Manny Castanon also hit a post with a shot from distance at 62 minutes for Glenbard North.
“A goalie’s best friend,” Adamek said of the post. The Tigers’ senior keeper made saves of nearly every variety Tuesday, whether he was diving, sliding over, or leaping to tip a shot over the crossbar.
“Joe did a great job,” Ermer said of Adamek. “They had a lot of shots, but we let them shoot from the outside because we knew Joe was going to handle it. He’s been more vocal back there, too, in helping us see everything.”
Adamek’s effort in net earned Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match honor Tuesday.
“(The win) feels great,” Adamek said. “The defense did a great job of not letting them get behind us and making sure their shots weren’t too good of opportunities.”
Callipari also applauded Husseini’s effort, along with Ermer and Thalmann for all the ground they routinely cover in a game. He was also pleased with the day’s work put in by holding mids Kevin Stumbris and Nick McGrath.
With starting central defender Jared Corea absent, another Tiger also stepped forward against Glenbard North.
“The young kid, Jackson (Moran), got a start because Jared is sick, and he came in and did a great job,” Callipari said. “He did a nice job off of Declin. Declin’s always going to be solid. He’s so athletic; he’s going to chase everything down, or believe he’s going to chase everything down, so you have to have somebody with (restraint) next to him a little bit, and Jackson played in the hole and did a good job.”
The Tigers have DuKane Conference rivals St. Charles North and East remaining on their schedule before opening regional play.
“We’re getting ready for the (state) playoffs pretty soon so we needed a win under our belt,” Ermer said. “I think we worked hard today. Hopefully this helps us build momentum.”
Despite being frustrated by failing to score a goal, Husseini managed to perk up when asked about Tuesday’s result.
“At least we won and that feels great,” Husseini said. “We’re getting way better and working our way up. We talk more, and we connect more, and we defend more as a team now.”
Mandakas liked the way his center backs, Jack VanDerVliet and Andres Sanchez, teamed up to slow down Husseini. He also applauded Solano’s play and he was happy with the distribution skills that midfielder Castanon displayed throughout.
Emena’s skill and quickness are a matchup nightmare for any team the Panthers face.
“Ode played great for us today. He’s a stud,” Mandakas said. “He’s only a junior, and he’s been a three-year varsity player. His work rate is just top-notch.”
Glenbard North meets South Elgin, Young, Geneva, and Westinghouse before regional play begins.
“I’ve only been working on these guys for six or seven weeks, and we only have four guys that had varsity minutes last year,” said Mandakas, who is in his first year at Glenbard North. “So we’re a young team that’s really trying to progress towards that end result.”
Starting lineups
Glenbard North
GK Martin Argirov
D Owen Van Poucke
D Jack Van Der Vliet
D Andres Sanchez
D Jeisson Aguilar
MF Yaj Maheshwari
MF Ronald Koburja
MF Ode Emena
MF Zach Hausner
F Ethan Van Poucke
F Ben Solano
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK Joe Adamek
D Jackson Moran
D Declin Ermer
D Jordy Moralez
D Sam Schlegal
MF Nick McGrath
MF Kevin Stumbris
MF Cristian Munoz
MF Ryan Duffy
MF Paul Thalmann
F Sumani Husseini
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Joe Adamek, sr., GK, Wheaton Warrenville South
Scoring summary
First half
WW South — Dufty (Thalmann) 15 minutes
Second half
None
Tigers' collective effort earns maiden DuKane Conference win
By Gary Larsen
CAROL STREAM — Goals have been hard to come by for Wheaton Warrenville South this season, and Tigers striker Sumani Husseini has been particularly hard on himself for his own perceived lack of high-level scoring.
Husseini isn’t even a forward by trade, but that doesn’t keep him from feeling like he’s letting his team down if he isn’t finishing.
“I don’t even know what to say," Husseini said, shaking his head. "I have to score."
The good news for Husseini is that his teammates and his coach value the effort and presence he provides apart from finishing. Even though Husseini didn’t score against Glenbard North on Tuesday, he was pivotally responsible for helping to create the game’s lone goal and a 1-0 win for the Tigers.
“He worked extremely hard today, and he played great,” Tigers keeper Joe Adamek said. “Maybe he didn’t score today, but they’ll come eventually. And he does a great job of creating opportunities for other people.”
In a game that largely pitted Glenbard North’s attacking pressure against Wheaton Warrenville South’s counterattack, Husseini first flashed how dangerous he can be at 13 minutes. The Tigers sent a through-ball into the heart of North’s penalty area and Husseini split two defenders and streaked behind the defense before sending a shot just wide from 14 yards, past charging North keeper Martin Argirov.
Two minutes later, Husseini was instrumental in setting up the Tigers’ goal. From deep on the left side, he took a touch up the endline and fired at the near post, where Argirov deflected it over the endline.
The ensuing corner kick sent in by the Tigers’ Paul Thalmann hit the carpet at the goalmouth, and teammate Ryan Dufty was there to tap it over the goal line at 15 minutes.
Husseini remained a dangerous target in the counterattack all night while Adamek and his defense kept the slate clean to earn their third shutout of the year. And in a season in which wins have been hard to come by, Wheaton Warrenville South (4-7-2, 1-2-0) coach Guy Callipari was particularly happy to see his boys get rewarded with a DuKane Conference victory.
“It’s nice to see them have an opportunity to see a result, given the effort,” Callipari said. “A lot of the little details we’ve been trying to work on and talk about are starting to pay off, and it’s nice to see dividends of that, like tonight.
“At the end of the day it’s also a little history in the making — it’s our first DuKane (conference) win. So it’s a good night.”
Glenbard North (4-8-2, 1-4-1) applied solid pressure for much of the night but couldn’t solve Adamek and his backline of Declin Ermer, Jackson Moran, Jordy Moralez, and Sam Schlegal.
North never managed to find dangerous space behind South’s defense, and Adamek handled a second half flurry of shots from distance to collect the clean-sheet.
“(Adamek) played well. He kept them in the game,” Glenbard North coach Spero Mandakas said. “We saw early on that he was good and not going to let anything easy by.
“We needed to be a little more dynamic in the final third and not kind of settle. We’ve been playing really well in two-thirds of the field and that final third is where we’ve lacked. It looked a little better today. But we’ve scored eight goals all season, so we can’t say ‘the soccer looked pretty’ every game. We have to start putting goals together.”
North’s Ode Emena and Ben Solano were prominent attacking pieces throughout, and players like Nestor Dominguez sent in dangerous balls in the second half. Manny Castanon also hit a post with a shot from distance at 62 minutes for Glenbard North.
“A goalie’s best friend,” Adamek said of the post. The Tigers’ senior keeper made saves of nearly every variety Tuesday, whether he was diving, sliding over, or leaping to tip a shot over the crossbar.
“Joe did a great job,” Ermer said of Adamek. “They had a lot of shots, but we let them shoot from the outside because we knew Joe was going to handle it. He’s been more vocal back there, too, in helping us see everything.”
Adamek’s effort in net earned Chicagoland Soccer’s Man of the Match honor Tuesday.
“(The win) feels great,” Adamek said. “The defense did a great job of not letting them get behind us and making sure their shots weren’t too good of opportunities.”
Callipari also applauded Husseini’s effort, along with Ermer and Thalmann for all the ground they routinely cover in a game. He was also pleased with the day’s work put in by holding mids Kevin Stumbris and Nick McGrath.
With starting central defender Jared Corea absent, another Tiger also stepped forward against Glenbard North.
“The young kid, Jackson (Moran), got a start because Jared is sick, and he came in and did a great job,” Callipari said. “He did a nice job off of Declin. Declin’s always going to be solid. He’s so athletic; he’s going to chase everything down, or believe he’s going to chase everything down, so you have to have somebody with (restraint) next to him a little bit, and Jackson played in the hole and did a good job.”
The Tigers have DuKane Conference rivals St. Charles North and East remaining on their schedule before opening regional play.
“We’re getting ready for the (state) playoffs pretty soon so we needed a win under our belt,” Ermer said. “I think we worked hard today. Hopefully this helps us build momentum.”
Despite being frustrated by failing to score a goal, Husseini managed to perk up when asked about Tuesday’s result.
“At least we won and that feels great,” Husseini said. “We’re getting way better and working our way up. We talk more, and we connect more, and we defend more as a team now.”
Mandakas liked the way his center backs, Jack VanDerVliet and Andres Sanchez, teamed up to slow down Husseini. He also applauded Solano’s play and he was happy with the distribution skills that midfielder Castanon displayed throughout.
Emena’s skill and quickness are a matchup nightmare for any team the Panthers face.
“Ode played great for us today. He’s a stud,” Mandakas said. “He’s only a junior, and he’s been a three-year varsity player. His work rate is just top-notch.”
Glenbard North meets South Elgin, Young, Geneva, and Westinghouse before regional play begins.
“I’ve only been working on these guys for six or seven weeks, and we only have four guys that had varsity minutes last year,” said Mandakas, who is in his first year at Glenbard North. “So we’re a young team that’s really trying to progress towards that end result.”
Starting lineups
Glenbard North
GK Martin Argirov
D Owen Van Poucke
D Jack Van Der Vliet
D Andres Sanchez
D Jeisson Aguilar
MF Yaj Maheshwari
MF Ronald Koburja
MF Ode Emena
MF Zach Hausner
F Ethan Van Poucke
F Ben Solano
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK Joe Adamek
D Jackson Moran
D Declin Ermer
D Jordy Moralez
D Sam Schlegal
MF Nick McGrath
MF Kevin Stumbris
MF Cristian Munoz
MF Ryan Duffy
MF Paul Thalmann
F Sumani Husseini
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Joe Adamek, sr., GK, Wheaton Warrenville South
Scoring summary
First half
WW South — Dufty (Thalmann) 15 minutes
Second half
None