Jets set WWS apart from Glenbard North
Tigers speed, Unla Husseini propel visitors to 3-1 DVC win
By Ken Keenan
CAROL STREAM -- Using speed and quickness to counter host Glenbard North's midfield stronghold, Wheaton Warrenville South tallied a pair of bang-bang goals less than two minutes apart in the first half en route to a 3-1 win in a hard-fought DuPage Valley Conference match Tuesday night.
Following a save in the 10th minute by Tigers' senior goalkeeper Benji Cruz on a 25-yard, pop-up shot by Panthers' senior midfielder Danny Le, Wheaton Warrenville South senior mid Fabian Aranda sent jet-fueled senior forward Unla Husseini on a long run down the left side. Never breaking stride, Husseini uncorked a low shot inside the near post for a 1-0 lead with 29:49 remaining in the opening session.
Soon afterward, Husseini -- Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match -- fed a ball to Aranda, who dashed ahead before unleashing a beautiful cross from a severe angle on the left side to streaking junior forward Declin Ermer for a left-footed finish in front with exactly 28 minutes left before the break.
"We try to find the lanes to play wide," Husseini said. "We have pace and can get the ball to guys quickly."
Added Aranda: "We're pretty talented up-top. We're tall and fast."
The win kept the Tigers (4-4-2) in the fast lane in the conference race with a 1-0-1 record.
"You can't teach speed. But a lot of it is timing," said Wheaton Warrenville South head coach Guy Callipari. "Give Unla time and space, and he can break down the defense."
You don't need to tell Glenbard North skipper Gregg Koeller about that.
"We have speed, too. But that no. 12 (Husseini), he's a handful," he said. "It's speed, but quickness with the ball as well. He's fun to watch. I'd prefer to watch him from the stands instead of the bench."
Glenbard North (2-5-2, 0-3-0) cut the 2-0 lead in half with 35:51 to go in the second half on a splendid goal by zippy senior forward Best Emena. After settling a throw-in by Le, Emena turned and fired a 30-yard rocket into the top left corner past Tigers' junior keeper Joe Adamek, a second half replacement for Cruz.
Pushing for the equalizer after Emena's goal, the Panthers had a chance when freshman mid Nestor Dominguez blasted a 35-yard try that Adamek stopped in the 58th minute. Five minutes later, Adamek spoiled a solid Glenbard North possession by nabbing a cross from Panthers' senior defender Evan Scott a split-second before senior middie Erik Lopez arrived on the scene.
Wheaton Warrenville South got the goal back thanks to Husseini who enlisted the help of Sumani Husseini on a give-and-go. Unla started the play and fed the junior forward from the left side. Husseini cut in to finish a perfect return pass with a short, hard strike into the right side of the net for a 3-1 lead with 8:54 to play in regulation.
"Me and Unla train like that all the time," Sumani Husseini said. "The third goal was very important. You can fall asleep with a lead and lose momentum."
Aranda said, "The worst lead is 2-0. But if the other team scores, you can't put your head down. You have to play harder to get the third goal."
"Coach (Callipari) said (the Panthers) would come out hard in the second half and to be prepared for that," Unla Husseini said.
With 15:50 to go, Glenbard North's Dominguez missed wide left from 30 yards after corralling a rebound of a shot by Emena that was blocked by the Tigers' defense. A charge by Emena in the 67th minute ended when the ball rolled harmlessly to a waiting Adamek.
"The way we started was a little soft, but in the second half we wanted to take more control," Emena said. "After we scored, we were motivated even more. We executed passes and through-balls. We did a good job coming back."
Added Lopez: "(The Tigers) sent those long balls, but we adjusted. Sometimes you look at the scoreboard, but we didn't put our heads down. We have a plan, and we executed the plan."
Though Koeller didn't plan on seeing his team allow a pair of goals in a short span, he wasn't completely surprised. Yet he was pleased with his team's determined effort to overcome the deficit.
"This game is a microcosm of our season," Koeller said. "We control the midfield, but we allow a goal against the flow -- and then the second one. We could have dropped our heads, but we didn't.
"I'm proud of how we kept battling. We've played nothing but close games, and the worm will turn if the guys keep doing what they've been doing. If we do the things we're supposed to do, we'll be rewarded."
Added Emena: "If the team gives up, you lose hope to keep fighting. So I appreciate that our goalkeeper, defenders, midfield, everybody -- we didn't give up. We were all encouraging each other, and that's very important."
Callipari and Co. wouldn't have expected anything different from their longtime DVC foe.
"We knew they were gonna win the midfield," Callipari said. "We didn't get a lot of chances, but we took advantage of the chances we had. There was quality in the final third.
"We did give one up in the second half. Sometimes you can play a little safer with the lead. And credit Glenbard North -- they did a nice job coming back. But credit back to us for responding. We applied pressure where need be.
"All in all, it was a good, hard game. We need points in the DVC, and it's difficult to come in here and get a win against such a well-coached team."
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
G: Benji Cruz
D: Sam Schlegel
D: Nick McGrath
D: Will Buxton
D: Gabby Lazcano
M: Ryan Dufty
M: Fabian Aranda
M: Marco Barrios
M: Jesus Martinez
F: Unla Husseini
F: Declin Ermer
Glenbard North
G: Sam Pauling
D: Ode Emena
D: Evan Scott
D: Ben Solano
M: Best Emena
M: Abood Nasr
M: Erik Lopez
M: Danny Le
M: Fabrizio Guajardo
F: Brian Dasso
F: Jesse Aragon
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Unla Husseini, sr., F, Wheaton Warrenville South
Officials: David Kintz, Dave Koder, Jim Franklin
Scoring summary
1. Wheaton-Warrenville South: Unla Husseini (assisted by Fabian Aranda) in 11th minute
2. Wheaton-Warrenville South: Declin Ermer (assisted by Fabian Aranda) in 12th minute
3. Glenbard North: Best Emena (assisted by Danny Le) in 45th minute
4. Wheaton-Warrenville South: Sumani Husseini (assisted by Unla Husseini) in 72nd minute
Tigers speed, Unla Husseini propel visitors to 3-1 DVC win
By Ken Keenan
CAROL STREAM -- Using speed and quickness to counter host Glenbard North's midfield stronghold, Wheaton Warrenville South tallied a pair of bang-bang goals less than two minutes apart in the first half en route to a 3-1 win in a hard-fought DuPage Valley Conference match Tuesday night.
Following a save in the 10th minute by Tigers' senior goalkeeper Benji Cruz on a 25-yard, pop-up shot by Panthers' senior midfielder Danny Le, Wheaton Warrenville South senior mid Fabian Aranda sent jet-fueled senior forward Unla Husseini on a long run down the left side. Never breaking stride, Husseini uncorked a low shot inside the near post for a 1-0 lead with 29:49 remaining in the opening session.
Soon afterward, Husseini -- Chicagoland Soccer's Man of the Match -- fed a ball to Aranda, who dashed ahead before unleashing a beautiful cross from a severe angle on the left side to streaking junior forward Declin Ermer for a left-footed finish in front with exactly 28 minutes left before the break.
"We try to find the lanes to play wide," Husseini said. "We have pace and can get the ball to guys quickly."
Added Aranda: "We're pretty talented up-top. We're tall and fast."
The win kept the Tigers (4-4-2) in the fast lane in the conference race with a 1-0-1 record.
"You can't teach speed. But a lot of it is timing," said Wheaton Warrenville South head coach Guy Callipari. "Give Unla time and space, and he can break down the defense."
You don't need to tell Glenbard North skipper Gregg Koeller about that.
"We have speed, too. But that no. 12 (Husseini), he's a handful," he said. "It's speed, but quickness with the ball as well. He's fun to watch. I'd prefer to watch him from the stands instead of the bench."
Glenbard North (2-5-2, 0-3-0) cut the 2-0 lead in half with 35:51 to go in the second half on a splendid goal by zippy senior forward Best Emena. After settling a throw-in by Le, Emena turned and fired a 30-yard rocket into the top left corner past Tigers' junior keeper Joe Adamek, a second half replacement for Cruz.
Pushing for the equalizer after Emena's goal, the Panthers had a chance when freshman mid Nestor Dominguez blasted a 35-yard try that Adamek stopped in the 58th minute. Five minutes later, Adamek spoiled a solid Glenbard North possession by nabbing a cross from Panthers' senior defender Evan Scott a split-second before senior middie Erik Lopez arrived on the scene.
Wheaton Warrenville South got the goal back thanks to Husseini who enlisted the help of Sumani Husseini on a give-and-go. Unla started the play and fed the junior forward from the left side. Husseini cut in to finish a perfect return pass with a short, hard strike into the right side of the net for a 3-1 lead with 8:54 to play in regulation.
"Me and Unla train like that all the time," Sumani Husseini said. "The third goal was very important. You can fall asleep with a lead and lose momentum."
Aranda said, "The worst lead is 2-0. But if the other team scores, you can't put your head down. You have to play harder to get the third goal."
"Coach (Callipari) said (the Panthers) would come out hard in the second half and to be prepared for that," Unla Husseini said.
With 15:50 to go, Glenbard North's Dominguez missed wide left from 30 yards after corralling a rebound of a shot by Emena that was blocked by the Tigers' defense. A charge by Emena in the 67th minute ended when the ball rolled harmlessly to a waiting Adamek.
"The way we started was a little soft, but in the second half we wanted to take more control," Emena said. "After we scored, we were motivated even more. We executed passes and through-balls. We did a good job coming back."
Added Lopez: "(The Tigers) sent those long balls, but we adjusted. Sometimes you look at the scoreboard, but we didn't put our heads down. We have a plan, and we executed the plan."
Though Koeller didn't plan on seeing his team allow a pair of goals in a short span, he wasn't completely surprised. Yet he was pleased with his team's determined effort to overcome the deficit.
"This game is a microcosm of our season," Koeller said. "We control the midfield, but we allow a goal against the flow -- and then the second one. We could have dropped our heads, but we didn't.
"I'm proud of how we kept battling. We've played nothing but close games, and the worm will turn if the guys keep doing what they've been doing. If we do the things we're supposed to do, we'll be rewarded."
Added Emena: "If the team gives up, you lose hope to keep fighting. So I appreciate that our goalkeeper, defenders, midfield, everybody -- we didn't give up. We were all encouraging each other, and that's very important."
Callipari and Co. wouldn't have expected anything different from their longtime DVC foe.
"We knew they were gonna win the midfield," Callipari said. "We didn't get a lot of chances, but we took advantage of the chances we had. There was quality in the final third.
"We did give one up in the second half. Sometimes you can play a little safer with the lead. And credit Glenbard North -- they did a nice job coming back. But credit back to us for responding. We applied pressure where need be.
"All in all, it was a good, hard game. We need points in the DVC, and it's difficult to come in here and get a win against such a well-coached team."
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
G: Benji Cruz
D: Sam Schlegel
D: Nick McGrath
D: Will Buxton
D: Gabby Lazcano
M: Ryan Dufty
M: Fabian Aranda
M: Marco Barrios
M: Jesus Martinez
F: Unla Husseini
F: Declin Ermer
Glenbard North
G: Sam Pauling
D: Ode Emena
D: Evan Scott
D: Ben Solano
M: Best Emena
M: Abood Nasr
M: Erik Lopez
M: Danny Le
M: Fabrizio Guajardo
F: Brian Dasso
F: Jesse Aragon
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Unla Husseini, sr., F, Wheaton Warrenville South
Officials: David Kintz, Dave Koder, Jim Franklin
Scoring summary
1. Wheaton-Warrenville South: Unla Husseini (assisted by Fabian Aranda) in 11th minute
2. Wheaton-Warrenville South: Declin Ermer (assisted by Fabian Aranda) in 12th minute
3. Glenbard North: Best Emena (assisted by Danny Le) in 45th minute
4. Wheaton-Warrenville South: Sumani Husseini (assisted by Unla Husseini) in 72nd minute