WV's Mueller golden vs. WWS
Senior caps Senior Night celebration with game-winning OT goal
By Paul LaTour
AURORA — After losing five-consecutive games -- three of them by one goal, one in overtime -- another close defeat could have been devastating for Waubonsie Valley.
The Warriors avoided the heartbreak when Mitch Mueller blasted home the game-winning goal with 4:02 left in the first overtime against Wheaton Warrenville South, lifting Waubonsie Valley to a 3-2 victory on its Senior Night. The hosts showed resilience, twice rallying from one-goal deficits to improve to 6-6-1 overall and 3-3-0 in the DuPage Valley Conference.
“We were pretty low because we lost some tight games, and then in this game falling behind early didn’t help,” said Mueller, one of 11 seniors on the roster. “But we started to find our rhythm, and we started to score. This is really going to help us going forward, especially winning on Senior Night here.”
The Warriors had lost their past three DVC games, including a 3-2 setback Tuesday to Metea Valley in overtime. The reversal of fortune against the Tigers (4-8-2, 1-4-1) provided Waubonsie Valley coach Jose Garcia some stress relief.
“The last couple games have been a little too exciting for my taste,” Garcia said. “It’s not good for me and my health and my heart, but it’s great for the players and great for their confidence. Coming from five losses in a row, we really needed this. Every time we’ve been this close, but a ball hasn’t fallen into the right spot. So today it did. It feels good.”
It wasn’t feeling that way in the beginning, though. Despite a couple quality scoring chances in the opening minutes, Waubonsie valley fell behind 1-0 after Marco Barrios scored at 32:02. Barrios took a cross from Unla Husseini and lifted a high shot past starting keeper Rogelio Grimaldo.
The Tigers had the better of play for the next 20 minutes, which included four corner kicks within five minutes. But the Warriors defense stood tall preventing any shots on goal from those corners.
“The whole defensive line was top notch today,” Garcia said.
The Warriors began building momentum in the final 10 minutes of the half. They eventually drew even when Grimaldo, who was replaced in goal by Vincent Rullo in the 12th minute, was taken down inside the box on a hard tackle attempt by Will Buxton.
A lengthy delay ensued as Buxton argued the call, which earned him a yellow card. Meanwhile, Grimaldo stood ready for his attempt once emotions settled down. He then slid a left-footed kick into the goal behind Benji Cruz, tying the game 1-1 with 6:09 left in the half.
But early in the second half, the Warriors found themselves trailing by a goal again. This time it was Sumani Husseini benefiting from another perfect crossing pass by Unla Husseini to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead with 35:26 left in regulation.
Sumani Husseini’s quick footwork freed him from a Waubonsie Valley defender before he shot from just inside the 18. Rullo got a piece of it, but couldn’t keep the ball out of the goal.
But the Warriors shook off any disappointment and controlled play for most of the remaining 35 minutes and into overtime. Ten minutes after falling behind, Stephen Spano provided the equalizer with an easy tap-in goal off a Giacomo Parrino cross.
“At halftime we talked about when Giacomo gets down the line that he crosses into the six,” Spano said. “I was making the runs, and we just executed it well and were luckily able to finish it. It felt good. It was an easy tapper, but it still counts. We’ll take it.”
That set the stage for Mueller’s heroics in overtime. After a series of corner kicks produced a scramble in the box, the ball squirted out to Mueller. He did the rest as he blasted a shot to an unguarded corner of the net from 25 yards, igniting a much-needed postgame celebration with the fans.
“I saw the ball come back from the top of the box and come right to my feet,” Mueller said. “The ball came at me fast, so I just took a touch. I saw that the corner of the goal was open, so that’s where I aimed.”
Mueller has been a consistent force for the Warriors all season, according to his coach.
“He’s playing with an injured ankle, and it’s been hurting for a while, but he plays through the pain and still produces,” Garcia said. “He’s indispensable on this team. We rely a lot on him.”
As the Warriors celebrated the end of their losing streak, the Tigers gathered their equipment and began the trek back to their bus, the sting of their fourth consecutive loss -- all in the DVC -- threatening to overshadow how well they had played.
“The game had a good flow to it. It could have gone in either direction. It was deserving of an overtime, deserving of a conference game. It’s the DVC, so I expect nothing less. It’s unfortunate that we’re on the wrong end of something being positive in terms of the result, but we took away a lot of positives,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said.
One of those positives was the play of Cruz in goal. He finished with seven saves, including five in the second half, and couldn’t be blamed for any of the Waubonsie goals.
Cruz came up with two bang-bang saves late in regulation to preserve the tie. The sequence started from a corner kick into the six, where it was headed from a crowd at Cruz. He turned it away, but the rebound was headed right at him again, but he made the save despite having fallen to his back in the scramble.
“Our keepers have come up with big saves to keep us in the fray all season,” Callipari said. “That’s important; that’s what we need. We love them just to make the easy saves, but occasionally they have to make the big ones, and they’ve responded well to it. Cruz couldn’t get to (Mueller’s goal) but that’s a nice finish and deserving of a winner. I have no problem with that.”
Cruz said he’s not worried about the team’s confidence fading, even after suffering its latest loss.
“A lot of us really want the results, so a win would really, really help our confidence right now. But I wouldn’t say we’re faltering,” Cruz said. “There are some people who are down on themselves, but in the end when it comes game time they’re playing with a full heart.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK—Benji Cruz
D—Sam Schlegel
D—Spencer Follett
D—Gabby Lazcano
D—Will Buxton
M—Fabian Aranda
M—Unla Husseini
M—Marco Barrios
M—Jesus Martinez
F—Declan Ermer
F—Sumani Husseini
Waubonsie Valley
GK—Rogelio Grimaldo
FP—Charles Zehnal
FP—Bobby Barnard
FP—Will Kruchten
FP—Giacometti Parrino
FP—Darius Grassi
FP—Stephen Spano
FP—Eric Saucedo
FP—Sebastian Martinez
FP—Justin Fitzpatrick
FP—Mitch Mueller
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Mitch Mueller, FP, Waubonsie Valley
Scoring summary
Wheaton Warrenville South 1 1 0 -- 2
Waubonsie Valley 1 1 1 -- 3
First half
Wheaton South—Marco Barrios (Unla Husseini), 32:02
Waubonsie Valley—Rogelio Grimaldo (penalty kick), 6:09
Second half
Wheaton South—Sumani Husseini (Unla Husseini), 35:26
Waubonsie Valley—Stephen Spano (Giacomo Parrino), 26:07
First overtime
Waubonsie Valley—Mitch Mueller, 4:02
Saves (goalie)
Wheaton South -- 7 (Benji Cruz)
Waubonsie Valley -- 10 (Rogelio Grimaldo, 1; Vincent Rullo, 9)
Senior caps Senior Night celebration with game-winning OT goal
By Paul LaTour
AURORA — After losing five-consecutive games -- three of them by one goal, one in overtime -- another close defeat could have been devastating for Waubonsie Valley.
The Warriors avoided the heartbreak when Mitch Mueller blasted home the game-winning goal with 4:02 left in the first overtime against Wheaton Warrenville South, lifting Waubonsie Valley to a 3-2 victory on its Senior Night. The hosts showed resilience, twice rallying from one-goal deficits to improve to 6-6-1 overall and 3-3-0 in the DuPage Valley Conference.
“We were pretty low because we lost some tight games, and then in this game falling behind early didn’t help,” said Mueller, one of 11 seniors on the roster. “But we started to find our rhythm, and we started to score. This is really going to help us going forward, especially winning on Senior Night here.”
The Warriors had lost their past three DVC games, including a 3-2 setback Tuesday to Metea Valley in overtime. The reversal of fortune against the Tigers (4-8-2, 1-4-1) provided Waubonsie Valley coach Jose Garcia some stress relief.
“The last couple games have been a little too exciting for my taste,” Garcia said. “It’s not good for me and my health and my heart, but it’s great for the players and great for their confidence. Coming from five losses in a row, we really needed this. Every time we’ve been this close, but a ball hasn’t fallen into the right spot. So today it did. It feels good.”
It wasn’t feeling that way in the beginning, though. Despite a couple quality scoring chances in the opening minutes, Waubonsie valley fell behind 1-0 after Marco Barrios scored at 32:02. Barrios took a cross from Unla Husseini and lifted a high shot past starting keeper Rogelio Grimaldo.
The Tigers had the better of play for the next 20 minutes, which included four corner kicks within five minutes. But the Warriors defense stood tall preventing any shots on goal from those corners.
“The whole defensive line was top notch today,” Garcia said.
The Warriors began building momentum in the final 10 minutes of the half. They eventually drew even when Grimaldo, who was replaced in goal by Vincent Rullo in the 12th minute, was taken down inside the box on a hard tackle attempt by Will Buxton.
A lengthy delay ensued as Buxton argued the call, which earned him a yellow card. Meanwhile, Grimaldo stood ready for his attempt once emotions settled down. He then slid a left-footed kick into the goal behind Benji Cruz, tying the game 1-1 with 6:09 left in the half.
But early in the second half, the Warriors found themselves trailing by a goal again. This time it was Sumani Husseini benefiting from another perfect crossing pass by Unla Husseini to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead with 35:26 left in regulation.
Sumani Husseini’s quick footwork freed him from a Waubonsie Valley defender before he shot from just inside the 18. Rullo got a piece of it, but couldn’t keep the ball out of the goal.
But the Warriors shook off any disappointment and controlled play for most of the remaining 35 minutes and into overtime. Ten minutes after falling behind, Stephen Spano provided the equalizer with an easy tap-in goal off a Giacomo Parrino cross.
“At halftime we talked about when Giacomo gets down the line that he crosses into the six,” Spano said. “I was making the runs, and we just executed it well and were luckily able to finish it. It felt good. It was an easy tapper, but it still counts. We’ll take it.”
That set the stage for Mueller’s heroics in overtime. After a series of corner kicks produced a scramble in the box, the ball squirted out to Mueller. He did the rest as he blasted a shot to an unguarded corner of the net from 25 yards, igniting a much-needed postgame celebration with the fans.
“I saw the ball come back from the top of the box and come right to my feet,” Mueller said. “The ball came at me fast, so I just took a touch. I saw that the corner of the goal was open, so that’s where I aimed.”
Mueller has been a consistent force for the Warriors all season, according to his coach.
“He’s playing with an injured ankle, and it’s been hurting for a while, but he plays through the pain and still produces,” Garcia said. “He’s indispensable on this team. We rely a lot on him.”
As the Warriors celebrated the end of their losing streak, the Tigers gathered their equipment and began the trek back to their bus, the sting of their fourth consecutive loss -- all in the DVC -- threatening to overshadow how well they had played.
“The game had a good flow to it. It could have gone in either direction. It was deserving of an overtime, deserving of a conference game. It’s the DVC, so I expect nothing less. It’s unfortunate that we’re on the wrong end of something being positive in terms of the result, but we took away a lot of positives,” Tigers coach Guy Callipari said.
One of those positives was the play of Cruz in goal. He finished with seven saves, including five in the second half, and couldn’t be blamed for any of the Waubonsie goals.
Cruz came up with two bang-bang saves late in regulation to preserve the tie. The sequence started from a corner kick into the six, where it was headed from a crowd at Cruz. He turned it away, but the rebound was headed right at him again, but he made the save despite having fallen to his back in the scramble.
“Our keepers have come up with big saves to keep us in the fray all season,” Callipari said. “That’s important; that’s what we need. We love them just to make the easy saves, but occasionally they have to make the big ones, and they’ve responded well to it. Cruz couldn’t get to (Mueller’s goal) but that’s a nice finish and deserving of a winner. I have no problem with that.”
Cruz said he’s not worried about the team’s confidence fading, even after suffering its latest loss.
“A lot of us really want the results, so a win would really, really help our confidence right now. But I wouldn’t say we’re faltering,” Cruz said. “There are some people who are down on themselves, but in the end when it comes game time they’re playing with a full heart.”
Starting lineups
Wheaton Warrenville South
GK—Benji Cruz
D—Sam Schlegel
D—Spencer Follett
D—Gabby Lazcano
D—Will Buxton
M—Fabian Aranda
M—Unla Husseini
M—Marco Barrios
M—Jesus Martinez
F—Declan Ermer
F—Sumani Husseini
Waubonsie Valley
GK—Rogelio Grimaldo
FP—Charles Zehnal
FP—Bobby Barnard
FP—Will Kruchten
FP—Giacometti Parrino
FP—Darius Grassi
FP—Stephen Spano
FP—Eric Saucedo
FP—Sebastian Martinez
FP—Justin Fitzpatrick
FP—Mitch Mueller
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Mitch Mueller, FP, Waubonsie Valley
Scoring summary
Wheaton Warrenville South 1 1 0 -- 2
Waubonsie Valley 1 1 1 -- 3
First half
Wheaton South—Marco Barrios (Unla Husseini), 32:02
Waubonsie Valley—Rogelio Grimaldo (penalty kick), 6:09
Second half
Wheaton South—Sumani Husseini (Unla Husseini), 35:26
Waubonsie Valley—Stephen Spano (Giacomo Parrino), 26:07
First overtime
Waubonsie Valley—Mitch Mueller, 4:02
Saves (goalie)
Wheaton South -- 7 (Benji Cruz)
Waubonsie Valley -- 10 (Rogelio Grimaldo, 1; Vincent Rullo, 9)