Downers Grove South
wary of Hinsdale Central
Winner will head to Red Devil Cup final
By Matt Le Cren
Hinsdale Central and Downers Grove South enjoyed blowout wins on the first day of the Red Devil Cup on Tuesday.
A blowout is probably not in the cards when the two premier programs clash on Thursday night at Dickinson Field in Hinsdale.
Or is it?
Defending champion Hinsdale Central (3-0) has picked up right where it left off last November. The Red Devils have outscored their opponents by a 17-1 margin, with the only goal allowed coming on a penalty kick, to extend their unbeaten streak to 10 games.
Downers Grove South (2-1) usually plays the Red Devils tough, and with this match likely to determine the champion of the Red Group and a spot in Saturday night’s championship game, the Mustangs have a lot to play for.
But a victory here might be too much to ask for.
“At least it typically is a close game,” Downers Grove South coach Jon Stapleton said. “They way they’re playing, they might blow us out, but we’ll see.”
Hinsdale Central routed Oswego East 8-1 on Tuesday as senior forward Rigo Rojas had three goals and two assists and senior midfielder Louis St. John added two goals and an assist.
Rojas and St. John, who started as freshmen for the Red Devils, have returned to the high school scene after spending the past two seasons playing for the Fire Academy. Both were recently named to the High School All-American Game watch list.
Rojas has scored in all three games so far, while St. John has tallied in two of them. Junior midfielder Jake Semba and senior forward Bryan Loebig also are offensive threats as they and senior defender Nick Silva also found the back of the net against Oswego East.
But Hinsdale Central’s defense is as stingy as its offense is explosive. Senior goalkeeper Ethan Gama is off to a terrific start with 2 ½ shutouts and a 0.00 goals-against-average.
Gama is in his first season as starter after backing up All-Stater Wes Bergevin the past two years. His early success comes as no surprise to the Red Devils.
“I would say Ethan has come out this year and is easily the best goalkeeper in the state of Illinois,” Hinsdale Central coach Mike Wiggins said. “(If not for Bergevin) he would have started here and with other high school teams.
“Ethan is a very talented player with fantastic skills. I think he still has several years ahead of him.
“He’s assertive in goal, he’s composed. He plays the angles very well. He’s a great shot-stopper and his distribution is fantastic.”
That said, the Red Devils are taking nothing for granted against the Mustangs, who won 14 games last season and blasted Brother Rice 7-0 on Tuesday.
“(The key) is really what we take into every game,” Wiggins said. “We have a standard of level of play that we try to achieve each game.
“We need to be aggressive in the attack, we have to be willing to take guys on and then defensively we just have to make sure that everyone is doing what they’re supposed to do and playing well as a group. Well-coached teams can expose you if you’re not disciplined on both sides of the ball.”
There’s no doubt Downers South is well-coached and these two teams share an interesting connection.
Wiggins, a Downers Grove South alum, was the Mustangs’ head coach from 1994-2001 before taking the Hinsdale Central job the following year. Stapleton was an assistant under Wiggins before succeeding him and guiding the Mustangs to the 2004 state title.
“I think I actually coached Jon one summer when I was still in college,” Wiggins recalled. “I’m proud of him and what Downers South has accomplished and what the program stands for. That’s a first-class program run by one of my favorite guys.”
Stapleton thinks highly of Wiggins as well and the two schools, separated by less than five miles, are familiar with one another.
“I think the kids recognize the opportunity we have with this game,” Stapleton said. “Soccer as a whole is a tight-knit community so a lot of the kids know each other. That makes it more exciting.”
So exciting, in fact, that despite the early September date, the game could have the flavor of a playoff game.
“We’re going to try to create a playoff atmosphere because it’s the type of team we’ll play in the playoffs,” Stapleton said. “It’s going to be a great test.”
Downers South bounced back from Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Fremd in impressive fashion against Brother Rice. Junior Ian Wisniewski recorded his first career hat trick while Andrew Pierropoulos and Dylan Mobley each had a goal and an assist and Kai Peterson one goal.
Jared Vosicky, Peter Carr and Garrett Burns all added an assist for the Mustangs, who have yet to face a team of Hinsdale Central’s caliber.
“We understand the task,” Stapleton said. “They’re playing great right off the bat, and if we don’t play cohesively from top to bottom, it is going to be tough.”
wary of Hinsdale Central
Winner will head to Red Devil Cup final
By Matt Le Cren
Hinsdale Central and Downers Grove South enjoyed blowout wins on the first day of the Red Devil Cup on Tuesday.
A blowout is probably not in the cards when the two premier programs clash on Thursday night at Dickinson Field in Hinsdale.
Or is it?
Defending champion Hinsdale Central (3-0) has picked up right where it left off last November. The Red Devils have outscored their opponents by a 17-1 margin, with the only goal allowed coming on a penalty kick, to extend their unbeaten streak to 10 games.
Downers Grove South (2-1) usually plays the Red Devils tough, and with this match likely to determine the champion of the Red Group and a spot in Saturday night’s championship game, the Mustangs have a lot to play for.
But a victory here might be too much to ask for.
“At least it typically is a close game,” Downers Grove South coach Jon Stapleton said. “They way they’re playing, they might blow us out, but we’ll see.”
Hinsdale Central routed Oswego East 8-1 on Tuesday as senior forward Rigo Rojas had three goals and two assists and senior midfielder Louis St. John added two goals and an assist.
Rojas and St. John, who started as freshmen for the Red Devils, have returned to the high school scene after spending the past two seasons playing for the Fire Academy. Both were recently named to the High School All-American Game watch list.
Rojas has scored in all three games so far, while St. John has tallied in two of them. Junior midfielder Jake Semba and senior forward Bryan Loebig also are offensive threats as they and senior defender Nick Silva also found the back of the net against Oswego East.
But Hinsdale Central’s defense is as stingy as its offense is explosive. Senior goalkeeper Ethan Gama is off to a terrific start with 2 ½ shutouts and a 0.00 goals-against-average.
Gama is in his first season as starter after backing up All-Stater Wes Bergevin the past two years. His early success comes as no surprise to the Red Devils.
“I would say Ethan has come out this year and is easily the best goalkeeper in the state of Illinois,” Hinsdale Central coach Mike Wiggins said. “(If not for Bergevin) he would have started here and with other high school teams.
“Ethan is a very talented player with fantastic skills. I think he still has several years ahead of him.
“He’s assertive in goal, he’s composed. He plays the angles very well. He’s a great shot-stopper and his distribution is fantastic.”
That said, the Red Devils are taking nothing for granted against the Mustangs, who won 14 games last season and blasted Brother Rice 7-0 on Tuesday.
“(The key) is really what we take into every game,” Wiggins said. “We have a standard of level of play that we try to achieve each game.
“We need to be aggressive in the attack, we have to be willing to take guys on and then defensively we just have to make sure that everyone is doing what they’re supposed to do and playing well as a group. Well-coached teams can expose you if you’re not disciplined on both sides of the ball.”
There’s no doubt Downers South is well-coached and these two teams share an interesting connection.
Wiggins, a Downers Grove South alum, was the Mustangs’ head coach from 1994-2001 before taking the Hinsdale Central job the following year. Stapleton was an assistant under Wiggins before succeeding him and guiding the Mustangs to the 2004 state title.
“I think I actually coached Jon one summer when I was still in college,” Wiggins recalled. “I’m proud of him and what Downers South has accomplished and what the program stands for. That’s a first-class program run by one of my favorite guys.”
Stapleton thinks highly of Wiggins as well and the two schools, separated by less than five miles, are familiar with one another.
“I think the kids recognize the opportunity we have with this game,” Stapleton said. “Soccer as a whole is a tight-knit community so a lot of the kids know each other. That makes it more exciting.”
So exciting, in fact, that despite the early September date, the game could have the flavor of a playoff game.
“We’re going to try to create a playoff atmosphere because it’s the type of team we’ll play in the playoffs,” Stapleton said. “It’s going to be a great test.”
Downers South bounced back from Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Fremd in impressive fashion against Brother Rice. Junior Ian Wisniewski recorded his first career hat trick while Andrew Pierropoulos and Dylan Mobley each had a goal and an assist and Kai Peterson one goal.
Jared Vosicky, Peter Carr and Garrett Burns all added an assist for the Mustangs, who have yet to face a team of Hinsdale Central’s caliber.
“We understand the task,” Stapleton said. “They’re playing great right off the bat, and if we don’t play cohesively from top to bottom, it is going to be tough.”