Numbers, schmumbers: it's DGN vs. DGS
By Matt Le Cren
The tired saying that says you can throw out the records when crosstown rivals meet has a little twist this year.
Downers Grove South coach Jon Stapleton and Downers Grove North coach Mike Schmitt would both like to literally erase their records. Neither unranked team has a mark to write home about.
No matter, the only numbers the teams and fans will care about are the ones on the scoreboard when the Trojans (4-10-0) make the 2.8 mile trek to Downers Grove South (5-5-1) Thursday evening for their annual showdown.
“I’m sure on both sides of town, motivation is never an issue,” Stapleton said. “The kids look forward to it quite a bit.
“They have players they play with, they have players they have played against for years, so the motivation is always there. In some respects, it’s trying to curb the emotions to make sure we’re focused on playing the right way.”
After a slow start, the Mustangs are playing better lately and have won their last three matches. They upset Addison Trail, which is ranked 13th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 poll, in penalty kicks on Tuesday.
Last week, Downers Grove South beat Willowbrook 5-1 on Tuesday and Neuqua Valley 2-1, nearly shutting out the latter until conceding a goal at the final buzzer.
“We’re trying to find a little bit more consistency in terms of our play, but I thought Saturday was a nice win for us,” Stapleton said. “That was a good sign. We’re doing better.”
Senior forward Josh Venouziou, a third-year varsity player, leads South’s attack with nine goals. Seniors Dardan Sylejmani and Nick Opacian anchor the midfield along with junior Julian Lopez.
“Julian Lopez in the midfield has done a nice job in protecting our backline and facilitating play offensively,” Stapleton said. “I think senior Max Paschall, one of our center backs, has been doing a nice job anchoring down our defense.
“We’re really trying to improve at all those levels, and I think we’re starting to turn the corner a little bit.”
Downers Grove North, on the other hand, is still in the process of approaching the intersection. The Trojans graduated 15 seniors from last season’s team that went 8-2-1.
“I don’t want to say we’re rebuilding, but we graduated a lot of key players last year. We’ve got a lot of sophomores and juniors on the squad this year,” Schmitt said. “We’re grinding away. We’re battling.”
Indeed, the Trojans have been in nearly every match. Six of their losses have been one-goal decisions, including an overtime loss to no. 9 Lyons. Another came on penalty kicks.
“The record doesn’t look super great, but we’ve been in a lot of games,” Schmitt said. “What we lack in skill we make up for in terms of our energy and work rate.
“That’s kind of been our theme. We’re focusing on getting the performances better as we head into the playoffs. Even though our record doesn’t show it, we’re improving week by week.”
Midfielder Ryan Wilson, one of seven sophomores on the roster, leads the Trojans in scoring with seven goals. Unfortunately, he’s missed the last two games due to injury and is doubtful for Thursday.
Senior center back Kyle Miller, sophomore midfielder Riley Botha and junior forward Jack Ryan have also stood out. Botha and Ryan both scored in Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to Oak Park and River Forest, a game which the Trojans led 2-0 at halftime.
While experience and recent form suggest Downers Grove South will be a solid favorite, the Mustangs have not beaten their rival since 2015. Downers Grove North is 3-0-2 in the last five meetings, including a 3-0 win at South last spring.
“They’ve had our number for a while, and they’ve had some good seasons,” Stapleton said. “So, I anticipate them giving their best effort on Thursday night.”
Schmitt knows his team faces a fairly tough task, especially given how many of the Trojans will be playing in their first crosstown game at the varsity level
“We’re going to try to catch them on a day that we can play well,” Schmitt said. “I know they’ve had a string of good results lately, scoring a lot of goals.
“Stapleton always has them well-organized. I think it’s going to be a really good game.”
By Matt Le Cren
The tired saying that says you can throw out the records when crosstown rivals meet has a little twist this year.
Downers Grove South coach Jon Stapleton and Downers Grove North coach Mike Schmitt would both like to literally erase their records. Neither unranked team has a mark to write home about.
No matter, the only numbers the teams and fans will care about are the ones on the scoreboard when the Trojans (4-10-0) make the 2.8 mile trek to Downers Grove South (5-5-1) Thursday evening for their annual showdown.
“I’m sure on both sides of town, motivation is never an issue,” Stapleton said. “The kids look forward to it quite a bit.
“They have players they play with, they have players they have played against for years, so the motivation is always there. In some respects, it’s trying to curb the emotions to make sure we’re focused on playing the right way.”
After a slow start, the Mustangs are playing better lately and have won their last three matches. They upset Addison Trail, which is ranked 13th in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25 poll, in penalty kicks on Tuesday.
Last week, Downers Grove South beat Willowbrook 5-1 on Tuesday and Neuqua Valley 2-1, nearly shutting out the latter until conceding a goal at the final buzzer.
“We’re trying to find a little bit more consistency in terms of our play, but I thought Saturday was a nice win for us,” Stapleton said. “That was a good sign. We’re doing better.”
Senior forward Josh Venouziou, a third-year varsity player, leads South’s attack with nine goals. Seniors Dardan Sylejmani and Nick Opacian anchor the midfield along with junior Julian Lopez.
“Julian Lopez in the midfield has done a nice job in protecting our backline and facilitating play offensively,” Stapleton said. “I think senior Max Paschall, one of our center backs, has been doing a nice job anchoring down our defense.
“We’re really trying to improve at all those levels, and I think we’re starting to turn the corner a little bit.”
Downers Grove North, on the other hand, is still in the process of approaching the intersection. The Trojans graduated 15 seniors from last season’s team that went 8-2-1.
“I don’t want to say we’re rebuilding, but we graduated a lot of key players last year. We’ve got a lot of sophomores and juniors on the squad this year,” Schmitt said. “We’re grinding away. We’re battling.”
Indeed, the Trojans have been in nearly every match. Six of their losses have been one-goal decisions, including an overtime loss to no. 9 Lyons. Another came on penalty kicks.
“The record doesn’t look super great, but we’ve been in a lot of games,” Schmitt said. “What we lack in skill we make up for in terms of our energy and work rate.
“That’s kind of been our theme. We’re focusing on getting the performances better as we head into the playoffs. Even though our record doesn’t show it, we’re improving week by week.”
Midfielder Ryan Wilson, one of seven sophomores on the roster, leads the Trojans in scoring with seven goals. Unfortunately, he’s missed the last two games due to injury and is doubtful for Thursday.
Senior center back Kyle Miller, sophomore midfielder Riley Botha and junior forward Jack Ryan have also stood out. Botha and Ryan both scored in Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to Oak Park and River Forest, a game which the Trojans led 2-0 at halftime.
While experience and recent form suggest Downers Grove South will be a solid favorite, the Mustangs have not beaten their rival since 2015. Downers Grove North is 3-0-2 in the last five meetings, including a 3-0 win at South last spring.
“They’ve had our number for a while, and they’ve had some good seasons,” Stapleton said. “So, I anticipate them giving their best effort on Thursday night.”
Schmitt knows his team faces a fairly tough task, especially given how many of the Trojans will be playing in their first crosstown game at the varsity level
“We’re going to try to catch them on a day that we can play well,” Schmitt said. “I know they’ve had a string of good results lately, scoring a lot of goals.
“Stapleton always has them well-organized. I think it’s going to be a really good game.”