Morton, Willowbrook rematch
figures to be a battle
Host Willowbrook hopes to avenge earlier defeat to Mustangs
By Curt Herron
Claiming a second place finish in a good conference behind an unbeaten team is a goal that a lot of area teams would be happy to achieve.
And that's the situation facing Morton and Willowbrook in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division when the squads meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Villa Park.
Downers Grove South (12-0-0, 11-0-0) clinched the title Wednesday. Morton (7-3-1 overall) and Willowbrook (8-2-0) are tied at 7-2-0 in the league with three games left. The winner of this game takes a major step toward runnerup honors.
Morton prevailed 3-1 when the squads met for the first time on April 27 in Berwyn. The Warriors not only have the goal of turning around that result, gthey seem quite capable of doing so since they've won six in a row since their back-to-back losses to Downers Grove South and Morton at the end of April.
Coach Julio Del Real's Warriors have outscored their last six opponents by a 34-3 margin. The last five wins have come against Gold Division foes. Four of the victories on the run were shutouts.
During its recent run of success, Willowbrook has been led by Grace Tumilty and Erin Fitzgibbon. Tumilty (22 goals, 8 assists) has collected 15 of her goals during the winning streak. Fitzgibbon (8 goals, 6 assists) has all of her goals during that same span.
Other top performers for the Warriors have included Molly Brennan (6 goals, 3 assists), Mackenzie Parente (1 goal, 5 assists) and keeper Maddie Aderholt (four clean-sheets).
"The team has been generating tons of scoring opportunities during our season," Del Real said "They have been moving the ball around very well. The entire team plays an integral part of our play, because the ball moves around amongst all of them. And our defense had been pretty solid during our latest run of six wins in a row."
The Warriors coach is understandably pleased with the performance of Tumilty, a senior midfielder who has scored multiple goals in each of the six wins and has had two or more goals in all eight of her team's victories. Earlier this year, she was recognized by the school district for her stellar involvement in extracurricular activities.
"Grace Tumilty has been our leader on the field, and she has done an outstanding job at doing that," Del Real said. "She has been double- and triple-teamed on some games and still manages to get around them to create scoring opportunities for her team and herself.
“She is a selfless player that does what the team needs from her in order to win. We are very proud to have her as a member of our soccer program. She would start on any team and would make a great difference as well. She is very smart and physical."
Morton also had a six-match winning streak which began with their win over Willowbrook and featured five more Gold Division victories. They outscored their opponents by a 35-4 margin during that stretch.
The streak was snapped on May 13 when they fell 3-2 in overtime at Downers Grove South. The Mustangs have split their two matches since: blanking Leyden for their third shutout; and falling 2-1 to West Suburban Conference cross-over York earlier this week.
"The first time we played (Willowbrook), the match was closer than the score indicated," Morton coach Jim Bageanis said of the April 27 match. "We just happened to capitalize on the chance to get the first goal. Otherwise, it was an even match with both teams getting their chances.
"Our top players this year have been Adriana Moreno and Carisma Rosales. They have both been our go-to scorers."
Moreno leads the Mustangs with 20 goals and nine assists, while Rosales has scored nine goals while adding 14 assists. Moreno scored two goals in the teams' first meeting while Aaliyah Leanos had the other score. Willowbrook got its their lone goal from Izzy Manning.
If the Mustangs can get the sweep against the Warriors, they'll likely have the upper hand for second place since they host Hinsdale South (5-7-0. 5-5-0) and play at Proviso East (0-9-0, 0-7-0). Willowbrook closes with conference home matches against Downers Grove South and Proviso East.
Both squads will also compete in the 17-team sectional tournament that the Mustangs host. They will be joined in that field by eight other West Suburban Conference schools.
figures to be a battle
Host Willowbrook hopes to avenge earlier defeat to Mustangs
By Curt Herron
Claiming a second place finish in a good conference behind an unbeaten team is a goal that a lot of area teams would be happy to achieve.
And that's the situation facing Morton and Willowbrook in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division when the squads meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Villa Park.
Downers Grove South (12-0-0, 11-0-0) clinched the title Wednesday. Morton (7-3-1 overall) and Willowbrook (8-2-0) are tied at 7-2-0 in the league with three games left. The winner of this game takes a major step toward runnerup honors.
Morton prevailed 3-1 when the squads met for the first time on April 27 in Berwyn. The Warriors not only have the goal of turning around that result, gthey seem quite capable of doing so since they've won six in a row since their back-to-back losses to Downers Grove South and Morton at the end of April.
Coach Julio Del Real's Warriors have outscored their last six opponents by a 34-3 margin. The last five wins have come against Gold Division foes. Four of the victories on the run were shutouts.
During its recent run of success, Willowbrook has been led by Grace Tumilty and Erin Fitzgibbon. Tumilty (22 goals, 8 assists) has collected 15 of her goals during the winning streak. Fitzgibbon (8 goals, 6 assists) has all of her goals during that same span.
Other top performers for the Warriors have included Molly Brennan (6 goals, 3 assists), Mackenzie Parente (1 goal, 5 assists) and keeper Maddie Aderholt (four clean-sheets).
"The team has been generating tons of scoring opportunities during our season," Del Real said "They have been moving the ball around very well. The entire team plays an integral part of our play, because the ball moves around amongst all of them. And our defense had been pretty solid during our latest run of six wins in a row."
The Warriors coach is understandably pleased with the performance of Tumilty, a senior midfielder who has scored multiple goals in each of the six wins and has had two or more goals in all eight of her team's victories. Earlier this year, she was recognized by the school district for her stellar involvement in extracurricular activities.
"Grace Tumilty has been our leader on the field, and she has done an outstanding job at doing that," Del Real said. "She has been double- and triple-teamed on some games and still manages to get around them to create scoring opportunities for her team and herself.
“She is a selfless player that does what the team needs from her in order to win. We are very proud to have her as a member of our soccer program. She would start on any team and would make a great difference as well. She is very smart and physical."
Morton also had a six-match winning streak which began with their win over Willowbrook and featured five more Gold Division victories. They outscored their opponents by a 35-4 margin during that stretch.
The streak was snapped on May 13 when they fell 3-2 in overtime at Downers Grove South. The Mustangs have split their two matches since: blanking Leyden for their third shutout; and falling 2-1 to West Suburban Conference cross-over York earlier this week.
"The first time we played (Willowbrook), the match was closer than the score indicated," Morton coach Jim Bageanis said of the April 27 match. "We just happened to capitalize on the chance to get the first goal. Otherwise, it was an even match with both teams getting their chances.
"Our top players this year have been Adriana Moreno and Carisma Rosales. They have both been our go-to scorers."
Moreno leads the Mustangs with 20 goals and nine assists, while Rosales has scored nine goals while adding 14 assists. Moreno scored two goals in the teams' first meeting while Aaliyah Leanos had the other score. Willowbrook got its their lone goal from Izzy Manning.
If the Mustangs can get the sweep against the Warriors, they'll likely have the upper hand for second place since they host Hinsdale South (5-7-0. 5-5-0) and play at Proviso East (0-9-0, 0-7-0). Willowbrook closes with conference home matches against Downers Grove South and Proviso East.
Both squads will also compete in the 17-team sectional tournament that the Mustangs host. They will be joined in that field by eight other West Suburban Conference schools.