Trojans finish Pepsi Showdown play with a big win

By Darryl Mellema

The skies above the Pepsi Showdown fields were a sort of smoky-gray on Saturday, and there's no evidence that this was caused by the discharge from the 10-toed guns Downers Grove North aimed at Bartlett's goal.

The Trojans raced to a 4-0 halftime lead and completed their play at the Showdown with a 5-1 victory over the Hawks in LaGrange.

"I asked (tournament organizer) Joe Trost if we could play one of the other quarterfinal teams," Downers North coach Brian Gervase said.

"We just played two tough teams, and most recently Lyons and came up a little short and we wanted a game to get us in the flow.

"We wanted to play someone good and Bartlett was 3-0 in their bracket. It was good for us to play a good team and finish."

The Trojans opened the scoring very early in the first half with Stu Melton converted an A.J. Jeffries pass.

Paul Hogan got the next two Downers North goals, less than two minutes apart, with the first coming in the 15th minute. Jeffries provided the through ball assists on both those goals as well.

"They were one of the flatter teams defensively that we've faced, and that made it tough for us to break down," Gervase said.

"We got caught offsides a lot and it was good for us because we have to adjust to that."

The first half blitz concluded in the final minute of the half when Krzysztof Sitarz sent Cullen Cummings free into the penalty area and Cummings was taken down. Eric Garcia converted the penalty kick.

"We've just got to get some finishing and get these guys' confidences back again," Gervase said.

Downers North's ball movement through the first half was fluid. Things broke down somewhat in the second half as the teams substituted liberally.

And the Trojans finished the game with 10 men after a red card was issued.

"Even though we were up, we emphasized keeping the ball and keeping it moving," Gervase said. "We talk a lot about surgical strikes. We want it not just in the box, we want it where we want it to be."

Bartlett broke the shutout with 12 minutes to play though the Trojans answered with two minutes left when Kevin Christman restored the four-goal margin.

"We'd like to not have had them score a goal," Gervase said. "At halftime, we always say the same thing, and that's that the 'zero' is the most important thing.

"We didn't need more goals. They caught us on a quick restart and one of our sub defenders didn't have his head in it at that point."

Gervase said he had his his second-stringers on the field on the field for most of the final half-hour of play.

"And we were down a man for that time, too," Gervase said. "My assistant (Mike Schmitt) looked at me and said 'this isn't bad, we get our whole subs in and they get to play down a man. This is good for them.'"

Gervase said the overall experience at the Showdown was positive for his team. After going 3-0 in pool play, the Trojans fell to host Lyons Township before defeating Bartlett.

The match against Lyons came two days after the Trojans fell to the Lions in West Suburban Silver competition.

"We're in this tournament because it gets us on the big stage," Gervase said. "Lyons Township has been undefeated for 23 straight because they've been to the big game.

"They know what it's like and we really don't know that. This tournament gets us as close to that stage as you can get.”

Gervase said his team had hoped to defeat the Lions in the Showdown and keep alive hopes of playing in the tournament final at Toyota Park.

"That was a big deal to them," Gervase said. "They wanted to do that almost as much as they want to win a state championship. So it was good for them to feel the pressure.

"They really needed to respond and they played a heck of a match. One-zero against Lyons on their home field with their kids all around the field – it was good experience, a good presence."