Falcons can't hold late lead, fall in OT to Blackhawks

By Chris Walker

Wheaton North senior goalkeeper Nick Barry put on an acrobatic performance while trying to keep the Falcons in Tuesday's DuPage Valley Conference match against West Aurora.

But, the relentlessly attacking Blackhawks ultimately proved to be too much for the Falcons, as West Aurora rallied for a 2-1 victory in overtime in Wheaton.

Wheaton North (1-7-1, 0-1-1) fell far short of West Aurora (9-3, 1-2) in the possession game and didn't create nearly as many scoring opportunities.

But the Falcons put themselves in position to win their first game since August 28 when they scored with 13:11 remaining in the contest.

Zac Gudanik initiated the scoring possession when he squeezed in a pass to Isaac Oberlin whose header was collected by Andrew Carlburg near the front of goal.

Carlburg then smashed a successful shot past West Aurora goalkeeper Abel Diaz.

The celebration would be short-lived, though, as the Blackhawks knotted things at 1-1 with 4:45 remaining.

Mario Alvarez sent the ball near the goal hoping that one of his teammates would be able to finish.

His hope became reality when senior Cesar Garcia was able to track it down and head it in for the tying goal.

"I was just looking to get in there," Alvarez said about his pass. "It was just another play of us working hard."

Garcia was able to gauge the trajectory of Alvarez's boot that sailed off the post and also tipped off of Barry's hand.

"I had a real good look at the shot so I was able to run in there knowing where it was going," Garcia said.

"I was going up and could see the ball was going to dip down so I just got in there and got the rebound."

The Blackhawks were rejuvenated by the goal, especially since they came up empty-handed on their 24 previous shot attempts.

Barry had plenty to do with that, most notably with a full-extension diving save in the 52nd minute, another on a strong right-footed short range attempt from Alvarez in the 54th minute and yet one more on a redirect, dive and one-handed deflection in the 70th minute.

"Tonight I had to work a little harder than usual, but you're going to get shots every game and some games you get more than others," Barry said. "Tonight they had more shots and two went in."

Barry, who barked at his teammates on several occasions to not lose sight of Alvarez, said he got some good reads on West Aurora's potent attack.

"I know I have to keep a read on the kicker's hips and where he's looking at," Barry said. "I work on my footwork every day and tried to be one step ahead of the guy shooting the ball."

No one proved to be a step ahead of Garcia in overtime. In fact, most of the players on the field appeared to be in disbelief when Garcia received the ball from Alvarez, dribbled through a couple defenders and got a good leg on the game-winning goal just 1:42 seconds into overtime.

"I was surprised because you usually don't find that kind of space, especially in overtime," Garcia said. "I had to put it in."

The loss was another devastating blow to a Falcons team that has struggled in maintaining leads.

While this wasn't the same as the 4-3 loss to Lake Park on Sept. 4, in which the Lancers came back from a 3-0 deficit, it's still one that could be tough to recover from quickly.

"It's so frustrating and I know the guys won't sleep tonight after this loss," Barry said. "We know what we can do but this is the DuPage (Valley) Conference and it's so difficult, and you can never take a break."

Nor can you have many breakdowns if you hope to succeed in the conference win column.

"When you are up a goal you can't have those breakdowns consistently," Wheaton North coach Bryce Cann said.

"You might get away with one or two, but if it's going to happen a third or fourth time against this kind of competition you're likely going to give up goals and unfortunately that's the same lesson we're trying to learn over and over again."

The Blackhawks found a great deal of success moving the ball, especially utilizing an active give-and-go with Garcia, Alvarez, Benni Ness and Danny Talancon.

They also didn't quit, even after being denied on numerous occasions.

"I was most pleased with the kids coming back from being down," West Aurora coach Joe Sustersic said. "They kept their composure, didn't try to rush anything, kept their focus and continue to wear them down.

"This was your typical Wheaton North-West Aurora game which epitomizes the conference. There are no gimmies here and there's no game that you can't be ready to go. They almost snuck one away from us, but the kids kept fighting."

The teams played in t-shirts promoting juvenile diabetes awareness. A year ago when the two teams met, they promoted breast cancer awareness.

"We thought it was important not just for the program, but to show the boys that there's something going on around you that you can help out with," Cann said.

"We've had some guys in our program, and as a teacher you come across kids who suffer from this affliction, so this one made sense for us, especially because how close some of us are to it and the alarming statistics and shortening of life."

Cann said his team would continue to raise awareness and funds by participating in a walk in Lisle on October 3.