Panthers top WW South with time running out
Kfoury, Scott set up Dailly PK for 1-0 win

 

By Darryl Mellema

Just because Glenbard North is out of contention for the DuPage Valley Conference title doesn’t mean the Panthers don’t have a lot to play for this season.

On Tuesday, Glenbard North met a similar opponent at Wheaton Warrenville South, and the teams combined for a hard-fought late-season match where challenges came with great speed and force and offensive chances were practically non-existent.

In Glenbard North’s case, clear-cut chances failed to materialize for 79 minutes. But that still left a final minute of play, and in those 60 seconds, the Panthers produced the best defense-opening move of the match.

Alex Kfoury sent Ryan Scott free with a pass leading to the portion of the penalty area just left of the “D.” Scott reached that pass, moved into the penalty area, was jostled by a Wheaton Warrenville South defender, and tumbled to the artificial turf.

The referee immediately pointed the penalty spot for the foul – and Eric Dailly stepped up and converted his fourth penalty kick in four attempts this season – and the Panthers walked off with a 1-0 DVC victory.

“We just never gave up,” Scott said. “We kept making the runs. Finally, we caught a break and we got our goal. They’re a good team and we needed that win.”

Scott had an influential match for the Panthers well before he drew the match-winning penalty kick. An outside midfielder, he moved to the center of the field defensively to provide an extra layer of central cover. From here, he broke some attacks in the first half.

“We’re working on shifting over so we can control the midfield better,” Scott said. “It all starts in the back and we communicate as we work the ball up.”

Dailly’s penalty kick went marginally to the right and hit the back of the net. “I just stepped up,” Dailly said. “I just did the same thing I do every time and put it in the net.”

With the win, Glenbard North (7-5-4, 2-2-1) has doubled its DVC win total from a year ago. The Panthers still have matches with Glenbard East and Naperville Central in which to search for an even better conference placing.

“We’re trying to do better than last season,” Dailly said. “One win in conference wasn’t good enough. We’re doing better this season and hopefully we can get more.”

Wheaton Warrenville South (6-9-1, 0-4) dominated lengthy as it searched for its initial DVC win of the campaign. As a result, Glenbard North spent much of the match playing defense.

“We felt we were under pressure most of the game with their restarts and their throw-ins,” Glenbard North coach Greg Chrisman said. “But we really didn’t give up any good looks or quality chances on goal. Our goalie (Eric Tenut) wasn’t called on to make many plays, so that shows me that we were concentrating.”

Players like Scott were at the heart of that defensive determination.

“He plays great help-side defense,” Chrisman said of Scott. “That’s something he does every game consistently and that’s one reason why he’s such an asset to our team. He marks up his guy, he also marks up in space and he can double-team as well.”

Chrisman said Scott’s run into space in the final minute to start the move that led to the penalty kick was strong and that Kfoury’s pass was equally good.

“(Scott) made a great run but (Kfoury) had the vision that he was able to see it,” Chrisman said. “And then he made that great through pass.”

The Panthers play three more times before the end of the regular season. Chrisman said there are still things he would like to see his team strive for in that time.

“I think we’ve proven to ourselves time and again that we know how to play as a team, collectively,” Chrisman said. “Sometimes that gets lost and we sometimes lose that confidence in our ability. When we have that, we can do some amazing things both offensively and defensively.”