Mustangs cap rough stretch with victory over Bulldogs

By Curt Herron

A lot can be learned from how a squad performs as it battles during a rugged stretch while dealing with some adversity.

That was the story for Metea Valley this week and based on its performance, the future looks very bright for the team.

The Mustangs completed a four-match, four-day effort with a 2-1-1 mark after claiming a 1-0 win over Batavia at Saturday's Warrior Invite in Aurora.

Metea (8-10-1) lost junior Ryan Solomon to an injury during Thursday's 1-1 draw with Lake Park and has been dealing with an injury to Brett Erwin.

Despite those losses, the Mustangs continue to battle behind a make-shift lineup that was boosted by several junior-varsity call ups on Saturday.

There were several highlights for coach Josh Robinson's team during the week, beginning with Wednesday's 2-0 win over Saint Viator at Toyota Park.

After dropping a 3-0 tournament loss to Waubonsie Valley on Thursday, the Mustangs tied the Lancers in an Upstate Eight Conference Valley match.

That set the table for Saturday's meeting with the Bulldogs (7-7-4) on the final day of the tournament at Waubonsie Valley.

Click to hear coach Josh Robinson interview

Batavia has been struggling to find the net of late, and the consequences of that has resulted in a 1-4-3 showing recently.

With Danny Shea and Blake Erwin leading the way in the back, Metea was able to record its second shutout effort of the week.

Derek Carothers played in goal in the first half while Gabe Gongora held down those responsibilities during the second half.

The Mustangs' two shutouts this week are noteworthy since they only had two other shutouts all year, with the previous one coming on September 7.

Click to hear Blake Erwin interview

The Mustangs scored the match's lone goal midway through the opening half when Nate Donovan sent a pass toward Chris Freeman, who found the net.

There weren't a lot of opportunities during the final 40 minutes and the limited number was pretty much evenly-distributed among the two squads.

Metea got a shot on goal from Joel Schmidt while Kevin Decker and Zack Bavol were both wide on attempts during the first part of the second half.

Batavia's Evan Christianson and Anton Kondaurov were stopped on shots while Lalo Cuautle, Cam Callipari and Pete O'Brien were wide of the mark.

The Bulldogs nearly scored with just over 16 minutes to go when Cuautle sent in a free kick to Anthony Torres, who had a header deflected away.

About a minute later, the Mustangs nearly added to their advantage when Bavol got a try from close range but his attempt deflected off the post.

Metea closes out regular season play on Tuesday when it hosts East Aurora. Then on Friday, the Mustangs host Lockport in regional competition.

Click to hear Danny Shea interview

Batavia looked like it might have broken out of its drought when it scored seven goals in 15 minutes in a September match 28 win over Larkin.

But the Bulldogs have been blanked in their last two outings and have only scored two goals during their four contests since the Larkin match.

They don't have much time to correct things since they only have matches against Streamwood and St. Charles North left in the regular season.

Click to hear Lalo Cuautle interview