Red Devils take West Suburban Silver crown
By Dave Owen

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The return to action of Glenbard West co-captain Zack Venzon from a serious early season hip injury provided the early drama in Tuesday’s already big battle for the WSC Silver title.

But it was Hinsdale Central’s Max Krohn who would later provide the moment of the night.

The Red Devil junior’s tough angle header off an Evan Floersch free kick with 12:27 left in the game pushed the Red Devils (15-3-2, 6-0) to a 1-0 win over the host Hilltoppers (13-3, 4-2), a play of double significance.

The win gave Hinsdale Central an undefeated conference record for just the third time in school history, and marked Krohn’s first goal of the season.

“I’m glad it came in this game,” Krohn said. “Just to clinch the conference championship, it’s a good feeling to have all the teammates running at you and getting around you and stuff.”

Krohn’s post-goal mobbing by his teammates was well earned. Stationed at the far post on Evan Floersch’s free kick from the left sideline, Krohn nicely headed the ball directly across the crease and into the far corner of the net.

“Evan put a really good ball to the back post, and I just got my head on it and went far post,” Krohn said. “I’m taller than a lot of kids (at 6-foot-2) so that helps.”

What helped the Red Devils at the other end of the field were stalwart defensive efforts from players like Ryan Schwarz, Floersch, Ryan Melloni, Phillip Gutman and Jack Niestrom.

But those standouts were just a few reasons for Hinsdale Central’s ninth win in a row and fourth shutout in the last six games.

“Everyone on our team can play,” Schwarz said. “Our bench is deep. We can put a guy in and it stays the same on the field, and anybody on the field can score a goal as you could see. That was Max’s first of the season and it came against Glenbard which is a very good team.”

Hinsdale Central coach Mike Wiggins offered similar balanced praise for his team.

“There’s so many different guys that step up at different times and be a difference maker,” Wiggins said. “It really is everybody, from the strong goalkeeping we’ve had from our three guys (Harley Pranger, Mitchell Meyer and Philip Pielet) to our team defending to the way we create chances in the final third.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. It’s really a neat group.”

After Hinsdale Central just missed on the first great chance of the night in the 13th minute (a Christian Meyer cross that Glenbard West defender Gonzalo Villa nicely cleared from the crease), the Hilltoppers’ offense rode great speed and a big emotional lift to generate the bulk of the first half threats.

The turning point came with 18:30 left in the half, when Venzon entered to a huge ovation after missing the last 13 games.

“I fractured my growth plate, which is behind my hip, in a collision in the third game of the season,” Venzon said. “It definitely took a toll on me both emotionally and physically. It was really tough to come back, but my teammates and coach were there for me and everyone was supporting me. So it felt good to come back strong.

“This feels great.  I don’t even know how my hip is because I can’t feel it from the adrenalin.”

Glenbard West nearly gave him an incredible welcome. Just 25 seconds after Venzon checked in, Villa’s header attempt off a Mario Sotelo corner kick was denied on a great diving save to his right by Hinsdale Central goalkeeper Pranger.

Venzon’s direct impact was evident on two other plays later in the half: off a Ben Ruby throw-in, Venzon’s attack from the end line was denied on a Pranger save. Then with 4:15 before halftime, the speedy Venzon nicely eluded a defender on right wing and launched a low 20-yard blast that Pranger again dove to his right to stop on a great save.

“I thought my teammates did a great job of getting me and Nate Hall the ball up top,” Venzon said. “We just tried to penetrate and force it into their defense to get off as many shots as we could. We feel we’re very good offensively when we get the ball on our feet.”

Pranger also came up big 10:30 before halftime with a great diving stop at the post of a 25-yard Ruby shot.

Hinsdale Central’s own multiple threats late in the first half included an unstoppable 30-yard blast by Rigoberto Rojas that went inches over the crossbar in the 27th minute, and a strong Mike Krohn throw-in to the crease that Glenbard West goalkeeper Aaron Griffin caught virtually off the foot of a charging Schwarz.

Glenbard West defenders Ivan Barajas (a steal and blocked shot in the box) and Andrew O’Connell made multiple plays to limit other Red Devil threats.
But en route to their eighth shutout of the year, the Red Devils’ defense stood even taller.

With Mitchell Meyer taking over in goal, nice clears on consecutive plays with 26 minutes left by Gutman (on a Ruby throw-in) and Schwarz (on a Venzon cross to the box) kept the pressure off.

Meyer made a big save on a Venzon 12-yard shot in on right wing with 18:45 left in the game, and Schwarz made a great steal and clear on a Hilltopper rush four minutes later.

“We work on clearance in practice obviously, getting the ball out under pressure and keeping our cool,” Schwarz said. “And we know even if we’re not winning the game that we’re a good enough team to come back and score goals. We have a really good defense, and Max scored a great goal.”

That goal only hiked the pressure on the Red Devils’ defense. The Hilltoppers produced four corner kicks in the six minutes following Krohn’s goal, the best of which with 8:40 left resulted in a Villa header just wide of the left post.

Then with 5:30 to go, Glenbard West’s Paul Selman used his great speed to tip the ball ahead of the field and dash in on a potential breakaway, only to have goalkeeper Meyer sprint off his line to dive on the ball before Selman could get off a shot.

“Glenbard West had some good chances, but our guys just work,” Wiggins said. “We did a nice job.”

”Every game in the Silver is a tough game. Nothing’s easy. But all in all our guys did well. They managed the 80 minutes, and the one thing was that we knew the balls in the air needed to be addressed and Max did a nice job when he came in. He not only helped out in the midfield, but he also obviously got that one to go in. That was nice to see.”

“In the second half we won the head balls in the middle,” Krohn said, “and I think we really just came together as a team and played our hearts out.”

The Hilltoppers’ many near misses produced a frustrating result from their viewpoint.

“Based on the efforts we put in and our scoring opportunities we didn’t deserve to lose this game,” Glenbard West coach Maciek Kusmierz said. “But unfortunately it’s about putting the ball in the net, and Hinsdale scored one and deservedly so won the game. Congratulations to them for winning the conference this year.”

And entering the Red Devil record books.

“They knew there have only been two other teams at Hinsdale Central that have won an undefeated conference championship,” Wiggins said. “They saw tonight as an opportunity to be a part of history, and now they become the third. That’s something they’ll be able to take with them for a long time.”

The players already recognize the title significance.

“We haven’t won since 2004, and it’s one of the toughest conferences in the state,” Schwarz said. “So it’s a really big accomplishment.

“Freshmen year we went 21-1 or something, but that’s just freshmen,” Krohn said. “On varsity it’s really nice to get conference champs and be undefeated.”

While the Red Devils celebrate, Venzon and the Hilltoppers have their own reasons for optimism going forward. 

“I thought we played really well,” Venzon said. “I definitely feel like we can go deep into the playoffs. If everyone stays healthy, everyone plays smart and we just play our game and don’t let anyone mess with us I think we’ll be good.”