Warriors fall to Wildcats in season opener

By Curt Herron

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Jose Villa really couldn't have scripted things much better for his coaching debut at West Chicago on Tuesday evening.

The 2006 Wego graduate received good efforts all over the field as the host Wildcats defeated Wheaton Academy 4-2 in the season opener for the West Chicago schools.

Wego (1-0) made the most of its scoring opportunities by distributing the ball effectively in a fast-paced attack in which they controlled play against the Warriors.

And not only did the Wildcats move ahead for good with a strike late in the first half, they responded to both WA goals with scores of their own within two minutes.

Ramon Eurioles scored a pair of goals to pace the winners while Steven Porcayo and the coach's cousin, Alejandro Villa, also found the net for the home side.

Jenaro Terrazas chipped in with two assists for Wego while Edgardo Alcantar and returning All-Stater Diego Munoz also assisted on goals.

All in all it was a pretty good way for the Wildcats to open up, a year after posting a 16-6-4 record under former coach Steve Brugmann.

"This was a great way to start," Jose Villa said. "I thought that our boys worked very hard to move the ball around. Wheaton Academy has a great program and team and their guys played hard. It was great to see us not put our heads down and countering.

"I think one of the key things about this year's team is that we have many guys who can attack. We have some key players but I also think that we're a well-rounded team where guys coming off of the bench are also very effective and can be dangerous.

"A lot of these boys have played club together and grew up together. West Chicago is a very tight-knit community where you know the majority of the people here. So it's great to have a great group of boys like these who work so hard on the field."

While the opening outcome was an improvement on last year's 6-2 defeat to Wego, the setback was still obviously not acceptable to WA coach Jeff Brooke.

Although the Warriors 90-1) went with a lineup featuring only four senior starters, Brooke didn't blame the result on his squad's lack of experience.

"They have Diego back as an All-State central midfielder and he certainly looked like it tonight," Brooke said. "I thought that West Chicago looked good and I don't want to take anything away from them.

"They really took it to us last year so we wanted to show better in this game. Tonight we started seven juniors and sophomores, so obviously we're young. I thought that we caught a little in our defending.

"I told our guys that I thought a few really didn't play that well. That hurt us around the field trying to play possession and we couldn't get much momentum going. But credit West Chicago's defending and possession."

The Wildcats capitalized on their first good chance when Terrazas found Porcayo in front of the net for an easy score in the eighth minute.

Wheaton Academy answered in the tenth minute when Casey Zimmerman's short try was deflected by keeper Paolino Mansera but Gareth Flynn was there for the rebound.

Things didn't remain even for long, however, as Munoz found Eurioles and the junior connected from close range to make it a 2-1 contest in the 12th minute.

"What a better way to start than with a win?" asked Munoz. "I think that we did great on the field and we capitalized on every opportunity that we had. The key word on our squad is 'possession' so we want to keep possession by controlling the ball.

"We're 11 on the field, not just one individual and we work as a team to create and to finish. Even though this was just the first game of the season, we're looking forward to having a great record at the end of the season.

"I think that we can be a successful team since we all know each other really well. We can win individual awards, but that's nothing compared to what we do as 11 on the field. We have 18 players on the team and that's what will help us be successful."

Following the trio of scores within a 3:32-span, both squads saw limited opportunities during the next 20 minutes of play.

Shortly before the half's midpoint, Mansera deflected a long free kick and Grant Stoneman's subsequent liner was halted by Giovannie Altamirano.

Not long after that, Warrior keeper Andrew Sezonov stopped an effort from Jose Cortes and then a bit later, Flynn was denied on a short attempt.

WA pulled even again in the 32nd minute when Stoneman sent a nice pass forward to Flynn, who connected from close range for his second score.

But as was the case with the earlier tie, Wego needed less than two minutes to move ahead again, only this time it was for good.

Alcantar started the key sequence off for the Wildcats with a long free kick that resulted in a corner kick by Terrazas.

On the corner, Terrazas sent the ball back toward Alcantar, whose pass inside found Villa's head for a goal in the 34th minute.

"It's great to start the season with a win at home and this will motivate us," Terrazas said. "We've been working in practice on moving the ball from side to side and that's what we did and that tired the defense.

"We know that we have to make the most of our chances and we did that today. It was good to see the forwards scoring. I think that we have a good team this year and hopefully we can make it far.

"I like the unity on our team and how positive everyone is. I think those are the keys to winning games. I think if we just work together that we'll be able to out-work some of the better teams."

After Flynn and Porcayo were denied on good chances early in the final half, Wego connected again to complete the scoring.

In the 54th minute, Terrazas lined a short try off the post and Eurioles alertly put in the rebound for his second goal.

The Warriors had a pair of good chances around the half's midway mark but Stoneman and Flynn both saw their efforts denied.

A bit later, WA was at it again when Zimmerman's free kick went to Flynn, who headed it to Stoneman, who saw his shot halted.

Two other close calls saw a Flynn corner headed over the net by Ty Seager and Porcayo's short try deflected away by Sezonov.

Wego has two more good challenges this week with home matches against Schaumburg on Thursday and Marmion Academy on Saturday.

"It was good to see some players play at different positions," Jose Villa said. "We tried that at practice, but it was good to see in a game. Having players who are versatile and effective makes it a lot easier on us.

"We have a good group of guys and I like their positive attitude. They're very charismatic and they have a good time. But at the same time when it comes to practice, we know when we need to be serious and work on stuff.

"I think if we work hard like we did tonight that good things will come. We have Schaumburg next, which will be a good test since they have a very good program and a strong team that's aggressive and good in the air."

Wheaton Academy hosts Aurora Central Catholic on Thursday before traveling to Westminster Christian in Missouri on Saturday.

Despite the defeat, the Warrior coach is upbeat about the depth on a squad that hopes to improve upon last year's 14-7-3 mark.

"We try to schedule the best teams that we can out of conference in order to prepare for some of the goals that we have," Brooke said. "So I think that we'll take tonight's game and get better from it.

"I think we're more solid from one to 20 than we've been in awhile. We really want to develop some players that we think can shine. Getting those guys to their highest level is my responsibility as a coach."