Hornets can't connect against Red Devils in Hinsdale clash

By Curt Herron

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Even though Friday's cold weather was less than ideal, there was still excitement in the air on Friday evening in Lisle.

That's because the two Hinsdale Township high schools were on hand at the Benedictine University for a trio of contests.

District 86 bragging rights for the night were assured by South after it defeated Central in both baseball and softball.

But the Red Devils prevented the sweep when they scored a pair of second-half goals to claim a 2-0 win over the Hornets.

Lily Chetosky scored off of an assist from Darby Moran midway through the final half to put Central in front for good.

Then in the late going, Lauren Shroyer was denied by South keeper Vanessa Niestrom but Alison Cerny put in the rebound.

The match was interesting beyond its district implications since both squads seemed to have much in common this season.

Both youthful squads, who feature plenty of freshmen and sophomores, got off to rough starts to kick off their years.

After going 0-4-2 in its initial six matches, Central has now won four of its last five contests to improve to 4-5-2.

Meanwhile, South has overcame an 0-5 start by compiling a 3-3-1 mark which has moved it to 3-8-1 through Friday's play.

The biggest difference between the two of late has been their ability to find the net, with Central holding the edge.

After scoring just three times in their first six matches, the Red Devils have collected 20 goals in their last five.

Although the Hornets have had more success of late, they've scored just 11 goals and were shut out for the fifth time.

The Friday district clash also made for busy weekends for both squads, who also had matches on Thursday and Saturday.

Central met Fremd on Saturday in the Naperville Invite after dropping a 2-1 decision to Waubonsie Valley on Thursday.

And after a 0-0 draw with St. Ignatius on Thursday, the Hornets met Plainfield East on Saturday in the Pepsi Showdown.

The difference between the two on Friday was the number of opportunities on a night where a strong wind affected play.

South didn't capitalize with the wind at its back before the break while Central made the most of it in the final half.

"We're starting to look like the Hinsdale Central team that we had been talking about since the beginning of the season," Red Devils coach Michael Smith said. "We're a team whose record won't truly represent who we are.

"We're not only seeing the collective ball movement but also the defensive pressure. And it's not just from one player, but it's from all of them. I told the girls afterward that we need to keep moving in that direction.

"Even though last night was a tough loss, I loved the energy level and the fighting spirit that we had tonight. From the beginning until the end, we set the tone that we were here to get a positive result and I like that.

"Last night against Waubonsie, we had three quality chances inside the six and didn't put them away but tonight we put away our chances. The girls are responding to a consistent approach and are playing with confidence."

Often a match between two Naperville Invite contests would get lost in the shuffle, but not when it's against a rival.

"They're our in-district rivals and a lot of the girls grew up up together, played against each other and some are even related," Smith said. "So it's fun and of course, it's even better when you can get a positive result.

"At the same time, I was impressed with how South played, with how they looked to move the ball and how defensively they had some backs who gave us trouble from the beginning until the end. That's all that you can ask for."

During the final half, Central capitalized on the strong north wind at its back by putting steady pressure on the net.

But Niestrom repeatedly came up with big stops to keep the Hornets' hopes alive until the final minutes of the match.

Cerny had a try deflected and Meghan Schick was thwarted on two others shortly after the teams returned to the field.

One of South's best efforts against keeper Riley Glenn came when Cassie Jensen sent a shot over the top of the frame.

After Cerny again was denied and Moran was turned away on a pair of attempts, Central final scored in the 60th minute.

That's when Moran sent a pass inside that found Chetosky, who put in the short try to put the Red Devils up for good.

Niestrom later punched away a free kick from Schick and stopped shots from Erin Smith before Central threatened late.

The Red Devils just missed connecting when Moran lined a free kick off of the crossbar and Cerny's header was halted.

Central ended the drama in the 77th minute when Niestrom dove to stop a Shroyer try but couldn't deny Cerny's rebound.

In the last 20 minutes of the first half, Central's Christa Kuhlman, Casey May and Madeline Engelking had shots denied.

Despite seeing his team come up short against their rivals, South coach Pat Wolf liked how they played before the break.

"The first half was probably the best that we've played," Wolf said. "But the problem was we didn't take advantage of what we had in that half, which was the wind. We didn't understand that it was our time to do something.

"Vanessa is a quality girl back there who leads with her mouth and also makes plays. But we've got to put some more emotion up front and get some goals. We need to get a goal in the back of the net to unleash some things.

"I was really happy with the play of Cassie Jensen, who has been hurt. Mary Claire Ladd is doing a nice job in the middle, Jessica Koziol is doing good things in the middle and Elisabetta Bifero has been taking free kicks.

"I always look at the season as a growing process and you're goal, win or lose, is to improve. If you start playing better than you're a success and I think that we're doing that since we're starting to play better soccer."