Trojans tie with Hinsdale South in Darien

CLICK HERE FOR TROJANS' TEAM PAGE

By Matt Le Cren

Hinsdale South and Downers Grove North were seeking to gain some momentum heading into the playoffs when they met Thursday in Darien in the finale of what has been a difficult regular season for both teams.

Neither side got the result they wanted but both will take a glimmer of hope into the postseason after a 1-1 tie.

Senior forward TJ Kubiesa scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season when he headed home a cross from Joey Gangi with 12:12 remaining in the second half to allow the host Hornets (2-14-4) to salvage a draw on Senior Night.

“Both teams played hard,” Kubiesa said. “We came out to play tonight. It’s been a long season for us so it was good to get a comeback here.”

After a scoreless first half, sophomore Dan Lott gave Downers North (4-15-2) a 1-0 lead just 41 seconds into the second half with his fourth goal of the season. Lott’s header was set up by a perfect cross from the right corner by junior Cullen Cummings.

“He’s had a couple nice goals like that,” Downers North coach Brian Gervase said. “He gets up and he’s a guy that’s going to be important for us to get going.

“He’s a sophomore and when he plays like that we feel like we have our target forward and we’re able to play Cullen in the middle and let him be a little bit more of an influence in the game. We like Cullen touching the ball as much as we can. He and Reid [Melton] are our two best players and now we have them playing in the center mid.”

Despite playing without starting forwards Byron Perez (yellow card suspension) and Jose Flores (injury), the Trojans controlled the action well into the second half. The Hornets did not get a shot off until 27:05 remained in the second half, when Matt Schuster’s 22-yarder was saved on the bounce by Aaron Menyes.

In fact, Hinsdale South’s best chance came in the sixth minute of the game when the Trojans nearly scored an own goal. Hugo Pacheco’s pass back to the keeper took Menyes by surprise and the sophomore had to race back and slide into his own net to kick the ball away just inches before it went into the goal.

Plays like that have typified the season for both teams. The Hornets ended the regular season with a 10-game winless streak, going 0-8-2 in that span, while the Trojans are winless in their last four contests and 1-8-1 in the last 10.

“We played too fast at the end of the game,” Gervase said. “We had a nice deliberate approach to the game the whole first half and we could have scored a few goals in the first half.

“But we were deliberate in the first half and even in the second half we started out deliberate. Then we scored a goal and all of sudden I thought we got kind of excited and then we started playing way too fast. The ball was coming right back at us and the last 30 minutes were just ragged.”

Hinsdale South coach James VanDenburgh is no stranger to watching ragged play, so he was satisfied with the way the match ended.

“Today was about the seniors so most of the game we were trying to dedicate that to them, and in the first half they were playing well so I was just going to let them have at it,” VanDenburgh said. “The second half we had a legitimate shot to make some noise.

“I thought [the goals were a result of] real nice play on both ends. That’s kind of the way you draw it up and I think we’ve struggled enough offensively to feel nice [about the goal].”

Despite the poor record, the Hornets still have hope they can pull off a postseason victory. Hinsdale South, the 15th seed at the Class 3A Hinsdale Central Sectional, will host No. 18 seed Bogan in a regional quarterfinal at 6:30 p.m. Friday. If the Hornets win, they would travel to second-seeded Morton for a regional semifinal game on Tuesday.

“After every loss we’ve had we just bring ourselves together,” Kubiesa said. “It’s been a very positive year.

“We play Bogan tomorrow. We’re not really sure how well they play but we’re going to come play our game. If we settle down I think we’ll be fine.”

“I hope we can get a ‘W’,” VanDenburgh said. “It would be a nice little touch and if we win, God willing, we will face Morton for the third time.”

Regardless of what happens in the playoffs, VanDenburgh was happy with his squad’s effort against the Trojans.

“It was a good night of soccer,” VanDenburgh said. “I would hate to say I had visions of this type of season but when you’re in it you realize it could be a lot worse if they had given up on themselves.

“They are a very motivated group. I knew that coming in. I knew that was their strong point. Talent might not have been, but they come out every night, have fun with each other and it felt like we just won conference. They were just happy as can be.”

The Trojans were a little less so, but their playoff path is slightly easier. Downers North is the 11th seed and will face No. 6 Mt. Carmel in a regional semifinal at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at York.

“I think we actually have a chance,” Lott said. “Our record doesn’t show much, but we’re actually a good team. We started out with a lot of injuries and suspensions. A lot of our losses have been [by one or two] goals, so I think we have a good chance.”

Mt. Carmel has won 15 games but Gervase likes his team’s chances, noting that the Trojans won first-round games as a double-digit seed in 2005 and 2006.

“[Mt. Carmel] will be strong. I don’t know that they’ve played too many teams of our caliber,” Gervase said. “Even with our record I still think we’re a high-caliber team. Our schedule is tough and that should work for us.

“People put us down because of our record but we’re not a poor team. We’re going to play teams very competitively and I expect us to give Mt. Carmel everything they can handle and more.”