Wildcats win 2-1 over Naperville Central

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By Eddie Burns

Second place might have been on the line in the DuPage Valley Conference when West Chicago traveled to Naperville Central, but there was more than being played for on both sides – momentum.

Every team wants it with the postseason beginning next week and right now, West Chicago has it and Naperville Central doesn’t.

The Wildcats came out aggressive and struck for two goals in the opening 20 minutes and they made it stand up in a 2-1 victory at Central’s Memorial Stadium on Tuesday night.

What made the outcome more impressive is that the Wildcats, who have not lost since a Sept. 19 setback to Benet, accomplished their victory by playing a man down for the final 25 minutes.

“This is a great game for us to win against a competitive team that is highly ranked and it will only get us better prepared as we move into the postseason,” West Chicago junior defender Daniel Hernandez said. “It feels good to beat (Central) on its own field and it is even better to do so playing a man down for the last 25 minutes.”

West Chicago (14-5-4 overall; 6-1 DVC) was the aggressor right from the start and dominated play in the early stages. The Wildcats’ pressure helped lead to Erick Baez’s goal in the 7th minute when he played a ball from teammate Esteban Fernandez past Central goalie Mike Pavliga.

The Wildcats, who all alone in second place in the DVC, continued to have the better of the play and led to Jesus Duran’s goal in the 19th minute. Teammate Richard Paret helped create the goal when he slipped a pass through the Central defense leaving Duran with great angle at the net and he beat Pavliga.

“We were moving sideways and Richard put through a great ball and I just had an opening and I ripped the shot,” Duran said.

“West Chicago came out and just crushed us the first 25-30 minutes,” said Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said.

The Redhawks (13-4, 5-2) started showing some life near the end of the opening half as they generated some quality chances. One of Central’s best chances to pull closer occurred in the 23rd minute when Pat Flynn sent a corner kick attempt into the West Chicago penalty area only to have teammate Jack Patrick’s header attempt sail just wide.

The Wildcats maintained their 2-0 lead at intermission.

Central finally cut the lead in half when Conner Allen’s hustle kept the ball alive deep in West Chicago’s end. Conner managed to gain possession and the ball ping-ponged off a few players before Jay Tegge corralled it and scored in the 47th minute.

At this point, Central was clicking and creating plenty of scoring chances. The Redhawks almost pulled even when Sam Reskala and Allen created a breakaway situation, but West Chicago goalie Marshal Carrasco prevented the equalizer when he came about 35 yards out touched the ball with his hands outside of the penalty area as Allen scampered toward Carrasco. The actions drew and an immediate red card and meant the Wildcats had to play with 10 players for the final 25 minutes.

Despite having the man advantage, the Redhawks created very little in the way of scoring chances.

“We stopped playing the way that got us back into the match as we started to force things too much,” said Allen about the way Central played with the man advantage. “(West Chicago) played a lot better and cramped the midfield more than before they were a man down.”

The Wildcats did become much more of a possession style of a team once they were left with 10 players. It also meant added pressure for defenders Fernandez, Daniel Hernandez, Danny Ortega, Octavio Salinas, Leonardo Robles and Martin Orozco, but they were ready for the challenge.

“(The final quarter of the match) was intense, but we simply had to play under composure and I think we did that,” Hernandez said. “We stayed strong in the back and we never really gave them many chances. We kept a positive attitude and we wanted to win this game. We did whatever it took to get the job done.”

The victory was rather fulfilling for West Chicago coach Steve Brugmann.

“We’ve had three games this year we’ve lost with less than 3 minutes remaining and it was situations where we felt that we had the better of play and then we give it up at the end,” Brugmann said. “Tonight we played a good, tight game and to come out on top is very satisfying.”

Meanwhile, Adams can’t quite figure out what is going on with his squad – a team that has lost three of four matches headed into the postseason. 

“I have no idea,” Adams said. “I am kind of at a loss for words with it. I don’t know where their heads are. The players can’t get out of their heads a loss that we had to (Naperville) North. I think the kids are perseverating about what happened in that game. I think so many of them put so much on that game that they have just not gotten themselves right since then.”

The Redhawks better right themselves or it will be a quick exit in next week’s regional round.

Adams did find a few bright spots by way of play from senior Kevin Linne and sophomore Jay Tegge.

“Kevin Linne played his tail off in the back,” Adams said. “He hasn’t played much in the back, but the great thing about that kid is that it doesn’t matter where you put him – he will go out there and give you 110 percent. I wish I had 11 players like him. Jay Tegge also did a nice job in the middle.”
Central begins the postseason at home vs. Plainfield South on Oct. 19.

“We have to find some way to create some sense of a new season here and start over from scratch,” Adams said. “We haven’t had a sense of purpose in a long time. Since North it’s been a sense of, ‘I guess I have to play.’ We can’t have that moving forward.”