Chicagoland Soccer

Burns strikes twice in Tigers' win over West Aurora

By Paul Johnson

After starting the DuPage Valley Conference slate off with an 0-2 record, Wheaton Warrenville South’s boys’ soccer team came out Thursday against West Aurora on a mission.

The Tigers peppered West Aurora sophomore goalkeeper Alex Guillen repeatedly early on, but Guillen was up to the challenge for the majority of the first half. He saved 10 shots in the game, five of which came in the game’s first 12 minutes.

“Always you’re going to get frustrated when you’re dominating a game like that and you’re not putting anything in the net,” Wheaton South senior Daniel Burns said.

Burns took it upon himself to change that.

With 1:39 left in the first half, Burns took a feed from sophomore Javier Rojas and put it past Guillen. He added another goal in the second half and Rojas scored one of his own as the Tigers got into the win column in DVC play with a 3-0 win.

“This is a huge step for us,” Burns said. “Our first two conference games (losses to Naperville Central and West Chicago) were two really tough games. We’re on the right track.”

Guillen did his best to make life difficult early for the Tigers, whose overall record looks more like a baseball double play combination than a soccer record, 6-4-3. In one stretch 10 minutes into the game, he fended off a Mike Kania shot and a shot off the ensuing corner kick from Alec Brazeau to keep the game scoreless.

“In the first 12 minutes of the game, he kept us in the game by making five saves,” West Aurora coach Joe Sustersic said. “Great plays by a sophomore who’s getting better every game.”

Guillen may have been keeping West (10-6, 2-2) in the game, but he wasn’t getting any offensive support. The Blackhawks did not manage one shot on goal against Wheaton South goalie Tim Reinders in the game, and that was despite the fact that the Tigers moved from a traditional four-back formation to a diamond look to try to generate some more offense.

“We’ve been playing very well defensively; we just haven’t been able to put the ball in the net with any regularity,” WWS coach Guy Callipari said. “We played a diamond in the back instead of our natural four to get another man up top, to try to get some balance.”

It paid off with 1:39 left in the half. It was a smooth play, from the midfield to Rojas to a sparkling shot from Burns that finally got a ball past Guillen for a 1-0 lead.

“We knocked it around; it was a great team goal,” Burns said. “Javier played the ball to me and I just cut in front of the defender.”

Wheaton South kept the pressure on in the second half with West still unable to generate any offense. Burns put the game away with 9:43 left in the second after hustling down a clearance from Will Huesing and putting it past Guillen to make it 2-0.

“It’s really nice to see Danny come into his own a little bit and have a little confidence,” Callipari said. “He’s put a lot of pressure on himself to perform, and sometimes that takes you out of the game.”

Three minutes later, Rojas tapped in a Jarrod Jakubowski corner kick to seal the deal for the Tigers.

“He’s really stepping up toward the end of the season,” Burns said of Rojas. “He’s been progressively getting better as the season has gone on. I’m really impressed to see his goal and assist today.”

West Aurora falls back to .500 in DVC play, and Sustersic could do nothing but tip his cap after the game.

“South opened up a can on us, and it cost us,” Sustersic said. “They were relentless. They played a better game than us. They did the little things. They won the battles in the midfield. They were the better team today, that’s not even a question. They beat us today.”

The Tigers are just relieved to get into the win column in the DVC after a pair of tough losses.

“It does get heavier and heavier in this conference,” Callipari said. “You’ve got to play large each and every time you come to play in the DVC, and we’ve been competitive. We just haven’t been able to find our way. Tonight, we did with some consistency, which was nice to see.”