Hornets go down fighting to rival Mustangs

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By Matt Le Cren

Judging by the way Nate Coules celebrated, you would think he had just scored the game-winning goal in the World Cup final.

Coules did score what turned out to be the game-winner Tuesday night, and though it wasn’t a World Cup match, its magnitude was pretty big for Downers Grove South, which edged host Hinsdale South 1-0 in Darien to retain the Southern Bell.

The goal was the first of Coules’ varsity career and came with 13:08 left in the second half of a contest that appeared headed for overtime. That destiny changed when Coules, a senior defender, made an overlap run up the left wing and was in perfect position when Jordan Pawlicki sent a cross from deep in the right corner through the Hinsdale South penalty area.

The Mustangs’ Jack Freko was able to get a touch on the ball to send it to an open spot just outside the box, where Coules fired it past charging Hinsdale South goalie Paras Patel. A Hornet defender made a great but ultimately unsuccessful effort to try to deflect it off the line.

“Nate is a hard-working kid and I think that goal is a reflection of that, getting himself in a good spot to finish it,” Downers South coach Jon Stapleton said. “It’s a nice thing for him.”        

“I always look for that run,” Coules said. “I’d been looking for it…in the first half, but it just slipped off Freko and I happened to be there. I saw the opportunity and I took it because the keep was out on the other side. He hesitated."

Indeed, Patel did hesitate for a split second before rushing off his line and he was unable to reach Freko in time. It was the only miscue in an otherwise stellar effort by the senior, who matched Downers South goalie Nick Tannenbaum with five saves.

“If you [decide to] come out you’ve got to come out and I don’t know if [Patel] was caught too off his line or what,” Hinsdale South coach James VanDenburgh. “But he’s done a great job all year and he did a great job today and to lose 1-0 is just a credit to those guys. It was a good defensive battle the whole game and they got one in.”

After Coules scored, he raced back to midfield and fell to the ground in disbelief while his teammates piled on.

“If you saw my celebration, it meant a lot because we all came out for this game [with the goal] of winning it for our coach because this game means the most to him. So we came out with the mindset to get the goal. It feels great.”

The Mustangs, who improved to 5-7-2 overall and 1-1 in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division, have now won the Southern Bell a record-tying four consecutive seasons and eight out of the last nine. It was only the third time in the series, which Downers South leads 17-14-5, that either team has won it four straight years. Hinsdale South held it for 10 straight years from 1981-90, an era before overtime in which a tie resulted in the holding team retaining possession.

Stapleton, a 1994 Downers South alum, graduated without possession of the Bell but is 8-2 against Hinsdale South in his 10 years as head coach, while Coules, a two-year varsity player, is part of a senior class that never lost the Bell.

The Hornets (2-9-2, 1-4) have now lost three straight matches and six of their last seven.

“We wanted to hear those bells ringing for us, but like I say, that’s what makes the rivalry great,” VanDenburgh said. “I thought they did a good job. I thought we did a good job. I thought it was what you can expect from a rivalry game. Someone’s got to win and credit to them, they got the goal and that was the difference.

“It’s going to make us hungrier. It’s tough to keep losing and continue to get back on the practice field and do better as a team, but I give credit to them for keep coming out every day and working hard.”

The Hornets, who were only outshot 10-9, had two chances to tie the game following Coules’ goal. The first came with 11:20 remaining when Matt Schuster’s 30-yard free kick was ticketed for the upper right corner until Tannenbaum leaped to catch it.

Then with 25 seconds left, Jeremy Leganski unleashed a turnaround shot in the box that seemed to surprise Tannenbaum, who nonetheless was able to put his legs together and stop the ball with his feet before picking it up.

Both defenses were outstanding, but the visitors were especially solid, which was crucial for a team that has struggled offensively.

“We’ve scored 10 goals all season, so if we’re not defending well it’s going to be difficult for us to win games,” Stapleton said. “But I thought tonight we played well on both sides of the ball. From the very start we possessed the ball well, we played quickly. It was great to see. Hopefully it’s something we can maintain.”

Stapleton was happiest for his seniors, which include Coules, defender Joe Sombeck and holding midfielders Cory Mosiman and Gabe Diaz. They, along with sophomore defender Patrick Gurdiel and junior midfielders Sam LaLonde and Tom Wendt, were able to win nearly every head ball in the defensive third.

“Everyone did their part in this game,” Coules said. “It started with our midfielders defending well and our back line, especially Joe and Dave Drews, holding their own and winning all the head balls in the air.

“Our coach tells us each game it has to start defensively or else we won’t wake up until the 10th minute like against Naperville Central [a 2-0 loss] and all those teams because they take advantage of that, but…our midfielders - Cory, Sam and Gabe - they all defended so amazingly this game that it took a lot of pressure off of our back line and it allowed us to play our game the way we play it.”