Warriors show improvement from earlier loss to Panthers

 

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By Dave Owen

Willowbrook continues to make steady improvement, even if the results often aren’t showing on the scoreboard.

On Thursday against Glenbard North, it was 33 rough seconds of play that obscured an otherwise solid 80 minutes for the host Warriors in a 4-0 nonconference loss.

Willowbrook (1-16-2) played the visiting Panthers to a scoreless tie for the first 28 minutes and still trailed just 1-0 with under four minutes left until halftime.

But a short lapse produced devastating results.

First, a nicely-placed 30-yard free kick by the Panthers’ Jon Colucci with 3:55 left connected with a wide open CJ Koeller at the left post, who headed the ball into the net for a 2-0 lead.

Colucci was back on the attack seconds after the ensuing faceoff. Tripped in the box on a dribble between defenders, Colucci pounded the penalty kick into the lower left corner for a 3-0 lead at the 3:22 mark.

The Panthers took a 1-0 lead with 11:49 left before the break after Colucci sent a free kick to Akif Yhehia, who connected.

“Unfortunately in the matter of those 30 seconds those goals changed the whole dynamic of the game,” Willowbrook coach Brian Frank said.

“Especially in the first half we had the majority of the possession and the opportunities. If you take out that 30-second block, it’s 1-0 at halftime.”

Keyed by several nice saves by goalkeeper Luke Rusekowski and strong play from field players like Eric Lukitsh, Ben Draus, Kacper Czerkies and Brian Dornacher, the Warriors would rebound from the two-goal volley by shutting out Glenbard North again until a goal with just 2:12 left in the match by the Panthers’ Ryan Scott.

The deceiving final score obscured Willowbrook’s rise since facing the Panthers at the Addison Trail Tournament in mid-September.

“Last time we played them they beat us 5-0 and it was 4-0 at the half, and they dominated us,” Frank said. “The improvement in the matter of just two weeks is huge. We’re happy with how the guys played."

“I thought compared to last time we played them we played way better,” junior co-captain Lukitsh said. “Lots of improvement. But we still have to fix up our mistakes marking up at the 10-yard line.”

Glenbard North players were left wide open in the box on both free kicks that led to goals, and Colucci’s aggressive play produced another defensive breakdown that led to a penalty kick score.

“We’re obviously still making mistakes and we still have some more work to do in the offensive third,” Frank said. “We didn’t score any goals tonight so that’s the first thing in tomorrow’s training session.

"But our overall play front to back was a huge improvement over when we played these guys in the Addison Trail Tournament.”

That improvement was evident from the start.

After Rusekowski made consecutive nice saves 30:40 before halftime (batting down the first shot and catching the header rebound attempt), the Warriors answered with good offensive chances.

On a nice 35-yard free kick by Dornacher in the 21st minute, Draus sent a point-blank shot just wide of the left post.

And Lukitsh’s excellent long pass from the defensive end line produced a strong counter-attack and eventual Willowbrook corner kick three minutes later.

The Warriors also had a great chance 15 seconds before halftime off another Lukitsh pass, but Rogelio Fuentes’ shot from the right wing was denied on a sliding kick save by the Glenbard North goalkeeper.

Rusekowski and likely no other high school goalkeepers had a chance to stop the Glenbard North scores.

The junior also had nice saves with 38:40 and 13:10 left in the match, the latter a nice reaching deflection of a redirected attempt.

“It’s there,” Frank said. “We’re very young and just getting some players back from injuries, and we’re still not quite gelling as a team.

"These are things we should have been doing back in August, but with all the injuries we’ve had to do that now. With the playoffs in two weeks we want to gel and move forward.”

As part of a strong nucleus of underclassmen, Lukitsh is determined to help the Warriors to a brighter future.

“We practice hard, but we have to come into games ready to play harder and wanting it more,” he said.