West Aurora comebacks not enough vs. Glenbard North

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS COURTESY OF JAMES HOMA

By Darryl Mellema

First, here are some of the positives from Tuesday’s 4-3 loss that West Aurora suffered at home against Glenbard North.

The Blackhawks showed a determination to come back and make the DuPage Valley Conference match a truly competitive one. Down 1-0 in the first half, West Aurora forged a tie before halftime when Cesar Garcia converted a left wing Mario Alvarez pass.

After falling behind again, this time 3-1 midway through the second half, the Blackhawks again rallied. Though never tying the match, a Garcia free kick closed the gap to 3-2 with just under six minutes to go. Glenbard North scored within one minute – but Danny Rotolo set up a wild finish when he headed West Aurora’s third goal of the match with 3:59 to play.

And in those frantic final four minutes of the match, the Blackhawks tried to force overtime. Twice the hosts had shots come within a foot of scoring in the final minute alone.

But when the 80 minutes had been played, the truth was that Glenbard North (5-4-5, 1-2-1 DVC) had taken the win, and taking away the comeback, there were a number of things about the match that displeased West Aurora coach Joe Sustersic.

“It’s poor when we don’t execute, when we don’t get the job done,” Sustersic said.

"People have one job to do or two jobs to do, and they can’t get it done. From guys up front trying to score goals to midfielders making passes to defenders clearing the ball to goalies trying to make saves. It just didn’t happen today.”

The match started brightly for the Blackhawks (13-5, 2-3), who have been playing well recently. For 10 minutes, they dominated possession and even managed an effort or two on goal, though true chances were lacking.

That lack of creating or finishing cost West Aurora when Glenbard North got into the match. The second 10-minute period of the opening half belonged firmly with the visitors, and culminated in the opening goal, scored by Danny Campagna.

“It’s a game where the only points that count are the ones that are shots that cross the white line and go into the back of the net,” Sustersic said. “When that doesn’t occur, it doesn’t mean anything. We possessed the game and controlled everything. But when they countered, they executed when we didn’t.”

Campagna’s goal came with just under 15 minutes to play in the half. Garcia’s equalizer ended a quick West Aurora attacking move 9 minutes later.

The second half opened much as the first, with West Aurora knocking the ball around and keeping it from Glenbard North’s players. But once again, possession and territorial domination mattered naught when the Panthers got Campagna free on the right win 12 minutes into the half. Campagna sent the ball to Kfouri, who got a free header to go in at the left post.

Jon Colucci put the Blackhawks into a deeper hole when he hit a follow-up shot into the net after Eric Dailly’s initial shot was saved.

Then came the frantic five-minute finale. Garcia scored for West Aurora, Dailly found the net for Glenbard North and then Rotolo netted for the Blackhawks. After the match, Sustersic was clear about what he needed to see from his team.

“We need to have a good practice (Wednesday), where people realize that they have to take it seriously,” Sustersic said. “No one’s going to give them anything. Nothing’s for granted and they have to work hard. When that doesn’t happen, we get the results like we had tonight.”