Hornets top Willowbrook in a shootout
By Dave Owen

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Hinsdale South had to endure a power outage, 100 minutes of scoreless soccer and a high stress penalty kick session Tuesday, but the wait was worth it.

The marathon match at Willowbrook ended with the Hornets (2-8) earning a 4-3 edge in PK’s over the Warriors (3-9-1), as the 1-0 final in the scorebook ended Hinsdale South’s five-game losing streak.

“I feel this will bounce us back from our recent losing streak,” Hornets’ senior George Carioscia said. “We needed a win to get the motivation going, and hopefully we’ll keep rolling and rolling. Now we have confidence.”

“It’s a good win for the guys,” Hinsdale South coach James VanDenburgh said. “They were pretty jacked up today and ready to go, and it showed.

“When you don’t get the wins, you have to deal with the adversity. And that’s been one of our biggest improvements, our mental toughness. They’re high schoolers and it’s tough sometimes to keep their composure, but they did a good job tonight.”

The Hornets kept their cool in the PK session, as first four shooters Jeremy Leganski, Kenny Ida, Carioscia and Giancarlo Cianelli all converted. Willowbrook’s Ben Draus, John Karcz and Tito Cabral also scored, but two other shots (including the potential tying last attempt) were either over or wide of the net.

“To be honest, we wanted to avoid PK’s,” Leganski said. “We were knocking the whole game, and PK’s are always a tossup. But when you get there you just have to be confident. Pick a side and then go with it, and don’t change your mind.”

Willowbrook goalkeeper Luke Ruszkowski made a great save on the final Hornets’ PK, and got a piece of another shot that deflected into the net.

A power outage with 3:47 left in the first overtime put the field in total darkness for 10 minutes and prompted a 20-minute delay in the action, but there were plenty of electric plays before and after the blackout.

Ruszkowski and Hinsdale South goalkeeper Grant Morford were in the spotlight from the start of the night, as the two teams combined for eight shots in the first 10 minutes and barely let up in a game that could have used the NBA’s 24-second shot clock.

“We would stop their possession, they would stop ours,” VanDenburgh said. “It was a battle back and forth almost the whole game. It was an evenly matched game. We came out on top, but they played a tough game too.”

Ruszkowski’s save on a 20-yard shot by Leganski just 30 seconds into play set the tone, followed by the first of many scoring threats by Willowbrook’s Draus on a shot just wide off a Cabral pass.

The best first half threats included a curling corner kick by Hinsdale South’s Nathaniel Michaelis that hit the crossbar in the 29th minute. That restart was set up by a Carioscia shot in the box that Willowbrook defender  Arturo Herrera  deflected just wide.

“Eric Lukitsh is playing great for us (defensively), and Arturo Herrera our fullback played an excellent game,” Willowbrook coach Peter Ginter said. “He was caught one-on-one a couple of times, and he just held his ground really well. He’s only a sophomore but he’s really maturing.”

Both defenses showed veteran poise under pressure.

A 70-second span late in the first half produced a Draus shot over the net off a Leo Solis cross, Leganski dribbling between two defenders before having his 15-yard shot stopped by Ruszkowski, then Morford making a head high catch of a 20-yard shot by Willowbrook’s Dylan Jones 3:15 before halftime.

“We had a lot of offensive chances, and they also had a lot of chances,” Carioscia said. “They gave us a run, but we kind of took them on and ran it their way. Coach gives us sprints, sprints, sprints in practice, and I think that helped us at the end.”

Willlowbrook continued to make its own run in the 4th minute of the second half, when Draus won a race for a loose ball and chipped a 20-yard shot past Morford – but off the crossbar.

“One over, one hit the crossbar – it’s like the soccer gods aren’t with us,” said Ginter, whose team’s four-game losing streak has all been in one-goal decisions.

“We’re still having problems scoring. That’s our biggest issue. We had some chances and missed them. I thought our possession game was a little bit better today, and I thought we played our wings a lot better today so we had a little bit more dimension to our attack.”

A midseason addition to varsity is aiding that quest.

“Raymundo Alvarado is providing us a little more possession up front,” Ginter said. “We need someone who can hold the ball long enough to get the support players up and get an attack going instead of turning the ball over.

“He was originally a JV player and has been practicing with us regularly, and we’ve been really impressed by what we’ve seen. His fitness is really picking up now so he’s giving us more minutes. He’s key for holding the ball, and Leo (Solis) playing with him has some speed. We feel they complement each other well.”

Each team had would-be goals denied by offside calls near the crease:  first on a score by Draus (off nice passes from Randy Dziak and Solis) with 30:25 left, then a sliding shot point blank by Hinsdale South’s John Kotsiantos with 4:48 left in the second overtime.

In between, there were plenty of other near misses. Ruszkowski twice made great saves: first diving to deny a 12-yard Carioscia shot with 21:30 left in regulation, then on a nice Alec Raatz cross, Ruszkowski brilliantly blocked a point-blank header by Kotsiantos with five minutes left.

“It was an exciting game,” Ginter said. “Both keepers made great saves to keep their teams in.”

Draus made perhaps his best play of a brilliant offensive night with 2:15 left in regulation. With two defenders draped on him, Draus still launched a 20-yard blast that required a diving deflection out of bounds by Morford. The Hinsdale South keeper then came off his line to grab Lukitsh’s ensuing corner kick.

“Grant kept us in it,” VanDenburgh said. “He’s improving each game, as we’re all trying to do as a team.

“George (Carioscia) played very well, and Jeremy (Leganski) had to go into the center and did a good job winning balls in the air and solidifying the middle of the field, where I felt at the beginning of the game they were getting a lot of counter attacks. We kind of figured that out and played well after that.”

The ultimate PK win was a huge lift for the Hornets, building on the strong showing in a 3-2 loss to Addison Trail in their last match.

“It’s big,” Leganski said. “In conference I think we’ve played really well this year. We gave Leyden and AT a run for their money, and now we have our first conference win. We’re pumped.”

Willowbrook continues to make huge strides in their rise from a 1-22 record last fall, but first-year coach Ginter hopes for more progress.

“The wins will come,” Ginter said. “We’re getting a step closer.

“It’s tough, but we’re trying to keep the boys’ morale up. One thing they’re really good at is their blue collar work ethic. They don’t give up no matter what. We were all excited in overtime, we were confident, and that’s very important. They feel they can play with anybody.”