Wildcats drop DVC home loss to WW South
By Chris Walker

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Wheaton Warrenville South and West Chicago were looking to return to their winning ways during Tuesday’s DuPage Valley Conference soccer match in West Chicago.

The host Wildcats were trying to rebound from Monday’s 4-1 loss to Benet - the team’s biggest loss of the season - while the Tigers took the field in the midst of a three-game losing streak.

Thanks to the heroics of senior Max Carey, the losing streak is now over for the Tigers as Carey responded with two incredible scoring plays to help Wheaton Warrenville South get off to a fantastic start in the DVC while completely shocking the Wildcats in the process. Wheaton Warrenville South edged West Chicago, 2-1, in double overtime.

Carey scored with less than two minutes remaining in regulation to knot the score at 1-all. Later, he devastated the Wildcats by netting the game-winner with 1:03 left in double overtime.

The DVC allows for a maximum of two, 10-minute overtimes to be played; therefore, if Carey didn’t score with 63 ticks on the clock, it’s extremely likely the squads would’ve retreated home after a hard fought 1-1 draw. Instead, West Chicago, which only had one loss in the DVC last season (2-1 to Naperville North), is now left looking up and has to wonder if it’ll still be in the running to contend for a conference title with the likes of Naperville Central, Naperville North and the Tigers.

“It’s tough to put into words how these guys feel and how emotional this was,” West Chicago coach Jose Villa said. “It’s not the end of the season, but it’s a rough OT loss in the DVC. Hopefully we’ll keep our heads up and take it as a learning experience.”

Wheaton Warrenville South (7-4-0, 1-0-0) could not have gotten a bigger lift at such a key, last-minute time than it did from Carey. And, it didn’t happen just once, but twice.

“We beat a great team in West Chicago and we have a lot of respect for those guys,” Carey said. “It’s so huge to get this win, to finally win again, and especially being in the DVC and against this opponent.”

West Chicago (8-3-1, 1-1-0) gave Carey fits for most of the evening, constantly pressuring the standout and making it difficult for him even to gain possession.

“Man, they are awfully quick and you don’t have too much time, even when no one is on you,” Carey said. “There’s always a guy on your back. They play so well as a team and are just a great team together.”

The Wildcats had a colossal letdown though with less than two minutes left in regulation and it likely stole a victory away from them. Carey lined up for a difficult 40-yard free kick and someone was able to avoid any West Chicago players, while also somewhat shielding the back line and keeper. His shot, with only 1:47 left on the second half clock, bounced on the turf and slid into the back of the net.

“We were a bit fortunate to get that play from Max,” Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari said. “But it’s soccer and anything can happen when you play high school soccer.”

The Tigers were forced to rally because West Chicago took a 1-0 lead with 18:04 left in the first half. Diego Munoz tapped a corner kick to Jose Cortes who sent a strong shot off of keeper Tim Reinders’ hands. Jesus Fernandez was at the right place, at the right time, to sweep in and send in a rebound shot. It appeared to be the game winner until Carey stepped up.

Carey wasn’t able to do much of anything offensive in overtime and nor were his teammates. West Chicago produced a couple of decent chances at scoring the game winner but couldn’t finish. With 7:13 left in overtime, Steven Porcayo received a liberal opening toward the goal but misfired from up close. Finally, with just 39 seconds left, Cortes sent in a nice pass to Ramon Eurioles, whose header was saved by Reinders.

Sophomore Mitchell Cin blasted a long shot attempt in the second overtime for the Tigers, which proved to be their first real shot attempt of the extra periods. West Chicago, on the other hand, created a nice shot for Cortes with 4:46 left, but he shot way too high. Then, about half a minute later the Tigers had difficulty clearing the ball, but the Wildcats were unable to take advantage.

“I thought we did a good job creating tonight but we have to be able to take more shot opportunities,” Villa said. “We’re looking too hard at getting into the 6-yard box before taking shots, but you also have to credit Wheaton Warrenville South. Their defense made sure they were closing in on us.”

The Tigers were able to disrupt most of West Chicago’s quick offensive feeds, either by stepping in front of them or cutting off midfielders and forwards before they could create solid scoring chances.

“I thought we played more composed defensively and didn’t just read the entry pass,” Callipari said. “The guys did a nice job of denying those passes without jumping forward on the initial plays.”

The Tigers outshot the Wildcats in the second half in pursuit of the equalizer. Carey, Mitchell and Nielsen had chances as did Zerihun Mueller whose bicycle kick with 34:07 left just soared too high. Thomas Kerby and Luis Cruz Perez also had shots that were either saved or off target while Javier Rojas had a goal whistled off due to being offsides at 28:34. Also, Yusuf Yusuf was a force in front of the net late in the second half, firing three shots in the final 15 minutes of regulation.

“I thought for the last twenty minutes of the second half we really challenged them and made things exciting,” Yusuf said. “We came in here with three straight losses but coach made sure that we were focused for the beginning of the conference and to just keep pushing forward.”

Diego Munoz did a nice job as the field general for the Wildcats, but possessing can only get a team so far, especially when it goes scoreless for nearly 80 minutes. Now the Wildcats are forced to look up in the DVC standings and possibly won’t be able to claw their way back, especially if one team finishes undefeated.

“Wheaton Warrenville South came in and really fought for it and (Max Carey) made a great shot to win it there,” Villa said. “We know that the DVC is going to very competitive. It’s a tough loss but we’re going to have to move forward from here.”

After a great start, the Wildcats are now forced to regroup a bit after back-to-back losses, especially with a game against an improved East Aurora team scheduled for Thursday.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how they respond to this because I know it’s hurting them right now, Villa said. “They were upbeat (after losing to Benet on Monday), but this was the DVC, which means a lot more than that. They’re disappointed, but like I told them, this doesn’t mean the season is over, far from it.”