Red Devils depart Glenbard West with a shutout

 

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By Dave Owen

Two Hinsdale Central seniors in relatively unfamiliar roles helped spoil Senior Day for injury-plagued Glenbard West on Thursday.

Converted defender Julia Gesior earned the shutout as goalkeeper in the Red Devils' 2-0 win in Glen Ellyn, and Drea Issleib's second goal of the season on a pinpoint 30-yard free kick was the offensive play of the day.

The win marked an upturn in a see-saw season for the Red Devils (8-8-2), who had scored  just three goals in their previous six games.

"Our team is very good," Issleib said, "but we just have to keep working at it. We can only go up from here."

Hinsdale Central's fortunes quickly rose Thursday after an early scare. In the fourth minute of play, Glenbard West sophomore Kaitlin Moore sent a 15-yard shot off the crossbar.

The Red Devils took command of the next 36 minutes with waves of pressure on Glenbard West goalkeeper Michelle Vonachen.

The first chance produced big results, as Jenn Jarmy dribbled in on the right wing and sent a perfect pass in front to Jaclyn Gutman for a blast into the lower right corner of the net and a 1-0 Red Devils' lead with 34:22 left in the half.

After Vonachen made five saves in the ensuing 18 minutes (on two shots by Eryka Hawkins and one each from Mallory Feinstein, Jarmy and Gutman), Issleib's lofted her free kick just under the crossbar 16:02 before halftime to double the Red Devils' lead to 2-0.

"We played well in the first half into the wind, moved the ball pretty well, had some decent chances," Hinsdale Central coach Skip Begley said. "I thought we controlled some of the play. Sometimes we get so scattered, we lose focus and just kick and run. It's not very attractive and usually not very effective."

But plenty of Red Devils were very effective offensively on Thursday.

"Hawkins gives us a little more effectiveness up front," Begley said. "Jackie Gutman posted up well in the box and scored the first one, Jenna) Jarmy played well wide - we like her speed and aggressiveness. Drea controlled the middle of the field out of the air and played well.

"In the second half in the first five minutes we had a couple of chances (two close-in chances for Gutman) and didn't convert, and I thought kind of lost our focus there and didn't play as well. But in the back we were solid and didn't let anyone through."

Even with injuries sidelining starters Katie Watt, Maddie Nelson and Alyssa Cantore, the Hilltoppers (5-9-4) came out after halftime Senior Day festivities with added fire.

Senior midfielder Lauren Davis generated the best chance after the intermission just two minutes into the half, splitting two defenders for a breakaway chance on Gesior. But the Red Devils' senior stood tall with a point blank save.

"Julia played well in goal," Begley said. "She was pressed into service again - (usual starter) Riley (Glenn) the freshman has some rotator cuff problems, and lifting your hands is kind of important for a goalkeeper."

Gesior had never played goalkeeper until she was forced into duty in early April, and now has resumed that role in Glenn's absence.

"We'll just see how Julia performs and acclimates to the position, but she gets better every game out," Begley said,

Defenders like Kate Shea, Meghan Schick, Caitlin Smith and Casey May also made vital contributions in the shutout.

Besides the Davis breakaway, Glenbard West had several other great chances in the second half. Moore angled a nice shot just inches wide of the left post with 28:30 left to play, and Carla Loury's nice steal set up a counterattack which was repelled when Hinsdale Central's Erin Conroy nicely cleared the Red Devils' zone.

The Hilltoppers' second half strides highlighted the otherwise latest painful result in the 1-4-1 record over their last six games.

"Not to make any excuses, but we've been really dealing with a lot of injuries this season and don't really have the depth we need to get going because every game we have three or four girls out," said Glenbard West coach Maciek Kusmierz, whose team has also been without defender McKinzie Powers (knee injury) much of the year.

"And with many things leading up to the game like Senior Night, mentally we were maybe not totally concentrating on the game. Giving up a quick goal kind of set the tone, then the second one really put us in a hole.

"We had a couple of very good chances in the second half to get closer, but those did not go in and then we basically got tired," added Kusmierz. "It's our second tough game in three days. We just came off a tough loss to Oak Park (1-0 in a penalty kick shootout), and I think that took a lot out of us. Many factors contributed to this performance."

Hinsdale Central's early spark was certainly one of those factors.

"The other night (a 3-0 Red Devils' loss) we made a couple critical mistakes and York capitalized on them," Begley said. "And when you're a little young in the back with a goalkeeper (Gesior) just finding her feet, that's not a good combination.

"To get one early here and let her get settled in the back certainly had to help us. Then Drea had a nice strike. We got the job done."