Big first half carries Blackhawks over East Aurora

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By Steve Nemeth

Even though West Aurora chalked up a one-sided victory and positioned itself in the driver’s seat to potentially capture the title for its own Blackhawk Soccer Tournament, coach Laura Wagley wasn’t a happy camper by any definition.

That’s because the second half was still too fresh in her mind after WAHS posted a 5-1 victory Saturday over rival East Aurora in the second of five rounds in the five-school round robin.

“The first half we played our game; the second half, not even sure it’s accurate to say we coasted. It’s like we thought it would be a piece of cake and they (East) came out fighting. We’re lucky we didn’t give up two or three goals,” Wagley said with a tone of frustration that was in direct contrast to the Blackhawks’ 5-0 first-half romp.

But the offensive display in the opening 40 minutes was still the key to West Aurora leveling its season record at 4-4-0 and standing 2-0 in a tournament with the Blackhawks having already blanked the tourney’s defending champion (Kaneland / 3-0) in the opening round. 

Monday pits WAHS against 1-0 Streamwood with a Tuesday meeting against a Plainfield East squad which also owns a 1-0 start thanks to a come-from-behind 6-4 victory over the Knights.

One major weapon in the Blackhawk arsenal is the flip throws executed by Sammie O’Brien. The West Aurora freshman’s initial flip throw almost resulted in a goal just five minutes into the contest, with East starting goalie Cynthia Reyes  prevented an own goal.  But at 6:52, there was no stopping O’Brien from a 3-yard tap-in after Reilly Kulakowski’s shot caromed downward off the crossbar.

“It was very important for us to get off to a good start and that first goal was a big boost to our confidence,” O’Brien said.

Less than two minutes later, an O’Brien flip throw was headed off the crossbar by Kulakowski. 

“When I was 6-years-old I saw someone from Waubonsie Valley do it and I decided it was something I wanted to master. But the very first time I tried, I knocked the wind out of myself,” O’Brien admitted.

But at 13:51, the same combination clicked for a 2-0 lead although not off a header.

“I’m always going for the header if possible, but it was kind of 50-50 if the keeper could get to it and I guessed she wouldn’t, once she didn’t, it was an easy tap in,” Kulakowski admitted. “Being the East-West rivalry, it’s a big victory in itself, but being 2-0 now in the tourney is really building our confidence.  We just have to stay strong to complete the goal we set of winning our own tournament.”

The Blackhawks wasted very little time expanding their advantage as another O’Brien throw-in ricocheted around in front of the Tomcats’ cage until eventually Alicia Rotolo finished off a scramble with 17:47 still to play before halftime.  Just over two minutes later, Reyes got a hand on a booming kick by Lauren Gaffino and while the ball was headed netward, West’s Kassandra Ramirez swooped in to make certain the ball made it the last two yards for a 4-0 lead.

There was still 5:58 remaining before intermission when Jessica Saffell dribbled past a couple EAHS defenders and blasted a 14-yard rocket from the right side to just inside the far left post.

“No one had two goals and that balanced scoring is awesome,” Wagley noted. “Usually Jessica or Sammie both have one, two or more goals, so it was good to see others getting involved offensively.”

At the same time, the Blackhawk defense limited the opportunities to just five on-target shots and keeper Felicia Dattolo was equal to the task.

“Daniel (Bueno) doesn’t get enough credit for the job she does for us as sweeper,” Wagley said. “She really clears up everything back there and does a good job communicating, as does (back-up) Tori (Raines).”

“Our goal was to try to contain them and not let them get good shots off,” Bueno said. “We didn’t give them too many good opportunities in the first half, but we did get a little sloppy during the last 40 minutes.”

Bueno, a sophomore quad captain, admits she’d rather play midfield, but accepted Wagley’s assignment in filling a void due to the graduation of Priscilla Diaz.

East Aurora averted the shutout when Andrea Garcia’s 24-yard direct free kick managed to sail over Dattolo but under the crossbar with 19:31 left in the match.

“I was aiming for the far post and when I saw it go in it really felt great,” Garcia said of her second goal of the year. “I think it helped motivate us to keep playing hard for the rest of the match.”

Much to Wagley’s disappointment, the Tomcats had several near misses for the remainder of the match including a cross to the far post that was just begging for a toe-poke to become a goal.

“The first half you have to give West all the credit, they used their athleticism and those long throw-ins to their advantage, but in the second half, I really thought we were the better team,” East coach Matt Shirk said.
“While we can take some solace in not giving up and fighting so hard to the end, it’s still the same old story: we play great for a half or in stretches, but not for the whole match.”