Mustangs rally late to claim victory over Porters

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By Randy Whalen

As a freshman you come in off the bench to play big minutes in a tight game.

Then you score your first-ever high school goal and it puts your team ahead to stay in another victory that keeps you undefeated on the season.

Sounds like a dream situation, but it was exactly what happened for Downers Grove South freshman forward Emily Wauer.

She punched in what proved to be the game-winner as the Mustangs rallied for three late goals and went on to defeat Lockport 3-1 in a chilly nonconference clash Thursday evening in Downers Grove.

Downers South improved to 3-0-1 while Lockport fell to 1-1 on the season.

The winning shot unfolded as Mustang senior midfielder Keri Kujawa took the ball on the left side and fired a perfect cross in front.

Lockport tried to clear it out but wasn't able to get any more than a tip of the ball and Wauer was there to put it in with 10:51 to play in the game.

"Keri was on the outside and she got a great cross," Wauer said. "It hit off a Lockport player's foot and came to me. I just tapped it in for my first goal in high school.

"That was pretty awesome and felt so good. We had never trailed until today. But even when we were behind, we were all pumped up and didn't want to lose the game."

The Mustangs added a final goal when Kujawa creamed a liner from the top of the box on the right across to the left corner with 3:54 remaining.

"I was pleased with how we came back," Downers South coach Barry Jacobson said. "In the second half the kids played with a quicker pace and we got the forwards involved.

"That was a beautiful cross from Keri on the (go-ahead) goal and Emily knocked it through. The kids responded, we got a little hungry and that's what you like to see."

Lockport, which had opened the season with a 2-1 victory at home over Manteno on Monday, got on the board first. That came on just the Porters' second shot on goal.

Junior forward Lexi Cozzi got to the ball on the right side and Mustang junior goal keeper Amanda Meyers came out to try to cut off the angle.

However, it didn't work as Cozzi clubbed in a shot to give the Porters the 1-0 lead with 24:57 to play in the game.

But just a minute later, Downers South looked for the equalizer. Junior midfielder Jessica Bronke bounced a ground shot through and it just missed the right post.

Porter sophomore goalie Alyssa DeYoung left her feet to go after the ball and injured herself on the play.

After a delay, DeYoung came out for a moment and the Mustangs also used the opportunity to change goalies as freshman Katelyn Laraia came into net for the hosts.

DeYoung returned right away on the next dead ball and Downers South went right at her.

Bronke boomed a line shot that DeYoung saved. But she gave up a rebound and Kujawa was there to apparently tie the game by putting it in.

However, Kujawa had hit DeYoung on the play and the goal was disallowed for interference.

DeYoung also went down again on the play, injuring her left shoulder even more than she did by diving less than a minute before.

The Lockport coaches went back out to attend to her again and in the end she stayed in the game.

"We went out there the first time and she said she was OK and would try to play through it," Lockport coach Todd Elkei said.

"But then when the girl ran into her the second time, her shoulder popped out. But she didn't want to come out."

DeYoung was in tears afterward, but hoped the shoulder being popped back in would work.

"On the first dive, it popped out," she said. "But then it got jarred on the second hit. I wanted to stay in.

"I think this (game) shows what we can do. I want to be back on the field this weekend."

While DeYoung may have been hampered, there wasn't much she could do to save any of the goals.

The Mustangs tied the game at 1-1 on a header by Bronke in front, following a corner kick from the right side by senior midfielder Megan Martin that was right on the mark with 17:23 remaining.

A few minutes later, Lockport junior Julie Divita ripped a line shot that Mustang keeper Laraia halted, accounting the visitor's only other good scoring opportunity.

"We didn't give up any cheap goals, they worked for those," said Elkei of the Downers South tallies. "I was happy with our intensity."

The Mustangs had a pair of great scoring chances in the first four minutes or so of the game.

But shots by Kujawa and Martin were turned back by a diving DeYoung. Junior midfielder Flo Beshiri also had an excellent chance in front that was saved by DeYoung with 24:44 left in the first half.

In the meantime, Lockport really only had a couple of opportunities.

One was a long direct kick by junior defender Sam Spencer that didn't find the mark with 26:30 left in the first half. Spencer later left the game when she twinged a knee injury.

Senior midfielder Cassie Pulla also had a free kick that went wide right with 21:51 to play in the opening half and later she put the Porters' only first half shot on goal with a grounder that was saved by Meyers with 11:21 to go.

"It took us awhile to get used to their speed and play, but then we picked up the intensity," Elkei said. "We have a long way to go, but I was pleased with the effort."

Jacobson, whose team defeated Lockport 3-0 in the last meeting in 2009 and now holds an undefeated 7-0 series record against the Porters, was also happy his team responded to the challenge.

"Lockport played very hard and played physical," he said. "That was good for us."

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