Meyers comes up big for Mustangs in 0-0 draw with Hilltoppers

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By Matt Le Cren

If Downers Grove South had one area of concern heading into the season, it was between the pipes.

Sophomore goalkeeper Amanda Meyers won the starting job despite having no varsity experience so some people figured the position would be a weakness.

It hasn't been. Meyers made a game-saving stop just before the buzzer to preserve a 0-0 tie with Glenbard West Friday in Glen Ellyn.

With the clocked stopped with :03 after the Mustangs committed a foul, Glenbard West's Cameron Barbeau teed up a 35-yard free kick and tried to rip it under the cross bar.

But Meyers timed her jump perfectly and used both hands to push the ball over the bar as time expired.

"I just wanted to make sure I didn't let down my team, make sure I kept it even," Meyers said. "Zero-zero is better than a loss."

There haven't been many losses for the Mustangs, who are 7-2-2 despite playing a tough schedule with a rookie goalie.

Meyers, who has played every minute, has six shutouts and a 0.91 goals-against average working behind a solid defensive corps led by Kimmy Grimmer, Jacquelyn Thate, Jess Pikul and Flo Beshiri.

"I've been okay," said Meyers, who made three saves against the Hilltoppers. "I need to improve and just hopefully get better throughout the season.

"I think I have a lot to prove. I can see why sometimes they think I'm a big question mark, but other times I prove myself."

Downers South coach Barry Jacobson has been pleasantly surprised with Meyers' play.

"She's way exceeded our expectations," Jacobson said. "I think she's done a really nice job for us. We try to limit some things for her, but she's done a really nice job.

"I think she's gotten her confidence up and she's made some big saves along the way. She's made very few mistakes. If she keeps eliminating those and just does what she has to do, we're in good shape."

While Glenbard West (4-3-1) never seriously threatened until the final seconds, the Hilltoppers did become the first team to shut out the Mustangs this spring.

It took most of the first half for South to get used to playing on the narrow, bumpy field at Memorial Park.

The Mustangs did not muster a scoring chance until Keri Kujawa missed high with a 15-yard shot with 3:07 left.

"This is a lousy field," Jacobson said. "It's tough to play here. We're used to playing on the bigger fields, but it's part of the game.

"We made some adjustments at halftime and they worked and we had our opportunities."

Indeed, the Mustangs fired 11 of their 16 shots after intermission and were unlucky not to find the back of the net at least twice after switching to three forwards.

Keri Kujawa and Sarrah Ludwig helped put plenty of pressure on the Hilltoppers. Kujawa in particularly was able to create chances but three times sent shots whizzing just over the bar.

"She had some nice shots," Jacobson said. "One of those drops and we get out of here 1-0 and everybody's happy."

Beshiri came the closest to scoring, hitting the crossbar with 19:40 left after Kujawa tapped a free kick to her from 22 yards out.

Midfielders Megan Martin and Jessica Bronke also had good attempts. A 35-yard free kick from Martin sailed untouched past the left post.

And Bronke's 45-yard free kick with 4:50 remaining was kicked out by Glenbard West goalie Michelle Vonachen.

"We tried to play a little more direct and we had our chances," Jacobson said. "When you have that many chances and you don't get the ball in the net, what are you going to do?

"We just have to finish some of those off. We played hard, the ball just didn't go in. We're disappointed we didn't win, but we played well and did the right things."

The tie capped an unbeaten week for the Mustangs, who demolished Willowbrook 7-0 on Tuesday and beat Lemont 5-0 the following night.

Kujawa had three goals and an assist against Willowbrook, while Bronke tallied a goal and two assists, Ludwig added a goal and an assist and Brittany Dietz and Kailey Ross also scored.

Ludwig led the way against Lemont with two goals. Martin had a goal and an assist and Kujawa and Michelle Casey both had a goal.

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