Mustangs open with win in fun match against Kelly

By Eddie Burns

The season opener between Downers Grove South and Kelly was about more than soccer – it was about a cultural experience.

The Mustangs dominated the Trojans by a 9-0 margin on Thursday night in a match played at Naperville Central’s Memorial Stadium.

"It was a fun game for us," said Downers South coach Barry Jacobson. "We wanted to have them out from the city. We knew it wasn't going to be tremendously competitive, but it was fun for our kids to see kids from the city come out and appreciate this type of opportunity."

Thomas Kelly High School, which is located on Chicago’s South Side at the intersection of Archer Ave. and California Ave., might not have been competitive on the field, but their players showed plenty of energy as they led cheers throughout the night.

"This is an awesome experience for our kids," Kelly coach Stan Mietus said. "We appreciate the way the girls from Downers South play the game."

Mietus started the program at Kelly 15 years ago and has enjoyed success by virtue of his 172-93-13 record, but he said that he knew it would be tough for his girls to compete with Downers South.

"The goal is one day to be able to play at the level of a team like Downers South, but we still have a lot of parents who believe that girls should not be playing soccer," Mietus said. "This was all about sportsmanship and having fun. We wanted to show our kids how soccer is played in the suburbs. It can't hurt for them to dream big, get their education and go to college and maybe get out of the city."

The relationship between Jacobson and Mietus goes back to their days at North Central College when Jacobson was a coach and Mietus was a player.

"We've become good friends over the years," Jacobson said. "This is the third or fourth time we've done this. It is great for his kids to come out and see the suburbs and our kids to see another side of life."

Downers South pretty much dominated right from the start with junior Keri Kujawa scoring in the 2nd minute. It was the first of two goals for Kujawa, who is adapting to playing at the forward compared to the midfield like in years past.

"This was our first game and it's only been two weeks, so things are going to get better," Kujawa said. "I thought we moved the ball around really well and that we did a nice job of finding people in open space."

"Keri showed that she will be capable of doing some nice things for us up front," Jacobson said.

The game provided some players new to varsity such as sophomore forward Sarrah Ludwig, freshman defender Jess Pikul and sophomore goalie Amanda Meyers great opportunities to get their legs under them at the varsity level.

Megan Martin (assist), Kimmy Grimmer, Nicole Dietz, Lauren Rusk (assist), Sarrah Ludwig, Richelle Palermo and Kailey Ross also scored goals for DG South.

The Mustangs' roster features three seniors and none of them started, which leaves the lineup filled with sophomores and juniors.

"It is a good game to get some of the jitters out," he said. "We had some fun. There is not much to say. We knocked the ball around really well, which was nice."

The Mustangs should find a lot more about themselves after they host the Downers South Invite the first weekend of April when they will see Neuqua Valley, Hinsdale Central and Lincoln-Way Central.

"We return a great group of kids who have experience, but we're still young," Jacobson said. "We'll know more in the next couple of weeks, but I really like our depth. We have a lot of kids who can be used as interchangeable parts."