Rams tie with Wheaton North in DVC showdown

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By Eddie Burns

Glenbard East and Wheaton North played 100 minutes of soccer and decided absolutely nothing.

Well, that would be the take of the casual observer glancing at the 0-0 draw to Tuesday’s DuPage Valley Conference match in Wheaton, but both coaches took plenty of positives away.

“That was a good DVC battle with lots of action on both ends of the field,” Glenbard East coach Josh Adler said. “Each team had its share of moments offensively. Wheaton North is a hard-nosed scrappy team that likes to pack things in the back to minimize your chances.”

Adler said going up against Wheaton North’s style helped his side.

“They forced us to be more patient and we don’t like to play patient at times, but we really did a nice job of piecing together some nice runs,” Adler said. “We were right there, but we weren’t able to capitalize -- that is soccer for you.”

Sophomore forward Hugo Aguilar was player who always seemed to be involved in each quality scoring chance for the Rams (2-3-3 overall; 0-2-1 in DVC).

Aguilar is one eight underclassmen Adler started in the match.

“We had plenty of chances to score, but it simply wasn’t our day,” said Aguilar. “It is really frustrating when you don’t score, but that is why we keep coming back out here each day at practice and in each game – we’re trying to improve. (The score) might not show it, but we took some really good steps tonight.”

Ivan Surlina, Eduardo Diaz, Samir Ghiasi, Tyler Ford and Miguel Godoy also joined Aguilar in the attacking third with scoring chances.

Marking back Mike Hansen also adds a dimension to the Rams’ attack with his contributions on long throw-ins. Hansen almost connected a few times with different teammates off of throw-in situations.

Hansen was joined in the back with Gio Guerrero and Matt Rossetti, who each did their part to help goalie Seth Quam keep the Falcons out of the net.

“Our golden boot award tonight went to Rossetti,” Adler said. “He was the glue in the back. He really made everything stick together.”

The defensive back for Wheaton North (1-5-2 overall; 0-1-1 in DVC) had a slightly different look with some players assuming different roles and despite the adjustments coach Bryce Cann was satisfied with the effort he received from his side.

“Our backline really played well considering that we had a lot of players learning on the fly out there,” Cann said. “It is encouraging to see how the guys went with the flow and helped goalie Colin Schmid keep (Glenbard East) out of the net.”

Gareth Phillips was one of the players who played in a slightly different position in the back and he liked what he saw from the Falcons’ offensively.

“We really took steps forward in regards to connecting more and making more effective and efficient runs through in the offensive third,” Phillips said.

Despite the improved play offensively, the Falcons failed to score for a third straight game with most of the quality chances coming after intermission.

“I thought we lacked purpose the first 40 minutes,” Cann said. “The last 60 minutes we really played with meaning and it showed as we generated some chances. Now, it is just a matter of finishing. We just lack that final touch.”

Isaac Roberts and Joe McKinley generated a great scoring opportunity in the 72nd minute when Roberts’ restart was redirected by McKinley just wide of the Glenbard East net. Nermin Isic and Robert Jaimes also came close in regards to connecting on a goal when Jaimes’ header of an Isic cross sailed just wide of frame.

Both teams will step out of conference to battle West Suburban opponents on Thursday. Glenbard East will host Downers Grove South, with the varsity match being played at 4:30 p.m. on the upper shelf field.
                                                                                                 
Wheaton North will travel to York for a 6:30 p.m. contest.