DG South slips by
Willowbrook on late score
Mustangs head into postseason with 7-game unbeaten streak
By Matt Le Cren
VILLA PARK – Downers Grove South is still on a roll.
A Nick Rohl, that is.
Rohl authored a fantastic finish by scoring with 3:00 remaining in the second half as the visiting Mustangs squeaked by Willowbrook 1-0 in the regular season finale for both teams Thursday night.
No. 14 Downers Grove South extended its unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-1) while relegating the hard-luck Warriors to their fifth-consecutive loss.
“I don’t know specifically what it was (that sparked the streak),” Downers South coach Jon Stapleton said. “We’ve been playing well.
“(Willowbrook) played really, really well tonight. We both had chances.
“You figured at some point it was going to be 1-0 because both teams had to work so hard to get that goal. I started thinking about overtime a little bit.”
He stopped thinking about it once Rohl struck seemingly out of the blue.
Peter Fish intercepted a Willowbrook goal kick near midfield, heading the ball up to Garrett Burns, who quickly sprung Rohl into the box with a perfectly timed pass.
Rohl was pressured by a defender as Willowbrook goalkeeper Asmir Perviz rushed out to cut down the angle, but the junior forward sent a roller inside the right post to break the scoreless tie.
“(Burns) just slotted it right through,” Rohl said. “I picked up the ball, and I felt pressure on my side. He was the one who pulled me down (on a previous play), so I knew I could either go down or try to finish it in.
“With the way the game was going, I didn’t think I was going to get another call. So I just decided to put it in and thankfully it went in.”
It was the only thing that did on a night when all three goalies played well behind defenses that took turns stopping rushes in what was at times a back-and-forth game of ping-pong through a wide-open middle of the field.
Sam Dumford made five saves to record the shutout for the Mustangs (12-4-3, 5-1-0), who secured second place in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division.
Zac Boehm made four saves for the Warriors (10-6-0, 2-4-0). He was starting in place of regular starter Asmir Perviz, who played defense before taking over in the net for the second half and coming up with five saves.
One of Perviz’s saves was a brilliant leaping stop of a long free kick by Peter Becht in which he outjumped Dylan Mobley for the ball and landed hard on the turf.
“He did (play well),” Rohl said. “I noticed, though, that he was a little hesitant on that one and when we went over Dylan he was limping a little bit, so I knew he was on his heels. I knew the goal was going to come some time.”
But it wasn’t the fault of Perviz, who bounced back from a rough outing in Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Leyden.
“For the most part he’s had a very good season, except for our last game against Leyden,” Willowbrook coach Peter Ginter said. “He did not play very well, and that’s why he didn’t start today.
“Plus we had him play a little bit of right back today so he stepped up on that. I knew he couldn’t play for more than about 20 minutes but he gave everything he had, so I thought we drew him into the game. I thought that picked up his game.”
Dumford was on his game early. He faced just three shots in the first half but one was a left-footed bullet from Benigno Heredia in the 18th minute.
Heredia’s 27-yard shot from the right wing was ticketed for the upper right corner until Dumford fully extended to punch it over the crossbar.
“I don’t know if all goalies are like this, but I definitely get on a roll if I start with a good save,” said Dumford, who also denied Heredia with a diving save on an open shot in the penalty area early in the second half. “It’s definitely a mental game.”
“I think I’ve been playing well. The training has been good. As a whole unit, the defense has been good. It’s not me, it’s the defense.”
Indeed, while the Mustangs gave up huge chunks of ground in the midfield, they stiffened considerably in and around their 18.
Willowbrook had few quality scoring chances and missed high on the ones that did present themselves. The Warriors’ best chance came when a fine outlet throw from Perviz triggered a 3-on-1 counterattack.
Aaron Johnson had a man on either wing as he raced up the middle. He opted to pass to his left to Miguel Correa, whose rocket went over the crossbar by a couple feet.
“It was a good game (against a) good opponent,” Ginter said. “They have a very good defense. We didn’t have a lot of scoring chances. We had a couple good shots, but their keeper is pretty good.
“I thought overall our game was very good except for some of the finishing. We didn’t create enough scoring chances so we’re going to work on some passing patterns in the opponent’s third.
“I think we need to distribute the ball a little better to the wings and bring the ball in and spread their defense out. We tried to do a little too much up the middle.”
After a 10-1 start, the Warriors have lost five-straight, although all were against ranked opponents and decided by two or fewer goals. Now Willowbrook faces a tough draw against host Lake Park, the DuPage Valley Conference runnerup, in Tuesday’s regional semifinal.
“We’ve got to have good possession on the ball, and we’re going to be working on maybe a little different offense,” Ginter said. “We might change our tactics a little bit because that’s the area of our game that really needs to improve. We haven’t scored a lot against these very good teams.”
But these Warriors have the personnel to turn things around in the playoffs. The group is the first to post a winning season at the school since an 11-8 mark in 1984 according to Ginter.
"We have many seniors on this team, and they've developed together over the past three years playing varsity soccer," he said. "They know to focus on one game at a time and learn something from every game that will be useful for the next game.
"Above all, these players are having fun. They enjoy playing the game no matter who the opponent is. I think that has been a big part of our success."
Downers Grove South has not had a problem scoring. The Mustangs have found the back of the net 23 times during their unbeaten streak, which includes a 2-0 shutout of no. 15 Naperville North, the top seed at the Metea Valley Sectional.
Downers South opens the Hinsdale South Regional on Wednesday against Hinsdale South or Curie, with a win likely setting up a regional final rematch with Oak Park and River Forest, which eliminated them in double overtime at the same stage last year.
“We’re definitely feeling it and on a good streak,” Dumford said. “We’re who we think our team could be. We didn’t start the (season the) way we should be.”
So what is the key to finishing the way they should?
“Keep doing what we’re doing and don’t be selfish,” Rohl said. “All of our goals are coming of someone else’s hard work.
“If a ball is going out, someone is chasing it down, playing it through, and we get some easy tap-ins. So if we stay unselfish I think we’re going to be really successful.”
Starting lineups
Downers Grove South
G Sam Dumford
D Griffin Overbeck
D Peter Carr
D Ryan Strelau
D Anthony Masello
M Peter Becht
M Peter Fish
M Andrew Pierropoulos
F Garrett Burns
F Dylan Mobley
F Nick Rohl
Willowbrook
G Zac Boehm
D Asmir Perviz
D Stasiu Szudrowicz
D Collin Doherty
D Michael Sommers
D Ali Saleh
M Aaron Johnson
M Arkadiusz Szlachta
M Lucas Betts
M Miguel Correa
F Benigno Heredia
Man of the Match – Nick Rohl, F, Downers Grove South.
Willowbrook on late score
Mustangs head into postseason with 7-game unbeaten streak
By Matt Le Cren
VILLA PARK – Downers Grove South is still on a roll.
A Nick Rohl, that is.
Rohl authored a fantastic finish by scoring with 3:00 remaining in the second half as the visiting Mustangs squeaked by Willowbrook 1-0 in the regular season finale for both teams Thursday night.
No. 14 Downers Grove South extended its unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-1) while relegating the hard-luck Warriors to their fifth-consecutive loss.
“I don’t know specifically what it was (that sparked the streak),” Downers South coach Jon Stapleton said. “We’ve been playing well.
“(Willowbrook) played really, really well tonight. We both had chances.
“You figured at some point it was going to be 1-0 because both teams had to work so hard to get that goal. I started thinking about overtime a little bit.”
He stopped thinking about it once Rohl struck seemingly out of the blue.
Peter Fish intercepted a Willowbrook goal kick near midfield, heading the ball up to Garrett Burns, who quickly sprung Rohl into the box with a perfectly timed pass.
Rohl was pressured by a defender as Willowbrook goalkeeper Asmir Perviz rushed out to cut down the angle, but the junior forward sent a roller inside the right post to break the scoreless tie.
“(Burns) just slotted it right through,” Rohl said. “I picked up the ball, and I felt pressure on my side. He was the one who pulled me down (on a previous play), so I knew I could either go down or try to finish it in.
“With the way the game was going, I didn’t think I was going to get another call. So I just decided to put it in and thankfully it went in.”
It was the only thing that did on a night when all three goalies played well behind defenses that took turns stopping rushes in what was at times a back-and-forth game of ping-pong through a wide-open middle of the field.
Sam Dumford made five saves to record the shutout for the Mustangs (12-4-3, 5-1-0), who secured second place in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division.
Zac Boehm made four saves for the Warriors (10-6-0, 2-4-0). He was starting in place of regular starter Asmir Perviz, who played defense before taking over in the net for the second half and coming up with five saves.
One of Perviz’s saves was a brilliant leaping stop of a long free kick by Peter Becht in which he outjumped Dylan Mobley for the ball and landed hard on the turf.
“He did (play well),” Rohl said. “I noticed, though, that he was a little hesitant on that one and when we went over Dylan he was limping a little bit, so I knew he was on his heels. I knew the goal was going to come some time.”
But it wasn’t the fault of Perviz, who bounced back from a rough outing in Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Leyden.
“For the most part he’s had a very good season, except for our last game against Leyden,” Willowbrook coach Peter Ginter said. “He did not play very well, and that’s why he didn’t start today.
“Plus we had him play a little bit of right back today so he stepped up on that. I knew he couldn’t play for more than about 20 minutes but he gave everything he had, so I thought we drew him into the game. I thought that picked up his game.”
Dumford was on his game early. He faced just three shots in the first half but one was a left-footed bullet from Benigno Heredia in the 18th minute.
Heredia’s 27-yard shot from the right wing was ticketed for the upper right corner until Dumford fully extended to punch it over the crossbar.
“I don’t know if all goalies are like this, but I definitely get on a roll if I start with a good save,” said Dumford, who also denied Heredia with a diving save on an open shot in the penalty area early in the second half. “It’s definitely a mental game.”
“I think I’ve been playing well. The training has been good. As a whole unit, the defense has been good. It’s not me, it’s the defense.”
Indeed, while the Mustangs gave up huge chunks of ground in the midfield, they stiffened considerably in and around their 18.
Willowbrook had few quality scoring chances and missed high on the ones that did present themselves. The Warriors’ best chance came when a fine outlet throw from Perviz triggered a 3-on-1 counterattack.
Aaron Johnson had a man on either wing as he raced up the middle. He opted to pass to his left to Miguel Correa, whose rocket went over the crossbar by a couple feet.
“It was a good game (against a) good opponent,” Ginter said. “They have a very good defense. We didn’t have a lot of scoring chances. We had a couple good shots, but their keeper is pretty good.
“I thought overall our game was very good except for some of the finishing. We didn’t create enough scoring chances so we’re going to work on some passing patterns in the opponent’s third.
“I think we need to distribute the ball a little better to the wings and bring the ball in and spread their defense out. We tried to do a little too much up the middle.”
After a 10-1 start, the Warriors have lost five-straight, although all were against ranked opponents and decided by two or fewer goals. Now Willowbrook faces a tough draw against host Lake Park, the DuPage Valley Conference runnerup, in Tuesday’s regional semifinal.
“We’ve got to have good possession on the ball, and we’re going to be working on maybe a little different offense,” Ginter said. “We might change our tactics a little bit because that’s the area of our game that really needs to improve. We haven’t scored a lot against these very good teams.”
But these Warriors have the personnel to turn things around in the playoffs. The group is the first to post a winning season at the school since an 11-8 mark in 1984 according to Ginter.
"We have many seniors on this team, and they've developed together over the past three years playing varsity soccer," he said. "They know to focus on one game at a time and learn something from every game that will be useful for the next game.
"Above all, these players are having fun. They enjoy playing the game no matter who the opponent is. I think that has been a big part of our success."
Downers Grove South has not had a problem scoring. The Mustangs have found the back of the net 23 times during their unbeaten streak, which includes a 2-0 shutout of no. 15 Naperville North, the top seed at the Metea Valley Sectional.
Downers South opens the Hinsdale South Regional on Wednesday against Hinsdale South or Curie, with a win likely setting up a regional final rematch with Oak Park and River Forest, which eliminated them in double overtime at the same stage last year.
“We’re definitely feeling it and on a good streak,” Dumford said. “We’re who we think our team could be. We didn’t start the (season the) way we should be.”
So what is the key to finishing the way they should?
“Keep doing what we’re doing and don’t be selfish,” Rohl said. “All of our goals are coming of someone else’s hard work.
“If a ball is going out, someone is chasing it down, playing it through, and we get some easy tap-ins. So if we stay unselfish I think we’re going to be really successful.”
Starting lineups
Downers Grove South
G Sam Dumford
D Griffin Overbeck
D Peter Carr
D Ryan Strelau
D Anthony Masello
M Peter Becht
M Peter Fish
M Andrew Pierropoulos
F Garrett Burns
F Dylan Mobley
F Nick Rohl
Willowbrook
G Zac Boehm
D Asmir Perviz
D Stasiu Szudrowicz
D Collin Doherty
D Michael Sommers
D Ali Saleh
M Aaron Johnson
M Arkadiusz Szlachta
M Lucas Betts
M Miguel Correa
F Benigno Heredia
Man of the Match – Nick Rohl, F, Downers Grove South.
