HINSDALE — Judging by his efforts prior to a penalty kick attempt, it’s clear Hinsdale Central keeper Martin Contreras knows a few things about playing mental games with his opponents.

First, Contreras grabbed the ball to hold while the officials conferred about their eventual call for a Downers Grove North penalty kick that would be taken by Kobi Marquez in the 61st minute of a scoreless game.

Then once the ball was set for the kick, Contreras started wiggling his hips and shaking his arms like those giant air puppets at car dealerships in an effort to distract the shooter.

From an outside perspective, the ploys seemed to work. Contreras ended up stopping the shot with a save to his right.

The Red Devils, ranked no. 22 in the Chicagoland Soccer Top 25, responded five minutes later with a goal by Alex Barbu to earn a 1-0 victory over the visiting Trojans to clinch the West Suburban Conference Silver Division championship on Tuesday (Oct. 15).

“There were two reasons for that dance,” Contreras said. “I felt really confident with the penalty kick. And I wanted to distract the penalty kicker in some shape or form.”

So, did Conteras’s actions actually work to distract Marquez? Maybe. Contreras admitted something else may have played a bigger role in the save.

“I saw something, but I don’t want to say exactly what it was,” he said. “He kind of tipped off his move, though.”

Barbu then came through with his heroics, scoring the game’s only goal in the 66th minute.

“I got a nice through-ball from Milan (Puri). He found me on a split ball, and I took it down the line,” said Barbu, the Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match. “I had a nice little lucky chip over the keeper, and it went into the back of the net.

“I was thinking about crossing it, but I didn’t see anyone in the box. At halftime we talked about getting more shots on goal, so I took the shot.”

The victory completed a remarkable comeback for the Red Devils (10-8-1, 5-1-x), who finished the regular season with a 2-0 loss at Glenbrook North on Thursday (Oct. 17).

After starting the season 1-6-1, they won nine of their next 11 matches and won the league crown.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” Barbu said of the turnaround. “Any team that’s 1-6-1, you’re like, that’s a terrible team, all negative emotions. But we have good leadership, good team chemistry and a very motivated team. That’s how we were able to come back this season.”

“After a tough start to the season, the players said they wanted to get the conference,” Red Devils coach Mike Wiggins said. “And I never doubted for one second that this wasn’t something they could achieve. They trusted each other, and they trusted us. It’s really a credit to the
whole group. And I’m really happy for them.”

The manager pointed to the play of midfielder Austen Szurgot as a
key reason for the win against the Trojans and the successful overall play of his team this season.

He also credited the backline -- Braden Tingler, Enzo Cinque, Denis Altman and Puri -- for their outstanding play all season.

“Austen Szurgot showed tonight, even in a real grind of a game, how much of a difference-maker he is in the midfield,” Wiggins said. “He’s done that all year for us. He’s really, really held things together for us in terms of not only how he helps organize, but how he creates things in the attack.”

Meanwhile, Downers Grove North (3-17-2, 1-5-x) ended the regular-season on a six-game losing streak, but it came in close to the best possible way, if there is such a thing. Four of those defeats were by one goal, one came on PKs to Oak Park and River Forest and the other was a 2-0 loss to Glenbard West.

The team record wasn’t evident from their play against Hinsdale Central.

“I take a lot of positives from this one,” Trojans coach Rafal Slomba said. “For 79 minutes and 30 seconds we battled hard and kudos to them for doing that. We didn’t have too many opportunities, and then they get their one. That’s the name of the game, unfortunately.”

The Trojans put four shots on goal -- two in each half -- but couldn’t penetrate the Hinsdale Central defense for the final 14 minutes after surrendering Barbu’s goal.

Still, the Trojans never sat back. They kept putting as much pressure on Red Devils as possible.

“That’s one of the things we preached throughout the season. When we win that ball back, we have to make sure we keep it,” Slomba said. “That way we get numbers going forward and get ourselves into the attack. I would say we left some opportunities out there in the first half, but again, that’s the name of the game. We just learn from it and
move on.”

The Trojans first good opportunity came in the ninth minute with a left-footed shot by senior midfielder Mantas Palubinskas that Contreras saved to his right. In the 23rd minute on a free kick from 55 yards, a couple headers moved the ball to Oliver Davies in the penalty area. His try at the near post missed the mark.

“We battled all game just to lose off a couple little mistakes,” Palubinskas said. “We probably had more key chances than them, but they were able to finish for that one goal. I think we outplayed them, but unfortunately didn’t get the result we wanted.”

Seventh-seeded Hinsdale Central opens the Class 3A playoffs at its regional against 10-seed Jones on Oct. 23.

Jack Quinn made six saves for 13th-seeded Downers Grove North, which faces 18th-ranked and fourth-seeded Young in a Class 3A Lyons Regional semifinal Oct. 23.

“It’s been a little bit of a rough season,” Palubinskas said. “We played some good games, had some close losses. But we’re ready to bounce back now. 

“We’re 0-0 now. We just want to make a run in the playoffs. Hopefully we can make that happen.”

Starting lineups

Downers Grove North
GK: Jack Quinn
D: Daniel Umana
D: Danny Graham
D: John Lazarz
D: Alexander Douglas
MF: Mantas Palubinskas
MF: Kobi Marquez
MF: Oliver Davis
MF: Grigore Onica
MF: Rehan Hashim
F: Ty Peboontom

Hinsdale Central
GK: MartIn Contreras
D: Braden Tingler
D: Enzo Cinque
D: Denis Altman
D: Milan Puri
MF: Arhaan Saini
MF: Antonio Azzo
MF: Austen Szurgot
MF: Kostas Zamalaitis
F: Alex Barbu
F: Matt Gantar

Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Alex Barbu, sr., F, Hinsdale Central

Scoring summary

First half
No scoring

Second half
Hinsdale Central: Alex Barbu (Milan Puri), 66’