2009 Preview: West Aurora

By Curt Herron

Most soccer teams would be really down in the dumps if they lost an all-state goalkeeper shortly before the start of a season.

And while that's certainly the case at West Aurora following an offseason injury to Stephen Walan, coach Joe Sustersic still has good reason to be excited.

That's because his Blackhawks return most of their other starters from last season's squad that finished with a 14-7-1 mark.

To go along with a pair of returning all-sectional players, West Aurora also got an all-sectional transfer from East Aurora.

So despite having Walan in a new role as a bench coach, the Blackhawks still hope to be in the hunt for the DuPage Valley Conference crown.

"You don't lose an all-stater and not take a step down," Sustersic said. "But we have a solid goalkeeper in Abel Diaz and transfer Jesse Ortiz is a Division I recruit.

"So we have eight or nine starters coming back and only have two positions to fill. And I think that the two newcomers will be able to hold their own."

The Blackhawk coach feels good about the players that will be playing directly in front of junior Diaz in the defense.

"They have to pick up their games without Stephen, but they also trust Abel," Sustersic said. "They feel that if they don't allow shots the other team can't get goals."

Pacing that defensive unit is one of the team's leaders, Henrry Perez, who was an all-sectional pick a year ago.

Joining senior Perez in the back will be another pair of seniors, Loren Galloway and Rodolfo Jimenez.

Another all-sectional performer from last year, senior Victor Alfaro, will hold down a spot in the center midfield.

He'll be joined there by another player who has shown great potential, junior Mario Alvarez.

Adding strength to the midfield will be seniors Jomar Mendoza and Irvin Bernal on the outside as well as junior Josue Martinez.

Ortiz will be joined at the forward position by senior Jose Chavez and sophomore Adrian Aceves.

Other senior members of the 21-man squad are Christian Breimann, Humberto Laguna and Angel Perez.

"One thing that I'm most pleased with is how we've bonded as a team," Sustersic said. "We were 12-2-1 this summer so that shows that we can play with many teams."

While Sustersic knows that the Blackhawks aren't a mystery team this season, he wants to see how things develop before he makes any predictions.

"We surprised some people last year and held our own with everyone that we played," Sustersic said. "But I'm not going to project anything about how well we're going to do.

"We lost a lot of good senior role players but the juniors were the nucleus of our team. With so many people back, hopefully it's a matter of switching a few people around."

2009 Roster

2009 Schedule