Mustangs beat Hornets to claim share of WSC Gold title

By Curt Herron

Downers Grove South's players proudly rang the Southern Bell to their fans following their 3-1 victory over Hinsdale South on Thursday in Darien.

But while the bell, listing 34 years of results between the two rivals, was certainly a nice reward, the Mustangs picked up an even bigger prize.

With the victory South assured itself of a share of the West Suburban Conference Gold championship with Leyden, which it defeated 1-0 on Tuesday.

The Mustangs put themselves behind the eight ball when they lost their WSC Gold opener at Proviso East but then won their final five matches.

That turnaround gives the program its 14th conference championship in its history as well as its 12th title in WSC Gold competition.

Coach Jon Stapleton has now won six titles in the last seven years after missing out on that honor a year ago. It was also the school's eighth title in 10 years.

As for the Southern Bell trophy, Downers South extended the longest streak in the series to seven wins and the Mustangs now own a 15-14-5 advantage.

But just as important, the Mustangs improved to 7-9-5 overall this year after capturing their third straight victory, which is a season high.

Now Downers South sets its sights on postseason play, which begins Saturday when they host Romeoville in a Naperville North Regional matchup.

Hear Downers South coach Jon Stapleton interview

Beside the rivalry, Downers South had good reason to be concerned about the Hornets (7-10-2, 2-4), who entered with a five-match winning streak.

The Mustangs took control just after the midpoint of the opening half when they scored a pair of goals within a 3:38 span to grab a 2-0 lead.

Matt LaLonde got the first goal with 17:59 left in the first half after heading in a ball that was served up by Marcus Salinas on a corner kick.

Then with 14:21 to go before the break, Kwesi Mintah made it a 2-0 score when he connected following an assist from Nick Suker.

It was an especially enjoyable moment for senior Mintah, who began his high school career at Hinsdale South before transferring to Downers South.

Hear Downers South's Kwesi Mintah interview

While there were few other good threats from either squad during the rest of the first half, the Mustangs had two of them just before the break.

During the final four minutes of the opening half, Cal Roselieb and Charlie Stanke both had shots on goal which were halted.

The Mustangs added an insurance goal just 7:04 into the new half after Roselieb was tripped up in the box by a Hornet defender.

Roselieb bounced his first PK attempt off the crossbar but got a second chance due to an infraction and made the most of the opportunity.

That score proved to be significant since the Hornets kept the pressure on keeper Andrew Reed, who got the job done in the net.

Supporting his efforts were the Mustangs' solid backline of Conor Kelch, Neil Kshirsagar, David Masolak and Cal Tondelli.

Hinsdale South finally got on the scoreboard with 26:01 remaining when Tyler Langosch connected from close range following a corner kick.

There weren't many chances after that but the Mustangs did get shots on goal in the late going from Joe McLean and Roselieb.

Downers South's strong finish with wins over Morton, Leyden and Hinsdale South helped to erase the memory of the squad's 1-5-3 start.

Although many players were covered with varying degrees of mud after playing in the rainy and cold conditions, few Mustangs complained.

Their squad turned a poor beginning into a good finish and now they hope to perhaps surprise a few more people during the postseason.

Hear Downers South's Matt LaLonde interview

Men of the match: multiple Mustangs

After watching his squad post a 3-1 victory at Hinsdale South on Thursday which clinched a share of the West Suburban Conference Gold title, Downers Grove South coach Jon Stapleton obvously had a tough time pointing to any one individual effort that was better than the rest.

The Mustangs' victory over the Hornets was a textbook team win and their coach witnessed good performances on all parts of the field, which was nice considering the lousy playing conditions.

There was Kwesi Mintah, a former Hinsdale South student, who scored the Mustangs' second goal, following an assist from Nick Suker. And there was Matt LaLonde, who performed well in the midfield and got the first goal on a header following a corner kick by Marcus Salinas.

In addition, Stapleton pointed to the good distribution of the ball by Charlie Stanke, the play of Cal Tondelli, David Masolak, Neil Kshirsagar and Conor Kelch on defense as well as Andrew Reed in the net. Cal Roselieb, who added a goal on a penalty kick, and Joe McLean were the other starters.

The combination of performances helped the Mustangs close out the regular season with three straight victories and it also enabled them to extend their win streak in the Southern Bell rivalry with the Hornets to seven matches.

Mustangs starters vs. Hinsdale South

Mustangs Schedule