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Naperville Central wins 1-0 over Hinsdale Central By Gary Larsen
Saturday’s game was no different, as Naperville Central (8-3-1) topped host Hinsdale Central (7-5-2) 1-0, on a second-half goal by Chris Prince. Saturday’s game marked the second time in two weeks that Naperville Central rebounded from a loss and posted a win. The Redhawks fell to Glenbard East in overtime and beat Downers Grove South their next time out, and they answered Thursday’s loss to Naperville North with a win on Saturday. “It shows great character from our team,” Prince said. “That’s what we said at the beginning of the season – every player on our team has great character.” “Last year we’d lose, and then lose again. Not this year.” Redhawks coach Jay Konrad was glad to get out of Hinsdale with a win, against a team that came in hard all day. “They’re rugged. They won a lot of fifty-fifties at midfield. They clearly won the physical game, so we’ve got some things we need to work on,” Konrad said. “But they’re always well-coached and they’re always doing dangerous things, so it’s always good to beat Hinsdale Central. It’s a nice win and a good shutout.” The Redhawks flirted with a goal quickly after the opening whistle, earning a deep throw-in on the Red Devils’ end and sending a ball off the post before the game was two minutes old. Prince sent in a shot that Red Devils’ keeper Jack O’Donnell tipped over the crossbar a minute later, giving the Redhawks a second great scoring chance early in the game. Hinsdale Central’s attack picked up steam from there, however, and Cameron Legan just missed with a head shot sent over the crossbar in the 14th minute. The Red Devils’ Michael Oleszkiewicz hit a good chance just wide of the post four minutes later, and the Red Devils applied good pressure through the game’s 20th minute. Peter Santulli sent a shot over the crossbar in the 28th minute for the Red Devils, and Naperville Central nearly hooked up on a handful of long, dangerous throw-ins by Art Garza before halftime. The chances were there through 40 minutes, but neither team managed a finishing touch. “With our group right now, we’re just trying to get into a situation where we can get into a rhythm and have guys settle in,” Red Devils coach Mike Wiggins said. “The nice thing about playing a team like Naperville Central now is that it forces us to deal with a different (4-3-3) formation, and a different organization.” “The focus being the end of the year, every game has a purpose. And this game gives us a level that we expect to see at the end of the year.” Battles spent at midfield between the Red Devils’ Robbie LaRocque and Naperville Central’s Art Garza was as close to a postseason level as you’ll see in September. Saturday was the first time this year that the Redhawks’ Art Garza played a full game, since returning from off-season surgery on both calves. “He’s a physical kid and he plays at a high level,” Garza said of LaRocque. “So he forced me to use my body and to think at the same time, at a high level.” “Robbie worked very hard and he held down the midfield today,” Wiggins said. “We have a number of guys playing very well. But we want them to try to play at another level, so we’re ready four weeks from now.” Konrad was elated to see Garza in his first full game of action this season. “We’ll get exponentially better once we get used to the balls he can play,” Konrad said. “We have guys not making runs, but the ball gets there because Art can play those balls.” The scoreless tie held all the way to the 68th minute, when Colin Rook fed Prince for the game’s lone score. It was Prince's 14th goal of the season. “It felt like if either team scored once, it would be over,” Prince said. “It was a good battle.” “It’s always a good battle against Naperville Central,” said Hinsdale Central’s Mitch Reavis. “We just have to keep coming together and working hard as a team." Rook’s play stood out, while central defenders Peter Beasley and Andy Miltonberger put in another good day’s work for Naperville Central in the win.
“He is just getting better back there every game.” Wiggins and his squad were naturally dissatisfied with the loss, and they’ll take what they can from it and move on. They also played Saturday without the offensive spark provided by Eric Loebig, who was absent from the game. ‘I see a group of guys giving their all. I love my guys,” Wiggins said. “Today wasn’t for a lack of trying. They want what we want.” “This is the level we wanted to be at. It would be one thing if we were talking about a game in which we got pasted. Last year we lost 5-0 twice during the year – we didn’t just pull over on the side of the road, we blew out all four tires.” “Today was more like an oil change, and an oil change is always good.”
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Man of the match: Art Garza By Gary Larsen
There’s no doubt that this year’s team at Naperville Central is surprising some people, “including some people wearing red-and-white,” Redhawks coach Jay Konrad said. Naperville Central’s 8-3-1 season through Saturday’s win came largely without the services of senior Art Garza, but he returned for his first full game of play against Hinsdale Central. “I thought Art did a great job in the midfield,” Konrad said. “Early in the game we found him a lot, and as a result of that we were attacking. Once the rest of our guys realize they need to make the right run, because Art will get the ball there, we can be much more dangerous.” Garza only recently returned from off-season surgery on both of his calves. “I’m moving around fine, but jumping still hurts a little,” Garza said. “And I need to get my fitness a little higher. Other than that, I’m feeling all right.” “At first it was frustrating because I wasn’t sharp. You want to be solid all the time but it just wasn’t going to happen right away.” Garza and fellow senior Chris Prince have played together since childhood, and Prince sees good things once he and Garza fully relocate the chemistry they’ve had on the field. “We’re starting to find each other and work together, and it’s helping the team,” Prince said. “We have the same skills, basically, and it’s easy to find each other.” Garza is happy to be back in the fold and even happier that he’s now nearly at full strength on a team that has surpassed preseason expectations. “My expectation at the beginning of the season was to see us try as hard as we can, every game, and whatever happens, happens,” Garza said. “We’ve got great team chemistry and we love playing with each other.”
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It’s not a conference match and it doesn’t hold any significance for postseason sectional seedings, but the annual game between Naperville Central and Hinsdale Central always seems like a game between two heated rivals.
“Andy Miltonberger was a forward at the beginning of the year, and that’s really where he should be playing for us,” Konrad said. “But we needed another center back, and he’s big, strong, he’s two-footed and he wins balls in the air.”
