Falcons and Blackhawks tie in West Aurora

By Darryl Mellema

In soccer matches that end up tied – which was how Wheaton North and West Aurora finished on Saturday, it's the more subtle facets of play that tend to be viewed in an effort to see which team really had an upper hand.

In many of those areas, host West Aurora held the edge in the DuPage Valley Conference contest. The Blackhawks, for example, had an edge in possession time and a wide margin in goalscoring chances.

But that takes away from the quality of Wheaton North's finishing and the play of goalkeeper Nick Barry, who made a series of superb saves.

The match ended 2-2 after 100 minutes of incredibly hardfought action.

“We're talking right now about playing good fundamental defense and not giving guys space,” Wheaton North coach Bryce Cann said.
“You give a guy space in the box and to give them time to take quality touches – at this level, guys are going to bury that.”

The match swung between the two teams. After a strong West Aurora (11-2-2, 1-1-1 DVC) opening, Wheaton North (3-4-4, 1-2-1) took the lead. Josh Bennett sent a free kick in from the left wing and the ball came to Pat Langan, who scored.

That goal came midway through the first half, and West Aurora took until the 34th minute to equalize. Victor Alfaro volleyed the ball into the net.

At the start of the second half, West Aurora got its short passing game moving, which wasn't easy considering the field was severely chewed up from the Blackhawks home football game on Friday night.

But the Blackhawks endeavored and were rewarded with a series of give-and-go passes that opened holes in Wheaton North's midfield. The final touch proved elusive – in large part due to Barry's play.

“It was one of those days were we didn't put the balls in when we had the opportunities,” West Aurora coach Joe Sustersic said. “They finalized their chances and we didn't. You've got to give them credit.”

“I faced a lot of shots but the defense did a great job,” Barry said. “The defense has got to stay with its men. You have to keep communicating and have to be ready for everything.”

Wheaton North took the lead again 18 minutes into the half when Langan fed Josh Bennett, whose shot was deflected into the goal off a West Aurora defender. The key was Langan's pass, which found Bennett wide open at the top of the penalty area.

West Aurora found higher gears again and scored when Jomar Mendoza put in a ball that was rolling through the 6-yard box.

West Aurora goalie Abel Diaz had his moment to shine with 4 minutes to play. Andrew Lee headed a Langan cross toward the net. Lee saw the ball heading into goal, and raised his hands in celebration. But Diaz made a sharp reaction save.

Chances were limited in the opening overtime period. Each team had one solid chance in the second overtime. The Blackhawks Ben Ness had a fierce shot saved by Barry and Bennett hit a 30-yard free kick just past the upper right corner of the net.

“It's a tough game because we felt like we should have won,” West Aurora's Irvin Bernal said. “We were trying to get the win to stay in the race for the DVC. But you don't always get what you want, and that happened today.”

Neither team was tremendously pleased with the result, but both squads found things with which to be pleased after the match.

“The frustration for us is that we were outplayed,” Cann said. “We were outshot and most of the play was in our half of the field. But we didn't break down defensively. That's a good sign for us. For us to go up 1-0 and be tied and then to go up 2-1 and be tied is a good sign. You can fold very easily. We kept fighting. At some point, we need to show that we can keep a one-goal lead for an extended period of time.”

Sustersic was pleased with his team's effort, its overall play but not its inability to find a game-winning goal.

“I don't want to discredit Wheaton North,” Sustersic said. “I thought they played very well. But I thought we were the better team. But the scoreboard is the only thing that counts, and the scoreboard says 2-2.”

Cause of the match:
Breast cancer awareness

By Darryl Mellema

Pink was the color at West Aurora on Saturday. Both Wheaton North and the host Blackhawks wore pink in their jerseys and played the match using pink-colored soccer balls.

The reason was to help raise breast cancer awareness. Various fundraising activities left West Aurora able to make a donation to the American Cancer Society. But the message was the key, said West Aurora coach Joe Sustersic.

“We did it with the girls this year,” Sustersic said. “It's easy to do it with the girls. But to cross over to a guys program and to say 'we're going to wear pink' – not many guys want to wear pink.”

“We had a couple of guys who were a little skeptical,” Sustersic said. “But they came around. They realized that they were going to help support something that their mothers, grandmothers, their future wives and even future daughters might have to deal with.”
That level of support was widespread and heartfelt.

“We had people from the referees to teachers who have nothing to do with the program supporting this,” Sutersic said. “We'll maybe cut a check for around $1000, we'll have to see. But it was to raise awareness.”

For their part, Wheaton North was more than happy to participate in the event. The Falcons jersey were blue with pink numbers while West Aurora wore pink jerseys with black numbers. Each team's goalie wore a white jersey with a pink number.

“The cause is a sound one,” Wheaton North coach Bryce Cann said. “When Coach Sustersic called me over the summer and talked to me about this, I was honored that he wanted us to be a part of it. It's an ongoing battle. Cancer is something we have been battling for a long, long time. And everyone knows somebody who's gone through it.”