Red Devils again met the program standard in '09

By Gary Larsen

Hinsdale Central knocked off Lyons Township 1-0 in a sectional semifinal last year, and 1-0 in a sectional title game the year before, on its way to posting consecutive sectional titles.

The Lions were due for a bit of revenge in 2009. They got it, but the Red Devils didn’t go quietly.

Hinsdale Central capped another fine season by taking leads of 1-0 and 2-1 over Lyons Township, before the Lions battled back to win 3-2 in overtime of Saturday’s Sectional title game in Naperville.

“I’m proud of my guys. I’m proud of the whole program,” Red Devils coach Mike Wiggins said. “(Lyons) found a way to get the result and that’s a credit to them.”

“It’s not easy to beat a team twice in one season and they did it. They earned the right to move on.”

Wiggins never fails to get his team to peak by the postseason, and Saturday’s performance by Hinsdale Central erased the memory of a 3-0 loss to Lyons Township on September 29.

In the time since that loss, the Red Devils (16-7-2) reeled off 9 wins to reach Saturday’s rematch.

“It was a good game,” Red Devils senior goalkeeper Jack O’Donnell said. “We played well and they were just the better team today. It was a hard-fought match and if we had to lose that’s the way I’d want to see us go out. We fought hard and that game was a good reflection of our season.”

A scoreless first half gave way in the 45th minute, when Red Devils senior Michael Oleszkiewicz belted in a free kick from 25 yards out. The lead didn’t last, however as LT’s Elliot Borge tied the game less than a minute later.

Hinsdale Central regained the lead less than 5 minutes later when Eric Loebig crashed the net to bury a deflected shot taken by teammate Mike Bucheleres.

“Usually when you take another lead like that, the opposing team can kind of fold,” O’Donnell said. “But credit Lyons. They stayed composed and didn’t fall into a kick-and-chase game.”

O’Donnell stopped a pair of shots sent in by the Lions (23-3) before they tied the game again in the 64th minute on a head shot by Brian Heimerdinger, set up by a throw-in. Oleszkiewicz threatened again late in the contest, but the game stayed tied to the end of regulation.

Loebig, Robbie LaRocque, Mitch Reavis, and Taylor Cole all helped carry the attack through 80 minutes for the Red Devils, while O’Donnell fielded another pair of shots before overtime.

One scoreless overtime period ensued before LT’s Horacio Sanchez ended the Red Devils’ season with a goal in the second.

Hinsdale Central went 3-4-2 through its first 9 games this year, which included play in the always formidable Great Midwest Classic tournament in Indianapolis, and non-conference games against Naperville North and a tough team from Tremper, Wisconsin.

The Red Devils then reeled off four wins to improve to 7-4-2, with consecutive victories over New Trier and Oak Park-River Forest along the way. Losses to Naperville Central and Lyons followed before Central embarked on its 9-game winning streak.

“I think it has a lot to do with our scheduling,” O’Donnell said of the Red Devils strong late-season run to a sectional title game. “Once we hit the playoffs we’ve seen the top competition and we know what to expect.”

“We went on a nice run and got to where we wanted to be,” Wiggins said. “We felt like going into today that things were going in our direction. We were organized, doing the right things, and creating opportunities.”

“Going into this game, we were as prepared as we could be.”

Central finished 5-1 in West Suburban Silver Conference play, second behind 6-0 Lyons. Central played a strong 30 minutes and created some solid scoring chances in the teams’ first meeting before Lyons took control and finished on three scoring chances.

The rematch was more like two heavyweights trading haymakers.

“After the LT loss earlier in the year, we switched some things around personnel-wise and formation-wise, and we got hot at the end of the season,” O’Donnell said. “We knew we were a better team the second time we played them.”

Central started 7 seniors in Saturday’s game, in O’Donnell, Oleszkiewicz, Loebig, LaRocque, Bucheleres, Ryan Johnson, and Cameron Legan, but they’ll also miss the services next year of players like Paul Girgis, Charlie Hetke, David Grasso, Peter Santulli, and Andrew Virgili.

Juniors Cole, Andrew Worthington, Mike Oleferchik, and Michael Hrisstov return next year, along with sophomores Reavis, Will Meyer, and Lenny Zavala.

“This group should be proud. Once again, they met and exceeded the standards that we expect from Hinsdale Central soccer players,” Wiggins said. “They came together as a group, and they worked hard.

They should be very proud of what they accomplished this year.”

Hinsdale Central's 2009 results
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Postseason play