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Tigers advance to Pepsi Showdown quarterfinals
By Curt Herron
Meanwhile, Oak Park-River Forest had its sights set on the same goal, with an added bonus of being able to hand the Tigers their first defeat of the season. So as the two 2-0 pool play squads met for to opportunity to determine who would meet Morton in Thursday's quarterfinals, South coach Guy Callipari expected a battle. And that is certainly what he witnessed as both sides got involved in a physical struggle that seemed only fitting for a matchup where so much was at stake. Following a scoreless first 40 minutes, the Tigers connected early in the second half and later added an insurance score to help them claim a 2-0 win in LaGrange. Alec Brazeau scored the first goal following an assist from Ricky Munguia, who added a well-executed shot for the final score for the 8-0 Tigers. "I don't think that we'd been 0-0 at halftime, so it was certainly a little bit different going into our conversation with the boys about what we needed to try to do during the second half given that we weren't up or behind," Callipari said. "Oak Park came out very strong and kind of dominated the first 10 minutes by just being aggressive. As we started to step up, the momentum began to swing and it became very evident that they were going to be pretty direct, which kind of suits us. "On the offensive end of things, it was kind of difficult since they had good pace in the back. Initially we tried to drive it through the heart of their defense but later on we got some opportunities when he hit the flank and got service in." The Tigers capitalized on the first good scoring chance following the break when Munguia sent a cross in front to Brazeau, who put in the short shot with 33:10 left. Brazeau added a line drive attempt a short time later before a 10-minute span during which neither team had any real good opportunities. That drought ended as the Huskies received headers from Christopher Fitch and Chimela Eneogwe that were stopped by keeper Derek Babb. On the last of those attempts, with just over 17 minutes remaining, South's Will Huesing and Eneogwe got injured as both went up for the ball. Following a brief delay, the Tiger sophomore defender had to be taken off the field in a cart after suffering a bloody cut to his head. That forced a shakeup in South's positions on the field as Alden Marton moved back to join Colin Ringel and Matt Krieger on defense. Shortly after Babb stopped a shot by Ryan Huettel, South scored with 11:17 left when Munguia sent a liner from the side of the box that curved in to find the net. Drew Bellmer later added a corner kick and a free kick that were both hauled in by the Huskies keeper and Babb later stopped a shot from Jordan Golz. "We've been playing lockdown defense and really that's all that we want to do," junior Nate Fuster said. "If we can shut the other team out, we feel confident that we can get a couple of scores in every game. I haven't seen us finish like this. "We all played last year with each other and that year of experience really shows in our confidence and in how strong we are. On and off the field we hang out together so this year has been a lot of fun and we're just trying to keep it on a roll. "Going into this year we thought that we'd be pretty good since we have seven or eight returnees, but nothing like this was thought of by any of us. But you can't sit back in awe of how well you've been doing, you just have to keep playing hard." During the first half, Brazeau got off the first shot on goal during the opening eight minutes but South wasn't able to threaten again for some time. Oak Park also had trouble getting its offense started, failing to get its first good chance for over 18 minutes before Babb stopped a corner from Elias El Metennani. Just after the midpoint, Joe Bianucci sent a line drive that was stopped and in the final 10 minutes of the half Bellmer and Manuel Munguia also had attempts halted. "On the first goal, Ricky saved a ball from going across the line, worked harder than the defender and served it across to Alec and we were up 1-0," Callipari said. "And later on he hit the best goal of the year with a little pace and bend. "It was good to see Alden step up when Will went down. Alden went a little pale for the first couple of minutes but settled in after figuring I wasn't going to move him. He made some great tackles so fortunately we played him there Thursday. "We don't have anything going on this week before playing Morton on Thursday. Hopefully we'll have Will back by then or if not, hopefully for Saturday. Otherwise, we're just going to try to regroup and get healthy and be ready to play again."
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Man of match: Ricky Munguia
By Curt Herron Wheaton Warrenville South found itself in a real battle with Oak Park-River Forest on Saturday. And the stakes were pretty high, considering that the winner would advance to the quarterfinals of the Pepsi Showdown. At halftime, the Tigers were tied with the Huskies, the first time they had faced that situation this season. So with a trip to Thursday's quarterfinals on the line, as well as South's 7-0 start, it was time for some offense. Senior Ricky Munguia had a hand in a pair of second half goals to help his team capture a 2-0 victory in LaGrange. The Tigers received a goal less than seven minutes into the new half when Alec Brazeau scored off of a cross from Munguia. With just over 11 minutes left in the match, Munguia scored what coach Guy Callipari regarded as his squad's nicest goal of the year. "It's great that we've been playing strong and are keeping the momentum going," Munguia said. "We're strong in the front and back and that's what has gotten us here. "On the second goal, two defenders came at me and I faked one guy and then the other and outside the 18 I kicked it with my left and tried to curve it and went in. "The chemistry on our team is great. We've been playing well so far and all of our outcomes have been good so far." |
One week after winning the championship in the Barrington Classic, Wheaton Warrenville South was looking to assure itself of a quarterfinal spot in the Pepsi Showdown.