Red Devils suffer first loss of season to Hornets

By Curt Herron

Hinsdale South surprised Hinsdale Central in last year's Red Devil Cup but then was unable to capitalize on that victory to assure itself of a successful season.

On Tuesday, the Hornets upset their District 86 rivals again and this time coach James VanDenburgh's squad hopes that it translates to bigger things down the road.

South collected its first win in three outings this season and handed Central its first defeat in three matches after capturing a 2-1 triumph at Centennial Field.

Beside the local bragging rights that come with it, the win gives the Hornets (1-1-1) the inside track in its pool of advancing to Saturday's 3 p.m. championship.

In Tuesday's other pool match, Lincoln-Way East won 4-2 over Oswego East. South hosts Lincoln-Way East this afternoon and plays at Oswego East on Saturday morning.

The Hornets took the initial lead Tuesday on a score from Nick Henry, only to watch the Red Devils even things shortly before the break on a goal by Mitch Reavis.

Nearly 40 minutes after grabbing the initial lead, South moved in front for good when T.J. Kubiesa connected and the visitors held off Central's comeback efforts.

It was obviously a satisfying win for the Hornets, who settled for a 4-4 draw with Wheaton Warrenville South in their opener before falling 2-0 to Lyons Township.

Meanwhile, it was a disappointing loss for Mike Wiggins's squad, which beat Metea Valley 2-0 in its opener and won 2-1 on Saturday at Tremper in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The Red Devils (2-1) were out of synch throughout Tuesday's match as senior Taylor Cole chased loose balls along the sideline while sitting out with a minor injury.

While midfielder Cole's absence obviously affected the hosts, South can walk away from the match with the realization that it still beat a pretty talented squad.

Click to hear coach James VanDenburgh interview

Following an opening half where both teams had relatively few good scoring chances, the final 40 minutes provided those in attendance with plenty of tense moments.

The Red Devils threatened during the first 11 minutes of the second half with three good attempts, but each chance was turned away by Hornets keeper Paras Patel.

Leondro Perez sent in a line drive shortly after the break, Andrew Scott was stopped on a shot from close range and Gareth Parsons had a free kick punched away.

At the same time, South's Matt Warta had a header deflected away by keeper Will Meyer and Henry saw an attempted stopped by a defender which resulted in a corner.

The Red Devils kept up the pressure as Reavis lined a free kick to Patel and Scott sent an shot to the Hornet keeper following a long free kick by Mike Oleferchik.

As the emotions on both sides began to rise and the clock continued to roll along, it started to look like South might have to settle for another hard-fought draw.

But that scenario suddenly changed when Kubiesa got the ball near midfield and proceeded to drive toward the net before connecting from close range with 16:16 left.

Click to hear T.J. Kubiesa interview

Central put plenty of pressure on Patel during the last 10 minutes, beginning with a Reavis header and followed a short time later by a bouncer from Phillip Gutman.

With just under four minutes left, Reavis went down in the box following a collision but no foul was called and the Hornets wound up getting the ball on a goal kick.

There was more drama less than two minutes later when Oleferchik's free kick forced Patel out of the net and a subsequent loose ball needed to be cleared by Warta.

Following a Hornet red card in the final minute of play, Central threatened one more time in the final seconds with a corner that resulted in a non-threatening try.

Click to hear coach Mike Wiggins interview

Neither team threatened much during the early going, with the lone drama coming about four minutes in when Parsons sent in a header which Patel had to punch away.

Shortly after the midway point of the opening half, Parsons attempted a long free kick which resulted in a corner kick that seemingly set up a good Central threat.

But as the Red Devils tried to run a quick play, the attempt got deflected back well up field and Kubiesa sent a pass to Henry, who was able to get past defenders.

The Hornet senior forward proceeded to chip an attempt which floated over Meyer's head and went into the net to give South a 1-0 lead with 16:24 left in the half.

Click to hear Nick Henry interview

Both teams started to threaten again in the final five minutes of the opening half, beginning with a long free kick by South's Dan Pocica that was deflected away.

The Red Devils found the net for their first and only time during the match when Reavis fired in a line drive which got past Patel with 3:32 left before the break.

South had one final chance in the first half with just over a minute left when Henry sent in a corner kick to Joe Petrak, whose header was deflected away by Meyer.

That late flurry set the tone for an exciting final 40 minutes, which featured several good chances but only one shot that found the net, resulting in South's win.

Click to hear Joe Petrak interview