Huskies, Mustangs test each other in Downers Grove

CLICK FOR PHOTO GALLERY COURTESY OF SCOTT BUTLER

By Matt Le Cren

Downers Grove South was out to prove that Thursday’s 5-1 shellacking by cross-town rival Downers Grove North was an anomaly.

Naperville North was looking for a stiff test in order to prepare it for the playoffs which start in two weeks.

Both sides got what they wanted Saturday, battling a cold wind as well as each other before settling for a 0-0 tie in Downers Grove.

“It’s always a great game,” said Naperville North coach Jim Konrad, who began his coaching career at Downers South. “They’ve got a great program. We’re close friends with [Mustangs coach] Jon [Stapleton].

“They play a similar style to us. They’re tough, they tackle well, they play hard. This is a good time of year to play them because it’s a good check for how good we are.”

The Huskies (12-2-2) extended their unbeaten streak to nine games by pitching their fourth consecutive shutout and ninth overall. Defenders Jimmy Butler, Lee Grander and Jack Henderson were again at the top of their game in front of goalie Kevin Anderson, who finished with five saves.

“Defensively we played well,” said Henderson, who blocked two shots. “I think [the key] is Jimmy and Lee. They’re always talking, always communicating and telling everyone to get on marks and keep everything organized.

“It’s another shutout, which is good, but we could have done better offensively. It was hard to keep [control of] the ball, plus the wind was just terrible. But overall it was a good game.”

The host Mustangs (9-2-4) nearly took the lead in the fourth minute when Zach Baleski made a steal in the Huskies’ penalty area and quickly took an open shot from eight yards out. But his shot caromed off the crossbar.

Downers would manage four more shots with the wind in the first half, including a hard drive in the box by Conor Kelch that Anderson knocked down despite being screened.

But in the second half, the Huskies had the wind at their backs and took control of the play, outshooting Downers 10-4 after intermission. Stapleton said it looked like the Mustangs were running in slow motion and the visitors tried to take advantage.

“The second half was much easier,” Anderson said. “We decided that we wanted to take shots in the second half because we had the wind. We got some good shots off but some got deflected or saved.”

Naperville had a couple of chances early in the second period but Kyle Lindberg missed a shot wide right and Evan Trychta boomed a 45-yard free kick inches over the bar. After a 10-minute lull, the Huskies spent much of the last 20 minutes in South’s end.

The visitors had four corner kicks and a free kick, but their best chance came with 11:50 remaining when Lindberg threaded a pass into the box to an unmarked Joe Sullivan. But Sullivan’s shot in front was deflected into and over the crossbar by South goalie Sam Hadley, who deemed it one of his best saves of the season.

“It was a miscommunication between the defenders and he got right in between,” said Hadley, who finished with four saves. “I just charged at it and tipped it over.”

Other than that, it was a good day for a back line that was torched by Downers North.

“It was really nice to bounce back after a poor performance against North,” Hadley said.

“We knew what we were made of. We knew we had a really off night, so we just focused in practice on Friday and we came out hard today. We emphasized in practice that winning balls in the air and being first to challenges [was critical] and I think that’s what we did today. We won the air battle.”

Defenders Mike Leahy, Tim Herlihy, David Masolak and Joe Sombeck were solid as the Huskies were shutout for just the second time this season.

“I think we just worked harder and we communicated a little better,” Leahy said. “[Downers] North just outworked us in the back and we definitely emphasized not getting outworked this game.

“[The loss to the Trojans] still hurts and it will always be at the back of our minds, but it feels good that the streak doesn’t continue, that it didn’t snowball. We have a lot of leaders and we all knew that we had to come back harder and stronger. Coach didn’t have to say anything.”

That resiliency is what pleased Stapleton the most.

“A 0-0 tie may not be the best result for the fans but I think under the circumstances it was positive for our kids to come back,” Stapleton said. “I think [after] giving up five goals on Thursday, to shut down Naperville North and not allow them a goal was really important. It was critical for us to get a positive result. I think the kids feel that and I give our kids a lot of credit.

“Taking nothing away from Downers North – they played a really good game – but that wasn’t us that night. We know we’re better than that. We had to come out and find a way to bring it and I think our kids did a good job responding.”