Eisenhower shuts out Argo, wins conference

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:24PM

Eisenhower wasn't in the sharing mood Wednesday.

Needing a win to claim the South Suburban Red Division championship outright, the Cardinals rose to the occasion on a perfect fall afternoon in Blue Island.

Jesus Arciga netted two goals and Brandon Ramirez added one to lead Eisenhower to a convincing 3-0 whitewash of Argo. Not only did the Cards claim the conference title for a second straight year, they did so registering a perfect 11-0 record.

"That's our goal, to not let other teams beat us," Eisenhower coach Dylan Shaughnessy said. "We don't like to share."

Shaughnessy said that with a smile as his team celebrated nearby.

Eisenhower dominated the first half of play, but found itself in a scoreless tie with the Argonauts (13-6, 9-2), who had won 11 of their previous 13 games entering Wednesday.

Arciga put the Cards (16-5 overall) on top for good by converting a sweet pass from Giovanni Sanchez for a 1-0 edge with 18:42 remaining.

Ramirez was the recipient of a penalty kick minutes later and ripped a low drive past Argo goalie Marcin Pawlikowski to make it 2-0 with 11:55 to go.

Arciga put the finishing touches on the victory by tapping in a drive off a nice touch pass by Aldo Lagunas with 7:38 left.

Freshman Josue Leal had a strong game for the Cardinals, creating multiple scoring chances.

Goalie Max Boyso earned the shutout but rarely was tested. Luis Lezama and Thomas Kowal had Argo's best chances to dent the net in the first half.

"We had a late game at Toyota Park (Tuesday night)," Shaughnessy said. "We had to get the kids focused. It feels good to win the conference."

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