Hornets' chances thwarted by Red Devils

The Hinsdale South boys soccer team did just about everything possible offensively against Hinsdale Central Sept. 13 in Darien.

Hinsdale Central goalie John Shakon, however, thwarted the Hornets several times, including a huge save and assist in less than a two-minute span that secured the Red Devils' 2-0 victory.

"I think this is our best performance of the year, all around as a team," Hinsdale South coach Mark McNellis said. "We had consistent scoring opportunities. We gave up a goal (3 minutes, 45 seconds into the game) and didn't hang our heads. We kept playing, never gave up. That really shows our character as a team."

The Hornets' Kyle Gorgol looked like he was going to tie the game with 11:50 left after a great passing combination with Eric Veazie and Keith Mach, who crossed the ball. But Shakon dove to his right to push Gorgol's shot wide and then punched out the ensuing corner kick.

Moments later, with 10:14 to play, Shakon took a free kick from just beyond midfield that Hinsdale South goalie Don Sullivan punched out, but all-state defender and Ohio State-bound David Tiemstra rebounded with a header for a goal.

Earlier in the second half, Shakon stopped a shot by Giovanni Cianelli and defender Sam Toczylowski alertly guarded the post to stop the rebound by Dan Lipine. Gorgol's attempted shot with 7:14 left also was blocked by defender Billy Cheng. Shakon will play next season at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

"(Shakon) is very good. He's tough to beat. You really have to put in an extra effort to get it by him. He's the best goalkeeper we've seen this year," McNellis said. "I think both teams played pretty well. I think the game was played pretty equally. I think they did a better job of taking advantage of the opportunities where we didn't. We didn't finish."

On Sept. 11, the Hornets' effort was rewarded with a 1-0 victory over Lyons Township in a game rescheduled from Aug. 24.

Mach scored the lone goal in the first half with an assist from Gorgol. Sullivan ensured the shutout by making more than 10 saves.

"Don played fabulous in goal. He made some great saves," McNellis said. "We played pretty well. We did a nice job possessing the ball and worked very hard winning 50-50 balls. That's how the goal came about."