Warriors on rollercoaster as stretch nears

Maine West players celebrate en masse after scoring a goal against Prospect during action in the Warriors' own invite earlier this season. West took a 7-4-1 overall mark into Wednesday's match with CSL north rival Maine East.
(Allison Williams/Staff Photographer)

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Maine West head coach Mike Divincenzo described the last two weeks as a rollercoaster ride for his young team.

Since falling to undefeated New Trier -- the top-ranked team in the state and one of the premier squads in the country -- by a 4-0 count on Sept. 10, the Warriors have experienced an up-and-down series of results. In its last five games, West has compiled a 2-2-1 record, but a 1-0 loss against Niles West and a 4-0 setback to Deerfield puzzled Divincenzo, who believes his players have the skill and potential to perform at a much higher level.

"I think our guys know what they need to do, but sometimes we stick to the program and sometimes we don't," Divincenzo said. "At this point, we are 12 games into the season, and if we are going to have ups-and-downs, we should have had them at the beginning of the season. At a certain point I think we got a little bit greedy and we're not good enough to just show up and win."

On Sept. 20, the Warriors (7-4-1) did record an impressive 2-1 victory over Lake Park -- which had defeated nationally ranked Neuqua Valley five days prior -- and their last result was a 4-0 win over Highland Park Sept. 25.

Junior midfielder Carlos Trejo has forced his way into the starting lineup with a number of impressive performances, and he was on target against Highland Park, scoring twice. Trejo, who checks in around 6-foot-2, has added a physical presence to the West attack, which features a number of talented but slight players, particularly in midfield. Divincenzo feels that part of the team's recent problems revolve around its lack of size and physical strength.

"We don't have a lot of size and some of these teams that are bigger, stronger and faster we struggle with," Divincenzo said. "A lot of our guys are 5-5 or 5-6, and we're playing against schools that consistently play 6-1 guys, so it's tough. You can be as talented as you want, but when you have a 5-5 guy guarding a 6-foot guy, it's going to be an issue when the ball is in the air."

Divincenzo continues to tinker with his lineup as he hopes to find some consistency in his squad, but the Warriors don't have much time to settle in, with tough matches coming up against Maine East on Thursday and Maine South on Saturday. With only a third of its schedule left to play, West hopes to get back on the winning track and gain some momentum before heading into the postseason.

"I am really looking forward to seeing if the guys can right this ship and be a little more consistent," Divincenzo said. "I think they can do it because we have too many good players to be going up and down."