Downers South blanks West in title game

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LOMBARD -- Downers Grove South forward Chris Bell fielded the loose ball atop the penalty box, took a few steps and laced a shot into the bottom left corner of the net, past the outstretched arms of West Aurora goalie Stephen Walan.

The goal gave Downers Grove South a commanding 2-0 lead in the Class 3A Glenbard East Regional championship with only 8:13 left in the second half.

As time expired, the fourth-seeded Mustangs (16-6-2) celebrated their 2-0 victory over the fifth-seeded Blackhawks (14-7-1) on Saturday.

"We were very dangerous offensively, which we've been lacking a little lately," Mustangs coach Jon Stapleton said after his team fired 20 shots on goal and allowed only three from the Blackhawks.

"We've been focusing on it since Tuesday, trying to concentrate on being more dynamic in that final third and trying to find more opportunities."

Opportunities came often throughout the match for the Mustangs, as they opened by applying pressure down the left side of the pitch. An early attack by Mustangs forward Tom Kohls was sent out of bounds for a throw on the opposite side after his cross was deflected.

Just 5:54 into the first half, Kohls fired the first shot on goal for the Mustangs after a throw-in that put him into position. The shot went right, harmlessly traveling out of bounds.

After a few more Mustangs attacks, the Blackhawks maintained possession of the ball and traveled up the pitch. Victor Alfaro and Danny Mendoza worked a nice give-and-go combination, but Alfaro's shot was saved by Mustangs keeper Brett Petricek with 29:10 to go in the first half.

Following Petricek's save, the Mustangs outshot the Blackhawks 10-0, maintaining possession for most of the remainder of the first half. With under 1:50 to play, the Mustangs' Chris Bell passed the ball to Mike Mascitti, who laced a shot passed the goalie to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead as the half wound down.

"They took advantage of their opportunities," Blackhawks coach Joe Sustersic said following the loss. "When we had chances brought to us, we passed them up. Instead of shooting, we passed. Unfortunately that's a little bit more experienced of a program (Downers South), compared to West Aurora that is on the rise. One's a state champion and knows how to play at that level."

The story remained much of the same in the second half, as the Mustangs outshot the Blackhawks 6-2 , setting the total shots on goal at 20-3.

West Aurora did manage to apply some offensive pressure, but the shots sailed wide or were saved by the Mustangs keeper.

"I feel pretty good about our victory, we want to go all the way, win state," said Downers Grove South's Bell. "We played good and they played good too, we just put away our chances. It (physical play) was going both sides, the ref was calling some fouls here, some for both teams. It could've gone either way and luckily it went our way today." Boys Soccer: Class 3A Glenbard East Regional