Underdog Tomcats hold their own, tie with Tigers

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After taking a 2-0 lead in the first half, the East Aurora gave up two goals in the second to finish in a 2-2 knot with Wheaton Warrenville South in Monday night's non-conference action.

"We are battling to finish games," said East Aurora coach Jason Rollins. "It's an area where we really need to improve. You know when a team as good as (Wheaton Warrenville South) is down 2-0 they are going to come out firing. We let them knock the ball around a little more than we would have liked but overall we are pleased with the 2-2 tie."

The Tomcats entered the game as distinct underdogs, as the Tigers are considered by most rankings as one of the top five teams in the state, but East Aurora put the pressure on early.

Wheaton Warrenville South had many of its usual starters on the bench to start the game and may have underestimated the talent on the other side of the ball. The Tomcats controlled the majority of possession time during the first 10 minutes but failed to get a good opportunity to score.

Then, in the 18th minute of play, East Aurora got its chance on a free kick taken by Adrian Magana. From the right side, Magna sent a cross to a breaking Alejandro Junez who beat the defense for a clean header into the net, giving the Tomcats a 1-0 lead.

East Aurora continued to take advantage of Tigers' penalties and with just under five minutes remaining in the first half, the Tomcats were awarded a penalty kick when a player was taken down inside the box.

Osvaldo Rodriguez took the kick and didn't try anything fancy. Instead he opted for a shot dead-center which was too much for Wheaton Warrenville South goalie Derek Babb to handle, and the Tomcats extended their lead to 2-0.

The Tigers returned from halftime with renewed energy and had much more of a presence in the second half.

The hard work finally paid off when just over 24 minutes into the half Wheaton Warrenville South set up on a corner kick.

Scott Larson made the kick which was initially saved by Tomcats' goalie Jorge Perez.

However, the ball got free from Perez's grasp and Wheaton Warrenville South's Thomas Barlow quickly reacted and punched the ball in to narrow East Aurora's lead to 2-1.

The equalizer came just six minutes later on some nifty footwork by Nico Galto and Ricardo Munguia. A drive up the middle by Munguia pulled Perez out of the net to challenge. When he couldn't make the stop, the ball pinballed off several players before ricocheting to Galto who was breaking up the right side and was able to knock it into the empty net.

Despite surrendering the lead and settling for the tie, Rollins says he was happy with what he saw from his team.

"Anytime you come in and can tie with a team ranked fifth in state, you have to be pretty pleased." Soccer: East Aurora 2, Wheaton Warrenville South 2