Hinsdale Central finally breaks through

Updated: September 1, 2011 8:19PM

After enduring a pair of one-goal losses and two scoreless ties to start the season, Hinsdale Central finally broke through with a victory on Thursday.

The host Red Devils overcame an early deficit and upset Lincoln-Way East 2-1 behind goals from Mark Tyler and Mike Krohn on the final day of pool play at the Red Devil Cup in Hinsdale.

Lincoln-Way East (2-1-1) had already secured first place in the group and will face Morton in Saturday’s championship game. But Hinsdale Central (1-2-2) got a big boost from the win.

“It’s a great feeling,” Krohn said. “We’re all really happy about it. It took long enough.”

Anthony Cetera intercepted a poor clearing attempt and scored from 10-yards out to give the Griffins a 1-0 lead 6:26 into the contest, but Tyler got the equalizer less than five minutes later when he ran after a 45-yard free kick from Gareth Parsons and tapped in a loose ball.

The Red Devils took control after that. Krohn put them ahead to stay 2:11 into the second half off another assist from Parsons, making a 35-yard run up the right wing before cutting back to his left and slipping a shot under Lincoln-Way East goalie Rich Torres.

“I just tried to beat [the defender] on the right and beat him from the outside and then I took it inside with my left foot,” Krohn said. “The goalie came out and I put it under him.”

While the Red Devils knew they had no chance of winning their group, they still had plenty of motivation.

“I think we went into it with a lot more intensity and we really wanted it this time,” Krohn said. “We wanted to take it to the team that’s going to the championship [match] and we just wanted to say we’re the team that also beat the champions.”

Despite the loss, the Griffins have gained confidence from their strong start to reach the tournament title match for the first time.

“Hard work put our team there,” Cetera said. “Today was a tough one. We struggled in the back a little bit. We didn’t get enough shots off, either.”

But after four straight mediocre seasons, in which East compiled a 39-46-7 record, something important has changed.

“One thing is this year, unlike all the other years, we actually believe,” Cetera said. “We believe we’re a good team, whereas the other years we just thought we were a mediocre team. So it’s more about believing that we can play with any team we want and show them what we can do.”

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