Hersey, Morton battle to scoreless draw
Hersey gave state-ranked Morton all it could handle, as the Huskies fought and defended magnificently for nearly 80 minutes to keep the high-powered Mustangs scoreless in a draw Saturday morning in the final match of pool play for both clubs at the Red Devil Invite in Hinsdale.
The draw sent Morton (4-0-2) into the final Saturday evening against either host Hinsdale Central or Downers Grove North.
"It was a game we were looking forward to all week to see how we measure up against one of the more talented teams in this half of the state," said Hersey coach Darren Llewellyn, who opened with a 4-5-1 formation designed to flood the midfield of the small playing surface at Centennial Field and hopefully slow the Mustangs' top player, Mario Romero.
"That worried me, as well as the other parts of the Morton's game," said Llewellyn, "but after soaking up so much of their pressure in the first half, I felt we kind of lulled them to sleep a little bit in the second half and slowed their attack down."
"Yeah, we didn't play with the same kind of attacking mentality as we did in that first 40 minutes," said Morton coach Mike Caruso, who led the Mustangs into the supersectional last season, only to fall short to eventual 3A third-place trophy winner Naperville Central.
Romero and another top talent, Leo Delgado, conjured up one offensive strike after another during the first period, testing and bending the heart of the Hersey back line - Campbell White, Jordan Rustemeyer, Joe Bertucci.
"We have a roster full of seniors, but many of them haven't played on the varsity, so a game like this was important for us, and I really felt like we came together because of it," said White, who earned all-area honors last season as a junior.
The Mustangs were at their best during the first part of the opening period, with both Delgado and Romero having the best of the chances on frame at Huskies keeper Adam Szymaszek.
The sophomore watched Delgado just miss at the back post at 15 minutes, then stopped a wicked strike from Romero five minutes later.
The best chance of the half for Hersey (3-0-2) fell to Zach Bolin at the end of a counter, which went over the bar in the 26th minute.
The Mustangs opened sharply after intermission, but failed to attack with speed, and with quick touches.
"They are so dangerous when they play quick, and I think when they tried to build their attack more slowly, it allowed us to sit in and it really seemed to keep their attack from gaining any kind of steam," Llewellyn said.
Szymaszek still was called upon despite the Mustangs' lack of attacking urgency, winning a tough 50-50 ball away from Saul Valverde early on to keep things goal-less.
Christian Castro had a go against Morton keeper Ian Chacon, and another later on after a corner.
"This is always a great early test for us as we get to play a tough, physical team that forces us to play and attack a little differently, which we hope, in the long run, will help us later on," said Caruso.
The Huskies open Mid-Suburban League play at home against Schaumburg on Tuesday in Arlington Heights.