Glaser, Rolling Meadows strike down Hersey
Kou Glaser scored in the first half as Rolling Meadows' boys soccer team got the better of visiting Hersey 1-0 on a chilly Thursday night to earn a key victory and 3 points in the Mid-Suburban League standings.
Glaser put the Mustangs (5-2-0, 2-0-0) ahead just before the half-hour mark at Robert Hoese Field after teammate Brett Gibson's corner was on target. That allowed the senior to redirect and score.
“Our coaches had been reminding us how important it would be to get the first goal against Hersey because they put so many players behind the ball while bringing a lot of pressure at the same time,” said Glaser. “So it was great to put that first one in and take them out of their shell a little bit.”
“It was a big win for us, no doubt,” said Meadows coach Peter Mikulak. “And especially against Hersey, which is always a favorite to win the division.
“I thought for a couple of 10-minute spells in both halves we did a pretty good job of playing the way we wanted to — having most of the play in their end, while keeping their chances to just a few.”
The Glaser goal seemed to spark Hersey's attack, and with the quartet of George Boyle, Tim Griffin, Luis Rosado and Christian Castro pressing the issue, the Huskies (3-1-2, 0-1-1) were able to put the Mustangs on their heels. During a strong 7-8 minutes of play, this group was dangerous with nearly every touch, and when Castro's back-post cross found Adam Hauser it took an acrobatic save from keeper Marc Quezada to keep the Huskies from drawing even.
“It's too bad it took a goal from Rolling Meadows to get us amped up and playing with more energy and desire,” said Hersey coach Darren Llewellyn.
The Mustangs soon got back to their game, thanks in part to some terrific box-to-box play from Gibson and teammates Sal D'Acquisto and Alex Bielic. The majority of the play favored Meadows, particularly after the break.
“Alex (Bielec) was an unsung hero for us out there tonight, and so was AJ (Aluquin), who has been fantastic along our back line all season thus far,” said Gibson.
Llewellyn brought on Brett Harris to take over in goal for Adam Szymaszek for the second period, and the junior was immediately tested by Glaser in the opening exchanges, saving a well-hit low strike confidently.
The Mustangs remained busier on the ball for long stretches of the second period, finding Gibson and Bielec in the middle of the park, or Glaser when he withdrew from up top.
“Bret and Alec kind of ran the show for us, but Kou did a great job of finding that soft spot in the Huskies defense to collect the ball, go forward, or find David (Zarate) or Sal on the outside, which allowed us to keep the pressure on,” said Mikulak.
Matt Dickey would hit the crossbar with an attempt in the 72nd minute, and Adam Hauser's serve to the spot required Quezada to pull the dangerous looping ball out of the air . But that was about it for the Huskies' attack on this night.
“It was obviously a setback for us tonight,” said Llewellyn, “but you're bound to lose sometime. So we'll regroup and get ourselves ready for our next match.”