Boys soccer: WW South takes battle of goalkeepers

Friedle vs. Ruiz may not sound like a familiar showdown, but the names were prominent on Thursday in Wheaton as the duo battled back and forth like welterweights for 80 minutes.

Wheaton Warrenville South goalkeeper Nathan Friedle and Waubonsie Valley goalkeeper Jony Ruiz were quite active and impressive in making numerous huge saves, but it was Friedle and the Tigers who survived with the 1-0 DuPage Valley Conference boys soccer victory.

Friedle made 9 saves, including him getting in the way of an absolute missile from Raul Roman nearly midway through the second half, which kept the Warriors off the scoreboard.

"That shot was going straight at him, but he had muscle reaction more than anything and just made an unbelievable save," Warriors coach Jose Garcia said. "That's world class right there. He made some amazing saves. He was MVP for sure."

Garcia's own keeper was impressive in his own right. With both teams creating their fair share of scoring chances, what was a 1-0 game could easily have been a 3-2 or 4-3 game if not for some impressive play from both goalkeepers. In fact the Tigers handed out their postgame sportsmanship award to Ruiz.

"Their goalie was impressive too," Friedle said. "He took two big knocks but just kept on playing. We appreciated that kind of effort."

Wheaton Warrenville South (7-5-0, 4-1-0) scored the lone goal of the game in the 30th minute thanks to a Charlie Kerby cross to Unla Husseini.

It was just the second goal on the season for Husseini but obviously the biggest of the junior's time with the varsity.

"I saw Charlie take it wide and cross it in," Husseini said. "I held back because I had defenders on me. I just got the ball and struck it."

Waubonsie Valley (7-5-1, 2-3-1) had picked up a huge (Eola Road) rivalry victory on Tuesday but couldn't sustain that momentum in this one, as it was attempting to win for the third straight time.

"We both had our opportunities and unfortunately they capitalized on the one mistake we made in the back, and that's how soccer goes," Garcia said. "Honestly, we played well throughout each half, but their keeper was big. We just couldn't put the ball in the net."

The win was No. 300 at Wheaton Warrenville South for coach Guy Callipari, who is in his 26th season at the school.

"It was a good classic finish and a great DVC game," he said. "If you had to win your 300th game on a day like today and at home, I'll take it."