Boys soccer: Mundelein outlasts Wheeling
After a test of endurance, will and patience, Mundelein's boys soccer team can call itself regional champions for the first time since 2006.
The sixth-seeded Mustangs were shootout kings Saturday in Lake Forest, converting 7 spot kicks - one more than No. 2 seed Wheeling (16-3-1) - to defeat the Mid-Suburban League champs in a sudden death kicks session.
Mundelein (14-6-2) advances to a Tuesday sectional semifinal against Barrington at Buffalo Grove.
"Everyone that played for us was a hero tonight," said Mundelein coach Ernie Billittier after this nearly three-hour contest came to an end with Nick Ramirez driving in the game-winner past a diving Jose Castillo, after Eric Muniz had stopped the Wildcats in the eighth round of kicks to set up the Ramirez heroics. "It was an amazing night out there, plenty of back and forth stuff, both teams creating some really good chances. And for us, losing a couple of our starters, two of which were our top five (PK) shooters.
"Like I said, everyone stepped up to make this all happen for us."
The high-energy, fast-paced match found both sides finding success early. The Mustangs succeeded in targeting and finding front-runners Kenny Adiyiah and Bryan Alba, while the Wildcats leaned on all-state candidate Jonathan Sanchez. He started at forward for coach Kevin Lennon before eventually dropping to the midfield when the club's first-class playmaker Vincente Castro left with a shoulder injury in the 51st minute.
"Jonathan was all over the park for us tonight," said Lennon. "He's the guy that made us go throughout the 100 minutes he played - his play was absolutely brilliant."
The Wildcats co-captain had the composure and sublime finishing touch to put his club on the scoreboard in the 22nd minute, taking a lovely helper from David Soto to go past Muniz.
After a superbly athletic save on a PK from Castillo, Mundelein got even in the 49th minute when Ethan Butler was brought down from behind in the box.
Kenny Adiyiah, who scored the game-winner against St. Viator in its regional opener earlier in the week, was at it again as he steered in a close-range shot following a Jony Lucio free kick.
After a handful of half-chances by each club in regulation, the match went into two 10-minute extra sessions, which favored Wheeling.
Sanchez got close on two left-footed strikes, while the Mustangs' backline, sturdy and organized all night, defended a half-dozen free kick drives from Castillo, who placed nearly all of them into the box.
"Wheeling kept us under pressure, especially in that second OT period, but we survived to give us a chance when we went to PKs," said Billittier.
Muniz and Castillo saved second-round attempts, while converting their own spot kicks along the way to keep things even through the first seven rounds before Ramirez ended this thrilling marathon for good.
"It's always a tough way to lose, and knowing that for some of my guys that their high school career is over, is particularly hard to see," said Lennon. "But these guys accomplished a lot of great things this season, and they went out by putting it all out there the entire night."