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Boys soccer: Wheeling picks up key win over Palatine

With a 3-1 victory over Palatine on Friday night, reigning Mid-Suburban East boys soccer champ Wheeling earned 3 important points, keeping them 3 points clear of division rival Buffalo Grove, who bettered Rolling Meadows 1-0 earlier in the day.

Wheeling's Jose Mariscal netted 2 goals, the second coming on the hour as the Wildcats forward sent a blistering free kick into the back of the net to give the hosts some breathing room over a hard-working Pirates club.

"This was a big win for us tonight, but it wasn't easy against an opponent that is so dangerous in all of their set piece and deadball opportunities - they really made us work hard for this one," said Wheeling coach Kevin Lennon, who once starred for Palatine.

"The effort, energy and work rate was tremendous tonight - I am really proud of the boys for the 80 minutes they gave out there, but Wheeling is a very good team, and they had just a little bit more than we did," said Charlie Gries, who was in charge for Palatine as head coach Willie Filian was attending a wedding.

The contest started in subdued fashion, but it wasn't long before Ethan Bank saved a couple of Wildcats attempts in spectacular fashion to keep the Pirates (7-4-0, 4-3-0) safe for awhile.

First, Mariscal collected an inch-perfect helper from Vicente Castro about 10 yards out, but Bank was up to the task.

Later, when Wheeling was going in search of finding a tying goal, up stepped Bank again, turning away Castro and then Jared Urueta at the tail end of an inventive run.

"Evan has made big saves for us all throughout the year - he did so the other night against Fremd, and once again tonight when we needed him the most," said Griese.

But the Palatine senior couldn't do much about it when the Pirates allowed a corner whipped into the box from Castro to fall untouched at the back post, and an opportunistic Mariscal had the time and space to measure his right-footed finish.

Palatine responded almost right away, with Chris Munoz unloading a tying goal after the Wildcats failed to clear a corner from Ricardo Tovar in the 38th minute.

The visitors began to test the attack-minded Wildcats (11-2-1, 7-0-0) after the break with plenty of offensive pressure and a midfield that was winning the better part of the possession.

A foul gave the Wildcats lineup a free kick just outside the box. After both Urueta and Robert Cruz touched the ball to put it in play, Mariscal ran on and struck a powerful effort the other way, far out of Bank's reach.

Palatine generated several deep throws and corners in the last 10 minutes of regulation as they continued to put the Wildcats under pressure. But a clearing effort on a long throw from Luke Garret saw Randy Pietrowski connect with Castro, who turned and beat two defenders on his 50-yard run.

Castro beat Bank to make it 3-1 in Wheeling's favor in the 71st minute.

"This was a good win for us tonight, but our focus is only on the game at hand, and nobody we're playing in front of us," said Pietrowski, who along with David Soto kept the Wildcats' defense organized and air-tight.

Wheeling will play MSL West-leading Barrington next Tuesday, while the Pirates have Hersey up next.

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