Reister, Zeman connect again

Jason Zeman returned the favor.

Mundelein junior Adam Reister finished a through ball from Zeman for the only goal of the game Tuesday night in the Mustangs' 1-0 win over visiting Lakes in a North Suburban Conference crossover.

The two players hooked up last Saturday, too, with Reister setting up Zeman in Mundelein's 3-1 victory over Prospect.

Against Lakes, Reister ran onto a pass from Zeman and fired in a 25-yard shot in the 64th minute.

"I split the defense and called for the ball," Reister said. "(Zeman) played a perfect pass. I saw the goalie (Matt Laine) coming out and rushing, so I had a one-time volley and put it in the corner."

Mundelein (3-1-2) got another strong effort from its defense of Kris Gustafson, Eric Valin, Zeman and goalkeeper Eric Sorby. Through six games, the Mustangs have given up just 4 goals.

"We communicate and work real well together back there marking up," Valin said. "At first, we didn't have good things going, but now it seems like things are getting better.

"It's kind of unique playing with three defenders. We used to have a stopper, but not anymore. It's good to get more guys up on the attack since we've got good shooters."

The Mustangs have won three games in a row. Sorby made 5 saves in picking up his third shutout.

"We've simplified the roles of our defenders and it's helped quite a bit," Mundelein coach Dave Ekstrom said. "With Eric in goal, we rely a lot on his skills in the back.

"We didn't have our best game of the year tonight and came out flat. We need to play hard for 80 minutes, and we didn't do that."

Lakes (2-6) had its opportunities.

"I thought my boys played an excellent game," Lakes coach Kevin Kullby said. "We didn't capitalize when the opportunities presented themselves, but we moved the ball beautifully.

"Just in that critical moment (when Reister scored), we over-committed to that one side. (The one guy (Zeman) hit a nice pass down the middle and our defense didn't get around the ball quick enough. You pay the price when you take chances. Unfortunately, we paid for it."