Hersey stops Meadows, stays tied for East lead
Hersey earned 2 vital points in the race for the top spot in the Mid-Suburban East boys soccer race with a 1-0 win over visiting Rolling Meadows as the Huskies helped a big homecoming crowd begin its weekend celebration.
Senior Pierson Curtis, brought on by Hersey coach Darren Llewellyn just minutes before striking the eventual game-winner, put the Huskies in front at the half-hour mark to help give his club an important win.
Hersey is 7-8-2 overall, and 4-4-2 with 10 points in the MSL standings. That puts the Huskies tied with Wheeling for the division lead.
"We didn't take (Rolling Meadows) lightly today. We just didn't come out with the energy and intensity that we've had of late," said Hersey senior defender Kent Busse, one of the few holdovers from the Huskies' 2006 MSL championship team.
Meadows (3-14-1, 1-8-1) had the better run of things in the early going as it limited Hersey's ball possession for the first quarter. At the same time, the Mustangs played through their middle with Blake Olson, Saul Baylon and Chet Curylo regularly finding Chris Olson up top up top.
Olson, who made his way into coach Peter Mikulak's first 11 for the first time in a week on Tuesday against Buffalo Grove after suffering an ankle injury, inspired the Mustangs' attack with nearly 80 minutes of action.
"I could only go just three minutes against Buffalo Grove the other night, and even though it was tough to run from side-to-side, it felt good to be out there," said Olson. "It's been really hard watching during our recent losing streak (9 out of last 10 matches), and seeing us playing a little soft at times in matches that we have a chance to win -- just like today."
The Huskies were finally fueled by the energy of Grifffin Dwyer and Kyle Pierto, with Pietro helping initiate the Pierson strike.
After Mike Mueller elevated far above a pair of defenders to head a long throw, his redirected header found Pietro at the top of the box.
Pietro sent a low drive back toward Mustangs keeper Carter Gibson. Though it missed the outstretched gloves of the freshman, the ball ricocheted off the right post and back among ball-watching defenders and an opportunistic Curtis.
Second-half keeper Chris Hoffman saved a Brian Perez blast at 65 minutes and Mueller stepped up to block a long Blake Olson free kick in the 78th minute to help preserve the victory.
"We know (what) we have to do in our last two matches, and that's our focus right now," said Mueller.
The Huskies meet Hoffman Estates next Tuesday in their regular-season finale.