West Aurora soccer a success on and off the field

As teams in transition go, West Aurora's girls soccer team isn't doing badly at all.

Add in the team's continuing commitment to good causes in the community, and the Blackhawks stand up there with the best teams in the state.

Without a senior on its roster, West Aurora is 14-5-1 this season and motoring toward its best win total ever.

In fact, the team already has more than previous high-water mark of 13, though coach Joe Sustersic is downplaying the record.

"We're not as strong as we were last year," Sustersic said. "Once in a while, you want that player who's been through the ringer more than once or twice and we don't have that person. We have a bunch of freshmen who can't tell you the difference between Naperville North and Glenbard North."

One difference is that West Aurora defeated Glenbard North this year, a first-time victory over the Panthers. The Blackhawks also won their game with Glenbard East for the first time in school history.

The squad Sustersic puts on the field is certainly young. One core consists of the remnants of a strong 2005 freshman squad. The 19-person roster also has 5 sophomores and a 7-strong freshman unit.

"I think we've all grown a lot more since the beginning," Ashley Malmgren said. "There were a lot of times last year when we were out of shape or had injuries. We all seem healthy this year and we use that as our strength."

In helping the squad mesh, Sustersic has instituted a "big sister, little sister" program.

"All the girls who have been on varsity have been assigned to someone new on varsity," Malmgren said. "That's who we mentor. They usually play the same position as us."

The system appears to be working quite well.

"I think it's really helpful for the freshmen or the other varsity newcomers," Malmgren said. "For freshmen, it can be scary playing on varsity."

West Aurora got off to a strong start and that has helped power the team through the season. There have been bobbles. On consecutive days, the Blackhawks faced Naperville Central, Glenbard East and Naperville North. The historic win over Glenbard East was sandwiched between losses to the Naperville schools.

"A year ago, we beat Naperville Central, and we caught them off-guard," Sustersic said, "We were inspired that day too. Two of our girls lost an uncle the day before. But Central had a down year. This year, with Casey Short, they're a different team, and they handled us when we went to their place."

"We've put away some of the games we were supposed to," West Aurora junior Marisol Morales said. "It's tough playing against those (Wheaton and Naperville) schools. But we've done it. We're having a good year so we feel we should do well the rest of the way."

The regular season is less than two weeks from completion. West Aurora, a No. 7 seed, faces 10-seed Naperville North in Naperville Central regional play in one of the toughest sectionals in the state.

Regardless how 2008 finishes, next season is one to anticipate.

"We will be seniors," Morales said. "We'll have pretty much the same team next year. A lot of the freshmen we have this year, they will progress. Next year, we should have a very good team."

As they progress on the field, West Aurora's sense of the suffering in their world has reached a higher level. For the second consecutive year, West Aurora hosts a Global Night Out gathering on May 10. A year ago, the all-night event raised $14,000 to help children in Uganda who have suffered from the warfare that has torn through their country.

Sustersic, a social studies teacher at West Aurora, organized last year's event and has been instrumental in ensuring the success of this year's happening.

"This is something to be proud of, seeing students aware of something that's bigger than themselves," Sustersic said. "When people think of genocide, they go back to World War II, something that was 60-70 years ago. It's still going on today, unfortunately."

The success of the inaugural Global Night Out proved to be a starting point for this year's event. Many of those who were not reached in 2007 are set to participate this year.

"Our numbers will be bigger this year," Sustersic said. "We're doing the same things, but we're hoping for a higher return. We have nice prizes, like a laptop and a television, to try to get kids to want to buy raffle tickets."

This event has taken the West Aurora community and energized it. A number of the school's athletes will participate in the 12-hour event. The students primarily stay in the high school football field, which replicates the plight of children in war-torn African countries, for whom a school compound is a rare safe haven.

"I'm hoping a lot more people come out," Malmgren said. "Last year, it was so new. This year, it's grown and a lot of people have taken notice. A lot of people's eyes have been opened to the horrible things that are happening there."

West Aurora's girls track team is going to make an appearance at the event after it competes in Friday's meet. The tennis team will be present for a few hours before getting sleep so it is ready for its own conference meet on Saturday.

"It's a school-wide event," Sustersic said. "A few dozen of the guys soccer players will participate and half the girls program will be in attendance. Different clubs from the school are participating. Any student who's in good standing at the school is able to attend."

Far beyond their wins and losses, the Global Night Out will mark the 2008 season as a success for the Blackhawks.

"When you participate in something like that, it's something," Morales said. "I can't feel what they do over there, but you get a feeling of what's going on over there and you know it's not right."