Warren warms to the task by winning Glenbrook South tourney

Warren made its first appearance in the "Warm-Up" invitational a good one.

The Blue Devils captured the title by defeating Mather 5-2 in the championship game at the tournament hosted by Glenbrook South on Saturday afternoon.

The Blue Devils' Brandon Brown took part in 4 of the 5 goals, scoring two of them and assisting on two others.

"I was trying to get everybody the ball," Brown said. "We've got plenty of guys out here who can finish. We just worked each other going through and had chances to finish."

Brown set up the game-winning goal in the 32nd minute of play for Warren (3-0-1). Brown made a run on the left side, entering the box and unselfishly sending a low cross through the middle. Ryan Foster was on the receiving end and finished a well-timed kick for a 3-2 Blue Devils advantage.

"I just looked back and saw Leon (Mardehow) and (Ryan) Foster," Brown said. "I was able to hit Foster. He made a beautiful run and slotted it in the back post."

Warren added two second-half goals. Brown scored his second off a through ball from his teammate Andrew Piotrowski, and on the other Brown assisted on Danny Herrera's goal.

"We do have a lot of chemistry and many of us played together last year," Brown said. "We just know how to play together, and now there's a number of younger guys stepping up."

Warren found itself trailing in the opening minutes against Mather (2-1-1) after Josue Montes pushed a shot past Blue Devils keeper Brady Walsh in the third minute.

"I thought our boys responded well after being down a goal early," Warren coach Jason Ahonen said. "It was the first time they were down all season. You don't know what your team is made of until you're trailing.

"By the second half, we got control and that was a nice thing to see."

Brown tied it up three minutes later off an assist from Tyler Stenzel. And the Blue Devils took a brief 2-1 at the 10-minute mark, when Patrick Schulz scored form 35 yards out.

But Mather bounced back, tying the game in the 14th minute as Juan Mendez flicked a ball past Walsh.

The Blue Devils now know how to handle a comeback and have started the season on a positive note through the first four games.

"We didn't know what to expect coming in," Ahonen said. "You never know when you start a new season. We do like what we have during the summer and in the preseason. Until you play the first match, you really don't know where you stand with other teams."

• Warren finished in a 0-0 tie with Mundelein in the final game of pool play on Saturday morning. The Blue Devils moved on to the championship game by virtue of having the most points among the four pool teams.

• In other games: Mundelein (2-0-2) beat Loyola Academy (0-3-2) 2-0. Javier Ramirez scored both goals.

• Stevenson gave up 2 late goals and lost to Wheeling 2-1. The Patriots (1-1-2) defeated Loyola Academy 3-2 Saturday morning to conclude pool play.