Perviz, Willowbrook stop Glenbard West
Glenbard West appeared to be on the verge of drawing even with Willowbrook during Thursday's West Suburban Conference crossover match at John A. Fischer Field in Villa Park.
Warriors goalkeeper Asmir Perviz just wouldn't let that happen.
Perviz denied William Lanzillo's dribble from the corner and then shot in the 52nd minute, and then saved his back line, stopping a shot from Connor Strait, who had slipped past three defenders to put a shot on frame in the 55th minute.
Those two stops from Perviz seemed to inspire Willowbrook's attack. The Warriors scored twice in the next four minutes to pull away for a 3-0 victory.
"I feel like when the other teams shoot, we have to step up our game real quick," Perviz said. "I think we pushed on the gas pedal and every single game we've done that. Last year we'd let up after we scored, but not this year."
Glenbard West (4-3-1) had a chance to jump head in just the 12th minute but couldn't convert a penalty kick.
The Hilltoppers did possess the ball well enough to create a handful of scoring chances, but shots by Aleks Kristic and Ian Winans were either off target or snagged by Perviz.
"Obviously, you can't expect to be competitive and get a positive result when you don't put effort and intensity into it," Hilltoppers coach Maciej Kusmierz said. "For the first time this season we gave up three goals due to lack of intensity. Basically, we did not deserve to win this game."
Willowbrook (5-2-1) scored with 5:58 remaining in the first half. Saul Hernandez sped ahead of the Glenbard West backline and went 1-on-1 with the Hilltoppers' goalkeeper.
"I tried to pick up the ball before the defender did, but I guess he beat me to it," Hernandez said. "It bounced off one of our guys and I just picked it up and stepped into the box. I took a look where the goalie was standing and put it where he wasn't."
The Warriors extended their lead nearly midway through the second half when junior Tony Tamburrino rebounded a miss from Hernandez and redirected it into the back of the net.
"I was lucky that I was there," Tamburrino said. "I just put it in."
It was the first goal for Tamburrino, who is in his first season with the varsity squad. He wasn't entirely sure how'd he celebrate his special moment.
"Maybe go home and have some canollis or something," he said with a laugh.
Hernandez netted his second goal of the game two minutes later. He was taken down in the box and awarded a penalty kick, which he converted.
"Penalties are all luck," he said. "They're 50-50. You never know what's going to happen."
One thing that's happening these days at Willowbrook is the Warriors are winning games. They only won once last fall.
"Everyone practices hard and hangs out on and off the field so the chemistry is there," Perviz said. "If you're not having fun on the field you might as well get off of it. We're winning and having fun and that's the true meaning for the love of the game."