Fratila in fine form as Warren tops Highland Park

There's a number of things Warren senior midfielder Alex Fratila brings to the soccer field.

He can score, create, defend - and lead. He did all of that Tuesday in helping the Blue Devils blank host Highland Park 3-0 in a nonconference match. Fratila scored a goal and assisted on the other two tallies.

"I try to play simple, keep the ball and use my athleticism," said Fratila, who has 7 goals and 12 assists this season. "When you play good teams, all (the players) are going to be athletic."

Fratila helped opened the scoring in the 11th minute. He worked a two-on-one break into the Giants' penalty area and dropped off a pass to Ivan Esquivel, who finished for his 10th goal of the season.

Late in the first half, Esquivel was taken down in the penalty area. Fratila calmly stepped up and knocked a penalty kick into the lower corner of the net.

Warren (15-4-3) added another insurance goal in the second half. Fratila sent a corner kick into the box, where Richie Flores brought it down and found the back of the net for the 3-0 advantage in the 59th minute.

Fratila and Martin Fuentes returned to the Warren lineup after missing Saturday's loss to Waukegan with injuries. Fratila was out with a slight hamstring pull, and Fuentes missed the contest with a groin injury.

"We frontloaded our schedule," Warren coach Jason Ahonen said. "The objective was that if we had some guys banged up (late in the regular season), then we could give them some rest. Fratila allows us to do so much. He relieves a lot of pressure."

Blair McCormick earned his 10th shutout of the season with 3 stops against Highland Park (4-9-5). The Blue Devils' defense included Curtis Bae, Flores, Matt Haight and Carlos Mirillo.

"(Warren) was dynamic with pace up top," Highland Park coach Blake Novotny said. "They had good movement across the field, and they send some people running."

Warren opens up Class 3A regional play as the top seed in the Stevenson sectional. The Blue Devils play next Wednesday against the winner of the match between No. 17 Hersey and No. 16 Lake Forest at Mundelein.