Boys soccer: Mundelein tops BG for third straight win
Just a couple of weeks ago, Mundelein's boys soccer team lost consecutive matchups in Glenbrook South's Invitational to Wheeling and the host Titans.
Since then, the Mustangs have been able to work on their team game and the result has been a string of victories.
Mundelein made it three straight with 3 second-half goals to cap a a come-from-behind effort over visiting Buffalo Grove 3-2 in a nonconference match on Saturday.
Jose Ortega scored the winning goal on a header for the Mustangs (6-2), while Jony Lucio and Dominic Cristino had the other scores.
"Everybody knows 2 goals is a tough lead and obviously, we were concerned," Mundelein coach Ernie Billittier said. "Buffalo Grove is a well-coached team in a tough conference. We wanted use this nonconference game against a good opponent to learn about ourselves and kind of made it situational soccer.
"We knew the next goal (of the second half) would put us down 3-0 or put us in the chase. I was really happy with our response. Three goals in a half is positive, but I'm still not happy with the way we started the game."
Billittier likes the progress he's seeing but hopes his group doesn't become satisfied too quickly.
"We have definitely grown," he said. "I hope the boys can reflect on the things that they've been able to do. I think when you play teams like Stevenson and Buffalo Grove, and look into the future seeing Warren and Libertyville, you can't guarantee wins at all. Because they are top teams, at least you can say that we're battle-tested a little bit. But we've got a long way to go."
Ortega scored the game-winner in the 74th minute with a header on a run toward the back post after a Kenny Adiyiah cross.
"It was a great ball, and the second post is where it was going to land," said Ortega, who got his fourth goals of the season. "When I was running to it, I didn't think I would get to it. But the wind stopped it a little and it gave me an advantage. It was really hard to get to the ball. It was a team effort to get it."
Buffalo Grove started the match off with two quick goals. Erik Hernandez was credited with the first one in the fourth minute, and Kevin Elioza scored the other with an assist from Alex Alfaro in the eighth minute. The Bison held a 2-0 lead into the second half.
Mundelein was awarded a penalty kick after a foul in the Buffalo Grove penalty area in the 53rd minute. Cristino put the ball into the back of the net on the kick, making the score 2-1.
The Mustangs evened the match up at 2-2 in the 70th minute. Bryan Alba took a ball from a Bison defender in the corner and placed a low pass right in front of the goal as Lucio tapped it in.
"Credit Mundelein, they fought their way back," Buffalo Grove coach Brad Abel said. "They put in three goals in one half. We opened up strong. We put in two in the first 20 and really haven't done that all season. It was looking to be a nice day for us.
"As a team, we've got to eliminate mistakes if we want to make a run in the playoffs. We did have a couple of chances to score (in the second half), but their keeper (Eric Muniz) made a couple of nice saves in the middle of the second half. It could've made a difference."