Boys soccer: Glenbard West pours it on against York

It would have been easy for Seth Dillworth and the Glenbard West boys soccer team to sulk after conceding the first goal of the match.

But Dillworth and the Hilltoppers knew better.

"It's always hard giving up the first goal in the game," the junior midfielder said. "It doesn't lift you up, but it makes you just like, push harder and want to win the game. It shows if the other team really wants it more than the other team."

Dillworth and the Hilltoppers showed they craved it more Tuesday night at York Stadium. Glenbard West rallied, scoring 4 unanswered goals in a 4-1 West Suburban Silver game.

"We looked a little deflated in the sense that it was another situation where we found ourselves being a goal down," Glenbard West coach Maciej Kusmierz said. "The team responded very well."

The Glenbard West (10-7) offense seemed to click earlier on. Through the first 25 minutes the Hilltoppers held a 5-2 advantage in shots on goal.

"It was a wet surface and everyone was panicking at first," Dillworth said "But once we got used to the conditions, then we started to pick up our gaming, playing good through balls to our forwards and really getting our stuff together."

But the Dukes (12-7) killed the Glenbard West momentum in the 27th minute.

After a pair of shots were blocked, the ball fell to Jakub Knurek, who shot the ball over Glenbard West goalkeeper Gabe Billings to give York a 1-0 lead.

The Dukes had several opportunities after that to kill the game. Three times in the following six minutes, the Dukes had shots that Billings turned away.

"You have a team on the ropes, you're 1-0 up, you have several chances to put another two or three chances before half, that's how it goes," York coach Lukasz Majewski said.

The Hilltoppers made the Dukes rue their misses.

With 2:43 before halftime, Brandon Olechowski collected the ball on the right wing and fired a shot into the opposite side of the net to tie the game.

"Sometimes we've come down on each other (when losing)," Hilltoppers defender Brady Heller said. "I think we're pretty good at coming back together and staying composed and keep fighting."

The Hilltoppers kept their composure through halftime and into the second half.

Four minutes into the second half, Dillworth received the ball on the right wing, drove to the edge of the box and played in a cross that Luke Andreasik first-timed off the crossbar and into goal.

"It lifted our spirits," Dillworth said. "We realized this could be our game as long as we wanted it."

The Hilltoppers continued to show they coveted the win.

In the 56th minute Alexis Rogel played in a cross from near midfield that bounced in the box and bounced into the net.

"It let York know we were here to play," Dillworth said.

A fourth goal, by Mahdi Saad, with 5:21 to play, killed any hopes at a comeback for York.

"The (goals) just kept coming," Heller said. "If we're just working hard for it, we can do that."