Boys soccer: McMahon, Glenbard South get busy early
John McMahon is the Glenbard South boys soccer team's jack of all trades.
On Tuesday coach Adam Szyszko made the right choice for the junior, putting him at forward.
McMahon scored twice in the first seven minutes of the Raiders' Class 2A regional semifinal in Glen Ellyn and finished with his second hat trick of the season. The Raiders coasted to an 8-1 victory against Hinsdale South.
"I think he was terrific," Szyszko said of McMahon. "He's a utility infielder for us. He's played in the back, he's played center mid, he's played forward. Today I wanted to start him up front, give us a little spark. And (it) paid off."
McMahon gave the Raiders (11-7-1) the lead for good less than two minutes into the game and scored his second in the seventh minute.
"It was really huge," McMahon said of the early lead. "The past couple of years in the playoffs we had just sat back and defended the entire time and this hot start got us up 3-0 in the first 10 minutes. From there we can just sit back, do what we want with the ball, possess and then keep scoring goals."
When Alex Bergendorf scored in the ninth minute for a 3-0 lead, the pressure was off the Raiders. Maybe they relaxed a tad too much.
Despite the big final margin Hinsdale South (1-19-1) kept Raiders goalkeeper Cooper Reif busy with 11 shots that forced Reif to make 8 saves.
"I feel like after we got up so much we kind of relaxed a little bit in the middle part of that first half, and they got a lot of shots on then. And at the end of the game it looked like they were taking longer shots, so (Reif) was just catching them and doing what he does," McMahon said.
The Hornets' only goal came on a Ryan Kuhlman penalty kick in the 28th minute that cut the lead to 3-1.
"(Hinsdale South's Kuhlman, Luka Grubic and Karel Ondra) are terrific players," Szyszko said. "And when you have players you're going to create opportunities. They play in a heck of a conference, the West Suburban, and they play some of the big dogs. So I told our guys, don't look at their record, they're a good side. And I'm pleased with our effort tonight."
"We had all season a problem with injuries," Hornets coach Danny Makaric added, noting Hinsdale South played a lot of young players.
The Raiders resumed scoring in the 36th minute, when Spencer Pyle headed in a Matt Moscatello corner kick at the far post. McMahon scored his third goal of the game just after halftime for a 5-1 lead. Josh Cohen made it 6-1 in the 48th minute, then assisted on Ryan Vozza's goal in the 50th.
Alex Dumitrescu's goal on a 61st-minute penalty kick ended the scoring.
The Raiders advanced to the Friday's regional final, where they will meet LaSalle-Peru, a 2-0 winner against Montini.