Another game-winner for Glenbard East's Campazuno
It won't be easy, but Glenbard East's Patrick Campazuno hopes to have a few more weeks like the one he just completed Saturday.
After notching his first goal of the year Wednesday against Bartlett - the game-winner to boot - the Rams' junior pulled off the same feat Saturday, driving the game-winner into the back of the net to lift Glenbard East to a 2-1 boys soccer victory over visiting Glenbard North.
"It's been a huge week for Patrick. He's had a heck of a week and there's a lot of potential in Patrick," Glenbard East coach Josh Adler said after his team erased a 1-0 halftime deficit to improve to 4-2-3 this season. "This is what we talked about on Wednesday, that this would be a great kick-start to the rest of his season. And he's finding himself in the right spot at the right time and making the most of those opportunities just like he did Wednesday and that's huge."
Another huge moment came early in the second half, when Gavin Wooldridge scored the tying goal just 76 seconds after halftime. Off a corner kick, Rams defender Brady Robbins got his head on the ball and kept the play alive for Wooldridge to swoop in and get the ball past Panthers keeper Martin Argirov.
The quick strike seemed to turn things around after Glenbard North (4-6-2) had played a solid first half and led 1-0 on a rebound score from Jesus Aragon 15 minutes into the match.
"After our (halftime) talk we go off on our own and we had a little conversation," Wooldridge said of the players' get halftime together. "We come together on our side of the pitch, and we got ourselves riled up. We knew what we needed to do. We came out strong, we scored and we took care of business."
Panthers coach Spero Mandakas was disappointed to see his team allow a pair of goals off restarts in the second half after his team had turned in a stellar opening 40 minutes of play.
"We played really well the first half, but one thing we didn't do was kind of attack in the final third," the Glenbard North coach said. "We did really well in possession and it looked good. We kind of kept them away from any attacking opportunities and then the second half, a little adversity hits and … we've been bad on set pieces and that's something we need to clean up."
Campazuno and his coach agreed that the early strike by the home team in the second half really got the Rams going.
"It always helps us out," Campazuno said. "Once we get the goal we really start running and working the rest of the game. After that goal we just kept fighting and fighting. We realized that this was our game. There's no way they're taking it from us."
Adler added: "It was just good to see that we found a way to get in front of the net, and get that equalizer quickly … I thought that would help deflate a little of what North was doing really well and help us gain some momentum. I thought it kind of helped us sustain things throughout the rest of the match and find a way to get the win."