Boys soccer: Wheaton North, Lake Park keep it even

Lake Park and Wheaton North's DuKane Conference boys soccer game looked like it would require penalty kicks for a winner on Thursday in Roselle, but since it's not the postseason they walked off the field instead with a 0-0 draw.

The tie was crucial in the hunt for the inaugural DuKane Conference title. The teams share identical 4-1-1 records and are tied for the conference lead after Wheaton Warrenville South helped them out by upsetting St. Charles East.

"What I like about this conference so far is anyone can win on any given day and the results have shown it," Wheaton North coach Rob Stassen said. "Some teams might seem to be having a bad game and then they're creeping up on your back. So it makes the conference exciting. Everyone is playing to win it and not just playing for second place."

Lake Park (14-2-3) had blanked Wheaton North (9-6-2) in the Hillner Classic 2-0 on Aug. 30, but this was a far more even battle.

Both teams did enough with the ball to force the other to step up and make big plays. That especially included Wheaton North junior goalkeeper Ray Min, whose biggest stops came on missiles off the feet of Jesus Juarez and Matteo Costa.

"Both have such quick triggers," Lake Park coach Sean Crosby said. "They don't even look like they're releasing and they're line drives with a lot of pace."

Min stopped one such shot from Juarez with 14 minutes left in the first half.

"It just hyped me up and made me play better," Min said. "I think our defense did an amazing job. They do every game. Our midfield were dropping back and stopping the space so they couldn't get any good shots."

Arguably the best scoring chance for the Falcons came with 24 minutes left in the game. Will Wanzenberg narrowly got a breakaway opportunity only to have Lake Park defender Victor Pawlik speed in front of him, causing Wanzenberg's shot to deflect off him.

"We want to score, but the way we played is what's most important for us at this time of the year," Crosby said. "It would've been great to get the win because we had so many chances, but Wheaton North is a very good team. They are composed and have a strong back line and their keeper played great, making some point-blank saves on us."

The Lancers were frustrated by offside calls, getting whistled on at least four occasions that denied scoring chances.

It didn't happen with nine minutes left, though, when Costa eluded two defenders and got a good boot on a shot, but again it went right at Min, who ensured the game remained scoreless.

"It's always disappointing to lose, but so is tying," Falcons midfielder Erik Rozanski said. "But at this point of the season we'll take it."