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Boys soccer: Big second half lifts Addison Trail past Willowbrook

Addison Trail didn't want to give the traveling District 88 Derby trophy to Willowbrook after Thursday's West Suburban Gold game. After all, the trophy has called Addison home since 2015.

While the Warriors hung tough with the Blazers in the first half, the second half was a completely different story. Addison Trail scored five times to earn a 6-1 victory.

"We had a lot of possession in the beginning and just didn't score and then they scored on a mistake on a pass back," Addison Trail coach Ryan Dini said. "It kind of shellshocked us."

That goal from Willowbrook senior forward Norman Deci, who scored twice in the Warriors' win over Proviso West on Saturday, was the kind of spark they needed. But the momentum ultimately fizzled out by the end of the half when Anthony Sanchez scored his first of his two goals for the Blazers.

"The first half we kind of settled back defensively," Willowbrook coach Dan Riskind said. "We played a 4-4-1-1 and I think that worked and we worked on our counterattacking and we were really good there, but I think they have more depth and we have some depth issues."

Putting a full 80 minutes together has proved difficult this year for Willowbrook (1-5-1, 0-2).

"We need to kind of repeat that first half because we're having one good half each game but we can't string two together," Riskind said. "I told the boys we need to make two good halves, so we're a work in progress now."

Addison Trail (6-1, 2-0) put on a show in the second half, getting goals from five players - Aaron Sanchez, Anthony Hernandez, Pablo Duran, Uriel Rojo and Jose Galindo - to turn a tight battle into a rout.

"We were pumped to play and everything, but they came out wanting to beat us," Galindo said. "We were just slacking a little bit in the first half. We just weren't awake, but we work up in the second half. The final score tells everything."

Galindo said their poor play early wasn't from a lack of effort and he feels that better consistency is attainable.

"Everyone is trying their best, but we're having those moments where we don't play so well," he said. "We've got a good goalkeeper, solid defense, our midfielders come out and give us the passes and our forwards finish. Overall, we've got a good team."

Blazers senior goalkeeper Ernesto Padua enjoyed the show in the second half. He didn't have much work to do.

"They made my job a lot easier," he said. "I'm just able to enjoy the game with much more ease and watch my team perform a good game."

There's a unique, festive atmosphere at Addison Trail that can be inspiring. On Thursday, it just took the Blazers a little while to warm up to the fans and the music while figuring out how to attack the Warriors.

"We love having our fans coming out for every home game," Padua said. "The fans and the music blasting, everyone cheering us on. It's just a good feeling for us. It pumps us up."

Outside of the slow first half, the only other disappointment for the Blazers was an injury to senior defender Martin Murillo (ankle), but junior Angel Gomez stepped in and played great.

"He came in and played really good at center back," Dini said. "He got his number called and did well. With us it's pace of play and being aggressive, and sometimes with possession we're not going anywhere with it, but we're trying to get the guys in attack mode. We have a lot of skilled players, especially with 1v1, getting the ball in space and attacking and making something happen."

They made a lot of good things happen again on Thursday night.

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