Boys soccer: Martinath, Hinsdale Central oust Downers Grove South
Five years from now, maybe even five days from now, no one will remember how Hinsdale Central's Ryan Martinath scored his first varsity goal.
It wasn't a 30-yard rocket, but it might as well have been.
Matthew Thomas heaved a long throw-in from near the corner flag and Martinath got enough of the ball to deflect it off a defender and into the net in the 73rd minute of Wednesday's Class 3A Hinsdale Central boys soccer regional semifinal against 10-man Downers Grove South.
That goal, which came 11 minutes after a Downers South player was ejected, turned out to be the game-winner in the Red Devils' 2-1 victory.
Sixth-seeded Hinsdale Central (9-7-2) advances to Saturday's regional final against third-seeded Oak Park.
"It was just pure joy," Martinath said of his goal. "The ball came in front post.
"One of my teammates, Max (Ewing), he dove and I don't really know if it might have hit him or the guy that was guarding him. It hit my shoulder and then it hit one of their defenders and bounced into the net."
The goal capped a spirited rally against upset-minded Downers South, which took a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute when Aaron Venouziou headed home a throw-in from Ethan Kelly.
The 11th-seeded Mustangs (8-11-1) were outshot 11-1 in the first half but clung to their lead until Aidan White tied it with 19:32 to go in the second half, also off a long toss from Thomas, who assumed the throw-in duties for the first time.
"We just started that throw-in yesterday in practice," White said. "That was the first time we practiced it and we got two goals off it today."
White's goal changed the momentum of the game. The Red Devils controlled most of the action but were relieved to get the equalizer.
"It gave us a lot more hope," White said. "We knew that we were going to put one away.
"We were on them left and right, getting shots. We knew that one of them was going to go in, but once that tying one went in, we had a lot more energy and we really picked it up."
The Red Devils got a man advantage 36 seconds later following the Downers South red card, further complicating things for the Mustangs.
"We've been in that situation before," said Downers South goalkeeper Christopher Gory, who made 5 saves. "The last 20 minutes they get a couple lucky bounces and they go in.
"We knew we had to come back and be greedy, but it's a tough way to lose. We played really well and we've grown a lot this year."
Indeed, the Mustangs started 0-5 and lost to the Red Devils 4-1 in September. Hinsdale Central coach Mike Wiggins knew this game would be tougher.
"I'm proud of the way we handled ourselves, but I have nothing but respect for Downers South, for coach (Jon) Stapleton and coach (Nate) Terry," Wiggins said. "They're very organized.
"They always have their teams very well-prepared, and we knew it wasn't going to be the same game that we had earlier in the year. We knew they would come over here and give us everything they had and that's what they did."