Boys soccer: West Chicago handles Glenbard South
Rather than get down after an offsides call erased a pretty goal 10 minutes into Wednesday's soccer match at Glenbard South, West Chicago just kept on executing.
The non-goal by Brian Nieves only seemed to fire up the Wildcats, who then tallied 3 goals in a span of about three minutes to take a 3-0 lead on the Raiders en route to a 6-1 Upstate Eight Conference victory in Glen Ellyn.
Sophomore midfielder Aldo Alfaro notched the first goal of the night and added a second goal and an assist as the visitors built a 4-0 lead at the half on their way to a fifth win in six outings this fall.
"It starts off at practice when all we do is try and push each other," said Aldo Alfaro, who already has a pair of hat tricks and 13 goals for 5-1 West Chicago. "Our midfielders have a really great impact on our team, but it's not just them. Our outside attackers and our strikers and our defense are all a big part of this team."
Senior midfielder Tristan Alfaro, who started for the Wildcats team that captured a Class 3A state title in 2019, assisted on Aldo's first goal with 26:05 left in the opening half. Tristan would add another assist and then score his team's final goal, a rocket into the upper right corner of the net for a 6-0 lead midway through the second half. Raiders coach Adam Szyszko and his players just couldn't keep up with the Wildcats' speed. West Chicago had 12 shots on goal in the first half alone, as Raiders keeper Matt Drinane made several sparkling saves to keep his team somewhat close.
"Jose's got a heck of a squad," Glenbard South's Szyszko said of Wildcats coach Jose Villa.
"They attack in waves and their midfield flies around. They're just so fast. We haven't seen speed like that all year."
The 4-2-1 Raiders got on the scoreboard late after Tevaris Neidecker was fouled as he worked past a defender, setting up a free kick. Hector Gonzalez then finished the 22-yard free kick with a shot that West Chicago keeper David Ramirez had little chance to stop.
Villa said his team accomplished its goal of winning the Upstate Eight during last season's COVID-shortened campaign, but now they have bigger achievements in mind for 2021.
"We have a couple guys who move the ball quickly," he said. "We have a lot of speed and creativity and the guys really have a bond out there. It was a little disappointing not to play a state tournament in the spring, but I think the expectations are high now."
Brandon Banuelas and Diego Martinez also scored goals for West Chicago on Wednesday.