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Sports

Maine West Tops Glenbrook South in Soccer

Nelson Herrera scores twice in second half in 2-1 win over cross-division rival Titans.

Freshman forward Nelson Herrera scored a pair of second-half goals to lead Maine West to a 2-1 victory over Glenbrook South in a cross-division Central Suburban League soccer match Tuesday.

The Warriors (4-1-3 overall, 1-0-0 in conference play) trailed 1-0 at halftime but played a far more spirited style in the second half and put the visiting Titans on their heels for most of the last 40 minutes.

"That has not been uncommon for us,'' Maine West coach Mike DiVincenzo said. "We have been a better second-half team than a first-half team. In the first half [Glenbrook South] wanted it more and in the second half we matched their intensity."

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After allowing the visitors to control the ball a majority of the first half, the Warriors played fare more aggressively in the second half. They were rewarded in the third minute of the half when Glenbrook South goalkeeper David Abiera fell down after he punched out a save. Herrera, standing just a few feet in front of Abiera, had an easy time controlling the ball and sending it past the sprawled keeper to tie the game.

"Goalkeeper mistake'' was how Glenbrook South coach Paul Agombar described it.

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For the next several minutes the game was played in the midfield as both teams tried to find a hole in the defense. But with just under 10 minutes left, Herrera found himself alone with the ball 25 yards out on the goalkeeper's right side and just blasted the ball with his right foot up and over Abiera.

"I didn't see anybody open so I just took the shot,'' Herrera said. "I had two defenders in front of me, but I went to the middle a bit and took the shot."

"He has had a run of play in the last four or five games where he could have had five or six goals,'' DiVincenzo said. "He is special."

Herrera played with F.C. Chicago, a soccer club for young players, before joining the Warriors this season.

For the next 10 minutes, the Warriors had to continue their dominant defensive performance and worked extra-hard to keep tall Glenbrook South forward Luke Harrison off the board. Harrison never really had a decent look at the goal during the whole game.

"That is their guy,'' DiVincenzo said. "We moved Alex Blancas to the stopper position to match him. He's 6-1, 195 pounds, so he was able to match [Harrison's] size. We completely neutralized him."

The Titans (3-3-2 overall, 0-1-0 in the conference) got their only goal when forward Nathan Park handled the ball off a punch save by Warriors keeper Jecsan Torres with 10:30 left in the first half.

Late in the first half, Torres took a shot from Harrison directly in the face, although after the game he was not sure just what happened.

"I think it was my face,'' Torres said. "It went through my hands and bounced off my face. I was woozy for about three seconds."

The Warriors will play host to Elgin in a nonconference game on Wednesday.

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