On paper, Friday’s game between Lincoln-Way Central and No. 2 Downers Grove South had all the makings of a blowout.
But on the artificial turf at North Central College, the second quarterfinal of the Class AA state soccer tournament was closer to a nail-biter.
The Mustangs’ old reliable, Mike McCormack, scored twice in the last 13 minutes 8 seconds to advance Downers South (23-2-1) to the semifinals with a 2-0 victory.
“A run to the championship is seven games–you’re not going to play your best all the time,” Mustangs coach Jon Stapleton said. “But good teams find a way, and we did. We didn’t start that way, but we left the field playing good soccer. That’s something to build on for [Saturday].”
Both teams squandered opportunities throughout the game’s first 66:52. Downers South broke through on a counter, breaking down the Knights’ back line. Anthony Marchese carried the ball down the left side and, after drawing the defense, he made a perfect diagonal pass to a wide-open McCormack, who finished from 15 yards.
McCormack, a senior, ended the scoring from 20 yards with 2:50 left after intercepting a clearing header.
“We were kind of lackadaisical in the first half,” said McCormack, who scored his 32nd and 33rd goals. “Once we got the first one, we started pounding shots on them. Their defenders were following our forwards around. We had to adjust to that and figured it out at the end.”
Lincoln-Way Central (15-11-1) employed a physical style that seemed to bother Downers until the Mustangs broke free.
“We’re more of a scrappy team,” Lincoln-Way Central’s Alex Koprowski said. “We were just pressuring, playing as hard we could every ball.”
