On his third try, Diego Daniel seems to be sticking with soccer.
Where would West Aurora be without him?
Daniel, a junior goalkeeper, didn’t finish his freshman season. He quit before the end of sophomore season and considered not coming out this fall to work with his dad.
Daniel returned and started the year as the Blackhawks’ third-stringer.
“He made the commitment,” said West coach Joe Sustersic. “For being suspect to start the year, he’s been a godsend.”
Daniel delivered again Wednesday in West’s 1-0 home win over Marmion.
Stopping 11 Marmion shots, Daniel recorded his fifth shutout. Jose Munoz’s second-half goal was the difference for West (7-4-4).
Daniel, in his first season starting on varsity, is appreciating the experience.
“I feel a big part of the team,” Daniel said. “I just learn from mistakes in seasons before.”
Daniel, who stands 6 feet tall, considers defending high balls his calling card.
He needed it to preserve West’s lead.
With 23:57 left, Marmion’s Nick Grant was tripped up, 30 yards out. On Grant’s free kick Diego deflected a high ball off the cross bar.
“My main attention was just to try to get the ball,” Daniel said. “That situation, you just have to knock it out.”
Sustersic is growing used to that attention to detail from Daniel, giving up less than one goal per game.
“If he’s not ready for that free ball it’s 1-1,” Sustersic said. “He’s keeping us in games. If we have days where we have that defensive letdown, he picks us up.”
Marmion (2-10-1) had opportunities go by the wayside in the first half, a far too frequent occurrence of late.
Five minutes in Grant sent a ball into the box, but Sean Miller’s shot was high over the goal. Later, Miller had a point-blank shot blocked by Daniel, and a rebound shot was corralled.
In the second half Miller headed a ball off the football crossbar.
The Cadets are winless over their last five games with just one goal in that stretch.
“Every game we play is the same,” Marmion coach Ricky Del Toro said. “We’re having trouble scoring. Right now it’s really in our heads.”
Compounding the problem, the Cadets are down three players because of injury. A silver lining is Marmion has dropped down to Class 2A for the playoffs.
“Hopefully we’re saving it for the end,” said Del Toro, noting that Marmion hasn’t won a playoff game since finishing fourth in 2A in 2011.
Munoz had the game-winner for West on Monday, a penalty kick in the final minute to beat East Aurora 2-1.
No such dramatics needed this time.
Munoz had a give-and-go goal in the first half waved off because of an offsides, but wouldn’t be denied later.
In the seventh minute of the second half, West’s Renato Cruz found Munoz 20 yards out, to the right of the goal for West.
Munoz side-stepped two Marmion defenders to drill a high-arcing shot just beyond the reach of the goalkeeper for his 11th goal of the season.
“There were two defenders, I controlled the bal and I just shot it,” Munoz said. “I actually thought he was going to just grab it, but it went over him. Glad it went in.”
Joshua Welge is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News.
