(Sugar Grove, IL.) – Waubonsee Community College and McHenry County College engaged in an exciting back-and-forth men's soccer match on Tuesday afternoon. Led by a pair of goals by Mauro Munoz, the Chiefs (3-4-1, 2-2) pulled out a 6-4 victory over the Scots (5-3-1, 1-2-1) in the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) battle on a warm and sunny day. The lead changed hands three times before Waubonsee held on to give interim Head Coach Alvaro Perez his first career collegiate coaching win.
From the beginning, it was an action-packed match. Waubonsee broke through midway through the first half when Munoz broke into the clear and chipped a left-footed shot over the outstretched arms of Scots' keeper Chris Slawek from 15 yards out. The ball bounded into the right corner of the net to give the Chiefs a 1-0 lead. In the 31st minute Waubonsee added a second goal off a beautiful corner kick by Jonathan Carranza. Chris Leon leaped in a crowd and headed the ball into the right corner of the net to make it 2-0. The Scots got one of those goals back in the 39th minute off a corner kick of their own. In a crowd, after the ball bounced off several bodies, the Scots' Henry Knoll knocked a shot into the far corner of the net for his 10thgoal of the season. A minute later McHenry County nearly knotted the score, but Chiefs' keeper Daniel Gallardo snagged a header from point blank range to keep Waubonsee in front. The half ended with Waubonsee holding onto a 2-1 lead as they held a 9-7 edge in shots overall.
The intensity picked up as the second half began and McHenry County tied the game in the 52nd minute. The Scots came within inches of taking the lead when a shot hit the left post three minutes later. The visitors then broke through a minute later as a shot went past a diving Gallardo and again hit the left post. This time it caromed into the net on the right-side giving McHenry County a 3-2 lead in the 57th minute. Both teams began showing signs of fatigue on the warm afternoon as the match began to wind down. The Chiefs tied it at 3-all five minutes later as Munoz got past the Scots' defense and poked in a shot from seven yards out. Not long after that Luke Rader got a pass in the middle of the field from Kushal Rai, spun around and blasted a left-footed shot from 22 yards out past a scrambling Slawek to suddenly put the Chiefs ahead 4-3 in 65th minute.
The Scots frantically worked to pull even once more, but their momentum was stymied by an equipment failure. Play was halted when Gallardo had a shoe rip apart after deflecting away a McHenry County free kick from 20 yards out. The Chiefs' keeper switched into a teammate's cleats and then turned away the Scots' ensuing corner kick as well. Waubonsee then quickly tallied a big insurance goal in the 70th minute when Carranza got an opening, dribbled past a defender and then faked Slawek out to punch it in from five yards out. However, the Scots kept pushing and eventually knocked in a fourth goal in the 84th minute to pull within 5-4. But Waubonsee responded once more and booked a huge goal in the 86th minute. A centering shot was headed twice by a pair of McHenry County defenders out in front of the net. The Chiefs' Sebastian Leon intercepted the ball before Slawek could corral it on the left side and then drilled it into the back of the net from close range to give Waubonsee some much needed breathing room in the final three minutes.
For the game the Scots outshot the Chiefs 21-15 overall, while both teams got off 13 shots on goal. McHenry County also held an 8-5 edge in corner kicks. Gallardo finished with nine saves to earn the win in net for Waubonsee. Slawek ended the day with seven saves for McHenry County. The Chiefs' next three matches are all on the road. Waubonsee heads to the College of DuPage this coming Friday, September 19. Waubonsee heads to Chicago Heights to square off against Prairie State College on Tuesday, September 23, and to south suburban Cicero to battle Morton College a week after that on September 30. All three matches are set to begin at 4:00 p.m. Waubonsee returns home on Friday, October 3 when they host Kishwaukee College at 2:00 p.m.
