Hersey claimed its first three points in league play with an emphatic 4-0 win Thursday night in Arlington Heights at Roland Goins Stadium.
Senior Ray Reyes got the Huskies (3-2-2, 1-0-1-4 points) off to a perfect start when he converted his fifth minute PK. Teammate Kacper Lechowicz doubled the Huskies’ advantage just after the half hour to help the home side secure the win in their first home contest of the season.
“Ray (Reyes) really gave us some great momentum. And later on in the half Kacper helped send us into the break with a lot of confidence with that two-goal lead,” said Huskies center-back Nate Mabry.
“I thought we played well enough to win on Tuesday in our 0-0 draw with Palatine, but tonight the energy we brought right from the start made a big difference,” added Lechowicz.
The Huskies were in complete control during the entire opening half thanks in part to the quintet of Teddy Reyes, Adam Myslinski, Nick Van De Mark and the aforementioned Lechowicz and Ray Reyes whose pace, purpose and work rate forced the Vikings (1-3-1, 1-2-0) to defend far more than it wanted to.
“I just didn’t feel like we were mentally ready at the start of this game,” said Vikings defender Joey Kohl.
“We lacked confidence and the energy to match what Hersey brought tonight, and despite playing a much better second half, we still have a long way to go,” said Vikings coach Steve Keller.
The visitors were on their collective front foot after the intermission – playing quicker, with sharp passes and much better movement in their attack.
Huskies keeper Adrian Smakowski made a pivotal save on a PK attempt from Kyle Grasse in the 68th minute. And on the counter moments later, Jakub Koziara made it 3-0 when he steered in his close-range effort.
Diego Ortiz would add one more onto the scoreboard two minutes from time.
“This was a good team win for the guys tonight. We did a lot of good things on both sides of the ball including four goals into the back of the net after struggling with our finishing of late,” said Huskies coach Mike Rusniak.
Next up for Hersey is a 1 p.m. home contest Saturday against MSL East rival Buffalo Grove, while the Vikings are away at Huntley for a morning match on Saturday.
Hersey’s Kacper Lechowicz, right, gets past the Fremd defense including Kristian Toshev as he scores a first-half goal on a headeer during Thrusday’s soccer match in Arlington Heights.
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Hersey’s Ray Reyes, left, directs a header past Fremd’s Sasha Baranovskyy during Thrusday’s soccer match in Arlington Heights.
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Hersey’s Kacper Lechowicz gets between Fremd’s AJ Song, left, Stefan Smolak during Thrusday’s soccer match in Arlington Heights.
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Hersey’s Rey Reyes celebrates after scoring a goal on a penalty kick during the first half of Thrusday’s soccer match against Fremd.
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Hersey’s Nate Mabry executes a flip throw during Thrusday’s soccer match against Fremd.
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Hersey’s Ray Reyes, right, makes contact with Fremd’s AJ Song during Thrusday’s soccer match in Arlington Heights.
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Hersey’s Teddy Reyes, left, and Fremd’s Jacob Stankiewicz leap for a header during Thrusday’s soccer match in Arlington Heights.
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Fremd’s Stefan Smolak, left, and Hersey’s Johnny Antoniou try to direct the ball in their respective team’s directions during Thrusday’s soccer match in Arlington Heights.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com