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player ready...Jose Munoz knew West Aurora found good fortune, so he decided to make his own luck.
Jackpot.
The senior forward’s penalty kick with 14.7 seconds remaining Monday — following an East Aurora own goal a minute earlier — gave the Blackhawks a stunning 2-1 Upstate Eight Valley win.
“That first goal was pretty lucky for us,” Munoz said. “I’m just so happy right now.”
Understandably, Munoz was overcome with emotion. West’s win was Munoz’s first over its crosstown rival, and first since the series was resumed a few years ago.
Munoz ran into a mob of West students on the track after his goal, then was momentarily carried onto the field after the game’s finish.
“It was very emotional for all of us, a happy moment,” Munoz said. “We never thought we were going to come back.”
East sophomore goalkeeper Lorenzo Trejo turned away several West opportunities with a 1-0 second-half lead, but a bad break proved costly.
Not realizing Trejo was a few steps out of goal, Tomcats midfielder Bryan Torres sent a ball back instead of clearing it. It went over Trejo’s head into the net, forcing a 1-1 tie with 1:44 left.
“Just an unlucky touch,” East coach Nathan Parry said.
In the final minute, Munoz was taken down in the box on a breakaway. Calmly sizing his attempt up, Munoz drilled it underneath a diving Trejo inside the left post.
“Had to finish it there,” Munoz said.
There’s nobody West coach Joe Sustersic would rather have taking the shot than Munoz.
“We’ve done this a few times,” Sustersic said. “We did this against Edwardsville and we kept putting the pressure on. When we’re down, that doesn’t mean we concede.”
Besides the few unlucky bounces, Trejo was brilliant in the second half.
He made a diving stop to knock away Santiago Barrios’ point-blank attempt, and later smothered a high ball into the box among a scrum of West players. With five minutes left, Trejo caught Barrios’ header ticketed for the net.
Trejo, who didn’t even start the season on varsity, was only playing because starting goalkeeper Salvador Gonzalez broke a finger in practice last week.
“He definitely kept us in it,” Parry said of Trejo. “I’m looking forward to seeing more of him the next few years.”
Opportunities were greater for both teams in the second half, and East (4-10, 1-2) finally scored at the 19:11 mark.
Munoz had the ball taken away from him for West (6-4-4, 2-0-2), and on the counter Ricardo Sanchez rifled a shot just inside the near right post.
“That’s what I’ve been preaching to the guys all year, is counter,” Parry said. “That’s how you score goals.”
West’s frustration to get the equalizer was evident thereafter. One West player slammed a ball down on the sideline after East received possession. On another occasion a Blackhawks player shoved down a Tomcats opponent wrestling for the ball. Several times, Munoz was taken down streaking toward the net.
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Finally, the opening came.
“I was getting frustrated at myself,” Munoz said. “We got the revenge we wanted.”
Joshua Welge is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News.