Officials play big role in Niles West playoff loss
BY DAN SHALIN Contributor October 24, 2011 5:50PM
Niles West's Jame Zepeda (4) gets past Anestis Gavriliopoulos of Glenbrook South during the Niles North Regional final. | Allen Kaleta~for Sun-Times Media
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Updated: November 28, 2011 8:32AM
Niles West boys soccer head coach Scott Ackman said his team should have been practicing on Monday, preparing for the following day’s IHSA Class 3A Evanston Sectional semifinal.
Instead, the coach was showing Niles West athletic director David Rosengard video of Friday night’s Niles North Regional final, when Glenbrook South defeated the Wolves 4-3 on penalty kicks.
According to Ackman, the DVD contains conclusive evidence that his team had scored the game-winning goal with seven minutes remaining in the fourth overtime of a 3-3 contest.
After Niles West senior midfielder Lane Mita headed the ball past the keeper, the No. 5-seeded Wolves began to celebrate, while the No. 4-seeded Titans dropped their heads.
“Mita headed it into the goal, and their goalie dove into the goal and knocked it up into the net, and it came straight down (over the line). Our players ran up the field celebrating. Their players started walking away. But the ref said, ‘Play on.’ Then it sort of clicked (for our players) and play continued,” said Ackman.
Plans were being made to ship the video to the IHSA. Ackman acknowledged there was little the IHSA could do about the mistake, but it was important to have it on record.
“It was blatant,” he added. The entire stadium saw it and everybody knew the ball was in the goal. It was the game-winner.”
The game remained deadlocked, Glenbrook South’s goalkeeper saved two Niles West PKs, and the Titans advanced with a 4-2 shootout win.
Ackman said it likely was difficult for his players to concentrate during the final seven minutes of overtime and penalty kicks. However, the coach was proud of how his team handled the disappointment.
“They did such a good job. They could have been yelling and screaming at the ref,” Ackman said. “But they went out with dignity. Not one kid said a word to the ref. I’m proud of how they acted. (After the game), they were wishing the Glenbrook South players good luck. I have respect for the way they handled themselves.”
Lost in all the late-game kerfuffle was Niles West’s stunning second-half comeback.
The Wolves (11-10-1) trailed 3-1 at halftime, then scored twice within eight minutes of the intermission on goals by senior forward Jaime Zepeda and sophomore Dzenan Nezirevic.
“(In the first half), we were not winning 50/50 balls, not passing and not making smart moves,” Ackman said. “But we came out inspired and just took it to them.”
Ackman said senior captain Michael Tabar served as an inspirational figure in the locker room and on the field.
“(Tabar) has always been a team leader,” Ackman said. “We lost him (to injury) after the first game, and only got him back for the final three. But we were a completely different team with him on the field. He always has great things to say.”
Glenbrook South opened the scoring in the first half, before Niles West junior midfielder Danny Rozen equalized at 20 minutes. The Titans answered twice in the final 10 minutes of the half.
Recap
Niles West advanced to the regional final with a 1-0 win over No. 12 Niles North in the Niles North Regional semifinal on Oct. 18.
On a rain-soaked evening, the Vikings nearly struck first, but Niles West senior defender Justin Andrada cleared two balls off the line in quick succession.
The Wolves’ game-winner came in the final 10 minutes, when senior midfielder Pawel Dabek tapped in a shot by junior forward Chris Tomuta that had ricocheted off the Vikings’ keeper.
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