Friday, May 25, 2012
By Brian Bauer
WHEATON, IL. – It’s said that you only get one chance to make a great first impression and the Chicago Inferno seized that chance. In Chicago’s inaugural home game they beat the River City Rovers 3-1, treating the fans in attendance to the first ever home PDL win.
That great first impression started soon in the match. In the 17th minute Inferno forward Jakub Piotrowski centered a ball to midfielder Emir Zrnic. Zrnic brought the ball down at the top of the Rover penalty area and blasted home Chicago’s first goal of the night, giving the Inferno an early 1-0 lead.
The Inferno added onto their lead just six minutes later. Midfielder Jayson LeSeth took the first corner kick of the night for Chicago. His right footed pass was neatly headed by midfielder Alberto Lopez to give the home team to a two-goal cushion over River City.
The Rovers cut the lead in half in the 28th minute. River City midfielder Ace Gonya broke free of the Chicago defense before deftly placing the ball inside the left goal post. The 2-1 score remained the same going into the half.
In the first minute of the second half, Chicago’s Piotrowski, pounced on a ball passed to him by LeSeth. “Kuba” as he is affectionately known by his fellow teammates powered the ball into the upper left corner of the goal, sealing the 3-1 victory for the Inferno.
Inferno Head Coach Branko Savic was happy not only for the win but for his players as well. “From my perspective this win is important not only from a record standpoint but because of the additional motivation it gives our young players to keep working,” Coach Savic said. “Our first two games were on the road versus two tough opponents. Our first game was against a very strong Michigan Bucks team, in which we played well. Then the very next day we tied a game in Hamilton, which we could have won, even though we were missing some players. For all these young guys that win was key to building their confidence and continuing their development.” When asked about his thoughts on the teams’ first home PDL game Coach Savic concluded, “Overall we played a pretty good game. I’m thoroughly happy with the team’s performance and of course to get three points.”
The Inferno’s next home game is always nice to start strong Friday, June 1st at 7 pm (CT) at Joe Bean Stadium at Wheaton College as Chicago hosts the Toronto Lynx. In the meantime, Wednesday May 30th the Inferno keeps it local as they travel to Toyota Park to take on the Chicago Fire PDL at 4:00 pm (CT).
