They've Got the Mustangs' Back

It’s difficult to discuss sports without statistics entering the conversation.

But in some sports, such as soccer, it’s not putting up crooked numbers that necessarily illustrates the considerable impact a player or unit is making.

Such is the case this fall with the Downers Grove South boys soccer team.

Led by outside backs Mike Leahy and Joe Sombeck, central defenders Dave Masolak and Tim Herlihy and goalkeeper Sam Hadley, the Mustangs have posted seven shutouts while compiling a 9-3-4 record through play on Monday.

“They’re the key and when they don’t play well in the back, we don’t play well,” Downers Grove South coach Jon Stapleton said. “It’s evident, and in a lot of games they’ve embraced that, especially against some good teams.”

Many different qualities define a good defender. While possessing all of the fundamental skills is a necessity, players need to be quick, tough and strong. Mentally, they need to be intelligent in the sense that they read the game well. They should also have excellent field vision and be able to think ahead in order to remain a step ahead of opponents.

Masolak and Herlihy are the biggest and most physical of the four players. They’ve had a great deal of success winning head balls, while Leahy and Sombeck are better suited on the outside where they are better in the possession game and getting up field.

In a 2-0 victory over Glenbard East on Sept. 16, Leahy scored the game-winning goal by getting up field and hammering home a rebound shot. So, while the defenders are primarily protecting their side of the field and trying to get their offense going, the work of Leahy and Sombeck hustling back and forth has paid off.

“They all have their own strengths,” Stapleton said. “Tim (Herlihy) is someone we can put on another team’s best player and he’s especially strong in the air and on restarts. Dave (Masolak) has experience from last year. Sombeck and Mike (Leahy) really have done a nice job of getting forward out of the back, but really they all have brought different strengths over the course of the season.”

Sombeck is the lone junior of the group. The other three players, as well as Hadley in goal, are seniors, so there is a level of maturity that the four players bring to the field, even if the same unit wasn’t in place last fall.

“We weren’t all playing together last year, but we’ve all known each other for awhile,” Leahy said. “Whether it was from previous teams and practice or playing a lot of pickup games over the summer, we’ve been able to mesh pretty well.”

They also understand the game well enough to appreciate that their dirty work in shutting down prolific scorers on occasion has ignited Downers Grove South's offensive attack.

“When the back has played well, then it seems like the midfield plays well and then the forwards play well,” Herlihy said. “It all starts with us in back. When we can shut a team down, we usually get it done up field too.”

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