‘Let it fly and hope’
Frustrated late against Bloom, senior Vargas comes through with the game-winning goal to keep Thornton co-op unbeaten
The exasperation was starting to build up for Miguel Vargas late in Thornton co-op’s game against Bloom on Wednesday.
Vargas, a senior midfielder, pounded his fist on the turf after a missed opportunity to break a tie. Vargas, though, thinks he is at his best when he gets a little angry.
“I play through the frustration,” Vargas said. “Whenever I get frustrated, I play better.”
Vargas backed that up, scoring the game-winning goal with 7 minutes, 28 seconds left to lift the Wildcats to a 2-1 win over the Blazing Trojans in a Southland Conference game in Chicago Heights.
The winning moment for Thornton (2-0, 2-0) started when Vargas made a strong move down the middle of the field. He fired a looping shot from 40 yards that found its way into the top of the net.
“We were slow on top,” Vargas said. “We weren’t shooting. I was just like, ‘You know what? I’m just going to let it fly and hope for the best.’
“Every game is big, but Bloom is always going to be something else. It’s the biggest game on our schedule. It’s a fun, friendly rivalry. I’ve been looking forward to this since last season.”
Vargas’ heroics came as no surprise. He had a huge junior season, finishing with 22 goals and 20 assists. Still, he was not satisfied.
“Last season, I thought I lacked a little bit of strength,” he said. “I’ve worked on that, my speed and agility.
“They don’t know where to go to stop me. I can go right or left. I’m unpredictable.”
Senior defender Angel Mendez opened the scoring for the Wildcats, converting on a penalty kick in the 13th minute after Hector Gonzalez was fouled in the box.
“I told the guys, ‘I’ve got it,’ ” Mendez said. “I was pretty confident going up there. I saw the goalie going to his right, so I went to my right too.
“We know a lot of the guys on Bloom. It’s always a fun game. It’s fun to beat them.”
Mendez also anchored
a back line that limited the chances for the high-powered Blazing Trojans (0-1, 0-1).
“As a leader in the back, I talk to my defensive line and make sure we stick together,” he said. “If one shifts, I make sure someone else covers for him. If someone goes up, we shift.
“For the through balls, we know they have fast players up top. I told the guys we had to go strong and keep our line back because if they got us with a through ball, that would be hard for us.”
Thornton goalkeeper Leo Gutierrez and Bloom goalkeeper Emiliano Horta each made five saves.
Bloom started slow in its season opener but tied the game 1-1 with 31 minutes left when Alan Segoviano scored on a free kick from 40 yards.
Bloom star junior forward Christian Munoz, who scored 67 goals over his first two seasons, played sparingly due to an injury.
With out-of-conference play limited due to the coronavirus pandemic, Bloom and Thornton are scheduled to play twice more this season, and there are talks of adding a fourth game.
“I thought we lost our identity a bit in the second half,” Bloom coach Zack Radtke said. “The last 20 minutes, we started playing long ball with them, and that’s exactly what they wanted.
“We’ve got to get a little more focused offensively. Christian was hobbled. He tried to give it a go, but he tweaked his hamstring. If we have him in the game next time, that changes things dramatically.”