A 2-0 varsity boys soccer victory over Chicago Kelly High School Wednesday night keeps their goal of winning state alive. Despitewinds of 30 miles an hour and freezing temperatures, 10 minutes into the game, Andrew Scott of the Red Devils headed the ball into the upper right corner of the net off an assist by Gareth Parsons to put the Devils in the lead.

Passing and controlling the ball was difficult for both sides due to the poor conditions, but Hinsdale was able to control the game. With 18 minutes to go in the second half, a shot deflected off the crossbar and Hinsdale’s Mike Krohn redirected the ball into the net for a goal. Solid defensive play by the Red Devil defenders and goalkeeper Will Meyer helped them shutout the Trojans of Chicago Kelly.

The Red Devils will now face Argo High School on Saturday at 3 p.m. to see who will advance to the sectional hosted at Hinsdale Central.

Coach Mike Wiggins has goals for the team that extend beyond the field.  “Although winning is the objective of the game, more importantly [the objective] is to continue to put into practice the things that benefit our guys both on and off the field even beyond the season,” Wiggins said.  “We want to try to incorporate things we value in our program: pride in what we do, hard work, respect towards training everyday, and being prepared.”

The Red Devils enter the playoffs as the number five seed in their region.  Last year, they were seeded seventh and beat Argo in the regional quarterfinals before losing a close game to Morton in the regional semifinals.

“We don’t want to have any letdowns. We want to be aggressive on the attack, want be strong in the air, don’t want to create any problems defensively, and want to be organized as a team. Those are the things that have made us a dangerous team this year,” Wiggins said.

Coach Wiggins also said that in preparation for the playoffs, the team has spent more time on the penalty kick shoot-out, which can be key in the postseason.  “If a team goes into a tie situation and goes into overtime, a tie leads to a penalty kick shootout,” Wiggins said. Another way that the Red Devils have gotten ready for the playoffs is spending some time on discussing the qualities of a team.