Broncos better Bears
Taylor Williams said he really couldn't remember much of anything about his goal. But you can bet the sophomore striker will always remember the celebration that occured after his game-winner hit the back of the net.
Williams' strike in the 92nd minute stunned top seed Lake Zurich and the big home crowd at Barrington on Saturday afternoon as the Broncos defeated the Bears 3-2 in OT to capture their own regional soccer title and advance into the Rockford Boylan sectional next Tuesday. Barrington will play either the host Titans or Rockford Guilford at 7 p.m.
This unbelievable knockout clash featured not only the top two seeds in this sub-regional, but two of the top 10 teams in the state. And the contest lived up to expectations.
The Bears (19-2-3) demonstrated just why they had earned the No. 1 seed by taking control from the opening whistle, and it was clear that the talented duo of Tim Kreutz and Nick Janus would be a fierce tandem for the home side to handle.
Both Kreutz and Janus, who have combined for over 40 goals this season, gave the Broncos' back line fits all day. Barrington keeper Tom Unak made several big saves, including a game-saving stop on Kreutz when it appeared the Bears would go up 3-1 near the hour mark.
"There were opportunities (there) for us not only in the first half, but in the second, but we just were not able to finish any of those chances," said Lake Zurich coach Mike Schmitz.
Ryan Mangone turned in a superb effort on both sides of the ball for Barrington, taking some of the Bears' early momentum away when he found the back of the net at the quarter hour with the help of Tommy Arns.
Janus drove home the equalizer at 38 minutes when he finished a wonderful ball from teammate Brett Harper at the spot.
Just seconds after intermission, Janus made it 2-1 after the Broncos were unable to cleaning clear in their own end.
Despite its troubles clearing, the Broncos broke through late and drew even when Noel Irion deftly touched under Bears keeper Tao Scarnato at 78 minutes.
"This season has already reminded me of last year when we won four OT matches during the post-season," said Broncos coach Scott Steib. "So I knew after winning in OT against Cary-Grove that we were capable of doing it again if we had to."
After each side had a chance to win it in the first extra period, Williams ended the match in an instant at the tail-end of a center channel run to delight all those dressed in red and black.
"Everything happened so fast," Williams said just moments after Irion provided the helper, "but all I remember was thinking, 'Don't miss.' "
Palatine 2, St. Viator 1: Palatine broke the hearts of No. seed 4 St. Viator (19-3-0), which had looked to run its win streak to 20 matches and fuel what the Lions thought would be a long and successful postseason run.
The Pirates' Matt Marturano struck for his second game-winner in as many matches at 43 minutes, and then was part of a valiant stand by the home side in the mud and muck during the final half hour of play to ensure a 1-0 regional final victory and end the Lions' season.
"This sport can very cruel," said Lions coach Mike Taylor, who took extra time to console the 11 seniors on a 2008 roster which included 2007 all-state defender Matt Riggio, who played superbly in his final match of his career with the club. "We had the better run of play today, and I am sure that Willie (Filian, Palatine head coach) would admit that, and the fact that the conditions (here) favored his club and not ours.
"But you have to credit Palatine. They took advantage of their opportunity, and we just were not able to do the same. That's why this game can be so cruel."
The visitors will be kicking themselves for quite some time after dominating almost the entire second half of play in which a strong wind and desire to get back even after the Marturano, his 13th of year, which came just after the break.
"We knew that St. Viator would come at us hard today after we beat them (1-0) in the first week of the season and because they have been on this unbelievable winning streak," said Palatine junior midfielder Willie Filian, who initiated the Marturano goal from his outpost on the outside. "But Matt has been on fire lately, and he sure has picked a great time to pick it up on the scoring end for us."
The Pirates (18-4-1) looked to challenge rookie keeper Patrick Windle with trademark long-throw heaves from Filian. Windle and his backline mates withstood the pressure for most of the match, including a terrific save at 28 minutes when the junior re-directed a header by Marturano from a Filian throw.
The Lions' Benjamin Gyuricza first scored with a shot past Pirates keeper Kyle Held.
The Pirates surprised the visitors just after intermission, thanks in part to senior Glenn Arnold, whose gritty play and marvelous work ethic all match long was rewarded when he was able to get free in a crowd before finding Marturano, who finished just inside the right post.
"Willie gave me a great ball and I was able to find Matt, then we just worked as hard as we could to get the win," said Arnold.
The Pirates next travel to the Libertyville to meet No. 1 Waukegan in a sectional quarterfinal at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Glenbrook South 1, Hersey 0: The Hersey boys soccer team fell 1-0 at the hands of top-seeded Waukegan on Saturday afternoon in the Class 3A regional final at Glenbrook South.
The ninth-seeded Huskies (12-6-3) left everything on the field, just as they had done in Tuesday's 1-0 semifinal victory over Glenbrook South after a penalty kick shootout and four overtime periods.
Waukegan junior forward Julio Ibarra scored 12 minutes into the first half to put Hersey behind early. The feisty Bulldogs defense played aggressively in denying the Huskies from there on out.
"I thought they were a very skilled team," Hersey coach Darren Llewellyn said. "It was a good soccer match. It was exciting, fun to watch. We had chances."
One such chance happened with eight minutes left in the game. Junior midfielder Kyle Pietro's corner kick found senior Rolando Herrera in front of the net. Herrera's shot bounced off the crossbar, and Hersey could do nothing with the rebound. It was the last good opportunity Waukegan (17-2-3) gave the Huskies.
"I thought the ball was going to go in by the way I hit it," Herrera said. "It skimmed some guy's shoulder and went up and hit the crossbar. It was unlucky. That's just the way the game is sometimes."
- David Just
Carmel 2, Wheeling 1: The upsets keep coming for Carmel Catholic, which was handed the No. 15 seed in the Libertyville sectional.
Sophomore Jimmy Ryan scored the game-winning goal, as the Corsairs upended No. 6 Wheeling 2-1 in the Mundelein regional final Saturday.
Carmel (12-11-3), which won its fourth regional, will next play Wednesday at 7 p.m. against No. 2 Deerfield in the sectional semifinals at Libertyville. Deerfield (18-3-1) shut out Glenbrook North 4-0 to win the Warren regional.
Wheeling (15-7-2) tied the game at 1-1 when Leo Elizalde scored from the top of the box in the first half.
"I think the elements worked against us," Wheeling coach Ed Uhrik said. "The style of play that we play and the wind worked against us. And we were on a sloppy pitch. Carmel had to play on it too. But we wanted to possess the ball in the middle and move the ball around, instead of playing kick ball. It just wasn't our day."
- Rusty Silber
Loyola 5, Maine West 0: Although they didn't get any help from the near gale-force winds, Maine West was able to weather the relentless attack of Loyola for the first 36 minutes of Saturday's regional soccer final.
Then the Ramblers struck for 2 quick goals in the final moments of the first half to open the floodgates in a 5-0 Loyola win.
Tommy Belton scored three times as Loyola, the No. 2 seed in the Niles North sectional and playing on their home pitch, overwhelmed the 7th-seeded Warriors.
"We got 13 wins this year," said Maine West coach Mike Divincenzo, "which is the most wins by a Maine West team since 1978. This was a great team with great kids and I'm disappointed they didn't get any hardware."
- Bill Esbrook
Schaumburg 1, Lake Park : Junior Declan Geraghty scored the only goal in triple overtime to lift Schamburg to the regional championship victory.
The No. 3-seeded Saxons advance to the Wheaton North sectional and will face No. 2 Geneva at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.