Big scoring effort powers Warren
Walking up and down the sidelines, Warren boys soccer coach Jason Ahonen knew it would take a few goals to win the Warren regional championship.
He was right — and Warren got more than a few.
The top-seeded Blue Devils came out firing on Saturday, scoring 5 first-half goals to oust No. 2 seed Round Lake 7-3. It’s Warren’s second straight regional title.
“This was the most intense (7-3) game that I’ve ever been involved in,” Ahonen said. “The boys know it’s one and done. Middle of the season, if you lose a game here and there, you have tomorrow. Now, you don’t have tomorrow and that’s what it’s all about.”
Warren (17-5-3) next faces Boylan (15-6-1) in the Class 3A Rockford Auburn sectional Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Boylan defeated Hononegah 1-0 with a goal in the final two minutes on Saturday morning.
The Blue Devils didn’t waste any time on Saturday afternoon, scoring just 19 seconds into the game as Aunor Solis found the back of the net after a touch pass from Mikey Cain.
Daniel Szczepanek sizzled in a shot after a serve from Tony Severini in the 10th minute.
“We have just come together as a team and we’re on the same page,” Szczepanek said. “We all do our own jobs.”
Round Lake (18-4-1) cut the lead to 2-1 in the 14th minute as Freddie Ramirez scored off a touch pass from Ab Murua.
But the Blue Devils responded within 30 seconds when Timmy Pieper scored on a header set up by Szczepanek’s corner kick to make it 3-1.
“Daniel played me a perfect ball and I was inside the 6,” Pieper said. “I was right there to put it in. I really did the easy part — Daniel gave me the ball.
“We do try to take pride on our set pieces. Every set piece, we believe, is dangerous.”
Warren added 2 more goals before the break — Solis scored in the 24th minute off a Sean Kirwan assist, and Kirwan had the other goal as Severino assisted.
The Blue Devils added goals in the second half from Dan Hengesh and Nick Wegrznowicz. Severini and Wegrznowicz had assists.
Murua netted a goal, and Mauricio Salgado scored on a penalty kick and added an assist for Round Lake.
Salgado was limited in playing time due to a knee injury that was aggravated against Zion-Benton in the regional semifinal round.
Round Lake set many school records this season, including 18 victories and an unbeaten streak that lasted 14 games — not to mention an outright North Suburban Prairie championship.
“Warren by far was the best team we’ve played,” Round Lake coach Hugo Tellez said. “We just started out flat and it went down from there.”