Morton goal with 7 seconds left stuns Huntley

Each goalkeeper made key saves Thursday night to keep the Pepsi Showdown boys soccer quarterfinal scoreless.

Unfortunately for Huntley, goalkeeper Austen Emery had little chance with 7 seconds remaining.

Morton’s Leo Delgado headed a free kick past Emery and into the net to send the Mustangs to a 1-0 victory over the Red Raiders in Huntley.

“I figured it was going to come down to a dead ball at some point,” Huntley coach Kris Grabner said. “That was the same play we run. They ran it very well.”

Emery finished with 8 saves and made two important stops in the final 10½ minutes. The Mustangs’ Chabello Marquez was alone 8 yards out with 10:20 remaining, but Emery made a diving save. With 2:45 to go, Emery stopped a header from Luis Alvarado and the rebound was cleared.

“I thought was a few great chances late,” Mustangs coach Mike Caruso said. “Their defense got a foot (on the rebound).”

Ian Chacon was just as good for Morton (7-1). He got enough of a touch on a hard left-footed shot from Huntley’s Reyman Solis late in the first half. With 12:30 remaining in the second half, Jack Bessey’s header went over Chacon’s head, hit the crossbar and rebounded right to Nikolaos Mihalopoulos. His shot from point-blank range was saved by Chacon, who finished with 4 saves.

That gave Morton a chance to score the game-winner. The Red Raiders (9-1-1) were whistled for a foul about 35 yards out and near the sideline with 12.2 seconds remaining that resulted in a yellow card, stopping the clock. Jovany Garcia took the free kick and hit a ball toward the far post. Delgado was there to send the Mustangs to the semifinals on Saturday.

“We didn’t come out like we needed to. We came out the second half a little better,” Grabner said. “We came out in the second half like we usually play. We just didn’t get the opportunities we needed.”