Huntley has a lesson-learning day

Huntley girls soccer coach Kris Grabner hopes his team learned something Saturday.

The Red Raiders were flat in their opening game against Harlem and needed nearly 68 minutes to get on the scoreboard against Glenbard North.

Autumn Maravigila's goal was enough to give Huntley a 1-0 victory over the Panthers in the third-place game of the Huntley Invitational.

"I was happy with the lesson we got today because it was a big lesson about coming out and playing," Grabner said.

Taryn Jakubowski scored Huntley's lone goal against Harlem, but Grabner said he was hard pressed to find much more positive from the loss.

The Red Raiders (5-2) showed a better approach against Glenbard North (4-2), which lost to Rockford Boylan on a late penalty kick earlier Saturday. Huntley had the better of play in the first half and didn't allow the Panthers a shot on goal.

"In the first half, it was more about just showing some energy," Grabner said. "I was pretty happy in the first half. I just felt like we had a lot more in us."

Huntley came out with more energy in the second half and nearly took the lead 6 minutes into the half. A nice give-and-go between Alyssa Kaufman and Jakubowski led to a Kaufman shot that was pushed over the bar by Glenbard North goalkeeper Ariana DePinto. Kaitlin Costantino hit the post with 19:40 remaining in the game.

Maravigila finally got the Red Raiders on the scoreboard after the Panthers misplayed a long ball. The sophomore took advantage and beat DePinto far post.

The Panthers did not have a shot on goal.

"We didn't create a lot of chances," Glenbard North coach David Stanfield said. "It was a bit like (the Boylan) game. The other team probably had the bulk of the possession."