Pallan, Barrington hang on at Palatine
Three goals in the first 20 minutes from Hans Pallan and an impressive overall first-half display helped visiting Barrington hold off a furious fight-back from Palatine in Mid-Suburban West boy soccer.
The Broncos (12-6-0, 5-3-0, 15 points) claimed a 3-2 victory Thursday night on the turf at Chic Anderson Stadium, which all but ends the Pirates' hope of catching MSL West leader Fremd in the standings.
"If we had come out in the first half with the same urgency and energy that we found after the break, maybe it's a little different result in the end. But you've to credit Barrington for its strong start, which took advantage of our inability to sort things out, and organization along the back," said Palatine coach Willie Filian.
"If you had told me we would have put 3 in on Palatine, I would not have believed you," saod Broncos coach Scott Steib. "But nothing is ever safe when you're playing Willie, and we had to struggle and work hard to get out of here with 3 points."
Prior to the contest, the clubs learned they'd earned the Nos. 4 and No. 6 seeds in the upcoming Palatine sectional. Barrington showed early it deserved such lofty status.
Terrific ball movement and quick touches helped the visitors create a string of openings, including two in the first 10 minutes, with Pallan claiming the first two goals from in close. Kyle Owen had nice assists both times.
Near the quarter-hour, the Broncos appeared to have yet another chance to extend their advantage when Luke Sellers was tripped up inside the box - but the center official did not see it that way, and play continued.
Three minutes later, Pallan added to the woes for the Pirates (7-3-1, 5-3-1, 16) when he took advantage of a failed clearing attempt and finished a loose ball past keeper Dylan Ruzbasan.
"Three bad goals, no doubt about it," said Filian.
For the remainder of the first half, the Broncos kept up the pressure but failed to score again, setting the stage for Palatine's second-half comeback.
The Pirates' persistence was rewarded when leading scorer Tyler Curylo steered in his 14th goal of the season by running on to a long throw from Kevin Burke in the 50th minute.
Burke was central to the Pirates' second goal, too, this one coming on yet another long toss. But this time, Matt Mayer was the recepient of Burke's searing toss at 53 minutes.
"We went to a 3-5-2 during our loss to Rolling Meadows, and actually played very well after the formation switch - and it continued tonight in that first half when we were very sharp in our play, from front-to-back," said Barrington senior Casey Slingo. "We might have thought this game was over after going up 3-0, but Palatine thought otherwise, and they got us out of our game and into the way they play to make it a tough second half for our team."