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Energized Rolling Meadows advances by shutout

Rolling Meadows was full of energy at the start, and that helped get the Mustangs off to winning postseason debut against Addison Trail on Wednesday night with a 3-0 victory in the second match Wednesday in the Class 3A Elk Grove boys soccer regional.

Next up for the No. 5-seeded Mustangs (10-7-2) will be No. 4 St. Charles North in the regional final at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Coach Peter Mikulak's Mustangs burst to life from the opening whistle, and then again after intermission to put the Blazers (7-9-1) on their heels.

"We lost to a better team tonight, and just didn't have it right from the start," said Addison Trail coach Ryan Dini. "But you have to credit Rolling Meadows. There's a reason they were given the No. 5 seed in our sectional. They were fast, physical, experienced and senior-dominated - something we are not, and at times our youth really did us in."

The Mustangs' front seven gave them the perfect start with plenty of pace, energy and vibrant, exciting play. After a strong first quarter hour of soccer, it was clear the Blazers would have a serious challenge on their hands.

"We played a very good second half of soccer in our season finale with Barrington, and it seemed to carry over into our opener tonight," Mikulak said. "And obviously, we were very pleased with that when you consider how slow we usually come out.

"Our midfield did a good job on both sides of the ball to help set the tone, and the only disappointing thing about the first half was our inability to finish on the several chances we created."

Kou Glaser, Brett Gibson, Jacob Koutas, Andy Rueger and Sal D'Acquisto were at the center of most of the Mustangs' attack.

It wasn't long after a handful of close calls that Glaser drove home the opener. He ran onto a splendid corner from Gibson and redirected his attempt in at 19 minutes.

"I like that we started out so strong tonight, which led to that early goal from Kou," said Mustangs back-line standout Enrique Avellaneda. "It gave all of us the type of lift you need for your first playoff game."

Avellaneda's defending teammates - Jose Curz, AJ Aluquin and Jessie Perez - made sure keeper Marc Quezada had an uneventful 80 minutes of service. Nearly all of the balls put on frame were easily collected or saved.

Avellaneda's free kick off his left-foot bent just inside the near post from 18 yards away for a brilliant strike to double the Mustangs' advantage.

It was 3-0 when Koutas put David Zarate through, and the senior did the rest. He touched past a defender to draw keeper Jonah Moran off his line, leaving an open goal for Zarate.

"I think our confidence was very high after beginning the second half as well as the first, and those two goals finally put some distance between us," Avellaneda said.

"This is always the toughest day, when you lose and you're out," Dini added. "And for the few seniors we have, my heart goes out for them for effort and hard work they have put in

"The message going away tonight was we have almost everyone back next year, But it is important for those returning to put the time in during the off-season, to dedicate themselves to getting better, to do well in the classroom and to be ready to go when we start up again next year."

Dini started two sophomores and one freshman on Wednesday, plus another two juniors.

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