Buffalo Grove exceeds its seed again
Buffalo Grove is one scary No. 14 seed.
After stunning No. 1 seed Warren on Tuesday, the Bison kept up the heat Friday, producing a convincing 2-0 victory over No. 9 seed Wheeling in Class 3A regional championship play at Grant Blaney Stadium.
That puts the surging Bison in Tuesday's Palatine sectional semifinals, where they'll will face either Highland Park or Stevenson at 4:30 p.m.
A Christian Miguel strike at the half-hour helped set the tone for the hosts, while a late finish from Collin Dekorski cemented the outcome against Wheeling, which bows out one year after reaching the state final with a 12-7-4 record and another MSL East Division crown.
"They outplayed, most likely wanted it more than we did, and just fed off of Zach (Masciopinto), who was just tremendous all night long for them," said Wheeling coach Ed Uhrik, whose Wildcats have been idle since dropping the MSL Cup to Fremd eight days ago. Wheeling's scheduled first-round opponent, Waukegan, forfeited Tuesday's regional semifinal matchup due to a teachers strike.
"We weren't very sharp from the start, but being off that long was no excuse," said Uhrik. "We had a few chances, and I thought their first goal might not have crossed the end line - but you have to play through those things, and again, Buffalo Grove was the better team, and they deserved their result."
The Bison (11-10-2) began crisply, and within the space of five minutes had created three long throws deep into the Wildcats' area from specialist Hans Haller.
The front seven of the Bison, with positive, driving runs forward, helped put the visitors in a defensive mode from the onset as the BG midfield group of Masciopinto, Drew Brauner, Alex Alfaro and others were winning nearly every first and second ball.
"I thought our work rate from front to back was really good all night long, and when coach (Carlson) brought on three fresh pairs of legs up top, those guys gave us maximum effort as well," said Masciopinto, the Bison captain.
Masciopinto found space inside the box to redirect a nasty attempt on frame after meeting up with a well-paced long free kick from Haller. After Jose Castillo made the first of 5 brilliant saves for the Wildcats, Miguel found himself in the right place at the right time to slot just over the line in the 30th minute.
"When their keeper yelled 'ball,' I knew it wasn't on me, so I knew if we were crashing the box there would be a chance for someone if I kept the ball in the mix - and Christian was there for us," said Masciopinto.
Just before the Miguel goal, the best chance of the first half for the Wildcats fell to Fabian Acosta from the left side, but his left-footer went wide of the post. Bison keeper Daniel Sempoch had a relatively easy time of it, thanks to the defensive play in front of him.
"Our guys along the back didn't concede anything tonight, and with the help of the midfield, we kept the ball a lot for ourselves while not allowing their attack to get anything serious going in our end," said BG coach Rick Carlson.
The Bison started the second half as the first, attacking with gusto and purpose, their confidence soaring. The only thing holding them back was continued stellar play from Castillo.
The sophomore turned away four point-blank strikes before Dekorski slipped past two defenders to gain just enough time and space to steer in his second goal of the postseason to make it 2-0 with 15 minutes remaining.
Uhrik moved all-state defender Francisco Arellano into the middle, joining Frankie Estrada, but Wheeling was unable to solve BG.
"Last year it would have been fair to call us a Cinderella team, because our record heading into the playoffs was way under .500," said Masciopinto. "This year we've been a little unlucky, but we've also beaten some very good teams. And if we continue to have everyone play the way we can, we can be in this right until the end."
"I've always had confidence in these guys, and during the last couple of weeks, after a few adjustments and tinkering here and there, you could see the comfort level beginning to set," said BG coach Rick Carlson. "Even though we don't have a gaudy record, we feel like we can compete with anyone if we come to play."
Fremd 2, Lake Zurich 0: The Mid-Suburban League champs earned a spot in Tuesday's Palatine sectional semifinals by blanking the regional host Bears. Ben Poder scored with an assist from Zach Schoffstall, and Schoffstall scored the second goal unassisted while Will Lefevre earned the shutout with 3 saves.
Fremd (16-5-1) will meet the Libertyville regional champ in Tuesday's 6:30 p.m. sectional semifinal at Palatine. The Libertyville regional features Mundelein against Libertyville at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Lake Park 2, Schaumburg 0: The Lancers will play in Tuesday's 7 p.m. sectional semifinal at Bartlett after topping the regional host Saxons.
Leyden 1, Glenbrook South 0: The Eagles advanced to at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday berth in the Niles North sectional by edging the regional host Titans.