Lake Park shuts out Glenbard West

With Lake Park's defensive record it's unbeatable when it scores, and that trend continued against Glenbard West in the Class 3A Bartlett sectional semifinal at Streamwood.

With two second-half goals from Oliver Horgan, the Lancers defeated the Hilltoppers 2-0, recording their 12th shutout of the season.

"That's the kind of team this is," said Lancers coach Anthony Passi. "They just keep fighting. They work for that shutout. They work hard to put that ball in the back of the net. "

As both teams struggled to find any sort of clear-cut scoring chance in the first half, a penalty call three minutes into the second half drastically changed the game.

After a Glenbard West defender was called for a hand ball in the box, Horgan calmly stepped up and slotted home the penalty kick to put Lake Park up 1-0.

The goal forced the Hilltoppers (9-11-1) to change their defensive game plan and push numbers forward, something they struggled to do throughout the game, especially after a red card in the middle of the second half.

"We knew that we were facing a tough opposition, so we wanted to be extra careful defensively," said Hilltoppers coach Maciej Kusmierz. "We were waiting for our chances, and we did not have to many of them at the beginning of the game … . Unfortunately, the penalty came in the second half and kind of threw off the game and after that it was tough to pick ourselves up."

Ten minutes later came the best piece of soccer from either team, which led to a second Lake Park goal.

Anthony Passi Jr. got on the ball and played it nicely behind the Glenbard West backline to find an on rushing Horgan. Horgan took a touch past goalkeeper Alex Ruckstaetter and passed the ball into the net for the second and final goal.

"It opens up a lot more space when I start making those runs (behind the back line)," Horgan said. "They usually have a guy or two man-marking me, so it just opens up some more space for the other guys on the team. Anthony made a great ball on that run, and I just got the ball and had to finish it."

The Lancers (19-1-4) will move onto the sectional finals on Saturday, facing a Rolling Meadows team that took down West Chicago 3-0 in the earlier game.

"I watched the game earlier. They were all over West Chicago," coach Passi said. "They're a solid team. Quick coming out of the midfield."