Rockford Boylan ousts Crystal Lake South

DeKALB — The Gators didn't have any quit in them.

Crystal Lake South battled Rockford Boylan right to the wire, but fell 1-0 to the Titans in the first semifinal of the Class 4A De Kalb boys soccer sectional Wednesday night.

In a taut defensive battle, Brandon Arreguin scored the game's only goal on a header from 20 yards out in the 73rd minute.

The Gators kept battling back to try and force overtime. Orlando Tapia's free kick from just outside the box in the final minute hit the crossbar. It was just that kind of night for the Gators (17-6-1).

“They had a lot of the run of play, but I think we probably had some of the better looks, and their goalkeeper (Nathan Wisbey) is all-state for a reason,” said South coach Brian Allen. “He made a couple of big saves.”

“I thought we didn't shy away under the lights. We rose to the occasion, played some good soccer and had our chances, so I'm proud of them. Not many teams play that well at the end and I couldn't be happier.”

South's Dalton Kause nearly matched Wisbey, making some pretty good saves himself. But he had no chance on Arreguin's dart off a feed from Zach Robinson.

South had a chance to take control early in the game, with a shot with Wisbey on the ground, but it hit Wisbey, who made the inadvertent save.

The rest of the first half was largely uneventful as the defenses took over.

Allen lauded the work of the Gator seniors, including midfielder Ben Nyman, as well as freshman Nikolas Getzinger.

“Late in the game, Charlie Ruff decided to put the team on his back and see what happened,” Allen said.

“We created a lot of chances. We moved the ball well, but we couldn't finish. You've got to put them away, but it was a great season,” said Ruff.

Boylan advances to Saturday's noon final against Streamwood, a 1-0 winner over Huntley in the second semifinal.