Boys soccer: Huntley's defense stands tall against Streamwood
It didn't take long for Huntley's boys soccer team to get back on the winning track after suffering its first loss of the season over the weekend.
Trailing 1-0 against visiting Streamwood on Tuesday night the Red Raiders rallied for a pair of goals late in the first half and the defense did the rest for a 2-1 win in consolation action of the PepsiCo Showdown Tournament. The Red Raiders improve to 7-1-1 while the Sabres fall to 4-4-2.
"We had zero possession in that loss on Saturday, " Huntley coach Kris Grabner said. "So that is something we really pushed in practice. I thought we played much better together today as a team. We played with poise. We didn't rush things. We were organized. That leads to opportunities and we took advantage."
With just under 6 minutes to play in the first half. Michael Zembrzuski made a dazzling spin move on the left edge of the box to burn two defenders and make a perfect pass to Diego Franco, who put it in the net to tie the score at 1-1 with 5:34 on the clock.
Moments later Zembrzuski scored the go-ahead goal with 3:35 left in the first half off a rebound after Franco had hit the crossbar. It was the senior midfielder's fifth goal of the season.
"It was tough that first half because we came out flying and had a lot of chances," Zembrzuski said. "We just couldn't get the ball in the net. But we just kept at it and continued to put the pressure on. We knew if we just continued to play our game we would eventually break through."
The Red Raiders' defense did a great job of controlling the ball in the second half, led by the midfield play of Zembrzuski, Jason Zobott, and Travis Walsh. The Sabres were limited to few scoring opportunities in the second half. Streamwood's best chance came on a bullet kick from 30 yards out by Alex Chavez with just over 13 minutes left to play. However, Red Raider goalie Andrew Fulcer made a spectacular diving save on the ball headed for the upper right hand corner of the net.
"The key to our defense tonight was our midfielders staying organized," Grabner said. "They were really able to control the ball. I also thought we did a great job of winning the balls in the air and Andrew had that one great play in the second half that essentially saved the game for us."
Fulcer finished with 8 saves.
Streamwood's goal was scored by Rafael Gil and assisted by Edwin Rueda.
"We had a nice start to get the lead," Streamwood coach Matt Povolin said. "But then we fell asleep for a few minutes and they scored 2 goals. They are a good team and we just can't afford to have those kind of letdowns. They did a real good job of packing in on defense in the second half and not giving us many chances."