Opening burst carries Huntley past Crystal Lake South
A stunning 15-minute display by a rampant Huntley attack put a dagger in the championship hopes of visiting Crystal Lake South on Thursday night as the Red Raiders rolled to a 5-1 FVC Valley boys soccer victory.
Three first-half goals from Travis Walsh, Michael Zembrzuski and Max Walsh sent the visiting Gators (9-6-3, 3-1-0) reeling. Crystal Lake South had been hoping to lock up a second consecutive divisional crown with a win on the road.
"(South) came out in that first five minutes and really put the pressure on us, but that goal by Travis got us up and running, and after that, we may have played our best soccer of the season," said Huntley coach Kris Grabner, who along with his coaching counterpart, Brian Allen, endured a 45-minute delay at the start due to lighting and dangerous weather at the Harmony Road Campus.
"I had not been feeling well all day, so I told the guys beforehand that I would handle the tactical side of things tonight and that they should just go out there and play the game," Grabner said. "They really let me be just watching with a terrific 80-minute performance."
With all the momentum in the world heading into this key FVC contest, and knowing one victory would close out the rest of the clubs in the division, the Gators opened brightly but soon found themselves chasing the lead following the Travis Walsh strike at six minutes.
"I had mentioned to you earlier that in this conference, you have to bring your best each and every time out, and if you don't, you could be in for a long day with a disappointing result - and that's exactly what happened to us tonight," said Allen.
Sophomore Nikolas Getzinger, who Allen singled out as a top competitor on this night, said the fast start by Huntley was just too much.
"I felt like we were ready to go, but we didn't bring enough energy, emotion or urgency with our game," Getzinger said. "And (Huntley) surprised us early, and we never recovered."
Travis Walsh's opener came when the senior took full advantage of having been allowed too much time and space, teeing up a 25-yarder that found the net.
Zembrzuski doubled the advantage for the Red Raiders (11-6-1, 2-2-0) when, on the turn, he fired his left-footed blast past keeper Spencer Traub, who had no chance on the 16th-minute attempt.
Max Walsh redirected his header past Traub for the third goal of the match in the 24th minute to finish a brilliant quarter-hour of soccer.
"Our defending for all three of those first half goals was poor, and when you give an opponent free looks as we did, it's no surprise to me that they put a few of them in," Allen said.
Getzinger pulled one back for the Gators just moments after the Max Walsh goal, but half-chances by Marcin Silwinski and the team's leading scorer, Andrew Grabowski, were denied by keeper Michael Parks.
South had another chance just after intermission when Getzinger rose up to meet Skyler Pentico's inward swinging corner, but his header went wide of Parks.
Huntley was soon celebrating another goal, this one from Kyle Carberry in the 50th minute.
"We've been capable of playing this well all year, so I am not surprised at all with our overall effort tonight," said Carberry.
The Red Raiders got their final goal when Irwin Bhathal placed a quality ball onto the foot of Travis Walsh, who quickly served back across the goal to Jason Zobott for a sublime one-timer.
"We came out a little flat in our last game with Dundee-Crown, and eventually lost in PK's - but tonight we were at our best, to show we can have a good run in us when the state tournament begins," said Zembrzuski.
The Gators are on the road at Glenbrook North this Saturday, with a match against McHenry still on the books, if and when the school strike is settled in that area.
Huntley also is scheduled to play McHenry, with a trip to Grayslake North ending the regular season for the Red Raiders next Thursday.