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Boys soccer: Stevenson tops Round Lake

In an up-and-down season, Stevenson's boys soccer team showed Wednesday night that it's up for the state tournament.

Jun Min scored both goals, and he and his teammates shut down high-scoring Freddie Ramirez, as the 10th-seeded Patriots blanked No. 7 Round Lake 2-0 in semifinal action of the Class 3A Highland Park regional.

Stevenson (9-7-3) will next take on No. 15 Highland Park (6-10-5) in the regional championship at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Round Lake ended its season at 16-4.

"It was a really big win. Round Lake was a good team with some really good talented players up front," Stevenson coach Mark Schartner said. "We've been playing like this all year, but we haven't been that lucky.

"We were quick out there," Schartner added. "We haven't been terribly unhealthy, but this was the first time that we were healthy. It's been a long time coming. The guys feel it. I thought our defense played well and didn't give up many chances."

Kuzuki Niimi and Jake Nunez helped control the midfield for Stevenson and keep the Panthers from setting up many chances in the final third of the field.

"We changed our system of play this year," Niimi said. "We possess the ball. We scouted Round Lake a few games and we knew what to expect. We also tried to double-team as much as we could and focused on that. Getting the first win (in the state tournament) is always the hardest one."

Min opened the scoring in the game's third minute. He corralled a cross in the box and fired in a shot.

Min scored again in the 49th minute. He tried connecting with Dennis Katsman, but the Panthers' defense denied the pass. The ball fell right back to Min, who drilled in a half-volley for his 14th goal of the season.

"We were practicing shooting before the game," Min said. "Once I saw the ball bouncing, I thought I could volley it. I just got it perfect that time."

Round Lake won the North Suburban Prairie Division title before losing to Libertyville 3-2 in double overtime in the NSC championship game. Ramirez scored a school-record 24 goals this season and school-record 87 in his four-year varsity career.

"(Stevenson) did a great job," Round Lake coach Hugo Tellez said. "Their players stepped up. It's like they knew what we were doing. It helps when you watch us play a little bit. They did their job. It's not about records. It's who wants it more, and (Stevenson) wanted it more."

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