Boys soccer: Cary-Grove nabs regional crown in PKs

Cary-Grove senior forward Michael Arenberg wasn't about to let a leg cramp keep him from taking the biggest kick of his high school career.

Leading top-seeded Crystal Lake South 4-3 in penalty kicks, a hobbling Arenberg calmly deposited his attempt into the left corner to give the Trojans an emotional 3-2 victory over their Fox Valley Conference rivals in Saturday's Class 3A DeKalb regional championship boys soccer game.

"I had a charley horse in my thigh pretty bad, but going into PKs coach asked me if I was good and I told him that I wanted it bad," Arenberg said. "I missed one in the last game, so it was good redemption."

Cary-Grove (9-8-1), which will play Rockford Guilford Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Huntley sectional, survived playing a man down for over 37 minutes as Patrick Kingdon drew a second yellow card.

Arenberg scored to give the short-handed Trojans a 2-1 lead in the 63rd minute before Nikolas Getzinger tallied the equalizer for the Gators off a turnover two minutes later.

"We just had to keep grinding it out and keep the momentum going," Arenberg said.

For the second straight contest, Crystal Lake South (11-9-4) found itself playing from behind. The Gators had a chance to take an early lead as Ryan Coughlin rifled a shot off the post in the 10th minute.

Four minutes later, Cary-Grove cashed in as Maxwell Green's header off a corner sneaked over the goal-line.

Crystal Lake South evened the game 10 minutes into the second half. Senior Jake Canfield converted a controversial penalty kick as Trojans' keeper Sergio Lemas was carded for making contact with a Gator player after punching the ball out of the box.

"We created our own adversity, but I'm thankful for the way they gutted it out and came out on top," said Cary-Grove coach Mark Olson, who captured his first regional title in 10 seasons at the helm.

"I've been watching this program for many years. My brother's been through it, and I've seen teams go down and not win championships. It feels great to be able to get this win for the school and for coach," Arenberg said.

In overtime, the Gators came up with the best chance as Canfield's header off Skyler Pentico's corner went wide.

Luis Lemus, Brett Schuerg Oscar Silis and Esteban Angeles all converted penalty kicks for Cary-Grove. Getzinger and Nick Langdon were successful for the Gators before Zach Schmidt's attempt hit the inside of the post and caromed out.

"It's a game of inches," said Gators coach Brian Allen. "We battled back and found the equalizer twice and I'm so proud of my guys."