Boys soccer: Ehrens' effort helps Carmel past Vernon Hills

Sophomore forward Austin Ehren inspired Carmel Catholic's boys soccer team to a thrilling 2-1 OT victory in Harvard late Friday night to send Vernon Hills out of the 2015 state tournament.

The Corsairs earned a spot in the Class 2A supersectional at Maine South after capturing their first sectional title since 2005.

"What a game, and night, for us," said Carmel coach Ray Krawzak, whose club will face Elmwood Park at Maine South in Park Ridge at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. "It was an exciting night from start to finish, and now we're one win away from reaching the state finals."

It was clear from the opening whistle that both clubs came to play, as every 50-50 and second ball was challenged with zeal, while space was limited as the marking and tackling meant just a few precious moments on the ball.

"It was the type of game I fully expected to see - the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds knowing what was at stake in the end," said Cougars coach Mike McCaulou.

Both teams showed plenty of ambition and a willingness to commit players forward - partly because both also boast sturdy back lines which have been near flawless down the stretch.

There were early signs from Ehren that he would figure prominently in the outcome, as his speed gave the Cougars problems on several of his forays forward. But McCaulou's team was the more dangerous of these two evenly matched clubs after the quarter-hour.

The duo of Chris White and Cole Guillaume, along with senior Joseph Lee, created plenty of trouble for Carmel, including consecutive corners and a couple of half-chances. But it wasn't until the 40th minute that Vernon Hills (16-7-1) struck first - but not without some controversy.

Michael Harty's free kick from near the mid-line eventually ended up with an unmarked Lee who, with a composed half-volley, finished brilliantly - much to the disdain of Krawzak, who felt for sure the Cougars player who'd redirected the serve was in an offside position.

"I'd rather not talk about that whole sequence, but I can tell you, when things like that have happened to us this year, it seems to inspire the guys to do bigger and better things," Krawzak said.

Carmel (17-7-1) was more active after the break, and just after White headed just wide of the back post aafter a wonderful helper from Lee, the Cougars conceded a long throw from Brett Cloe. Ehren steered in a tidy header to draw the Corsairs even at 61 minutes.

"Dead balls, and set-piece goals, they mean so much at this time of the year (and) tonight that's how we found the back of the net twice," Ehren said.

"As well as we played," said McCaulou, "allowing them to get behind us on those two throws in our defensive third really ended up doing us in."

Carmel's Ehren, Scott Cloe and Braco Lasso helped keep Vernon Hills contained as is tried to get ahead. Still, a nicely struck free kick from Matt Hong forced Carmel keeper Kyle Knauer to come off his line in a hurry just moments before Aaron Castellanos sent his free kick over from 22 yards at 74 minutes.

Toward the end of regulation, and into the first extra session, the traffic was a little more one-way in favor of the Corsairs, which led to the eventual game-winner in the 84th minute.

"I thought (Scott Cloe's) throw would be a little short, so I backed off - and then the ball came to me, and I put it in," said Ehren.

There was no let-up from the Cougars, and in the 96th minute, Lee, with a sensation individual effort, broke free in close - only to have his low drive rattle off the bar and over the end line.

"It was a great game. We had our chances and didn't finish them - so did they, but they put two of them in. That's the way soccer goes sometimes," said McCaulou. "But it's been a season of firsts for us, and although the guys are heartbroken right now, we got this far with just two seniors - so we'll be back next year."

For Krawzak's team, it marks the second time in program history it is just one victory away from playing on the final weekend of the season.

"It's all pretty good stuff," Krawzak said. "We got ourselves 2 great goals, our back line of Ryan McKernan, Chris Galla, Bret Cloe and later, when we went with Reed Wilson as an extra guy back, were just fantastic to help us get one game closer to reaching our dream."