Boys soccer: Young Burlington Central falls to DeKalb

With only four senior starters and a new coach, the Burlington Central boys soccer team realizes there will be a learning curve in the early part of the season.

After playing to a 1-1 draw in the season opener Tuesday against Belvidere North, the Rockets found themselves locked in a competitive 1-1 halftime tie Thursday night with host DeKalb.

The Barbs seized control by converting a penalty kick three minutes into the second half and added an insurance goal 12 minutes later to secure a 3-1 victory in pool play of the Barb Cup Invite.

DeKalb (2-0) advanced to Saturday's championship match against Yorkville while the Rockets (0-1-1) will face Freeport in the fifth-place match.

"They caught us in transition a little bit and they're a very well organized team," credited Rockets coach Mike Galeski. "The three goals we gave up, we'll consider them three mistakes and as long as my guys learn from them that's all I can ask."

DeKalb grabbed the advantage four minutes into the game as Jose Vargas buried an excellent cross from Alonzo James, into the left corner.

The Rockets settled down and found the equalizer in the 21st minute. Ryan Wilmington played a ball into the box off a DeKalb defender and junior C.J. Heinz beat DeKalb keeper Genaro Rodriguez to the loose ball and headed it in.

"I didn't think I was going to get there, but I just worked hard through it," Heinz said.

The Barbs caught a break early in the second half on a handball in the box and senior Leo Marquez converted the penalty down the middle.

DeKalb maintained pressure throughout the second half with Adrian Ruiz scoring off his own rebound after an excellent initial save from BC keeper David Murphy.

"Up until that point we were very organized and everybody stuck to their roles," Galeski said. "We played very well at times and dominated, but other times we were defending. It's just a matter of staying in the moment and understanding the game flow."

Wilmington, Enrique Martinez, Jack Schramme and Luke Schramme created chances for the Rockets in the second half, but DeKalb was largely able to limit their possession.

"It was kind of an ebb and flow game, especially in the first half," said DeKalb coach Brett McIntosh. "We made some adjustments at halftime and we were able to get to the flanks and the byline and got some really good scoring opportunities."

"A ton of credit goes to our middle players who eliminated some of those dangerous serves that Burlington is capable of," McIntosh added.