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Boys soccer: Adams, Buffalo Grove score bounce-back victory

Kyle Adams' first-half scoring double was enough to help Buffalo Grove break a three-game losing streak as the Bison boys soccer team brushed aside Waukegan 2-1 Wednesday afternoon at Duke Childs Field in Winnetka to end pool play at the Northside College Showcase with a record of 1-2-0.

Coach Brad Abel's team will finish tourney play Saturday at New Trier Stadium against Niles West in the seventh-place match.

"That was a good win for us today," said Abel, who'd watched squad go scoreless in its previous three matches after a season-opening victory against Deerfield. "There were so many positives to take from this game, aside from the victory - including a real high work rate and plenty of desire and heart from all the guys who played today. In the end, even though Waukegan really came at us, I felt it was a result the guys deserved."

Adams' terrific individual effort gave BG the lead at nine minutes when he shielded his defender from the ball before turning and firing with a one-touch move from in close.

The junior doubled the advantage for the Bison (2-3-0) four minutes later when he caught up to a long throw from Cullen O'Doherty to drive his header past keeper Jonathen Esquivel from close range.

"Getting those two early goals really helped us a lot today, and kept us from chasing the lead like we have during the last three games," said Bison senior captain Tyler Nieman. "We needed a win today to give us all a boost in our confidence, plus get us ready for our upcoming games in the MSL."

The Bulldogs (1-3-0) came to life after conceding the second Adams goal by playing through the trio of David Carmona, Juan Ramirez and Noe Hernandez. It wasn't long before Hernandez drew his club closer when he tricked his way clear of the last man before unloading a well-aimed strike just inside the post in the 20th minute.

Waukegan had its troubles with O'Doherty's long throws from deep inside the Bulldogs' end, and when another found Adams it nearly became 3-1 as he rattled the near post just before the intermission.

The Bulldogs came out of the break aggressively and immediately put the Bison under pressure, thanks in part to Carmona, who was a force for the first quarter-hour.

"We had some trouble and bent a lot, but never broke," said Abel. "And even though we defended more that I would have liked us to in the second half, we still did a good job of keeping them out of the back of our net."

Daniel Sempoch, who came in for freshman Jake Salzman in goal, enjoyed a marvelous second half with some strong aerial work in and around the box while making a couple of key saves on potential equalizers by the Bulldogs.

Nieman, O'Doherty and Max Kilkuszowian did well as a unit along the back and in front of Sempoch, while Abel leaned heavily on several sets of fresh legs during the last quarter-hour to help secure the win.

"It's been a little rough during the early going, but when you lose as many seniors from our division championship team as we did, it's going to be that way while we sort things out and get the new guys some experience," said Abel. "But they are a good group, and the effort has been right there from the very start."

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