Boys soccer: Larkin, St. Charles North play to a draw

One team left North Stars Stadium feeling positive.

The other felt somewhat disappointed with the outcome.

Whatever the case, both Larkin and St. Charles North finished with the same result during Tuesday night's boys soccer match - a tie.

Nearly 7 minutes after the North Stars (3-1-3, 0-0-1) grabbed an early lead on a goal from senior Dylan Mientus, the Royals (3-4-1, 0-0-1) notched the equalizer as junior midfielder Brian Hurtado scored on a header off a free kick by Chris Alvarez.

The teams finished their Upstate Eight Conference River Division opener in a 1-1 deadlock.

"(St. Charles) North was definitely the best team we've played this year," said Royals coach Ken Hall. "We were going to have to play an exceptional game to beat them and I thought we played a good game. We had our chances - they had their chances."

Falling behind 1-0 wasn't what Hall had in mind against the defending UEC River champion North Stars.

"To me, that was the biggest part of the game - we gave up the early goal and we didn't stop playing," said Hall. "I think teams can do that, especially with high school kids. I was proud of the way we bounced back, got the goal and then had more chances to score."

Hurtado's second goal of the season and 8 saves from freshman keeper Jorge Nava helped the Royals salvage a tie.

"We have a lot of confidence," said Hurtado. "We started the season kind of rough but we're getting better and better."

Larkin senior forward Uriel Espinoza had a near-miss in the 52nd minute as North Stars keeper Piercarlo Ricossa just got his hand on the shot that deflected off the crossbar and landed directly in front of the goal mouth.

St. Charles North had several solid scoring opportunities of its own as 2 goals got called back by offside calls and another shot by Mientus hit the post late in the first half.

"It's just one of those games where you feel like you dominate a team and then at the end of the day coming out with a tie - it's really hard," said Mientus.

"It's not the first time this season we've felt that way," said North coach Eric Willson. "I think we're still searching for a consistent 80 minutes of soccer and more importantly a killer instinct in both 18-yard boxes.

"Every goal that we've given up this year has been an issue defending in the box. It shows just how valuable that part of the game is. I did feel like we were creating some chances and at times enjoying the run of the play but if you don't take care of business on both ends of the field then you end up with a draw."