Boys soccer: Big comeback lifts Barrington past Conant
Barrington has reached the boys soccer state final for the first time since 2007 after a devastating second half of attacking play overwhelmed Mid-Suburban West rival Conant 4-2 late Friday night at Hoffman Estates.
The Broncos (23-3-1) will face Naperville North (20-2-3) at 7 p.m. Saturday for the Class 3A state title.
It sure didn't look like that would be the matchup during the first half of the Barrington-Conant matchup, as the Cougars had grabbed a 2-0 lead.
"I don't know if we were nervous, or it was Conant, but we played slow in that first half and they made us pay for it," said Barrington coach Scott Steib. "But once again, our effort in the second half shows just how much heart this team has. And I knew if we could pull one goal back fairly early, we could at least get back even, then see what happens after that."
The Broncos found themselves in all sorts of trouble midway through the first period when Jason Fillingim steered in a close-range shot with a nice touch. Conant (16-8-0) soon had more to cheer about, as Harris Dibek finished a Fillingim corner in the 36th minute to put the Cougars up 2-0.
"We came out well, and those two goals in the first half gave us so much confidence," said Fillingim. "But that quick goal right after the break, and the second one soon after really changed the momentum the other way, and we never really recovered."
It took less than 60 seconds after the intermission for Barrington to score as Caleb Orr got his eighth goal of the season. That was followed by two more from Klaus Pallan, and another from Kyle Owen to put the Broncos firmly in control.
Orr, who has been at the center of several key goals during the postseason, was at it again, taking a sublime early ball from Enrico Ruffolo and then, with a cool touch, firing under keeper Piotr Pyz.
"Caleb has been something else for us in the playoffs, and tonight, for example, we started Michael Blanke up top alongside Pallan (and not Orr) - but it's always the same with him," said Steib. "He'll do what's best for the team, and it's something that makes him so special."
"I don't know if Conant was feeling too good about its 2-0 lead at the break," said Orr, "but I did know if we could pull one back early after the break, we would be just fine."
Steib marveled at the next two goals from Pallan, likening them to those made by a professional player. They were Pallan's 29th and 30th goal this fall.
Moments after Orr scored, Pallan, a junior forward, found himself alone at the back post to thump in a superb Orr cross. Pallan then scored the go-ahead goal to end a scintillating nine minutes.
"What we needed right then was a timeout," said Conant coach Jason Franco. "I told the guys at the half if we conceded one we'd be OK. But when they put those three in on us so quickly, it just about did us in, and after that, the momentum changed so fast and there wasn't much we could do about it then."
Kyle Owen put the icing on this victory with a lovely goal of his own at 62 minutes.
Conant will play Bradley-Bourbonnais (24-1-0) for third-place honors at 5 p.m. Saturday.