Boys soccer: Carmel tops Notre Dame for fifth straight win

Carmel Catholic's boys soccer team hit the road, produced timely goals and walked away with its second straight win in East Suburban Catholic Conference action.

Brett Cloe, Henry Barnes and Rob Rao scored goals, as the Corsairs captured a 3-1 decision over Notre Dame in Niles on Wednesday night. It was also the fifth victory in a row overall for the Corsairs after they started the season with a loss.

"It was good to win on the road," Carmel coach Ray Krawzak said. "I thought the first half was the best we've looked. I was very enthusiastic after the first half. Our goal was to put together a complete game with 80 minutes of good soccer. I thought we were pretty close to doing that."

Carmel (5-1, 2-0) scored twice in 28 seconds in the first half to jump out to a 2-0 lead.

"We have explosive players like Henry (Barnes)," Krawzak said. "Once he gets fired up and our players start realizing he's on and he's open, (good things happen)."

Barnes jump-started the Corsairs' attack in the 32nd minute. He made a move into the penalty area, where he was fouled. Cloe stepped up and buried the penalty kick. Just 28 second later, Barnes knocked in a shot after taking a pass from Rao.

"If I have a chance in front of me, I try to take it," said Barnes, who has 7 goals and 4 assists this season. "Our speed has helped us a lot, and along with our through balls and crosses in the mix that has generated a lot of goals."

Notre Dame (6-2-1, 1-2) cut its deficit in half off a corner kick in the 64th minute. Michael Pawlowski sent a head ball from the near post to the other side, where Andres Barron had the finishing touch with a header.

Carmel responded less than a minute later, as Barnes fed a pass to the DePaul-bound Rao, who beat Notre Dame keeper John Mueller for his eighth goal of the season.

"He made it easy with a great ball across," Rao said of Barnes. "All I had to do was tap it in. I saw the keeper make a run toward the near post. There was no way he could get back there."

Notre Dame played with Carmel for most of the match.

"(Carmel) always has a lot of athletes in addition to quality soccer players," Notre Dame coach Mike Smith said. "They're well-coached. They play a good style, they know what they're going to run and run it well."