advertisement

Boys soccer: Chicago University ends Lisle's season

Lisle was looking for an upset during Wednesday's Class 1A regional semifinal against Chicago University High.

Easier said than done.

The visiting Maroons, who were riding a 12-game unbeaten streak, were limited by Lisle to a single goal in the first half, but they broke the game open in the second half, ending Lisle's season with a 4-0 victory.

"We scrapped against them and we knew coming in that they were a better team than us, and they're a really good team," Lisle coach Paul Kohorn said. "But I was really proud of the way we worked out there. We just ended up breaking down the same way we've been breaking down all season, even though it's something we've continued to work on."

The Maroons (14-2-3), whose two losses include a 1-0 decision to Argo on Aug. 29 and a forfeit on Aug. 31 in the third-place game in the Windy City Classic, got on the board with 34:38 left in the first half when Connor Smith sent a perfect high-arching cross to Fionn Stamataky.

"That was a fantastic cross in by Connor Smith, who waited patiently until he saw the back-post run," Maroons coach Josh Potter said. "My message before the game was we need to get one early to get the jitters off and get relaxed and get on them, and after we got that one we possessed more and spreaded it wide."

Lisle senior Justin Brinegar nearly netted the equalizer when his shot caromed off the right post just 28 seconds later. He had another decent scoring chance in the first half but sent his shot right at goalkeeper Jamison Miller.

"We started strong but towards the end of the first half we started losing it," Brinegar said. "We stepped it up at times. I was proud of the way we played."

Lisle's hopes to rally for victory took a big hit when Stamataky scored from 30 yards out a little more than a minute into the second half.

"When the corner came in it started curling a bit and I didn't know how to read it so I just left it," Stamataky said. "Jaden Lynch had a crack and it just pinballed to me and then the keeper couldn't do anything. It was a team goal if anything."

Tyler Pomposelli and John McKee scored in the final 15 minutes while the defense of the Maroons limited Lisle to few scoring chances throughout the second half.

"In the second half we took care of our opportunities," Potter said. "It's what good teams do and it's fantastic to be on that side because that's a good team and a great program we faced."

Lisle (8-10) bids farewell to six seniors, but its future is bright with 11 underclassmen on this year's roster.

"We'll miss the leadership of our seniors and what they've done for the program," Kohorn said. "But we're also a young team. At one point my assistant said to me that we have five freshmen out there right now. So we have a future with this group and we'll keep moving forward."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.