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Boys soccer: Barrington bounces Deerfield in regional semifinal

Mid-Suburban League boys soccer champion Barrington looked the part of a No. 3 seed after an impressive opening 40 minutes - but the Broncos were on shaky ground after the break before closing out No. 14 Deerfield 3-1 in Class 3A regional semifinal play Tuesday.

Barrington will meet regional host Palatine, a 3-0 winner against Round Lake, in an 11 a.m. regional final Saturday.

"I know I was nervous, and I am guessing a lot of teammates were probably the same, knowing a loss ends our careers at Barrington," said Broncos senior Gio Guarnero, who helped unsettle and unbalance the Warriors (7-12-3) with a strong first-half attacking effort.

Broncos coach Scott Steib approached this game with his strongest possible starting 11, which was missing, among others, second-leading scorer Michael Blanke. He is lost for the season after suffering a broken foot during the Broncos' shootout victory over Buffalo Grove last week in the MSL Soccer Cup.

"We had to move a few guys around and play with a little different look today, which worked well for us in the first half when we scored 2 and could have had another 1 or 2 more," said Guarnero.

Right from the start, the game took on an end-to-end feel, with the Broncos playing more directly by targeting new front-runners Aidan Lew and Enrico Ruffolo.

Junior Noah Sebens, who enjoyed a marvelous first half - more as an attacking outside back than as a defender - headed wide a Charlie Frank serve in the 16th minute. He also sent a lovely ball over the top to Connor Delahunt, who sent an attempt over the bar. Later in the sequence, a point-blank strike was turned away by Deerfield keeper Ryan Grady.

Sebens was rewarded for his efforts when he redirected another long-range free kick from Frank off the bar. The ball spilled into the 6-yard box, and Lew slotted home his first goal.

Three minutes later, the freshman added another to the scoreline after Ruffolo generated an opportunity by getting by his defender and delivering a nearly perfect cross to the spot. Lew one-timed his attempt past a diving Grady.

Barrington appeared to be out of synch right from the very start of the second period, which allowed the Warriors to get back in the game in the 62nd minute when the Broncos inability to clear a troublesome ball ended up in the back of the net by Deerfield from Wes Miller.

Full confidence now, things began to no longer look impossible for the Warriors, whose fans came alive in anticipation.

Broncos keeper Brett Sprengel pulled a dangerous flip throw from Louis Solovy out of the air, then watched a pair of long free kicks - one by Ryan David and another by Nikita Bankevich - sail into the area.

Ruffolo dashed the Warriors' hopes with his clinical finish from 22 yards after a superb run and carry by Guarnero tore open the heart of the Deerfield midfield in the 78th minute.

"We switched to a 3-1-4-2 formation after the break, but we had some trouble with it before going back to a 4-4-2 towards the end to manage our lead, and get the win," said Guarnero.

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