Boys soccer: Waukegan advances at Carmel's expense

By any measure, Carmel Catholic's boys soccer team already had produced an outstanding run this season, with just a couple of losses plus an East Suburban Catholic Conference title share on its resume.

So entering the postseason, the Corsairs were hoping homefield advantage in their own regional might enhance their chances at a deep postseason run.

Second-seeded Waukegan, however, had its own ideas about the playoffs.

The second-seeded Bulldogs scored 3 goals in an eight-minute span in the second half to power past seventh-seeded Carmel 3-1 on Saturday morning in Class 3A regional final action.

"I think we came out with a game plan and it really worked in the first half," Carmel coach Ray Krawzak said. "Everything was going according to plan - and then they (Waukegan) turned on their offense in the second half. Their first goal was the best shot that we've against us all season. For that to happen in the playoffs, it got them energized. Then, it was hard to shut them down once the momentum went their way.

"That's a really good team and a really good offense. We did what we could with them, but you can be proud of how we battled and went as far as we could go."

Carmel (15-3-1) got on the board first on a corner kick set up by Nate Passerelli. Matt Fix finished the chance with a header in the 35th minute.

The Corsairs did their best to meet intense Bulldogs attacking pressure throughout the match. Carmel keeper Kyle Knauer made a huge effort in making 15 stops.

But Waukegan (16-2-3) broke through and tied the score at 1-1 in the 56th minute as Jonathan Medin connected on a sideline blast from 35 yards which found the upper corner.

Two minutes later, the Bulldogs broke down the Corsairs' defense. Ivan Selgado took a pass from Juan Gutierrez and converted for a 2-1 lead.

Waukegan added one more goal in the 64th minute when Alex Escobedo broke free, finished his chance and made it 3-1.

"I know the wind played a little bit of a factor," said Waukegan coach Peter Valdez, who squad had the wind at its back in the second half.

"Everyone on the team knew once we got the first one, we could put together a run like we've done the rest of the year with 2 to 3 goals. The first one was the toughest one. Carmel was a very-well coached team - disciplined, tough and aggressive."

Waukegan moves onto play third-seeded Barrington (20-3-1) in the Fremd sectional semifinal at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Palatine. The Mid-Suburban League champion Broncos got past regional host Palatine 2-1 in a match decided on penalty kicks on Saturday.