Boys soccer: Addison Trail blanks Hoffman Estates
Alexis Delapaz's 11th minute goal gave No. 6 seed Addison Trail (15-5-0) the perfect start to its postseason boys soccer campaign in which the Blazers all believe they can have a long and prosperous run.
The Blazers (15-5-0) were pushed to the brink by Hoffman Estates, holding off the No. 12 seed until the final whistle to claim a hard-fought 1-0 victory Wednesday night at Garver Stadium in Hoffman.
"It wasn't easy (but) then again, no game at this time of the year is," admitted a relieved AT coach Ryan Dini, whose club will face No. 3 York in the regional final on Friday at 5 p.m.
"I saw Hoffman play earlier and they put 4-5 goals in on Vernon Hills in the second half, so I knew we would have to be at our best to beat them."
The Blazers appeared as if they would live up to their imposing nickname when they 'blazed' a path around and through the regional hosts with Melvn Mora, Eduardo Gomez, Martin Murillo and Delapaz having far too much pace and technical skill for the Hawks (8-15-1) to defend.
"We were on our heels in that first 15 minutes because (Addison Trail) played so fast we just couldn't keep them under control, and after that early first goal, it looked like we might be in big trouble the rest of the way," began Hawks head coach Sean Armstrong.
"But we finally got ourselves settled and sorted out, and started to play some good soccer, especially in the last half of that first period to make it a pretty good game the rest of the way."
Delapaz took advantage of a nicely played free kick from Eduardo Huerta that spilled free off keeper Tyler Kelly and pounced on the loose ball and fired in the eventual game-winner from close range.
"We had a great start tonight, but I think we got a little too confident after scoring so early so we struggled after that and had to really work hard to get the win," admitted Delapaz.
When the Hawks finally came into the game, it was due to the play of their midfield duo of Alex Gonzalez and Georgi Kyosev, and along with some strong work from teammates Tony Cabral and Edson Oranges, they would put Huerta and his back line teammates under pressure, never putting anything dangerous on keeper Sam Sandoval.
"We have a lot to be proud of this year. We finished above .500 in the MSL, and played a lot of ranked teams real close throughout the season. It's been a great year despite this loss," said Gonzalez, one of three who wore the captains' armband for the Hawks.
"You really want to just survive and advance in the playoffs, but we'll have to be better when we play our rival York in the regional final," said Dini.
The Blazers defeated York (14-5-1) two weeks ago, 2-1 in Elmhurst.