Carmel denied chance at Shootout title

Carmel had its sights set on scoring a North Shore Shootout championship on Saturday, or at minimum an appearance in the title game.

It wasn't in the cards for the Corsairs.

First, the tournament was pushed back a couple of days because of poor field conditions Thursday and Friday.

The left the eight-team field to play two games Saturday, meaning the final games will be played either Monday or another day during the upcoming week.

The Corsairs reached the semifinals Saturday afternoon, but lacked offensive prowess in falling to Deerfield 1-0.

"We lost too many defensive possessions out of the back," Carmel coach John Halloran said. "Obviously, when you don't score it makes it tough to win.

"We just didn't connect in the final third or get on any dead balls in their end. Their keeper (Ryan Crane) had a good game against us."

The Warriors move on to the title game against Lake Forest at 4:30 p.m. Monday afternoon at Lake Forest. The Corsairs will meet up with Highland Park for a third-place game at a date and time to be determined.

The Scouts got past the Giants 2-1 thanks to a 4-3 edge in shootout kicks.

Carmel (1-1-1 overall, 1-1 for the tournament) had its chances against Deerfield early on, but Deerfield held its own defensively and fought off the pressure.

"We've come out real strong for the first three games," Halloran said. "We did it against Glenbrook North and Dundee-Crown in the first 15 minutes. But we need to keep the intensity for the whole game."

The Warriors (3-0, 2-0) got its goal off a header from Jason Domash after a Joey Glass cross in the 60th minute.

"It was a great cross to me," Domash said. "I was at the right place at the right time. A big part of our team is working on the basics and hitting the ball out of the air."

Deerfield matched what Carmel had to offer throughout the game with wet field conditions.

"I was pleased with our effort," Deerfield coach Elliott Hurtig said. "We knew Carmel had a real fast team, great forwards and tremendous skill. After a shaky start, we were able to settle down."

Carmel won its opening game over Dundee-Crown 4-0.

The Corsairs' Edwin Lagunas had 2 goals and an assist, John Zeffery added a goal and an assist. Bobby Gas had the other goal.

Carmel goalkeeper Joe Ferrari earned his first shutout with 5 saves.

The Chargers won the consolation semifinal with a 4-0 victory over St. Patrick.

Dundee-Crown senior Christian Meza had a hat trick and Wyatt Vucic notched the other goal.

"It's pretty typical for Meza to lead the way for us," said Dundee-Crown coach Rey Vargas of Meza, who had 31 goals last year. "He's a big part of our offense and makes things happen."

The Chargers (1-1) will meet Waukegan (1-1) at Lake Forest sometime this week for the consolation championship.

Waukegan won its game over Vernon Hills 8-0. The Cougars lost their opener Saturday morning to host Lake Forest 6-0.