Barrington, Hersey overcome loss of talent
Mid-Suburban division champs Barrington and Hersey will meet tonight in Barrington to decide the league boys soccer championship in a match many thought might be between two other clubs after graduation shredded both the Huskies and Broncos rosters from a year ago.
Hersey, especially, had been ravaged. The Huskies (5-4-2-12 pts, 8-8-2) lost 10 starters from last year's MSL championship team.
But the East champion Huskies booked their third consecutive trip here and sixth in seven years after defeating Hoffman Estates 2-0 on Tuesday.
Barrington (11-0-0-22 pts, 17-1-0) returns after a two-year hiatus. The Broncos captured back-to-back MSL crowns in 2003 and '04.
"It's pretty amazing that this team is in the championship match," said Hersey coach Darren Llewellyn, who in his first season a year ago helped guide his side within one match of a Class AA Elite 8 appearance. "We found so many ways to give away goals and lose in the first three weeks of the season. It was dreadful."
Indeed.
In their first seven matches, the Huskies found themselves at 1-6-0, giving up 24 goals while finding the back of the net just 4 times. Included in the downward spiral was a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of tonight's opponent.
"Credit everyone on this club for trusting in their coaching (staff) and believing that we could come back from our terrible start to make a run at a division title despite losing so many guys to graduation and basically starting over," said Llewellyn.
The Huskies' trip to the Rockton Hononegah Invite proved to be the pivotal swing in its season. Hersey not only won 2 of 3 matches but also welcomed the call-up of sophomore striker Alex Gardesevic (11 goals) and a new formation fueled by the sophomore's presence up top, where he joined teammate Griffin Dwyer (5 goals, 5 assists) and Kyle Pietros in Llewellyn's starting lineup.
"We lost a lot of skilled players from our midfield from a year ago, so it took awhile for some of our new guys at the position to figure things out. But we always seemed to improve with each match as the season went on," said Hersey senior Kent Busse, who along with Mike Mueller is the only returning starter from 2006. The two form a terrific back-line duo.
Since Hononegah, the Huskies have gone 7-2-1, including what proved to be their most important victory of the season over Wheeling (3-2), which gave the club the tiebreaker it would later need to claim the top prize in the East. Over the same span, the Huskies allowed just 12 goals and finished strong with 3 straight shutouts.
"I think all of us expect to come out (tonight) and play well against Barrington," Mueller said after the Hoffman match. "That match was 0-0 after 30 minutes, then Barrington struck for 3 quick goals. We all know we're a better team than that result."
Broncos coach Scott Steib himself knows all about results at this time of the soccer season.
Armed with plenty of D-1 prospects since its 2005 championship run, the Broncos fizzled down the stretch the last two seasons after having it in cruise control.
"That experience of being that close to realizing a couple more conference titles and long runs in the state tournament is still there for the guys to talk about and not forget," said Steib. "It's not the primary focus because we have so many (new) players who were not part of those teams, yet they know the history and do not want a repeat of it."
Like their opponent, the Broncos returned few from a 15-5-2 club from a year ago, but those who are back have given a rookie-laden roster the inspiration and leadership needed to shine brightly.
"It's all about team unity," said all-state candidate striker Francesco Furio (17 goals). "I have played on a lot of club and high school teams and none have been as close and wanting for all to succeed as this team does."
Of the younger players who have performed above even Steib's expectations, Furio's partner up front, Ata Ozbay (10 goals), a member of the junior varsity in '06, has to be one of the biggest surprises thus far.
"Francesco and Ata have helped us always find a way to score --and when we need it," Steib says. "But there are so many other unsung guys who have terrific energy and great work rate every time we go out to play."
Steib says the strength of his club has been water-tight defensive play. The Broncos have given up only 12 goals, and he credits veteran backliners Brian Bernal and Matt Beightol for that.
"Brian and I have been able to do our job(s) In the back because of the work by our partner in Alex Luedtke, and our midfield, which keeps constant pressure for 80 minutes," said Beightol, who could also be a factor on set-piece opportunities with his long throw ability.
Broncos keepers Jack Deroche and Tom Unak have combined for 10 shutouts and a stingy 0.66 goals-against average, while on the other side of the ball, Ryan Nolan, Ryan Mangone and Cameron Reilly have produced 17 goals and 8 assists in the middle.
"I thought when this team was able to get through a big week that saw us defeat Schaumburg, Conant and Fremd. We could finally be taken seriously," said Steib.
31st MSL CUP
Barrington (17-1-0) vs. Hersey (8-8-2)
At Barrington H.S., 7 p.m. today