Hammerin' Henk powers Wauconda
Wauconda's boys soccer team picked a good time for an offensive explosion.
How about four in the team's state tournament opener?
Wauconda, seeded eighth in the Class AA Libertyville sectional, knocked off No. 9 Waukegan 4-0 on Wednesday in a regional semifinal at Carmel, as junior Greg Henk scored twice.
Wauconda (11-4-2) plays top-seeded Carmel (15-5-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday for the Carmel regional title.
"It could've been a different score," Wauconda coach Terry Stevig said. "It's nice to win, but we're going to have to play a lot better. I wish we would've had this (scoring) knack all year."
Henk gave Wauconda a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute. Waukegan (10-9-2) made a mistake in the back and Henk pounced on the opportunity, sending a shot into an open net.
"I just touched it by the keeper and put it right in," Henk said. "Everything just opened up for us and we took our chances."
Wauconda led only 1-0 at halftime, however.
The Bulldogs went up 2-0 early in the second half when Keith Wilson took a short touch in front from Mike LeClaire off a free kick and scored.
Wauconda added two more goals late. Mike Mrohen knocked in a header off a Cesar Rodriguez head ball flick in the 70th minute, and Henk finished the scoring off a LeClaire cross.
Wauconda keeper Eugene Nagawiecki made 9 saves, including one on a penalty kick in the second half, for his seventh shutout.
"Our team just stepped it and we started to realize what all this means," Nagawiecki said.
Defensively, Wauconda's Rodriguez, Augustin Morales, Sergio Lopez, Juan Velazquez and Ivan Luna were big contributors.
"I thought we had five chances to score, but it wasn't our day," Waukegan coach Joe Martinez said. "We did our best, but the ball refused to go into the net. I thought Wauconda was beatable and we had our chances to do it."
Stevenson 2, CL Central 1: At Buffalo Grove, freshman Johnny Watrach scored off an assist from Steven Johnson in double overtime for the Patriots, who are seeded fourth in the Lake Zurich sectional.
Colin Pekovitch scored on a penalty kick for Stevenson, which will play for the regional title at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Lakes 1, Grayslake North 0: At Lakes, Jon DeGrave scored with 2:21 left to lift the 12th-seeded Eagles.
"We ran into a really good team that's been on somewhat of a hot streak," Knights coach Adam DeCaluwe said of Lakes, which won the North Suburban Conference Prairie Division.
Grayslake North, which lost to Lakes 2-0 earlier in the season, finished 12-8.
"We played well," DeCaluwe said, "all year."
Lakes will play No. 2 Libertyville for the regional title at 2 p.m. Saturday in Lake Villa.
Libertyville 2, Johnsburg 1: In the first game at Lakes, the second-seeded Wildcats scored in double overtime to survive the 15th-seeded Skyhawks.
Libertyville will play No. 12 Lakes for the regional championship at 2 p.m. Saturday at Lakes.
Mundelein 3, Grayslake C. 0: At Mundelein, keeper Eric Sorby stopped 8 shots, including a penalty kick, as the fourth-seeded Mustangs advanced to their own regional final.
Mundelein (8-11-3), which snapped a seven-game losing streak, will play No. 5 McHenry at 6 p.m. Saturday for the regional crown.
The Mustangs got goals from David Burdick, Adam Reister and Manny Olmos. Nestor Montiel and Reister had assists.
McHenry 3, Round Lake 2: In the second game at Mundelein, the fifth-seeded Warriors scored in the eighth round of penalty kicks to win the regional semifinal.
Lake Forest 1, Zion-B. 0: At Warren, Jon Svigos scored in the 116th minute to give the sixth-seeded Scouts the win and put them in Saturday's 11 a.m. regional final against No. 3 Warren.