Barrington soars on strikes from Furio, Nolan
Barrington's remarkable soccer season continued Saturday morning when the Broncos used a pair of second-half strikes from Francesco Furio and Ryan Nolan to defeat Hinsdale Central 2-0 and advance into the Class AA state championship match against pretournament favorite Neuqua Valley at North Central College in Naperville.
The Broncos earned their first-ever appearance in a title match after a hard-fought victory over the Red Devils (20-7-1), who Friday night stunned New Trier 2-1 in overtime in the final quarterfinal match of the first day of play.
The Broncos received terrific news prior to the start when starting all-area sweeper Brian Bernal was given permission to play after the senior suffered what appeared to be a serious injury during the match with Collinsville that saw Bernal transported to the hospital for care.
"Having Brian back with us was so important to us," said Barrington coach Scott Steib. "I cannot imagine how things might have gone for us when you consider that our outside back (Matt Beightol) wasn't able to go much at all for us, and played just part-time when we subbed him in, when we were able to take advantage of his long throws deep in Central's end."
In a season when defenses dominated for both sides, it was Central's back-line which had 2 breakdowns after the break, which led to Furio's 23rd goal of the season, and Nolan's strike at 69 minutes which put a dagger in the hopes of Hinsdale Central keeper John Shakon and his mates.
"Those were tough ones to give up because we just didn't do what we had to in our own end," said Shakon, an all-state keeper bound for UW-Milwaukee.
"Barrington had a couple of opportunities today, and they stuck them both in when they had to. What can you do?"
Space was at a premium for most of the first 40 minutes as each side fielded four players in the midfield, which led to little possession and some chippy play that caused plenty of whistles from the center official.
Shakon showed his all-star ability and agility when he stopped an Ata Ozbay drive at the near post at 35 minutes, then outraced all to the far post to collect the rebound.
What seemed like an ordinary corner from Cameron Reilly struck low and into the box and led to Furio's goal in the 42nd minute.
Steib counted on Furio to withdraw and help defend all of Central's set-piece opportunities. Along with Reilly, who took on Beightol's spot along the back line, the Broncos kept keeper Tom Unak free of any dangerous situations after the junior's heroics efforts in Friday's quarterfinal.
Nolan later deposited a typically accurate Beightol throw into the back of the net.
"We were confident in the back all afternoon," said Beightol.
"Both Cameron and Francesco play (defense) for their club teams and we knew we would be in good shape with them back there."
"As I've said all year long, this club just keeps getting it done," said Steib. "Right now I am so proud of them, it's so hard to even describe how I feel. We've got a lot of respect for Neuqua, and for most of the year both of us have been 1-2 in the polls."