Barreto's goal lifts Huntley to regional title
Kristina Barreto wasn't quite ready to end her high school soccer career at Huntley High School.
So, the talented senior midfielder took matters into her own hands.
Off a nifty pass from Emily Konior, Barreto scored what turned to be the winning goal with 16:24 left in the first half as the top-seeded Red Raiders held off No. 2 Cary-Grove 2-1 in the championship game of the Class 3A Crystal Lake South regional Saturday morning.
"I am not ready to be done with high school soccer yet," said Barreto. "We want to advance much farther in the tournament. Emily gave me a great pass and I was in the right place at the right time. It was a very physical game. This was a very tough game to win because Cary-Grove is a very talented team."
Huntley (23-1-1), which beat Cary-Grove for the first time in program history, advances to the Class 3A Jacobs sectional. The Red Raiders, winners of 3 straight regional crowns, will play Rockford Boylan Tuesday at 6 p.m. Barrington faces McHenry in the 8 p.m. game.
"Both teams played at such a high level that it is a crime this game was played for a regional championship," said Huntley coach Kris Grabner. "This should have been a sectional championship game. Just beating Cary-Grove for a first time is quite an accomplishment. To beat them In a regional championship is tremendous."
Huntley struck first as Aimee Wronski blasted a shot past Cary-Grove goalie Alex Holland with 24:44 to give the Red Raiders a quick 1-0 cushion.
The Trojans knotted the score as Kelli Anderson tallied a goal with 18:04 left in the first half. The Red Raiders took the lead for good on Barreto's goal less than 2 minutes later.
Neither team scored during the final 55 minutes and 36 seconds of the game, but both Squads had a solid scoring chance in the second half.
With 11:49 remaining, Cary-Grove's Allie Simon broke though the Red Raider defense and delivered a hard shot on goal from 10 yards out. Huntley's Sara Hoffman was able to get a hand on the ball and deflect it over the crossbar.
Threatening to take a 3-1 lead, Wronski was looking for her second goal of the game but Holland made the diving save to keep the Trojans within a goal.
Huntley outshot Cary-Grove 11-8. Holland made 7 saves for the Trojans while Hoffman stopped 5 shots for the Red Raiders.
Cary-Grove, 18-3 overall, won the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division with a perfect 10-0 mark.
"The kids played hard and were determined to win but we just couldn't capitalize on our opportunities in the second half," said Cary-Grove coach Raymond Krystal. "This was a game of two highly skilled teams which was very physical. It is a shame this game was played for a regional championship. It should have been a sectional championship game."