Huntley knocks off Boylan in OT

Not a one-hour lightning delay, nor a 1-0 deficit, nor a steady rain could deter the Huntley girls soccer team Tuesday night.

The Red Raiders overcame every imaginable obstacle in posting a 2-1 overtime win over Rockford Boylan in a semifinal game of the Class 3A Jacobs sectional in Algonquin. Including the lightning delay, the game lasted nearly 3 hours. The second game of the night between McHenry and Barrington was postponed and will be played today at 6:30 p.m.

The Red Raiders (24-1-1) will play the Barrington-McHenry winner for the sectional title Friday at 7 p.m. Huntley will be playing in its first sectional title game after falling to Maine South in the sectional semis last season.

"We talked during the delay that we needed to attack more and we came out very aggressive," said Huntley coach Kris Grabner. "We changed our formation and we got more chances. We told the girls even if there is only one second left in the game we can score. We wanted to keep battling and the kids never gave up."

Boylan (21-6) scored with 3:08 left in the first half as Taylor Reed blasted a shot by Huntley's Sara Hoffman to give the Titans a 1-0 lead. Boylan held that narrow margin when play was stopped because of lightning with 24:30 remaining in the game.

Huntley didn't let the delay bother it The Red Raiders finally dented the scoreboard when Corinne Wronski beat Boylan goalie Molly Bender with 9:33 left to tie the game at 1-1. That was the score after 80 minutes of regulation time.

The Red Raiders didn't waste any time in overtime in producing a win when sophomore Emily Konior scored with only 1:45 elapsed in overtime.

"I was just in the right place and got a good shot," said Konior. "During the delay coach Grabner told us we were playing scared. "We came out more aggressive and we attacked more. What an incredible win. It is a great feeling."

Boylan outshot Huntley 7-5. Bender registered 4 saves for the Titans and Hoffman stopped 3 shots for the Red Raiders.