Conant escapes upset bid; Hersey tops Buffalo Grove

Conant had 19 minutes to avoid being on the wrong end of a stunning upset in the Class 3A boys soccer state tournament Tuesday.

The Cougars (13-2-5), the top seed in their own regional, trailed No. 16 Addison Trail by a goal in their semifinal match.

But the Cougars survived and advanced on a free kick by Joe Falcone and Shivam Patel's goal off a Kevin Reddington assist for a 2-1 victory.

Conant will play in Saturday's 6 p.m. regional final against No. 10 St. Charles North, which beat No. 7 York 1-0 in the other semifinal.

Hersey 3, Buffalo Grove 0: Alex Gardasevic, Kyle Pietro and Eddie Rodriguez scored first-half goals for fourth-seeded host Hersey in the semifinal win over Mid-Suburban East rival and No. 13 Buffalo Grove.

The Huskies advanced to Saturday's 3 p.m. regional final against No. 5 Lake Forest, a 2-0 winner over Glenbrook South.

Barrington 2, Cary-Grove 1: Marc Drouin and Andrew Krissinger scored as third-seeded Barrington knocked off second-seeded Cary-Grove in the Lake Zurich semifinals.

Barrington will play in Saturday's 6 p.m. final against the top-seeded hosts, who beat Dundee-Crown 7-1.

Palatine 3, Fremd 1: Top-seeded Palatine, the Mid-Suburban League champion, advanced with a regional semifinal win over cross-town rival Fremd at Mundelein.

The Pirates will play in Saturday's 1 p.m. final against No. 8 Warren, a 4-1 winner over Waukegan.

St. Viator 9, Sullivan 1: The top-seeded Lions rolled to the Class 2A regional semifinal win at Ridgewood. They'll play at 3 p.m. Friday for the title against the eighth-seeded hosts, who beat No. 9 Senn 3-1.