Deerfield shoots down Stevenson in sectional
It proved nearly impossible to seperate Stevenson and Deerfield after 120 minutes of soccer, with each side having extraordinary chances to score, all with enough drama and captivating play to give a boisterous crowd plenty of thrills right on through the fifth round of shoot-out before the Warriors emerged victorious.
The Warriors (18-3-1) stuned Stevenson 4-3 in the PK shootout Thursday night in a sectional semifinal match in Lincolnshire to send the No. 2 seed into Saturday's 11 a.m. final against No. 5 Lake Forest, which earlier upset top-seed Palatine 1-0.
"That was a pretty amazing match that we played out there, a match that saw our guys come about as close as you could to scoring the game-winner .. only to see our season end in a way that none of us likes to, but as we all know, the way our sport has to end," said Stevenson coach Mark Schartner, who saluted one player after another after the match while his heartbroken lads dealt with the abrupt and immdiate end to a terrific season.
"Just after (Stevenson) drew even with just 17 seconds in regulation, and all througout the first (2) OT periods, they were all over us and could have easily scored the golden goal to move on," said Deerfield coach Elliot Hurtig, who earlier in the season watched his club fall 1-0 to these same Patriots.
"We got so defensive, and really just played not to lose," continued Hurtig, "so in between the second and third (OTs) I told our guys that I don't care if we lose, just as long as we play as hard as they could and with a lot of heart. Fortunately, they responded."
The over 3-hour match featured the Northwestern-bound duo of Connor Holloway and Scottie Lakin from Deerfield against a Patriots side that recorded one of its best seasons (17-4-0) thanks to the likes of its classy captain Gordie Gurson (22 goals) and 10 other seniors who had their moments against a quality opponent.
As expected, defense dominated for long periods, but when the Patriots found Gurson, Steven Johnson, Michael Martin and Ryan Uslander, the home-side enjoyed the run of play.
"Our backline was terrific tonight," said Schartner. "Especially Oluwayonda Abougunrin, who made several key tackles while clearing a couple of potential shots off the line."
The match stayed goal-less until a PK conversion from sophomore Joey Calistri at 73 minutes gave the Warriors the lead. In the final 7 minutes, the Patriots threw everyone forward in search of the equalizer, which came as time was about to run out.
Johnson burst into the box to strike a left-footed one-timer into a partially open net to the far side to ignite a celebration from the Pats' faithful.
The Patriots created quality chances during the first 20 minutes of extra time, but Deerfield absorbed each challenge.
In the shootout, Warriors keeper Matt Glassman earned man-of-the-match honors by stopping Shawn Singh and then Gurson, after mates Holloway, Lakin, then Calistri sealed the deal.
"Who would have thought we would have gotten even with just 17 seconds left, and have a chance to win a match like this?" asked Schartner. "But then, tonight is just another one of many highlights this team has had this year."