Larkin blanks Elgin 3-0
ROCKFORD There was no need for 4 overtimes this year.
All it took Larkin was a pair of goals in a 35-second span to put Elgin away in a semifinal game of the Class 4A Rockford Guilford regional boys soccer tournament Tuesday night.
The Maroons never recovered, falling 3-0 as No. 1 seeded Larkin (15-7-1) awaits the winner of today's match between South Elgin and DeKalb in Saturday's 7 p.m. regional final.
This was the second straight year Larkin eliminated Elgin (7-16-1) from postseason play, as the Royals downed the Maroons in 4 overtimes for a regional title last season. Elgin did, however, have high aspirations after defeating Larkin 2-1 two weeks ago.
“The first time we played them I felt we played their game, Royals' coach Ken Hall said. “I don't know if they were ready for us to change the way we played.
Elgin did not look ready for sophomore call-up Matthias Warren. Playing in just his fourth varsity game of the season, Warren found himself in a valuable position for the Royals late in the first half.
Leading 1-0 after Tony Hernandez converted a penalty kick, Larkin immediately sprinted into attack mode.
The Royals rushed Elgin right after the whistle and quickly regained possession and set up for a shot. Sophomore Erik Rodriguez found Warren on a cross in front of the net and Warren easily sailed the ball past Elgin goalkeeper Tony Benitez (3 saves) with 8:25 left in the first half.
“They were asleep and we came in, Warren said. “(Rodriguez) came in and gave me a good ball and I shot it.
Larkin managed just 2 shots on goal in the first half, but both were converted for goals.
Hernandez broke a 0-0 tie after an Elgin foul inside the box set up a penalty kick with 9 minutes remaining in the first half. The junior sent the ball to the top right corner of the net, with Benitez jumping to center.
“The penalty kick dictates, often it's a real critical game-changer when that happens, Maroons' coach Dave Borg said. “We picked a bad time to play our worst game in the last 3 weeks.
Rodriguez added another goal with 23:06 left in the second half to extend Larkin's lead to 3-0. Elgin, despite retaining possession for large stretches in both halves, was never able to convert a goal. The Maroons finished with 7 shots, 4 in the first half but Larkin goalkeeper Santiago Guerrero finished with 7 saves in the net.
Larkin's main game plan was to stop Elgin speedster Samuel Escobar. Despite the junior's best efforts to score, a swarm of Royal defenders greeted Escobar every time he entered the goal box.
“Our game plan was to stop (Escobar), Hall said. “His only shots were from way out. We felt if we stopped him and limited his chances, we'd have a good chance to win.