Round Lake turns back Cary-Grove

There's no telling what to expect out from Round Lake's boys soccer team in the postseason.

One day the Panthers have to rally for a victory, and on another, like Saturday afternoon, they need to take a deep breath to hang on to victory in the final minutes.

Top-seeded Round Lake managed to survive, barely, holding off No. 3 Cary-Grove 3-2 in the Grant regional final in Fox Lake.

The Panthers (15-3-5) won their second regional championship in the last three years.

Round Lake next meets Jacobs regional champion Crystal Lake at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Barrington sectional semifinals.

“I expect another battle with Crystal Lake South,” said Tellez, whose team handed the Gators their only loss this season. “I tell our guys, it's like we win or go home. They have to play their hearts out for 80 minutes. The result is what we get out of the game.”

The Panthers held a 3-0 advantage until they had a wake-up call over the final 10 minutes.

“We like to play in halves,” Tellez said. “We don't stop, and just kept on going. So did Cary-Grove, and they didn't give up either. We did earn this win.”

Cary-Grove (15-3-1) had only allowed 8 goals all season before the match. Their own offense generated plenty of scoring chances, with shots hitting off the posts and crossbar throughout the match.

“You've got to give all the credit to the kids, because they could've folded after the third goal,” Cary-Grove coach Mark Olson said. “We stayed at it and had plenty of opportunities. We just needed to find the back of the net. Give the credit to Round Lake for making the best of their opportunities.”

Cary-Grove finally broke through in the 71st minute as Jon Guay scored off a pass from Robbie Perez. Then the Trojans pushed hard for another one just four minutes later, when Erik Gustafson knocked in a header off a Jacob Cunningham corner kick.

Gustafson nearly tied the match in the 76th minute by sending a rocket shot up high with a line set for going under the crossbar. But Panthers keeper Luis Leon (9 saves) leaped straight up and brought the ball down.

“I knew I had to make that stop,” Leon said. “It gave the rest of the team motivation. I just didn't let anythng get through.”

Round Lake got its goals from Lorenzo Cortez, who scored his eighth goal in the 19th minute. Cortez assisted on the second goal with a corner kick sent to Emanuel Salgado, who knocked in a header in the 31st minute. And Jordi Rubio scored the other goal in the 51st minute for his 27th goal of the season.