Cordero, Fenton adjust to defeat Johnsburg

Fenton coach David Alvarez made an adjustment that changed the game in a matter of minutes.

He shifted Jose Cordero out of the back and moved him up front for the second half.

It worked almost in a snap. Cordero gave the Bison a big spark when he scored 2 goals in a five-minute span as Fenton defeated Johnsburg 3-1 in a Class 2A Lakes sectional semifinal in Lake Villa on Thursday night.

Fenton meets host Lakes (10-9-5) in the Class 2A sectional championship at 11 a.m. Saturday in Lake Villa.

“We have done that in previous games,” said Alvarez, whose Bison are 15-7-3. “We wanted to change things up. We wanted to shock (Johnsburg) and catch them off guard.”

Cordero broke a 1-1 tie at the 41-minute mark by taking a loose ball, trapping it and beating Johnsburg goalkeeper Robert DeRosa.

Four minutes later, Cordero made another move, beat a defender and caught the keeper off guard.

“It was all instinct, you've got to read the plays like a forward,” said Cordero, who has scored 9 goals this year. “When I get a chance on top, I take those chances to finish the opportunities.”

The Bison got their other goal early in the first half when Pedro Lucatero scored in the seventh minute.

Johnsburg (10-9-2) responded and tied the game two minutes later when John Sanko scored off an assist from Michael Dombrowski.

“The quality Fenton had was the strongest of a team we've played,” Johnsburg coach Rob Eastland said. “We were a bit surprised of their quick start, but my guys have fought back in a lot of games this year.

“If we had gotten a goal back, it would've been a different game.”