Cary-Grove shuts out Barrington
Two quick strikes just five minutes apart helped set the tone for top seed Cary-Grove as the Trojans went on to a 3-0 win, eliminating No. 4 Barrington on Wednesday night in regional semifinal play at wind-blown Lake Zurich.
Cary-Grove moves on to Saturday’s regional final against Lake Zurich, which later defeated McHenry 3-0.
Sophomore Kevin Wilde drew first blood at 25 minutes when he followed a loose ball which had rebounded off the post and slotted under Broncos keeper Max Redpath.
It was Wilde again who helped the Trojans (17-2-0) double their lead in the 30th minute when his low, hard drive stayed on the turf and skidded under Redpath.
“After we conceded that first goal, our hope was to keep (Cary-Grove) out of the net the rest of the half, knowing the wind would be at our back after the break, which we obviously looked to take advantage of,” said Barrington coach Scott Steib. “It didn’t look good for us when they went up 2-0, but we had a terrific opportunity to cut the lead in half, and if not for a great save from their keeper, that could have been the case.”
It was a tough contest nontheless for the Broncos (11-9-3) who were not only facing the Fox Valley Conference’s Valley Division champs and all-state candidate Drew Conner, but also a side which commits strongly to defending from front to back. Bearing out C-G commitment to defense is the fact that the Trjans earned their 13th shutout of the season against Barrington.
“Barrington is a tough, well-coached team, and we knew we had to play our best tonight regardless of the conditions,” said Cary-Grove coach Mark Olson. “But this group knows no other way than to play hard and together, and when (Barrington) came at us hard for the first 10-12 minutes after the break, I knew they would be up to the challenge.”
Conner, who is off to Big 10 soccer power Wisconsin next fall, along with Mike Loke, Wilde and Mike McKune, helped their club enjoy the run of play for most of the first half, aided by a favorable gusting wind. The Trojans frequently got the ball to Conner, who in turn distributed and ran at the Broncos with plenty of zest to force them into defending, rather than attacking.
“Make no mistake, Cary-Grove was the better side tonight, but we would have liked to see how things would have changed if we had gotten that shot past their keeper,” said Steib.
The shot in question was a thunderbolt of a strike from Broncos leading scorer Reid Strain, who was put through brilliantly by Grant McAndrew only to be turned away wiith a superb point-blank save from Trojans keeper Tom Breen in the 35th minute.
“What a great big save that was by Tom, and one that easily could have given Barrington a huge momentum swing coming out of the break, and with the wind at their backs,” said a rain-soaked Olson, who like everyone else on the far touchline was drenched from head to toe from the driving, cold rain both clubs endured.
“That (goal) might have been exactly what we needed, because up until the point we really didn’t generate very much in our attack and we could have used that to help get us going,” said McAndrew.
Barrington’s Craig Zahour had a go on frame with his free kick at 45 minutes, and Strain saw his shot from in close blocked nicely by Eric Wilde 10 minutes later.
Later, Colter Williams found Danny Jaderholm at the end of his long serve — but Breen stopped his attempt in the 52nd minute.
Cary-Grove then celebrated Zac Solarte’s goal at the hour mark when his patient run up the right side allowed the senior to finish a wonderful helper from Conner from the left side.
“This is the way it goes in the playoffs sometimes,” said Steib. “We could have draw closer to make it a real game in the second-half, but again, credit Cary-Grove — they played well to earn their victory.”