Lakes heats up quickly, handles Hampshire
It didn’t take long for the Lakes boys soccer team to get rolling Tuesday night.
The Eagles’ Lucas Istvanek found the back of the net 31 seconds into the game, and Lakes scored two more goals in the first 15 minutes.
“I knew we had to come out hot,” Istvanek said. “It was a good ball (corner kick) from Scott Brugioni. I hit a good open space and headed in.”
Istvanek had the first 2 goals, and Kyle Neeve got No. 3 on a penalty kick as Lakes blew past visiting Hampshire 7-0 in its own Class 2A sectional semifinal in Lake Villa.
Lakes (14-9-1) next meets Deerfield (18-5-1) for the sectional championship at 11 a.m. Saturday at Lakes. The Warriors won their game with a shutout over Grayslake Central 4-0.
“Mentally, when we got the second goal, it boosted our confidence and play,” Lakes coach Kevin Kullby said. “All of a sudden we got a penalty, and we were cruising after that.
“It’s great to get a win like this and get a second chance at Deerfield. It all depends on how we play on Saturday. With their play and their speed, Deerfield is a high-quality team.”
The second goal for Istvanek occurred in the 14th minute off an assist from Allen Johnson. Neeve scored the third goal less than a minute later on a penalty kick.
Morgan Hannum scored another before halftime off a rebound.
Lakes added 3 more goals in the second half, from Tom Langbein, Joey Savino and Mark Gerrits. Johnathan Stanley, Trevor Rey and Johnathan Borzick each had assists.
Hampshire (13-11) was coming off its third regional title in the last four years. The Whip-Purs also shared the Fox Valley Fox title with Johnsburg in its first year. But Hampshire knew what it was up against in facing the Eagles.
“We handed them a quick one and you can’t do that against (Lakes),” Hampshire coach John Gosling said. “We game them two easy ones and a PK. This is not us. Some of their role players got the goals. We just didn’t give (Lakes) a good game.
“I thought our kids were prepared. We got beat on the first one with a simple ball on a cross.”