Boys soccer: Addison Trail knocks out St. Charles East
Senior stopper Edmond Montano helped the Addison Trail boys soccer team's defense earn even more believers Tuesday.
The Blazers' 12th shutout this season was the hardest and certainly the most important thus far - a 1-0 victory over St. Charles East in the Class 3A Glenbard East sectional semifinals.
"They're a No. 2 (sectional) seed and we're a No. 3 seed so we really want to prove something. We want to prove that we're a top team," said Montano, who was joined defensively by sweeper Brian Ramos, outside defenders Melvin Mora and Jason Solares and goalkeeper Jacob Grygo.
"Me and Brian are able to communicate well in the back, and my two wingbacks are great. They have a lot of speed."
Addison Trail (22-1) won its 16th straight as junior Jonathan Hernandez scored with 16:11 left in the first half. The Blazers play for the sectional title at 5 p.m. Friday against No. 5 Conant (14-7), which beat No. 1 seed St. Charles North for the second time this season 3-1.
The Blazers, in their first sectional since 2000, seek their first sectional title since the 25-1 team of 1992. Their only loss is 3-0 to Morton Sept. 6, which ultimately decided the West Suburban Conference Gold Division title.
"(St. Charles East) is the second-best team we played all year. They're solid, big, physical," Addison Trail coach Ryan Dini said. "They kind of locked down our offense, but we got one. These guys have been through it. Nothing rattles them."
St. Charles East (17-4-2) threatened and applied pressure especially in the second half but only had 3 shots on goal and 6 overall with 3 corner kicks.
Many chances were snuffed out or thwarted by defenders, including a shot blocked by Ramos. The 6-foot-3 Grygo was effective against corner kicks and crosses.
"They defended very well. We brought everything we had," St. Charles East coach Paul Jennison said.
"I can't fault the lads. They did everything they possibly could. They had a spell of good pressure in the first half and they made the one goal count. The second half was really all ours, but we couldn't break through. That's just the game, unfortunately."
The Blazers came out full of energy with 5 shots in the first 10 minutes. They finished with 12 and a second-half corner kick.
Hernandez scored his 13th goal this season with a one-time shot from a cross by Christian Santiago along the left sideline. Santiago received a pass from Uriel Martinez and then beat his defender before cutting back to cross.
"We knew they were a good team, so we were going to go as hard as we can. That's our model right there, come out with a lot of energy," Hernandez said. "If we keep playing like this, we're a scary team. We're going to be very good if we keep coming on this strong."
Having 12 seniors, many of whom start, certainly helps and perhaps a little good fortune. One major concern with the Saints was their height advantage other than Grygo and the 6-3 Montano.
"We just wanted to be tight in the middle and watch the crosses. We recognize we have speed and were trying to keep the ball on the floor," Montano said.
"I thought the first 20, 25 minutes we played real well," Dini added. "They had us on our heels, especially the whole second half. We went to five guys in the back and just played kickball to tell you the truth."