Boys soccer: Lake Zurich prevails in OT opener

Lake Zurich's boys soccer team had to work a little bit extra to extend its postseason on Tuesday night.

The Bears saw their counterpart Highland Park score two late goals in the final six minutes tying the match.

But Aiman Naqvi scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 88th minute that moved 10-seeded Lake Zurich past No. 8 Highland Park 4-3 in two overtimes in Highland Park.

Naqvi's goal was his 15th of the season and it happened after taking a pass from Zak Kiminski in the final third of the field.

"That goal meant everything," Naqvi said.

"It was hard, we went down twice in the last second of both halves. But to grab a goal in the OT was the best feeling, especially in that tense of a game. Zak Kaminski gave me a great ball, he just spotted my run and I had a one-touch finish into the corner."

Lake Zurich (11-5-3) will next face No. 15 seed Round Lake in the regional final game Saturday at noon at Highland Park. Round Lake stunned Mind-Suburban League champion Buffalo Grove 3-0 in Tuesday's opener.

For The Bears, it was a crazy finish after they built a 3-1 lead over the Giants (9-6-4). But the hosts rallied back with two goals that forced the overtime sessions. "Wins aren't ugly, we're just happy to have them," Lake Zurich coach Mike Schmitz said. "We're glad to play another day. We get to stay together as a team for another week. We'll see if we can figure some things out. I'm sure Highland Park is frustrated. It was a good game with chances back and forth for both teams.

Jaden McCreary scored the first two goals for Lake Zurich in the first and second half while Naqvi had the third goal in the 73rd minute for the 3-1 advantage.

Highland Park got its goals from Emmanuel Guzman-Vega in the final 21 seconds of the first half.

Then, the Giants tallied twice in the final 6 minutes. Mateos scored on a rebound after Bears' keeper Matt Volmer made a PK save in the 74th minute and Ivan Roldan finished into the back of the net in the final 10 seconds tying the match.