Boys soccer: Vernon Hills heads to sectional title match
Sean Collins has been through a lot this season with an injury that kept him off the field for a period of time.
The senior forward worked his way back at the right time of the year.
He scored his first two goals of the season, and they came in the Cougars' biggest game so far.
Vernon Hills defeated host Harvard 2-0 in the Class 2A sectional semifinals on Wednesday night.
The Cougars (10-8-4) will next play Crystal Lake South (18-2-3) in the sectional final at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Collins dealt with a stomach ailment that kept him off the field for a number of games this season.
"I was out at the beginning of the season and saw the team grow so much," said Collins, who had a big postseason goal as a freshman in helping Vernon Hills reach the supersectional.
He opened the scoring against Harvard (16-3-2) in the 19th minute off a pass from Zidan Chaires. Chaires split a couple of defenders off the end line and found Collins for the shot.
Vernon Hills went up 2-0 with 34 seconds remaining in the opening half. Tyler Gonzalez sent a high cross from the right wing, and Collins headed the ball into the net.
Nick Burrows earned the clean sheet with 3 stops in the goal for Vernon Hills.
A two-goal advantage is something the Cougars have sought all season long.
"We've really struggled this year scoring goals," Vernon Hills coach Mike McCaulou said. "We've talked about the magic number being '2'. We haven't lost a game all year when we've scored two goals. It's very difficult to beat us."
The Cougars had to defend more in the second half with Harvard pressing.
"We're usually very organized," McCaulou said. "I wasn't super happy with our second half in the last 20. We were a little bit undisciplined defensively. We were diving and reaching. I expect our kids to be better than that. It's still a good win and Harvard never gave up. They had a phenomenal season. You have to prepare for any team in the playoffs. It's all about playing unbelievable competition through the regular season. We still have much more to do. Crystal Lake South will be a good foe."
Harvard had a few chances around the goal but had trouble with the Cougars' defensive pressure.
"Vernon Hills tried to pressure us on our defensive back line," Harvard coach Victor Gonzalez said. "They try to create the turnover there so the ball doesn't come back to their defense. That high pressure creates problems for many teams, and that hurt us in the first half. We weren't ready for how intense they were going to be and the energy they bring."
Crystal Lake South 3, Rockford Boylan 1: Alexander Canfield scored a pair of goals in the first half, and Jack Wruck added a goal early in the second half, as the Gators won the first semifinal at Harvard.
"We knew that it would take some special shots," Crystal Lake South coach Brian Allen said. "We knew (Boylan's) CJ Cooper was an excellent goalkeeper. It took two bombs today that opened things up. We knew Boylan (16-5-3) was skillful and they had a good reputation. They had two good strikers up top and we knew we would have to bide our time. We felt if we could play our brand of soccer, we could get our opportunities at the end."
Next step for Crystal Lake South (18-2-3) is a meeting with Vernon Hills (10-8-4) in Saturday's 5 p.m. sectional final.