Boys soccer: Barrington, Vernon Hills battle to 1-1 draw in season opener
Senior forward Max Golich rescued a point for Barrington with his 54th minute equalizer to help the visiting Broncos earn a 1-1 draw with host Vernon Hills at Rust-Oleum Field.
The Cougars struck first on a thunderbolt free kick from 30 yards just inside the near post by Daniel Finn in the 27th minute to cap an impressive first half of soccer.
“I thought we played a very good first half of soccer in our season opener. We did a lot of good things all over the field, but we were not the same team in the second half,” said the Cougars’ star keeper Brandon Grunfeld.
“That was not a very good first half of soccer for us. Some of that can be attributed to us having so many new players on our roster,” said Broncos captain Jack Ball.
“We played too nervous, and just could not possess the ball in the first half, but we came out and played much better to help us get the draw,” added Golich, who was assisted with a lovely early ball from teammate Magdiel Magdaleno.
The Cougars would play a man down for the last 18 minutes after one of their players received his second yellow card on the night.
The Cougars are away at Stevenson this Saturday while Barrington opens pool play at its own tournament this Friday against Glenbrook North.