Boys soccer: Hersey earns first state berth by blanking Elgin in supersectional
Hersey's sensational postseason run continued Friday night when the Huskies eliminated Elgin 3-0 to secure its place in the Class 3A state finals this weekend.
An own goal at 27 minutes followed by two second half goals ended the dreams of the Maroons while sending Mike Rusniak's club to its first state appearance in program history after claiming this supersectional victory at Barrington.
"To be honest, it's going to take awhile for all of this to sink in," admitted Rusniak, whose club will face Hinsdale Central (15-8-1) Friday at Garber Stadium on the campus of host Hoffman Estates at 6 p.m.
Hinsdale Central began its season at 1-6-1.
"We had a lot of heroes tonight, but it was my two center-backs, Joey Farrell and Nate Mabry, who were unbelievable tonight," said Huskies keeper Adrian Smakowski.
It would be Smakowski who would make three point blank saves during a frenzied final 20 minutes when the Maroons (15-4-2) would throw everything forward in an attempt to half the Huskies (17-3-5) lead -- and turn the momentum in its favor.
"(This) stadium has not been very good to us," said a heartbroken Maroons coach Jimmy Romano, who a year ago lost 3-1 to Glenbrook North in its supersectional final.
"(That) own goal was unlucky, but I felt we still were in good shape until we conceded that second goal just after the half. We put so many balls into their box and must have had 3-4 close range shots that were either blocked or saved by their keeper. In the end, it just wasn't our night."
The MSL champions battled level with the Maroons who would enjoy the majority of the possession. But when an Elgin defender played the ball back from near 30 yards away to Brody Grosenbach, it went way wide of the senior keeper and into the back of his net.
The Maroons impressed with some superb passing and ball movement, while the Huskies targeted Kacper Lechowicz up top, and at the same time defended smartly and with conviction.
"We knew they were technically very good, so it was important for us to be organized and communicate, especially along the back," said Farrell.
Lechowicz would collect a quick half volley punt from Smakowski and use his speed to beat the last man before chipping Grosenback to double the Huskies’ advantage in the 42nd minute.
Smakowski was magnificent between the sticks for the Huskies, saving an Atlai Gutierrez blast, then a trio of close-range efforts that could have easily dented the back of the net during the next quarter hour.
Robert Salinas and Aaron Saldana could only look to the sky wondering how they could pry open the Huskies net with their point-blank attempts.
"They put so much pressure on us in those last 15 minutes. I don't know how many shots that were either blocked on the way in or saved by Adrian, but we stayed composed during that time," said Farrell.
Sophomore Teddy Reyes put the finishing touches on this contest when he took a loose ball from the midline before bursting free and in on Grosenback who had no chance on the Huskies’ third and final goal of their historic evening.
"We are guaranteed our first trophy ever, but the job still isn't done," said Smakowski.