Another tough exit for Larkin

The 2007 Schaumburg boys soccer team set precedence for the Saxons' program Thursday night with a 1-0 triple-overtime victory over Larkin in the Class AA Streamwood sectional final at Millennium Field.

The Saxons (16-5-1) will play at 7 p.m. Monday in the NIU supersectional against Rockford Boylan.

The win marks a program-first for Schaumburg appearing in a supersectional, and it came off the foot of an unlikely herelgio.

After 117 minutes of scoreless soccer, substitute forward Mark Czarny found the back of the net following a perfect feed from co-forward, and thorn-in-Larkin's side, Wesley Hollis.

Cleverly contained on the right sideline by Larkin sweeper Fernando Alvarez, Hollis was able to fire a pass off to Czarny, who awaited in front of the Larkin goal.

With nothing standing between him and Royals' goalkeeper Raziel Somarriba, Czarny tapped a shot past Somarriba into the bottom right corner to conclude the Saxons' fourth consecutive overtime match.

"It felt amazing," said Czarny of the game-winner.

"I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. I don't play all the time so when I got the call to go in, I knew I was going to work my hardest. My teammates love me now."

Prior to the score, it was a hard-fought battle on both ends.

Stopping Hollis had been a priority for Larkin throughout, one which Alvarez along with defender Nestor Almanza and midfielder Misael Hernandez had managed perfectly through three overtimes.

Hollis alone had taken 8 of Schaumburg's 18 shots on goal, but was unable to penetrate the Larkin defense well enough to convert.

Still, his pressure along with pressure from teammates Josh Beard and Tim Piotrowski, was enough to lead to a game-winner in the end.

"We deserved the win," said Schaumburg coach Hamid Mehreioskouei. "I thought we had the better game.

"We play in the MSL. Our regular season schedule has prepared us for this. This is a regular Thursday night for us."

Larkin (17-6-4) had its opportunities getting excellent offensive pushes from David Rodriguez, Danny Hinterlong, Steven Drew, David Hernandez, Raul Sandoval and Carson McFadden.

While they were out-shot 10-5 in the first half, the Royals bounced back to even things out and when all was said and done, they had out-shot the Saxons 24-18.

"Schaumburg was a tough defensive team," said Larkin coach Ken Hall. "You have to give their defense credit."

Larkin's biggest opportunity came in the second overtime when Rodriguez found Sandoval in front of the net. Sandoval fired off a clear shot, but Schaumburg keeper Jordan Sandberg (10 saves) came up with a huge save.

Somarriba (12 saves) certainly countered with equally incredible efforts, making four game-saving saves in first half, three in the second half and yet another key stop in the second overtime.

Alverez remained solid in front of Somarriba breaking up nine drives of his own.

"It's my job," said Alverez. "Our entire team effort was great. Everybody played extremely well, top to bottom."

For Schaumburg (16-5-1), it was history in the making.

It was also a sentimental win for Mehreioskouei, who played for Schaumburg before coaching, and lost to Larkin in his final high school contest.

"It isn't very often that you get a game like that back," Mehreioskouei said.

For Larkin, it was an all too familiar sadness as the Royals lost in the Streamwood sectional semifinal last year.

"I'm extremely pleased with our guys," said Hall. "They left it all out on the field."