N. Stars rally from 2-0 down to stun Saints, win regional

The St. Charles North boys soccer team was not going to let their biggest rival, St. Charles East, get in the way of them winning their fourth consecutive regional title.

With their backs against the wall and down a pair of goals, the North Stars came back in the second half and beat the Saints 3-2 in overtime for the Class AA St. Charles East regional title Friday.

"It's incredibly exciting," said St. Charles North coach Eric Willson, whose team improved to 17-4-3.

"Any time we have to go through St. Charles East, that's one of the most difficult things we've had to do."

With the score knotted at 2, Vladamir Schlageter netted the game-winner with 5:30 left in the overtime period for the North Stars, who advanced to the Wheaton Academy sectional Tuesday at 7 p.m.

"(St. Charles East's goalie Charlie Lyon) is a great goalkeeper, so I just had to hit it low," Schlageter said of his game-winner. "He's going to save anything up top. I just closed my eyes and put it in."

St. Charles East got off to a quick start with a pair of goals in the first half -- the first arrived five minutes into the game, thanks to Thomas Cassens.

At the 32:11 mark, Angel Pedraza tallied the Saints' second goal.

The second half was all St. Charles North, as both goals were scored by Austin Andrekus with the assist from Mike Picinich. The first one arrived at the 25:25 mark and the second with 10:12 left in the game.

"They never gave up, they never stopped fighting," Willson said. "It was well-deserved on their part."

St. Charles East capped its season 9-11-3.

"I'm disappointed in the scoreboard, but I thought our kids played a fantastic game," St. Charles East coach Jorge Ortiz said. "They played their hearts out in this game, and you have to be happy with that effort. They never let down."

Benet 1, Batavia 0: The 12th-seeded Bulldogs battled the No. 4 Redwings in a tight match for the East Aurora regional championship. But Rory Burke's goal in the 31st minute propelled Benet to their second straight regional title.