Palatine makes early goal stand to stun LZ
Lake Zurich's dream of reaching the sectionals on its home pitch died Saturday afternoon on an early own goal lifted host Palatine.
And the sixth-seed Pirates won their own Class AA regional 1-0 over the No. 3 seed Bears and into Tuesday's 7 p.m. semifinal at Lake Zurich against Jacobs.
Jacobs stunned Cary-Grove 2-1 in 3 overtimes.
The much-vaunted and favored Bears (17-4-2), who survived a hotly contested 80-minute match on Tuesday with upset-minded Fremd, opened this match rather cautious and industrious, rather than carefree and creative.
The Pirates (15-8-0) played to their strengths, hard running, dangerous set pieces, speed to counter and the ability to manage and hold the lead with precision.
"Getting that early goal and lead was huge for us," said Pirates' sweeper Sean McLoraine, who played his position to near perfection on the defensive side. "Last time we played them (on) their turf, we had so much trouble and they beat us 4-1.
"We were anxious to get a chance at them again, and when we went up 1-0, we knew we would have to work as hard as we could to hold them."
Glenn Arnold would be credited with the goal at five minutes as the junior was closest to the driving left-footed free-kick by teammate Haris Haskovic, which sharply redirected past Bears keeper Taao Scarnato, who had no chance to stop it.
"I think the difference in the match was that we did out work them today," Arnold said.
Despite losing at most of the air-war on this day, especially to the Bears' backline and Zach Koshbin, the Pirates rarely conceded much to an opponent who made its mark on 17 others this season because of its high-octane attack, fueled through the likes of all-state candidate Reid Bergstrom and some neat possession soccer.
"We just didn't play our best soccer today," admitted Bears coach Mike Schmitz. "At this point in the season, you need some luck and good fortune, but you have to credit Palatine who rode the energy and momentum from scoring early and using the advantage of playing on its home field."
The windy and soggy conditions caused most of the first-half to be full of throw-ins and far too many whistles as each side had trouble keeping the ball on the pitch. That again worked to the Pirates' favor as it all betrayed the Bears' touch and ability to create in close.
"Perhaps the most important thing (for) us besides scoring so quickly (today) was the terrific defensive work John (Castellano) did on Bergstrom, which neutralized a great player and in turn Lake Zurich's attack," said Palatine coach Willie Filian.
Lake Zurich would finally carve out its best chance at the half-hour mark, and if not for a superb tackle by Zach Compton, Bergstrom would have been free and in on Pirates keeper Ben Calvopina to strike.
After this sequence, the Pirates had the better run of play up to intermission and after. They continually confounded the Bears, while creating chances almost out of nothing to force their opponent from throwing too many forward to add numbers as they searched for the equalizer.
"We never went into a defensive shell after scoring, and tried to sustain our attack the rest of the way which never allowed Lake Zurich to just concentrate on getting even," Filian said.