Boys soccer: Hinckley-Big Rock ends St. Edward's season
Regulation high school soccer matches are 80 minutes, but a mere 4:26 proved to be St. Edward's undoing.
That's the span it took Class 1A regional host Hinckley-Big Rock to turn a 1-1 deadlock into a 6-3 victory that brought the Green Wave's season to a 5-9-5 finish Friday. In addition to capturing its 14th regional plaque, H-BR's Royals advance to sectional play with a 17-4 record.
"During that span all our mistakes kind of blew up in our face," St. Edward coach Tim Brieger admitted. "They got one to take the lead and we got spooked, only problem was if I subbed, we got younger and less experienced. And then we pressed a little too hard and it got worse. Once we calmed down, we actually took it too them for 10 to 15 minutes."
St. Edward was taking it to the hosts early on as Alec Uscila's cross was misplayed by Hinckley goalie Dylan Youhanie and Green Wave senior Alex Semler pounced for a goal after just 2:39.
"I saw an opening and yelled to Alec for a pass and when their keeper didn't grab it I got enough on it so it went in," Semler said.
The Royals countered with 4:11 left before halftime when Cory Schleifer fed Dakota Sleeth for an 11-yard tap in. The Green Wave missed a golden opportunity to reclaim the lead on a breakaway 1:14 prior to halftime but the shot sailed wide left.
St. Edward goalie Eric Parks blocked a cannon shot but Tate Sanderson put the rebound into the back of the net just 2:12 into the second half. One minute later, Tristan Sanderson set up Sleeth for his second goal. Then Hinckley playmaker Jack Bullard connected twice with Schleifer a minute apart.
Seven minutes later, Bullard gained his third assist to give him 24 for the year as Schleifer completed his third hat trick of the year to give him 28 goals on the season.
"To St. Ed's credit, it wasn't enough to put them away," Hinckley coach Paul Taeuber said. "While we started the second half with a sense of urgency, we haven't been in enough high-stakes games to realize the intensity of playoff soccer."
Semler used a Zach Olenek feed to launch a 19-yard blast to give him 6 goals for the season. That came with 10:36 still to be played. With 9:09 remaining, Semler earned his 17th assist on A.J. Franklin's 21st goal to make it a 6-3 tally. However, that's where the comeback ended.
"We've only got two senior starters and at one point we had five (of 12) freshmen on the field," Brieger noted. "Hopefully all the returnees turn this experience into future success."